Bug 1148617

Summary:	F20 x86_64 Install Media: Fails to Establish Network Connection on Asus M5A97LE R2.0
Product:	[Fedora] Fedora	Reporter:	bob <redzilla.coralnut>
Component:	kernel	Assignee:	Kernel Maintainer List <kernel-maint>
Status:	CLOSED CURRENTRELEASE	QA Contact:	Fedora Extras Quality Assurance <extras-qa>
Severity:	high	Docs Contact:
Priority:	unspecified
Version:	20	CC:	gansalmon, g.kaviyarasu, itamar, jonathan, kernel-maint, madhu.chinakonda, mchehab, vanmeeuwen+fedora
Target Milestone:	---
Target Release:	---
Hardware:	x86_64
OS:	Linux
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version:		Doc Type:	Bug Fix
Doc Text:		Story Points:	---
Clone Of:		Environment:
Last Closed:	2014-11-09 00:37:28 UTC	Type:	Bug
Regression:	---	Mount Type:	---
Documentation:	---	CRM:
Verified Versions:		Category:	---
oVirt Team:	---	RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team:	---	Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description bob 2014-10-01 21:50:05 UTC

Description of problem:

F20 x86_64 installation media fail to establish a functioning ethernet connection when installing on an AMD FX-8350 + Asus M5A97LE R2.0 motherboard.  This results in blocking the install.

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):

Fedora-20-x86_64-DVD.iso
Fedora-20-x86_64-netinst.iso

How reproducible:

Always


Steps to Reproduce:
1. Boot DVD
2. Experience failure to recognize USB keyboard/mouse
3. Experience network initialization failure

Actual results:

USB keyboard is not recognized.  Need to use a PS/2 KB.
USB mouse is not recognized.
Network connection is never established by anaconda.

Expected results:

Network connection, functioning KB & mouse.

Additional info:

0. Plugging a USB keyboard into a PS/2 adapter (PS/2 KB port) works.
1. 64-bit F20 DVD: Anaconda reports the on-board ethernet adapter as "p4p1".  
2. 64-bit F20 DVD: Anaconda mis-reports the ethernet adapter as "Realtek Semiconductor Co Ltd P8H77-I motherboard."
3. 64-bit F20 Net Install CD: Anaconda reports the same as in (1) & (2).
4. 32-bit F20 LXDE Live CD: Both USB and ethernet work fine.  Lspci correctly reports "Realtek Semiconductor Co Ltd RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Connector (rev 09)".
5. Knoppix 7.0 Live CD: Same results as (4).
6. ASUS M5A97LE R2.0 motherboard, with latest BIOS: M5A97-LE-R20-ASUS-2501.zip

Comment 1 bob 2014-10-01 22:05:27 UTC

Just in case I wasn't clear -- it appears that the problem with NIC recognition in the 64-bit media could be the result of a chipset recognition problem.  The 64-bit media mis-reports the motherboard as an Asys P8H77-I, which uses an Intel  LGA1155 compatible chipset.  The chipset on the M5A97 motherboards is an AMD 970 chipset.

Comment 2 Josh Boyer 2014-10-03 17:14:53 UTC

We can't fix the F20 install media.  Do you have the same problems with the F21 Alpha media?

Comment 3 bob 2014-10-03 19:11:35 UTC

Hi Josh.  I understand that you can't change the F20 media. ;)

I was able to get an install completed on the box by turning off the on-board NIC and plugging an Intel PCIE Gigabit NIC into the motherboard.  Aargh.  This definitely appeared to be a problem with the older kernel not recognizing the AMD chipset and onboard devices.

I don't know about the F21 Alpha media -- but I'll take a look at it for you and report back. 

I can tell you this much -- I was able to bypass the Realtek ethernet recognition problem by swapping-in an Intel PCIE gigabit ethernet card.  This allowed me to run anaconda, but I still couldn't use the system upon completion of the install because of the persistence of the Nouveau Driver Bug 1047197.  

When the Nouveau driver is installed on a system with an Nvidia 6600GT video card, Nouveau draws all KDE menus and windows with 100% transparency and nothing is visible on-screen.  The only way to fix the problem was to SSH into the box and install the proprietary nVidia drivers.  In the past I've had to perform VNC installs because of Nouveau's exceptionally poor video results with the 6600GT.  (It's our standard video card on all of our systems.)

I'll see what I can learn for you with the F21 Alpha media.

Comment 4 bob 2014-10-04 15:43:10 UTC

I have a data point, but not a complete answer.

I loaded Fedora-Live-Workstation-x86_64-21_Alpha.iso onto a USB stick and booted it on the AMD FX box with the ASUS M5A97LE R2.0 mobo.

On-board Realtek NIC seems to work fine with the workstation LIVE ISO medium.
I did not perform an install (no free disks lying around) so I can't comment on whether Anaconda properly initializes the NIC or not.

Comment 5 bob 2014-10-17 22:39:28 UTC

Sorry for the late response -- I was delayed by unrelated hardware problems.

I have tried the Alpha_1 release of F21 on USB media.  
This problem appears to be a non-issue with F21 ISO images booted from USB.

Thanks for your time.