Guruplug instability

[midtskogen]

I'm not impressed with my Guruplug.  Things that I run on it seem to crash randomly.  It's warm, but not burning hot.  I can touch the RJ45 connectors, and they just feel warm (certainly less than 50C), not hot.  This device is on wifi only and is mostly idle.  But once the load goes a little up, processes begin to die like flies in a matter of seconds.  Anyone else seeing the same?  Like this, the Guruplug is totally useless.  The worst thing is that I bought two of them.

Here's an example (I also lost the ssh connection in the end, but it didn't reboot):

# apt-get upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
The following packages will be upgraded:
  libc6 libc6-dev libmysqlclient15off libpcsclite1 locales mysql-client mysql-client-5.0 mysql-common mysql-server mysql-server-5.0
10 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 47.5MB/47.7MB of archives.
After this operation, 4096B of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]?
Get:1 http://security.debian.org lenny/updates/main libc6-dev 2.7-18lenny4 [2434kB]
Get:2 http://security.debian.org lenny/updates/main libc6 2.7-18lenny4 [4868kB]
Get:3 http://security.debian.org lenny/updates/main libmysqlclient15off 5.0.51a-24+lenny4 [1782kB]                                                                                                                     
Get:4 http://security.debian.org lenny/updates/main mysql-client-5.0 5.0.51a-24+lenny4 [7651kB]                                                                                                                         
Get:5 http://security.debian.org lenny/updates/main mysql-server-5.0 5.0.51a-24+lenny4 [26.2MB]                                                                                                                         
59% [5 mysql-server-5.0 11643030/26.2MB 44%]                                                                                                                                                                 701kB/s 27s
Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:49:43 ...
 kernel:last sysfs file: /sys/devices/virtual/mtd/mtd2/mtdblock2/range

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:49:43 ...
 kernel:Internal error: Oops: 17 [#2] PREEMPT

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:49:43 ...
 kernel:Stack: (0xdeb9df48 to 0xdeb9e000)

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:49:43 ...
 kernel:Process hald-addon-stor (pid: 2488, stack limit = 0xdeb9c270)

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:49:43 ...
 kernel:df40:                   df084680 00000010 00000000 c00c0a04 00000000 00000000

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:49:43 ...
 kernel:df60: c00bdb1c df084680 deb3c600 00000000 deb3c600 df084680 00000000 c00bdab4

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:49:43 ...
 kernel:df80: 00000001 00000005 deb9c000 c00bec9c 00000000 00019c78 401591cc 00000006

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:49:43 ...
 kernel:dfc0: 00000000 00019c78 401591cc 00000006 00000001 00017c40 00000000 00014b50

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:49:43 ...
 kernel:dfa0: c002db44 c002d9c0 00000000 00019c78 00000005 00020000 00000005 000030cc

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:49:43 ...
 kernel:dfe0: 40159530 becec150 00009f28 4020db2c 60000010 00000005 00000000 00000000

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:49:43 ...
 kernel:Code: e1a06000 e59f005c eb0c5271 ea00000d (e5114004)
85% [5 mysql-server-5.0 23981134/26.2MB 91%]                                                                                                                                                                  678kB/s 9s
Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:last sysfs file: /sys/devices/virtual/mtd/mtd2/mtdblock2/range

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:Internal error: Oops: 17 [#3] PREEMPT

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:Process exim4 (pid: 5120, stack limit = 0xdba4a270)

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bd20:                                     22eda636 00002651 dba4bd7c dba4bd48

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:Stack: (0xdba4bd30 to 0xdba4c000)

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bd40: 00000000 dba4be00 dba4a000 dba4bd58 dbb62540 df386000 dba4be40 00000000

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bd60: c0409c38 00000001 00000000 00000000 000000e0 dba3e200 00000000 000000e0

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bd80: 00000000 dba4bdb0 dbb62500 dba4be78 db8caab4 000000e0 dba3ed00 dba3e200

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bda0: db8caa80 c00bf7cc 00000034 00000000 00000001 c0407b58 00000000 00000001

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bde0: 00000000 00000000 00000000 dbac4640 c005dd38 dba4bdf4 dba4bdf4 00000000

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bdc0: ffffffff dbb62500 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 dbac4640 dba4bde8

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:be00: 00000034 00000000 000b7950 dba3ed00 dba3e200 db8caa80 000000e0 dba4be30

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:be20: c00c00b4 c00bf864 60000013 ffffffff c023c87c c0409ac4 c0407884 00000000

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:be40: dba3e200 000000e0 dbb62500 dba3e200 dba4be78 c00c00e0 00000484 c023cb2c

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:be60: bf000000 d2ddcf40 00000000 db8caab4 000b7950 c00c492c 00000034 00000000

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bea0: 00000000 d2ddcf40 00000000 00008000 000a947c 000b147c 000b4b7c dba3e100

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:be80: 000000e0 c00fb3f0 dba3e200 000000e0 c094d700 dba4bfb0 dbb62500 00008000

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bec0: dba4a000 befffef2 c094d700 c0407aac 0008a928 00020000 0008a928 00000000

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bee0: 0008a928 00000008 000b793e befffef2 c094d700 00000000 c094d700 00000000

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bf00: 00000000 c0566d5c dba3ed00 dba4a000 00000000 bed61ddc dba4bfb0 c00c45a0

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bf20: dba4bfb0 00000000 fffffff8 c00fab70 dba3ed00 00000000 dba3ed00 dba4a000

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bf40: d2fe6000 00000001 000c7310 bed61ddc dba4bfb0 c00c55fc c002db44 dba4a000

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bf60: 00000000 00000000 000bfab8 d2fe6000 bed61ddc dba4bfb0 d2fe6000 c002db44

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bf80: dba4a000 00000000 00000001 c0030688 00000000 0000000c 00000001 000c7310

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bfa0: 0000000b c002d9c0 0000000c 00000001 000bfab8 000c7310 bed61ddc 40457000

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bfc0: 0000000c 00000001 000c7310 0000000b 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000001

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:bfe0: 000b4b98 bed21898 403c4138 403c3fec 60000010 000bfab8 00a62031 00a62431

Message from syslogd@guru at Jun 16 06:50:02 ...
 kernel:Code: e0904002 e2a15000 e1cc21d8 e1a08a00 (e59ac000)
Get:6 http://security.debian.org lenny/updates/main locales 2.7-18lenny4 [4488kB]                                                                                                                                       
Get:7 http://security.debian.org lenny/updates/main libpcsclite1 1.4.102-1+lenny1 [43.4kB]                                                                                                                             
Fetched 47.5MB in 1min11s (660kB/s)                                                                                                                                                                                     
Preconfiguring packages ...
(Reading database ... 27644 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace mysql-common 5.0.51a-24+lenny3 (using .../mysql-common_5.0.51a-24+lenny4_all.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement mysql-common ...
Preparing to replace mysql-server 5.0.51a-24+lenny3 (using .../mysql-server_5.0.51a-24+lenny4_all.deb) ...
Stopping MySQL database server: mysqld.
Unpacking replacement mysql-server ...
Preparing to replace mysql-client 5.0.51a-24+lenny3 (using .../mysql-client_5.0.51a-24+lenny4_all.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement mysql-client ...
Preparing to replace libc6-dev 2.7-18lenny2 (using .../libc6-dev_2.7-18lenny4_armel.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement libc6-dev ...
Preparing to replace libc6 2.7-18lenny2 (using .../libc6_2.7-18lenny4_armel.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement libc6 ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Setting up libc6 (2.7-18lenny4) ...
(Reading database ... 27644 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace libmysqlclient15off 5.0.51a-24+lenny3 (using .../libmysqlclient15off_5.0.51a-24+lenny4_armel.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement libmysqlclient15off ...
Preparing to replace mysql-client-5.0 5.0.51a-24+lenny3 (using .../mysql-client-5.0_5.0.51a-24+lenny4_armel.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement mysql-client-5.0 ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Setting up mysql-common (5.0.51a-24+lenny4) ...
(Reading database ... 27644 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace mysql-server-5.0 5.0.51a-24+lenny3 (using .../mysql-server-5.0_5.0.51a-24+lenny4_armel.deb) ...
Stopping MySQL database server: mysqld.
Stopping MySQL database server: mysqld.
Unpacking replacement mysql-server-5.0 ...
Read from remote host wlan: Connection reset by peer



dmesg will tell me things like:

Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000c
pgd = dbb38000
[0000000c] *pgd=1f1d7031, *pte=00000000, *ppte=00000000
Internal error: Oops: 17 [#1] PREEMPT
last sysfs file: /sys/devices/virtual/mtd/mtd2/mtdblock2/range
Modules linked in: ipv6 uap8xxx btmrvl_sdio libertas_sdio btmrvl libertas bluetooth
CPU: 0    Not tainted  (2.6.32-00007-g56678ec #1)
PC is at dnotify_flush+0x10/0x12c
LR is at filp_close+0x58/0x78
pc : [<c00eede4>]    lr : [<c00bdaa0>]    psr: 60000013
sp : dbaedf70  ip : dbaedf90  fp : be9e2c00
r10: 00000004  r9 : dbaec000  r8 : dbb09a00
r7 : dbb58c00  r6 : dbb58c00  r5 : dbb09a00  r4 : dbb09a00
r3 : 00000000  r2 : dbaec000  r1 : dbb58c00  r0 : dbb09a00
Flags: nZCv  IRQs on  FIQs on  Mode SVC_32  ISA ARM  Segment user
Control: 0005397f  Table: 1bb38000  DAC: 00000015
Process http (pid: 4995, stack limit = 0xdbaec270)
Stack: (0xdbaedf70 to 0xdbaee000)
df60:                                     dbb09a00 dbb58c00 00000000 c00bdaa0
df80: 00000001 00000003 dbaec000 c00bec9c 0001b158 be9e2c00 0001b2ec 00000006
dfa0: c002db44 c002d9c0 0001b158 be9e2c00 00000003 0022845c 0022845c 00000001
dfc0: 0001b158 be9e2c00 0001b2ec 00000006 00000009 00000001 00000004 be9e2c00
dfe0: 403a7c5c be9e29d8 0000a79c 40328b2c 40000010 00000003 00000000 00000000
[<c00eede4>] (dnotify_flush+0x10/0x12c) from [<c00bdaa0>] (filp_close+0x58/0x78)
[<c00bdaa0>] (filp_close+0x58/0x78) from [<c00bec9c>] (sys_close+0x98/0xf4)
[<c00bec9c>] (sys_close+0x98/0xf4) from [<c002d9c0>] (ret_fast_syscall+0x0/0x28)
Code: e92d4070 e590300c e1a05000 e1a06001 (e593400c)
---[ end trace 53c642a901d7bc4c ]---
Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address fffffffc
pgd = debbc000
[fffffffc] *pgd=00a62031, *pte=00000000, *ppte=00000000
Internal error: Oops: 17 [#2] PREEMPT
last sysfs file: /sys/devices/virtual/mtd/mtd2/mtdblock2/range
Modules linked in: ipv6 uap8xxx btmrvl_sdio libertas_sdio btmrvl libertas bluetooth
CPU: 0    Tainted: G      D     (2.6.32-00007-g56678ec #1)
PC is at eventpoll_release_file+0x14/0x70
LR is at eventpoll_release_file+0x10/0x70
pc : [<c00f1f70>]    lr : [<c00f1f6c>]    psr: 00000013
sp : deb9df48  ip : 00000000  fp : 00014b50
r10: df084700  r9 : deb9c000  r8 : df520980
r7 : df2b4858  r6 : df084680  r5 : ffffffd0  r4 : df084680
r3 : df0846ec  r2 : 00000000  r1 : 00000000  r0 : c0566cdc
Flags: nzcv  IRQs on  FIQs on  Mode SVC_32  ISA ARM  Segment user
Control: 0005397f  Table: 1ebbc000  DAC: 00000015
Process hald-addon-stor (pid: 2488, stack limit = 0xdeb9c270)
Stack: (0xdeb9df48 to 0xdeb9e000)
df40:                   df084680 00000010 00000000 c00c0a04 00000000 00000000
df60: c00bdb1c df084680 deb3c600 00000000 deb3c600 df084680 00000000 c00bdab4
df80: 00000001 00000005 deb9c000 c00bec9c 00000000 00019c78 401591cc 00000006
dfa0: c002db44 c002d9c0 00000000 00019c78 00000005 00020000 00000005 000030cc
dfc0: 00000000 00019c78 401591cc 00000006 00000001 00017c40 00000000 00014b50
dfe0: 40159530 becec150 00009f28 4020db2c 60000010 00000005 00000000 00000000
[<c00f1f70>] (eventpoll_release_file+0x14/0x70) from [<c00c0a04>] (__fput+0xa8/0x1f0)
[<c00c0a04>] (__fput+0xa8/0x1f0) from [<c00bdab4>] (filp_close+0x6c/0x78)
[<c00bdab4>] (filp_close+0x6c/0x78) from [<c00bec9c>] (sys_close+0x98/0xf4)
[<c00bec9c>] (sys_close+0x98/0xf4) from [<c002d9c0>] (ret_fast_syscall+0x0/0x28)
Code: e1a06000 e59f005c eb0c5271 ea00000d (e5114004)
---[ end trace 53c642a901d7bc4d ]---
Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 00000000
pgd = d2fa8000
[00000000] *pgd=1eb97031, *pte=00000000, *ppte=00000000
Internal error: Oops: 17 [#3] PREEMPT
last sysfs file: /sys/devices/virtual/mtd/mtd2/mtdblock2/range
Modules linked in: ipv6 uap8xxx btmrvl_sdio libertas_sdio btmrvl libertas bluetooth
CPU: 0    Tainted: G      D     (2.6.32-00007-g56678ec #1)
PC is at generic_file_aio_read+0x1dc/0x6a0
LR is at 0xe0
pc : [<c00918d4>]    lr : [<000000e0>]    psr: 00000013
sp : dba4bd30  ip : dbb62540  fp : dbb62500
r10: 00000000  r9 : dba4bdb0  r8 : 03400000
r7 : 00000000  r6 : 00000fff  r5 : 00000000  r4 : 00000114
r3 : 00000000  r2 : 00000080  r1 : 00000000  r0 : 00000034
Flags: nzcv  IRQs on  FIQs on  Mode SVC_32  ISA ARM  Segment kernel
Control: 0005397f  Table: 12fa8000  DAC: 00000017
Process exim4 (pid: 5120, stack limit = 0xdba4a270)
Stack: (0xdba4bd30 to 0xdba4c000)
bd20:                                     22eda636 00002651 dba4bd7c dba4bd48
bd40: 00000000 dba4be00 dba4a000 dba4bd58 dbb62540 df386000 dba4be40 00000000
bd60: c0409c38 00000001 00000000 00000000 000000e0 dba3e200 00000000 000000e0
bd80: 00000000 dba4bdb0 dbb62500 dba4be78 db8caab4 000000e0 dba3ed00 dba3e200
bda0: db8caa80 c00bf7cc 00000034 00000000 00000001 c0407b58 00000000 00000001
bdc0: ffffffff dbb62500 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 dbac4640 dba4bde8
bde0: 00000000 00000000 00000000 dbac4640 c005dd38 dba4bdf4 dba4bdf4 00000000
be00: 00000034 00000000 000b7950 dba3ed00 dba3e200 db8caa80 000000e0 dba4be30
be20: c00c00b4 c00bf864 60000013 ffffffff c023c87c c0409ac4 c0407884 00000000
be40: dba3e200 000000e0 dbb62500 dba3e200 dba4be78 c00c00e0 00000484 c023cb2c
be60: bf000000 d2ddcf40 00000000 db8caab4 000b7950 c00c492c 00000034 00000000
be80: 000000e0 c00fb3f0 dba3e200 000000e0 c094d700 dba4bfb0 dbb62500 00008000
bea0: 00000000 d2ddcf40 00000000 00008000 000a947c 000b147c 000b4b7c dba3e100
bec0: dba4a000 befffef2 c094d700 c0407aac 0008a928 00020000 0008a928 00000000
bee0: 0008a928 00000008 000b793e befffef2 c094d700 00000000 c094d700 00000000
bf00: 00000000 c0566d5c dba3ed00 dba4a000 00000000 bed61ddc dba4bfb0 c00c45a0
bf20: dba4bfb0 00000000 fffffff8 c00fab70 dba3ed00 00000000 dba3ed00 dba4a000
bf40: d2fe6000 00000001 000c7310 bed61ddc dba4bfb0 c00c55fc c002db44 dba4a000
bf60: 00000000 00000000 000bfab8 d2fe6000 bed61ddc dba4bfb0 d2fe6000 c002db44
bf80: dba4a000 00000000 00000001 c0030688 00000000 0000000c 00000001 000c7310
bfa0: 0000000b c002d9c0 0000000c 00000001 000bfab8 000c7310 bed61ddc 40457000
bfc0: 0000000c 00000001 000c7310 0000000b 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000001
bfe0: 000b4b98 bed21898 403c4138 403c3fec 60000010 000bfab8 00a62031 00a62431
[<c00918d4>] (generic_file_aio_read+0x1dc/0x6a0) from [<c00bf7cc>] (do_sync_read+0xa8/0xf8)
[<c00bf7cc>] (do_sync_read+0xa8/0xf8) from [<c00c00e0>] (vfs_read+0xac/0x158)
[<c00c00e0>] (vfs_read+0xac/0x158) from [<c00c492c>] (kernel_read+0x48/0x7c)
[<c00c492c>] (kernel_read+0x48/0x7c) from [<c00fb3f0>] (load_elf_binary+0x880/0x1204)
[<c00fb3f0>] (load_elf_binary+0x880/0x1204) from [<c00c45a0>] (search_binary_handler+0x170/0x378)
[<c00c45a0>] (search_binary_handler+0x170/0x378) from [<c00c55fc>] (do_execve+0x1e4/0x2f4)
[<c00c55fc>] (do_execve+0x1e4/0x2f4) from [<c0030688>] (sys_execve+0x38/0x5c)
[<c0030688>] (sys_execve+0x38/0x5c) from [<c002d9c0>] (ret_fast_syscall+0x0/0x28)
Code: e0904002 e2a15000 e1cc21d8 e1a08a00 (e59ac000)
---[ end trace 53c642a901d7bc4e ]---

[varkey]

Are you on a Gigabit network?

When I tried to install a package initially when connected to a Gigabit switch, just got disconnected from SSH and the plug was unresponsive but no kernel errors etc.

Anyway when connected to a 100mbit switch its working fine. Rightt now I have connected a 80mm fan blowing air onto the plug and its stable.

[sfzhi]

Modules linked in: ipv6 uap8xxx btmrvl_sdio libertas_sdio btmrvl libertas bluetooth

Just an observation:
You have both uap8xxx and libertas/libertas_sdio modules loaded at the same time. I doubt that would do any good. Although I'm not sure if that could cause the "Oops" you are getting.

[midtskogen]

Are you on a Gigabit network?

Ethernet is not connected to anything, I'm using it purely on wifi.  But eth0 is still there.

Absolutely nothing is connected currently, apart from an SD micro card.

I've now removed the uap8xxx module as someone suggested, as well as bluetooth stuff which I don't need, I'll see if that helps.

Currently:

# cat /proc/modules
ipv6 238227 24 - Live 0xbf04d000
libertas_sdio 6683 0 - Live 0xbf03e000
libertas 81304 1 libertas_sdio, Live 0xbf017000

[midtskogen]

Update: I put the guruplug into "production", which is running owserver to monitor CO2 and power consumption in my house, and to control some X10 devices - CPU usage probably stays below 1% all the time.  No ethernet, just wifi.  Processes randomly crashed, and usually within 24h the guruplug would lock up, nothing to be seen serially and nothing in messages after reboot. I then let it run with the lid open.  This seemed to cool the ethernet connector somewhat.  Just as unstable.  Then I took out the dual board so the metal plate became fully exposed to the surrounding air (about 20C).  Then the edges of the metal plate were just warm, while the center was still too hot to be touched.  And it still locks up within a day or so.

This is crap.

[midtskogen]

Now I've even added a fan.  Just the fan, no extra heatsink and the fan is 12V but only gets 5V, so it's not blowing at full speed. The RJ45 connector is now quite cool, certainly much below 37C.  I still get oopses and freezes.  Now I wonder if it really is the heat or something else.  The only unusual about my guruplug is that it runs as a wifi client, no RJ45 connected.  I wonder if it could be a problem with the wifi drivers.  Quite often ssh connections freeze for half a minute or so (but I can start a new session).  I'm using the libertas and libertas_sdio modules.  I'm running the original Debian system that was preinstalled.

[mola]

I wonder if it could be a problem with the wifi drivers.  Quite often ssh connections freeze for half a minute or so (but I can start a new session).  I'm using the libertas and libertas_sdio modules.  I'm running the original Debian system that was preinstalled.

Hi,

While I've never paid much attention to the wireless aspects of the GP, I remember to have read somewhere that the BT or WiFi drivers are crap. Could be the case as yours is not solid while mine (with small passive cooling, no wireless but with GBit connection) is smooth.
Mind you I've also flashed the May 10 images of uBoot, RFS etc and dist-upgraded from there to Debian Squeeze. Main reason was nfs-kernel-server as under Lenny that is not supported and I would have had to use nfs-user-server.
One other thing you could try is to see whether it freezes if you press on the terminals at the back. Some GPs seem to react erratic if the terminals' housing touches the heat spreader. If that is the case, something gets shorted. Actually I had that briefly because I replaced the pads under the spreader with thermal paste and the whole thing then sat a bit lower and touched some SMD capacitor or resistor on the board that I had forgotten when taping the others. A bit of insulating tape solved it. I guess this only happens if you remove the pads under the spreader though.

So in your case I guess it's the drivers. Remove for testing and if that helps maybe at least flash the newer Lenny image (howto is linked on the forum here http://www.newit.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,410.0.html), you can use the flashing part even if you then don't go for Squeeze.

Best of luck!

[demus]

I have the plug running as a wlan client. It was not particularly stable until I set up a cron job that checks the network connection, and rmmod/insmods the libertas modules every 1/2 hour. That seems to have improved the connectivity quite a bit. The bluetooth driver and ipv6 are blacklisted.

I also have an esata drive that seems to block every now and then, when I have an ssh session running, although that could just be the wlan connection blocking.

It could be a heat issue, a garbage driver issue or both. The plug can still become completely unresponsive, but it's a bit less common now.

[midtskogen]

One of the first things that I had to do was to set up a cron job running every minute which checks if there is a connection to the wireless router and if not, it would do ifdown/ifup.  That fixed the wifi stability, but it didn't stop the box from freezing completely.  I probably need a fixed or alternative kernel module.  I haven't had time to play with it recently.

[Strav]

Just to let you know, I've got the exact same symptoms: kernel panics, Oops: 17 [#2] PREEMPT and hanging ssh sessions. I haven't tried to isolate the problem yet but I'll keep you guys posted if I stumble on anything.

Here's a few notes: I actually got my guruplug a few days ago (on october 22th 2010), it's connected exclusively via wireless.
I didn't made any significant modification yet except writing a udev rule to automount my usb drive to a fixed location. Aside from that,
I installed and configured, mpd, samba, vsftpd, screen, rtorrent, apache2 along with several php web interfaces. One thing I can tell so far,
the plug gets most unstable when rtorrent is trying to download (although the culprit might be apache2 since I monitor those downloads from there).

I haven't messed with the wifi drivers yet but it seems like a reasonable guess that they're involved in all this.

If any of you succeed in making it cool and steady, I'd be really glad to hear how.

Thanks!

[Confusticated]

I know nothing about the guruplug sleep state (other than that it has one).
Has anybody checked the plugs behaviour when it switches into (out of) its sleep state ?
Switching states on standard PCs caused lots of kernel driver problems for a while.
I doubt that anyone has bought Linus a Guruplug yet.

[blablu]

Hi everyone, I just wanted to add my experience with this issue.
When my GP+ was in AP mode, there was no problem. Once I switched it to client mode, problems started pouring in. Quite often I would get error messages starting with "Internal error: Oops: 17 [#1] PREEMPT". This is how I concluded it was a driver issue.
After switching to an ethernet connection (100Mbps) and leaving the GP+ in AP mode, I no longer had any issues.

Right now my plug is tweaked with a passive cooler (I have the original design version, so over-heating was a big issue), so it runs quite cool, even though I have a lot of services running on it (like apache, transmission torrent, ehcp, munin, ftp server, mysql server, NFSv4, samba, hamachi vpn, etc..). I also have a micro SD card and an eSata hard-drive connected all the time, and watch movies/access files from the plug on a daily basis over an ethernet network.
The plug is running Debian Squeeze. It's uptime is around 40 days and still going strong, so I can honestly say that I am very satisfied with this little wonder...

[Strav]

Just switched back to the wireless AP mode and got my main connection over ethernet, the plug is indeed really more stable. It used to hand when trying to send large files over samba and it is not the case anymore (. So yes, it really looks like a wireless driver issue but actually, I want those drivers back for it defeats the main reason I wanted the guruplug: to use it as an audio jukebox via mpd for my living room where there is no ethernet connection.

I'll soon try a kernel upgrade and see what wifi drivers I can find... Of course I'll keep you guys posted if I find anything.

and thanks blablu for your comments!

[midtskogen]

Thanks for posting the comments.  It's not just me or my guruplug, then.  I recently did an apt-get upgrade (Debian) to see if that would help, but then it didn't boot anymore.  The Linux kernel crashes during the boot process.  I then tried a clean Debian install, but the same thing happens.  This probably is a different issue, though.  The current Debian doesn't seem to like guruplug at the moment.

One possible workaround for the original wifi client problem might be to use a wifi USB stick and a totally different driver.

[Strav]

Midtskogen,

First of, thanks for the advice about the upgrade!

I've subscribed to the libertas-dev mailing list, spoke to one of the developpers about the problem and pasted him your dmesg output. His response was:

"These specific errors look more like block subsystem errors, not wifi
errors.  Are you sure these errors are libertas related?  Do they still
happen if the libertas driver is never loaded?"

In order to provide him more accurate details about the error, I'd recommend that you or anyone else, post relevant error logs in this thread; I'll summarize and send them over the mailing list.

(I myself am a developper but I with zero experience with kernel/driver debugging, so it'll be a start I guess).

Thanks!