slow tftp ?

[Niall Parker]

Hello,

Finally getting back to playing with the Linuxstamp after a few months
and for some reason booting via tftp is now very slow (~ 5 minutes with
numerous pauses and occasional 'T's). I've used both the Sid kernel and
the grip kernel (< 2 MB) with the same results. It does eventually
transfer and boots from there but it is much slower than it used to be.

The tftp server is running Ubuntu 8.04 with the tftp-hpa 0.48ubuntu1
package (same as before I believe though there may have been some
underlying updates to libraries). I can transfer the same file to my
laptop in ~ 2 seconds and I'm pretty sure my earlier tests had
comparable results from the Linuxstamp.

Any ideas where I can look to track down where the delays are occurring?

Thanks.

... Niall

[Paul Thomas]

I've seen that on older 10baseT hubs. You might try a different switch.

thanks,
Paul

[Niall Parker]

There certainly is a dependence on the switch used, I tried 4 different
switches with varying results, but all had some delays during the load.
A cross-over cable however worked fine. Something about the u-boot tftp
loader seems to be sensitive as tftp using my laptop didn't show the
same dependency.

Eventually I plan to run it standalone so the slow tftp won't be an
issue, though still need to work out getting the kernel into the
dataflash and mount the file system of the SD card (so far I've left the
original kernel and busybox filesystem in the dataflash). I'm guessing
that the uImage and uImage_fs dated 23aug08 are what are needed to
restore the original contents if my experiments don't work out ;)

... Niall

[Niall Parker]

> issue ... [snip]

Turns out there is some issue with the linuxstamp/switch compatibility
even after booting, with some combinations showing > 50% packet loss
even on a basic 1 Hz ping. It seems as long as the best switch (a
Linksys WRT54GL) is directly connected the linuxstamp it will work OK,
even if multiple other switches are chained in between.

Might be hardware (cable match, ringing ?), might be some driver timing
sensitivity or maybe I'm just unlucky in my selection of switches.
Anyone else noticed problems with the Linuxstamp ethernet interface ?

... Niall

[Scott Burris]

Yes, I've had issues where it would not work on some switches but did on
others. I've had this
problems with several gigabit switches (which will negotiate 100BT on
the LS), as well as
some straight 100BT switches. Seems "brand name" switches do better
than off brands,
although nothing else I have is sensitive to switch type.

Don't know why this is.

Scott