NB: PPA available since 12.04 (Precice Pangolin) (usb devices only)

Graham Inggs has made a PPA available of the ibdriver in DKMS format (meaning the driver will be automatically rebuilt when a new kernel is installed) for Ubuntu Precise Pangolin 12.04 (and on). The simple instructions are posted here. It does the driver installation automatically: applies patches, builds & loads driver module.

Here is a quick summary:

1. Get the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ginggs/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ibdriver-dkms

2. Set up your connection using the interactive program pppoeconf:

sudo pppoeconf

RP-PPPOE (as often suggested) is not necessary. The pre-installed PPPOE already has the RP-PPPOE plugin included.

3. Connect using:

pon dsl-provider

No sudo required, if user in 'dip' group (Dial-up IP). Add user to 'dip' group using:

sudo usermod -a -G dip <username>

... or navigate to 'Users and Groups' from the Dash and add the user to the group or assign the 'Connect to Internet using a modem' privilege to the user.

4. Disconnect using:

poff

5. See connection activity using:

plog

6. TIP: continuously monitor signal strength, connection activity, & ppp connection with this command:

watch 'iwconfig ib0 && plog && ifconfig ppp0'

Troubleshooting

• If iwconfig ib0 shows Signal Level:0 (meaning pon dsl-provider can't connect) then try bringing up the ib0 interface manually using:

sudo ifconfig ib0 up

The rest of this page applies to old versions of Ubuntu (kernel 2.6) and will not work as is, though some of the info may still me useful.

Installing the iBurst drivers

This page gives instructions on how to install the drivers for an iBurst modem on Edgy Eft 6.10 or later. Currently there is two types of iBurst modem - PCMCIA (laptop) and USB/Ethernet (desktop).

To install the drivers you will need to download some software. If you are relying on your (not yet installed) iBurst account for internet access you will first need to go somewhere you can download stuff and copy it onto USB drive/CD/floppy, then transfer to your (K)ubuntu system.

Now to the installation: First off, don't connect the modem to the computer until instructed to do so. With the USB modem you can hook it up to the mains power and try to find a location for good reception .. there is 5 green LEDs on the front panel of the modem - the number of illuminated LEDS indicates the reception strength. A stronger signal -> faster connection.

The Ethernet Device

If you have the Ethernet type, you don't need any special driver and can ignore the rest of this page.

• Plug in the modem, you should see your computer connect to the local network
• Right click on network-manager (the network icon), choose "Edit Connections"
• Change to the DSL tab
• Add a new connection, using your login credentials. All the other default settings should be fine
• Connect to it. (you can tell it to automatically connect whenever connected to the modem)

Download USB Driver Software

Step 1: Download the iBurst drivers from our good friends at sourceforge:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ibdriver

The correct driver to use for Hardy Heron is:

ibdriver-1.3.2-linux-2.6.24.tar.gz

The correct driver to use for Feisty Fawn and Gutsy Gibbon is:

ibdriver-1.3.2-linux-2.6.20.tar.gz

For Edgy Eft, use:

ibdriver-1.3.1-linux-2.6.17.tar.gz

For earlier versions (Dapper and before) use:

ibdriver-1.3.1-linux-2.6.tar.gz

Then download the Roaring Penguin PPPOE dialer (Note: I can't get it working with the Debian dialer):

http://www.roaringpenguin.com/penguin/open_source_rp-pppoe.php (seems to have moved here - http://www.roaringpenguin.com/products/pppoe)

Open up a terminal and make sure the two tarballs (files) you just downloaded are in the directory you want to work in. Extract the two tar files:

tar -xf ibdriver*
tar -xf rp-pppoe*

More requirements for Feisty Fawn 7.04

With Feisty, you'll need to install libc6-dev, as follows:

sudo apt-get install libc6-dev

More requirements for versions earlier than Dapper 6.06

These steps are not necessary on Dapper or Edgy.

Versions earlier than Dapper need to to have installed the build-essentials package, plus the linux kernel headers. For some reason ibdriver only compiles with gcc3.4, so you need to get that too.

If you cannot run aptitude then download the packages from packages.ubuntu.com and install them using dpkg (check dependencies!)

sudo aptitude install build-essential gcc-3.4 linux-headers-386 linux-kernel-headers

Sometimes you need to make a symbolic link to the headers. Better safe than sorry, so do it anyway:

sudo ln -s /usr/src/linux-headers-$(uname -r) /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/build

Make and install drivers

Now cd to the directory with the ibdriver source, then make and install the drivers.

make
sudo make install

If all goes well you will get no error messages, the output of the make command should look something like this:

make -C /lib/modules/2.6.12-10-686/build SUBDIRS=/home/mark/build/ibdriver-1.2.8 modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.12-10-686'
  CC [M]  /home/mark/build/ibdriver-1.2.8/ib-net.o
  CC [M]  /home/mark/build/ibdriver-1.2.8/ib-pcmcia.o
  CC [M]  /home/mark/build/ibdriver-1.2.8/ib-usb.o
  CC [M]  /home/mark/build/ibdriver-1.2.8/ib-file.o
  Building modules, stage 2.
  MODPOST
  CC      /home/mark/build/ibdriver-1.2.8/ib-file.mod.o
  LD [M]  /home/mark/build/ibdriver-1.2.8/ib-file.ko
  CC      /home/mark/build/ibdriver-1.2.8/ib-net.mod.o
  LD [M]  /home/mark/build/ibdriver-1.2.8/ib-net.ko
  CC      /home/mark/build/ibdriver-1.2.8/ib-pcmcia.mod.o
  LD [M]  /home/mark/build/ibdriver-1.2.8/ib-pcmcia.ko
  CC      /home/mark/build/ibdriver-1.2.8/ib-usb.mod.o
  LD [M]  /home/mark/build/ibdriver-1.2.8/ib-usb.ko
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.12-10-686'

... and the ouput of the sudo make install command will look like this:

cp *.ko /lib/modules/2.6.12-10-686/kernel/drivers/net/
echo checking module dependancies...
checking module dependancies...
depmod -a

... and you have successfully compiled and installed the driver modules. Now we gots to change a few configuration files.

For USB (desktop) modems, skip the PCMCIA steps and go straight to configuring the dialer

PCMCIA configuration

These steps are not necessary for USB (desktop) modem users

First change is the PCMCIA configuration file.

gksudo gedit /etc/pcmcia/config.opts

At the end of this file, paste the following:

device "iburst_cs"
   class "network" module "ib-pcmcia"

card "ArrayComm ut02"
    manfid 0x02e3, 0x0001
    bind "iburst_cs"

card "ArrayComm ut02"
    manfid 0x02e3, 0x0002
    bind "iburst_cs"

Save the file and exit.
Next file:

gksudo gedit /etc/default/pcmcia

Look for a line that says CORE_OPTS. Change it to the following:

CORE_OPTS="unreset_check=20 unreset_delay=100 unreset_limit=100"

Save the file and exit.
Next file:

gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/iburst

The only text in this file should be:

options ib-net ifname="ib"

Save the file and exit.
Okay, that is the PCMCIA stuff configured. Restart the PCMCIA system

sudo /etc/init.d/pcmcia restart

Dialer configuration

(WELCOME BACK DESKTOP USERS)

Now plug your modem in. :KS If sound is enabled, you should hear two beeps, and eventually the status light goes from purple to blue. That means your card is plugged in and happy. You can check this by listing the loaded modules:

lsmod | grep ib_

.. if all is well you will see ib_net and ib_pcmcia (if applicable) listed.

Now we configure the dialer. cd to the directory where you extracted the Roaring Penguin source, then run the setup script:

sudo ./go

... wait for a bit while the script works it's magic, then answer the questions the script asks. Answers are:

• Username: your mobile broadband provider would have told you this eg. yourname@isp.com.au

• Ethernet interface: ib0
• Demand value: no
• DNS: server
• Password: The password supplied by your mobile broadband ISP.
• Firewall: 1

... check the settings are correct and accept them if so.

If for some reason this fails, check whether you have the libc6-dev package installed.

• One last config file to change:

gksudo gedit /etc/network/interfaces

Insert the following code at the end of the file:

# iBurst
auto ib0
iface ib0 inet manual
   up ip link set $IFACE up
   up pppoe-start
   down pppoe-stop
   down ip link set $IFACE down

Save the file and exit.

Note: if you do not want your modem to connect automatically at login then delete the line 'auto ib0'

Testing

Now we will test the connection. Make sure you are somewhere with good reception, so the reception quality light on your card should be green. Run the command to initialise a pppoe connection:

sudo ifup ib0

... and (fingers crossed) you should get a connection! To stop the connection use the command:

sudo ifdown ib0

And that's it. Note that not all applications will work immediately, and may require a restart.

Too easy (unless there is errors in this how-to!). If your iBurst card is inserted when you boot the machine then it will connect automatically. Otherwise use the ifup command above (don't forget to use sudo). Good luck, and enjoy the freedom of using free software wherever you want (coverage permitting of course).

Problems ( and Solutions )

If you are a new Ubuntu user and having problems with your installation, try ubuntuforums.org. If you are certain that the problems is directly related to the ibdriver software, have a look at the help forum for the ibdriver project on Sourceforge.

USB modem freezes

On some PCs the USB modem can cause the USB controller to freeze. The solution is to apply a patch to the driver source code. The patch is available from here:

https://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1459008&group_id=138984&atid=742190

Extract the file into the same directory as the ibdriver source, then patch the source using the following command:

patch <ibdriver-1.2.8_6.patch

... then make and install the drivers as per the earlier instructions.

The ibdriver README says I should edit /etc/hotplug/usb.usermap

This is not necessary in Dapper, have not confirmed for Breezy.

Monitoring signal strength

While there's no equivalent of the Windows Iburst software, Sourceforge hosts the Eyeburst project, which is a Java graphical monitoring tool. It's available at http://eyeburst.sourceforge.net/

CategoryHardware CategoryNetworking CategoryWireless