<Linux device driver for Realtek Ethernet controllers>
This is the Linux device driver released for RealTek RTL8168B/8111B
and RTL8168C/8111C, Gigabit Ethernet controllers with PCI-Express
interface.
<Requirements>
- kernel source tree (supported Linux kernel 2.6.x)
- compiler/binutils for kernel compilation
<Quick install with proper kernel settings>
Unpack the tarball :
# tar vjxf r8168-8.aaa.bb.tar.bz2
Change to the directory:
# cd r8168-8.aaa.bb
If you are running the target kernel, then you should be able to do :
# make clean modules (as root or with sudo)
# make install
# depmod -a
# insmod ./src/r8168.ko
You can check whether the driver is loaded by using following commands.
# lsmod | grep r8168
# ifconfig -a
If there is a device name, ethX, shown on the monitor, the linux
driver is loaded. Then, you can use the following command to activate
the ethX.
# ifconfig ethX
,where X=0,1,2,...
<Set the network related information>
1. Set manually
a. Set the IP address of your machine.
# ifconfig ethX "the IP address of your machine"
b. Set the IP address of DNS.
Insert the following configuration in /etc/resolv.conf.
nameserver "the IP address of DNS"
c. Set the IP address of gateway.
# route add default gw "the IP address of gateway"
2. Set by doing configurations in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts
/ifcfg-ethX for Redhat and Fedora, or /etc/sysconfig/network
/ifcfg-ethX for SuSE. There are two examples to set network
configurations.
a. Fix IP address:
DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=static
ONBOOT=yes
TYPE=ethernet
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
IPADDR=192.168.1.1
GATEWAY=192.168.1.254
BROADCAST=192.168.1.255
b. DHCP:
DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=dhcp
ONBOOT=yes
<Modify the MAC address>
There are two ways to modify the MAC address of the NIC.
1. Use ifconfig:
# ifconfig ethX hw ether YY:YY:YY:YY:YY:YY
,where X is the device number assigned by Linux kernel, and
YY:YY:YY:YY:YY:YY is the MAC address assigned by the user.
2. Use ip:
# ip link set ethX address YY:YY:YY:YY:YY:YY
,where X is the device number assigned by Linux kernel, and
YY:YY:YY:YY:YY:YY is the MAC address assigned by the user.
<Force Link Status>
1. Force the link status when insert the driver.
If the user is in the path ~/r8168, the link status can be forced
to one of the 5 modes as following command.
# insmod ./src/r8168.ko speed=SPEED_MODE duplex=DUPLEX_MODE autoneg=NWAY_OPTION
,where
SPEED_MODE = 1000 for 1000Mbps
= 100 for 100Mbps
= 10 for 10Mbps
DUPLEX_MODE = 0 for half-duplex
= 1 for full-duplex
NWAY_OPTION = 0 for auto-negotiation off
= 1 for auto-negotiation on
For example:
# insmod ./src/r8168.ko speed=100 duplex=0 autoneg=0
will force PHY to operate in 100Mpbs Half-duplex.
2. Force the link status by using ethtool.
a. Insert the driver first.
b. Make sure that ethtool exists in /sbin.
c. Force the link status as the following command.
# ethtool -s ethX speed SPEED_MODE duplex DUPLEX_MODE autoneg NWAY_OPTION
,where
SPEED_MODE = 1000 for 1000Mbps
= 100 for 100Mbps
= 10 for 10Mbps
DUPLEX_MODE = half for half-duplex
= full for full-duplex
NWAY_OPTION = off for auto-negotiation off
= on for auto-negotiation on
