via-rhine (or rhinefelt) and VT6105/VT6103 driver problems with Debian stable

From: Chris Evans (chris1_at_psyctc.org)
Date: 02/29/04

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    To: netdrivers@scyld.com
Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 00:14:56 -0000

    I hope I can get some help on this list as I've dug myself in a hole
    I think.

    I run debian stable (3.0r2) for a small home set up on ADSL that
    handles Email (closed opt in!) for some charities. I've used old
    hardware for a firewall and a server but the firewall is dying and I
    replaced it with a lovely, small, near silent box with a VIA EPIA
    mini-ITX motherboard which has two LAN ports controlled by a VT6105
    on board controller. If I stick a tried and tested realtek 8139
    clone PCI card in I can have the three ports I want ....

    Having always used old hardware and never hit compatibility problems
    I didn't realise I was asking for trouble. The 2.4.18 kernel is the
    latest in the Debian stable distro and I want to stick with Debian
    'cos I know and trust it, and stable 'cos of the security updates,
    particularly important as this is firewall. Trouble is that I think
    the driver I need is a via-rhine one but the one that comes with that
    Debian kernel won't install (the rtl one does fine!). I've tried
    pulling the driver (rhinefet) off the VIA motherboard site and the
    via-rhine off the scyld site but I'm hopelessly out of my depth now
    as there are clearly old and vexatious issues about the ways that
    different distros store the headers and source, e.g. both VIA and
    scyld's Makefiles and source want a modversions.h file that clearly
    doesn't exist in Debian .. I've tried to work round that but modprobe
    on the via-rhine.o I finally produced gives all sorts of unresolved
    symbol complaints and I know I'm out of my league here.

    Can anyone help? The only alternative I can see looming is to spend
    about a third as much as I paid for the entire machine on a totally
    unnecessarily fast quadport Intel card (I need three ports and only
    have one free PCI slot as the machine is so small).

    Sod, sod, sod: I'll take hardware compatibility more seriously in
    future won't I?!

    TIA,

    Chris

    P.S. Copying to debian-user for archive record if nothing else,
    though similar question has twice drawn blank there beforePSYCTC:
    Psychotherapy, Psychology, Psychiatry, Counselling
       and Therapeutic Communities; practice, research,
       teaching and consultancy.
    Chris Evans & Jo-anne Carlyle
    http://psyctc.org/ Email: chris@psyctc.org 

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