On Mon 31 Aug 2015 at 11:56:09 +0300, Reco wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 30, 2015 at 06:58:10AM -0700, bri...@aracnet.com wrote:
> >
> > there's this in dmesg:
> >
> > [ 6.210098] EXT4-fs (sda7): mounted filesystem with ordered data mode.
> > Opts:
> > (null)
> > [ 35.827945] r8169 0000:03:00.0: firmware: failed to load
> > rtl_nic/rtl8168f-1.fw (-2)
> > [ 35.827963] r8169 0000:03:00.0: Direct firmware load failed with error -2
> > [ 35.827965] r8169 0000:03:00.0: Falling back to user helper
> > [ 35.828580] r8169 0000:03:00.0 eth0: unable to load firmware patch
> > rtl_nic/rtl8168f-1.fw (-12)
> >
> > so it is the dreaded r8169 firmware crappola. the system works fine
> > not loading it.
>
> My-my. Calling perfectly good, working out-of-the box r8169 card like
> that is way too harsh (and violates this list rules btw). I happen to
> have a similar NIC in one of my PCs, and I can confirm that it works
> flawlessly without any non-free blobs. I have not tried it with
> systemd, though.
The Installation Guide mentions that some hardware works well without
firmware. It's a matter of trying it and seeing how you go on.
> > is there any way to tell the module to not even try and load it ?
>
> Why are you so sure that it's the failing firmware loading that adds
> 30 seconds to your boot sequence? According to the dmesg, the whole
> ("I need firmware - oh well, I'll try without it") takes whooping
> 600us.
>
> Start with something simple. Like replacing dhcp configuration with
> static IP assignment.
>
> Continue with obligatory "in the case of the doubt fallback to
> sysvinit".
>
> Finally, dump the network traffic during the boot of the offending
> host (requires and extra host or some trickery, though).
Booting with the firmware loaded should settle the question about the
30 second delay being a caused by its lack.
