MAC Address conflict

[xjphil]

I have two DTivo's that have a USB to Ethernet adapter from Weaknees. They both shipped with the same MAC Address. They cause slowdowns and conflicts and won't MRV at all.

I looked up MAC address changing, and it looks pretty simple. I don't have a serial connection, so any ifdown eth0 will cause me to lose the ability to type the next command, ifconfig hw addr xx:xx....

So I thought I'd write a script on the tivo, run the script to do the ifdown, then remap the hw address, then ifup.

#!/bin/bash

ifconfig eth0 down
ifconfig eth0 hw ether 01:02:03:04:05:06 up

Well, this never brought it back up, and I also lost my IR remote capabilities, and had to restart.

I have tried ifconfig when its up, but it says device busy.

Any idea why this didn't work, or what will re-assign the MAC address? (buy a freakin serial cable.. i know)

thanks.

phil

[justmike]

Ok unless I was asleep when they taught this part about networking I would be looking in the config files on the Tivo not the hardware.

Last time I check hardware manafacturers had to ship hardware with different MAC addresses that was part of the deal right?

But in either case since you brought them from a vendor I would be on the phone to them because they are supposed to have different MAC addresses.

Or things work different in TIVO land :cool:

Mike

[Jamie]

I have two DTivo's that have a USB to Ethernet adapter from Weaknees. They both shipped with the same MAC Address. They cause slowdowns and conflicts and won't MRV at all.MAC addresses are supposed to be assigned by the manufacturer and should be unique. If they aren't unique, that's a product defect and you should be able to return it for a refund or replacment.
Any idea why this didn't work, or what will re-assign the MAC address? (buy a freakin serial cable.. i know)I'd return your defective hardware for a refund. You didn't mention what kind of hardware these are, and I haven't checked, but it wouldn't surprise me if changing the MAC requires driver support that isn't present in the usbnet/pegasus/etc drivers.

[PlainBill]

Don't place too much faith in this, but IIRC, the MAC address on these units are set by software. It seems to me I saw a similar discussion about 6 months ago.

PlainBill

[fixn278]

MAC addresses are supposed to be assigned by the hardware and can be changed by software for special purposes.

They should only be changed when there is a specific reason. If Weakness really set the MAC addresses to the same thing, I would call them and ask them to fix an obvious issue with their process.

[justmike]

That's not uncommon to have the ability to reset the MAC address via software however even if that is the case the manafacture was never supposed to ship the hardware with the same MAC. If I recall they were only allowed to reuse the MAC once they had assigned all within their OID.

[Jamie]

Don't place too much faith in this, but IIRC, the MAC address on these units are set by software. It seems to me I saw a similar discussion about 6 months ago.I'm not sure which device we're talking about here, but if it is the ASIX ax88172 (e.g. the chip in usbnet devices most people use: usb200m, fa120, etc), it has the MAC address in an onboard EEPROM and the driver issues a READ_NODE_ID command to read it in the bind function.

Point-to-point connections in usbnet (that is, using a usb host-to-host cable with, for example, the ALI M5632 chip) do get a random software assigned MAC.

{edit: in researching the history a little, it does look like series 1 network hardware (turbonet, etc) may use software assigned MAC addresses. You specify the mac address when you load the ax88796.o module. If the OP has a series one (he mentioned USB, so I don't think so...), these references might be worth reading. ref1 (http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24250&highlight=MAC+address),ref2 (http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31584&highlight=MAC+address).}

[PlainBill]

Jamie, you're right. I had a sudden emission of noxious gasses from the cranial region, and assumed AGAINST EVIDENCE that these were for a Series 1 system.

My bad. :o

PlainBill

[xjphil]

Thanks for all the replies.

Series 2 units, adapters are, as I said, from Weaknees, the only distinctive markings on the box say y-145, otherwise, no-name usb ethernet adapter.

I have contacted Weaknees, they are sending a replacement, I was assuming they would send me another with the same MAC address, since I ordered these 2 about 2 months apart. So, I then will still have a problem.

Maybe I'll return it if its still the same, and buy one capable of USB 2.0.

Thanks,

phil

[Jamie]

Maybe I'll return it if its still the same, and buy one capable of USB 2.0.Maybe it was this (http://cable-world.en.alibaba.com/product/50002548/50025103/USB_Cables/USB_10_100M_Ethernet_Adapter.html) one?

I'd recommend an usb2 ax8817x based adapter such as one of these: xterasys (http://store.mrtechus.com/xtusb2010fae.html), netgear (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=33-122-108&depa=0), dlink (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=33-127-147&depa=0), or linksys (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=33-124-122&depa=0).

[fixn278]

Thanks for all the replies.

Series 2 units, adapters are, as I said, from Weaknees, the only distinctive markings on the box say y-145, otherwise, no-name usb ethernet adapter.

I have contacted Weaknees, they are sending a replacement, I was assuming they would send me another with the same MAC address, since I ordered these 2 about 2 months apart. So, I then will still have a problem.

Maybe I'll return it if its still the same, and buy one capable of USB 2.0.

Thanks,

phil

MAC addresses are embedded in the adapter. It is rare that the address on the actual adapter is changed. It is likely the drive they prepared for you is changing the MAC. I doubt changing the adapter will do any good.

Knowing exactly what is on the drive... another reason to do it yourself...

[SR712]

The series1 machines, if I recall correctly, used to have their mac address defined in rc.arch with the serial number of the unit. The script we ran in rc.net would overwrite and change the mac addy.

[fixn278]

The series1 machines, if I recall correctly, used to have their mac address defined in rc.arch with the serial number of the unit. The script we ran in rc.net would overwrite and change the mac addy.

The S1's were an exception to the rule. Each manufacturer has a range of addresses to be assigned. I suspect the turbo/tivonets did not have an official range to use.

[xjphil]

MAC addresses are embedded in the adapter. It is rare that the address on the actual adapter is changed. It is likely the drive they prepared for you is changing the MAC. I doubt changing the adapter will do any good.

Knowing exactly what is on the drive... another reason to do it yourself...

Huh?

I didn't get the drive from weaknees. Two adapters, ordered a few months apart.

The drive theory doesn't work either, one SD-DVR40 is the 4.x torrent image, and the other is an image from my SVR-3000, both done myself.

[xjphil]

Maybe it was this (http://cable-world.en.alibaba.com/product/50002548/50025103/USB_Cables/USB_10_100M_Ethernet_Adapter.html) one?

Thats the one. One is great, don't get two.


I'd recommend an usb2 ax8817x based adapter such as one of these: xterasys (http://store.mrtechus.com/xtusb2010fae.html), netgear (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=33-122-108&depa=0), dlink (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=33-127-147&depa=0), or linksys (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=33-124-122&depa=0).

Thanks, I got the above for the price. These prices look good, too, and USB2.0. Thanks!

phil

[adavidw]

I can't offer any help here, but just wanted to say I'm in the same boat. I bought two Weaknees adapters a couple of months apart. I just barely got the second one, and spent several hours trying to troubleshoot network problems. At one point, I tried swapping adapters between the two TiVos. After doing that a couple of times, I realized that I couldn't remember which was the old one and which was the new one. I attempted to figure it out by looking at the MAC addresses, and that's when it hit me that they were the same.

I already threw away all the packaging, so I don't know if Weaknees will let me return it. I also don't really want another, as I assume the MAC address will be the same.

Hey phil? What's the MAC address on your adapters? Is it 00:E0:4C:00:0E:8E by chance?

[cheer]

I bought two Weaknees adapters a couple of months apart. I just barely got the second one, and spent several hours trying to troubleshoot network problems. At one point, I tried swapping adapters between the two TiVos. After doing that a couple of times, I realized that I couldn't remember which was the old one and which was the new one. I attempted to figure it out by looking at the MAC addresses, and that's when it hit me that they were the same.

I already threw away all the packaging, so I don't know if Weaknees will let me return it. I also don't really want another, as I assume the MAC address will be the same.
YIKES! Well, that's certainly a Bozo No-No. I'd try and get one of them exchanged anyway...and tell Weaknees why, and tell them you absolutely need one with a different MAC!

Good catch on that. Just goes to show that you should check the simple stuff...as someone who's been doing networking for a long time, I can state with reasonable confidence that it would've been a while before I spotted that little anomaly. :)

[xjphil]

Hey phil? What's the MAC address on your adapters? Is it 00:E0:4C:00:0E:8E by chance?

Yup.

That's a good trick. But can you guess the new one they sent me? :)

I just took them off last night. I finally got up the nerve to try the AGIGAUSB $7 deal at Fry's and Jamie's backported usb 2.0 drivers.

You may see these on eBay tomorrow. I'm guessing you won't be bidding...