Category: Uncategorised

Linux Boot with No Networking

GLOTRENDS PA09-HS M.2 NVMe to PCIe 4.0 X4 Adapter

I recently wanted to install an M.2 NVMe to PCIe 4.0 X4 Adapter on an existing server. The idea was to install a new NVMe SSD drive, and the motherboard had no more M.2 sockets available.

The server is running Proxmox with Linux Kernel 6.8.12. I thought this should be a 15-minute exercise. How wrong I was. After installing all the hardware, the system booted up but there was no networking access. This was especially painful because I could no longer remote into the server. I had to go pull out an old monitor and keyboard and perform diagnostics.

I used the journalctl command to diagnose the issue, and found the following entry:

Feb 01 13:36:21 pvproxmox networking[1338]: error: vmbr0: bridge port enp6s0 does not exist
Feb 01 13:36:21 pvproxmox networking[1338]: warning: vmbr0: apply bridge ports settings: bridge configuration failed (missing ports)
Feb 01 13:36:21 pvproxmox /usr/sbin/ifup[1338]: error: vmbr0: bridge port enp6s0 does not exist
Feb 01 13:36:21 pvproxmox /usr/sbin/ifup[1338]: warning: vmbr0: apply bridge ports settings: bridge configuration failed (missing ports)

The above error message indicates that enp6s0 no longer exists. When I looked at earlier messages, I noticed this one:

Feb 01 13:36:15 pvproxmox kernel: r8169 0000:07:00.0 enp7s0: renamed from eth0

It looks like the interface name has been changed from enp6s0 to enp7s0. Therefore the correct remedy is to edit the /etc/network/interfaces to reflect the name change. Below is the new content of the file.

# cat /etc/network/interfaces
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

iface enp7s0 inet manual

auto vmbr0
iface vmbr0 inet static
        address 192.168.188.2/24
        gateway 192.168.188.1
        bridge-ports enp7s0
        bridge-stp off
        bridge-fd 0

iface wlp5s0 inet manual

This would be very annoying if the old interface name was used in many other configuration files. There is one other reference that I found on the Internet (https://www.baeldung.com/linux/rename-network-interface) detailing a way to change the network interface name using the udev rules. I did not try this, but something to keep in mind in the future.

In a previous post and on another home server, I did fix the name using netplan, but Proxmox is not using it.

Zhou Shen 周深 9.29Hz World Tour

Both my wife and I are Zhou Shen’s fans. We have been following him since 2019, just when we first started to follow Chinese media content. This is the same time when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. We watched a variety show called Our Song (我们的歌), and he was one of the many talented young singers.

Ever since I have been following his shows as well as listening to his songs. In December 2024 when he concluded his national tour in China, he announced that he would extend his tour to other countries. We were pretty excited but held our excitement in check because Toronto may not be one of the cities.

As it turned out, he will hold an event here in Toronto on March 14, 2025 (𝛑 day) at the Coca-Cola Coliseum!

Today is the actual date when tickets went on sale. Carol found the promotional code ZS929TO so that we can be eligible for presales at 1:00pm EST.

Many days before today I made sure my TicketMaster account was in order with all of my payment information all up to date. Twenty minutes before 1:00pm, I was signed on to the site and ready to order. I don’t know if it is luck or it was standard procedure, but 10 minutes before 1:00pm I decided to refresh the page. After the refresh, I was in the official queue!

We started out in the mid-5000’s and the above screenshot showed that it came down pretty fast, still we were pretty pessimistic about our chances. It took about 15 minutes for us to finally enter ticket sales and seat selections.

The seat selection process was also pretty difficult because every time we chose the seats, they were already taken. I finally just asked the system to give me the most expensive seats and was lucky enough to find two.

And… We Got Them! They were not cheap, but glad that we secured two tickets.

I double-checked that the tickets were recognized on the TicketMaster app on my iPhone, and added the tickets to my Apple Wallet. Can’t wait!

Retiring the Greenhouse

We have had a greenhouse in our backyard since the summer of 2015 (almost a decade ago). The greenhouse lasted much longer than we thought, given that it is just a thin aluminum structure with transparent plastic wall and roof sidings.

Greenhouse just before teardown

We are planning a sunroom extension and had to remove the greenhouse. This past Saturday, October 19, was the day marked for disassembly. A friend of mine agreed to disassemble the greenhouse and will later attempt to erect and reuse it on his property.

No more greenhouse!