Re: netctl problem
On 28-03-2023 23:45, Fons Adriaensen wrote: The reason for the netctl failure turned out to be that dhcpcd was not installed. Which was a bit of surprise, because netctl needs it. It seems netctl has gained some flexibility and dhcpcd is now an optional dependency . Check 'pacman -Si netctl' output for details. LW
Re: netctl problem
On Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 06:54:19PM +0200, Óscar García Amor wrote: > > Scanning the available docs, I found out that systemd-networkd > > is enabled by default. Could this be in conflict with netctl ? > > Yes, in fact, I advise you NOT to use netctl and to use systemd- > netword[1] directly. The reason for the netctl failure turned out to be that dhcpcd was not installed. Which was a bit of surprise, because netctl needs it. The reason for using netctl is that we want to maintain strict manual control. Anything that tries to be clever and connect automatically to whatever network is available, or that requires configuration to opt out of such functionality, is absolutely ruled out. I've been using netctl for ages, so that's what I know. Maybe systemd-networkd can do the same, but all my experience with how systemd services work confirms that they are designed to prefer convenience over security. And those two you can't have at the same time. A bit of history. There are actually two systems, both are used only for one specific very technical purpose. I installed them three years ago and sent them to the user. They both contain some specialised software that is considered a trade secret and highly confidential. So even if I advised the user to update those systems regularly, that was never done, after installation they were never again connected to any network. So imagine what happened when that special software needed an update. Nothing worked, trying to update the systems just failed and whatever we tried just got us deeper and deeper into a rabbit-hole. So we decided to re-install from scratch. The first one was done a month ago, now we are doing the second one. Kind regards, -- FA
Re: netctl problem
El mar, 28-03-2023 a las 18:09 +0200, Fons Adriaensen escribió: > Scanning the available docs, I found out that systemd-networkd > is enabled by default. Could this be in conflict with netctl ? Yes, in fact, I advise you NOT to use netctl and to use systemd- netword[1] directly. Another option is, if you are going to use a graphical mode, then install netwokmanager[2]. Either option will be better than netctl. The first is better if you are thinking of setting up a non-graphical "server" and the second if it is a desktop computer. Greetings. [1]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Systemd-networkd [2]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/NetworkManager -- Óscar García Amor | ogarcia at moire.org | http://ogarcia.me signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part
Re: netctl problem
Hi Ralph, > Unless the remote hands are used to precisely editing configuration > files, this might be something where a mistake has been made. We verified the dhcp file, and I'm pretty sure it's okay. My friend may be a linux noob, but he's an experienced engineer and learling fast :-) It's not the first time he has to edit a config file. Scanning the available docs, I found out that systemd-networkd is enabled by default. Could this be in conflict with netctl ? It is disabled here on my system (also using netctl), but I don't remember doing that. Maybe it's done by installing netctl. Or it wasn't set enabled by default at the time when I first installed (many years ago). On the laptop, netctl was installed as part of the pacstrap, so it could be that the disabling of systemd-networkd was not persistent. Just guessing ATM. It will be a few hours before we continue the 'remotely supported installation' - we have 6 hours time zone difference... Ciao, -- FA
Re: netctl problem
Hi FA, I've some general ideas. Others will have better comments on your particular questions. > Also the ethernet-dhcp example is copied to /etc/netctl/dhcp and > edited for the correct interface (enp0s25). Unless the remote hands are used to precisely editing configuration files, this might be something where a mistake has been made. > I could probably find out what is wrong if I had my hands on the > keyboard, but doing it remotely seems more difficult... Can they email you photos of their screen at interesting points? Or stream a video of it as you're talking to them? It might lessen the friction of being remote enough that you get through more and diagnose the problem. Would a KVM be useful? Could they get hold of one temporarily? https://pikvm.org -- Cheers, Ralph.
