No Network Interface Found During Install, RTL8126 5g LAN Not Supported, Kernel 6.11

[Krox]

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS LITERALLY THE FIRST THING I HAVE EVER DONE IN PROXMOX, AND I'M NOT THAT EXPERIENCED IN LINUX AS A WHOLE
I flashed a new iso of Proxmox and tried to install it a few days ago. The install would immediately abort and say no network interface found. This is literally my first time with proxmox( I found it kinda funny bth), I've been trying to learn for a few weeks mainly by watching videos. After some digging I came to the conclusion that the LAN drivers were the issue. I bought an MSI MAG x870e tomahawk motherboard, it is brand spanking new and comes with a Realtek 8126 5gb LAN port. Reading around Realtek chips are notorious for not being supported in Debian. I first tried upgrading to the 6.11 Kernel, hoping it came with native support. I also made sure to update the headers, steps:

in order to communicate in the first place I had to use a usb-c to ethernet adapter, it was belkin.

1) add PVE-no-subscription repository in proxmox GUI
2) CLI:
apt update
apt install proxmox-kernel-6.11
reboot( You can probably add the headers before this, but I did 2 separate reboots so that's what I'm writing, there will be many of these in this)

3) CLI:
apt install proxmox-headers-6.11
4) check for updates (I can't remember if there are any)
This did not fix the issue, because my hardware is so new though I went ahead and kept the updated kernel. THE REST OF THIS THREAD IS ALL DONE IN THE 6.11 KERNEL.

I did end up getting proxmox to work with it in 6.11! I wanted to put as much info as possible out about this because I've seen many others with similar issues. I based this off of two guides [one on github] (https://github.com/awesometic/realtek-r8126-dkms), this is where you will get the DKMS module. Also [this comment] (https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/p...know-how-to-get-it-working.150023/post-739489) by a wonderful user terzo33 here on the proxmox forums, this one is much more helpful. I will comment the solution.

I hope some of the more senior members or maybe even the staff can review this and make sure everything looks up to snuff here. I'll tag this with solved or tutorial once I can confirm this. I WOULD LIKE TO ONCE MORE SAY I AM EXTREMELY INEXPERIANCED, USE AT OWN RISK.

 

[Krox]

These are all done in the CLI, except at the very end

1) wget https://github.com/awesometic/realt...01-1/realtek-r8126-dkms_10.014.01-1_amd64.deb

2) apt install sudo

3) sudo apt install --fix-broken *just in case a dependency error occurs

4) sudo apt-get install build-essential

5) sudo apt-get update

6) sudo apt-get install dkms

7) apt install proxmox-headers-6.8.12-6-pve *this is a reminder in case you forgot after updating the kernel

8) sudo dpkg -i realtek-r8126-dkms*.deb

9) sudo add-apt-repository ppa:awesometic/ppa

9) sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
B(optional) add-apt-repository --help *this is to test if add-apt was added properly

10) sudo add-apt-repository ppa:awesometic/ppa

11) echo "blacklist r8169" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-r8169.conf

12) update-initramfs -u

(optional) dkms status *should say installed if done correctly

13) apt install net-tools

14) ifconfig -a *this will list all connections, yours may be different than mine but it should be enpxxs0 (x= any numbers)


15) lspci
you should see something like: Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor ............ Device 8126 in the return if everything went well

Last step, this is done in the proxmox GUI. Go to the node you configured the drivers for -> network -> vmbro add the name of the network card to "bridge ports" section separated by space


I hope this helps and I hope I can save someone a few hours! If anyone see an issue with this, just let me know and I'l update the procedure.

 

[CaliMiller]

I have the same motherboard. I followed the tutorial, but the device name for the RealTek NIC isn't showing up. The device shown is a USB to ethernet adapter. I've verified the internal ethernet port works by booting into a Lubuntu live ISO. I've been troubleshooting this for a few hours, and I'm stumped.

 

[Krox]

No promises but I will try my damnedest to help you!

Can you post the results of the command: "dkms status"

And "ifconfig -a"

And "lspci"

Your lshw commands are pretty much showing what the lspci will but I'm newer and cross referencing my notes

Also I just want to double check some things that I had seen a couple people forget in the other guides I was looking at:

Did you add the pve no subscription repository in the proxmox gui?

Did you update to kernal 6.11?

Did you add the headers for kernal 6.11? This was a common one causing ppl problems

There is also a fix broken command. I wrote in the guide to install broken (step #3) but I never actually added in the command to execute that because I didn't need it.

I have to go dig though the other guides to find the step were you should execute the fix broken, I'll post it below

 

[Krox]

From: https://github.com/awesometic/realtek-r8126-dkms

Installation

There are 3 ways to install this DKMS module. Choose one as your tastes.
I used the recommended ppa method, I would definitely consider trying the other

Those are not interfering with each other. So you can do all 3 methods but absolutely you don't need to.

Installation using the Debian package is recommended for the sake of getting the newer driver.

Method 1:
Debian package
Released package file

Download the latest Debian package from the Release tab on the Github repository.

Then enter the following command.

sudo dpkg -i realtek-r8126-dkms*.deb

If multiple files selected by the wild card, you should type the specific version of the file.

sudo dpkg -i realtek-r8126-dkms_10.015.00-1_amd64.deb

If dependency error occurs, try to fix that with apt command.

sudo apt install --fix-broken

Command should be: " apt --fix-broken install "

---

Method 2 (the one I used)
Launchpad PPA (Recommended)

Add the Launchpad PPA.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:awesometic/ppa

Then install the package using apt tool.

sudo apt install realtek-r8126-dkms

---

Method 3:

autorun.sh

Using the autorun.sh script that Realtek provides on their original driver package. This is not installed as a DKMS, only efforts to the current kernel.

Download or clone this repository and move to the extracted directory, then run the script.

sudo ./autorun.sh

dkms-install.sh

This script is from aircrack-ng team. You can install the DKMS module by a simple command.

Download or clone this repository and move to the extracted directory, then run the script.

sudo ./dkms-install.sh

---

Verify the module is loaded successfully

After installing the DKMS package, you may not be able to use the new r8126 module on the fly. This because the existing r8169 module will be loaded priority to r8126 so that it prevents working of the r8126 module.

Check if the r8169 module loaded currently.

lsmod | grep -i r8169

If there is a result, maybe the r8126 module wasn't loaded properly. You can check out modules currently in use via lspci -k or dmesg too.

To use the r8126 module explicitly you can add the r8169 module to not be loaded by adding it to a blacklist file.

Enter the following command to configure the blacklist.

sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-r8169.conf > /dev/null <<EOT
# To use r8126 driver explicitly
blacklist r8169
EOT

To apply the new blacklist to your kernel, update your initramfs via

sudo update-initramfs -u

Finally, reboot to take effect.

If you need to load both r8169 and r8126, maybe removing r8126 firmware could make it work. Please enter sudo rm -f /lib/firmware/rtl_nic/rtl8126* to remove all the r8126 firmwares on the system. But it is just a workaround, you should have to do this every time installing the new kernel version or new Linux firmware.
In the case of the Debian package, I will update the scripts to make it do this during the installation.

---

Debian package build

You can build yourself this after installing some dependencies including dkms.

sudo apt install devscripts debmake debhelper build-essential dkms dh-dkms

dpkg-buildpackage -b -rfakeroot -us -uc

 

[CaliMiller]

No promises but I will try my damnedest to help you!

Thank you so much

Can you post the results of the command: "dkms status"

And "ifconfig -a"

And "lspci"

Did you add the pve no subscription repository in the proxmox gui?

Did you update to kernal 6.11?

Did you add the headers for kernal 6.11? This was a common one causing ppl problems

There is also a fix broken command. I wrote in the guide to install broken (step #3) but I never actually added in the command to execute that because I didn't need it.

Yes to all.
And I did run sudo apt install --fix-broken

I will try to reinstall the DKMS module as outlined in your second reply, now.

Thank you again.

 

[CaliMiller]

From: https://github.com/awesometic/realtek-r8126-dkms

Installation

There are 3 ways to install this DKMS module. Choose one as your tastes.
I used the recommended ppa method, I would definitely consider trying the other

Those are not interfering with each other. So you can do all 3 methods but absolutely you don't need to.

Installation using the Debian package is recommended for the sake of getting the newer driver.

Method 1:

Verify the module is loaded successfully

After installing the DKMS package, you may not be able to use the new r8126 module on the fly. This because the existing r8169 module will be loaded priority to r8126 so that it prevents working of the r8126 module.

Check if the r8169 module loaded currently.

lsmod | grep -i r8169

If there is a result, maybe the r8126 module wasn't loaded properly. You can check out modules currently in use via lspci -k or dmesg too.

To use the r8126 module explicitly you can add the r8169 module to not be loaded by adding it to a blacklist file.

Enter the following command to configure the blacklist.

sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-r8169.conf > /dev/null <<EOT
# To use r8126 driver explicitly
blacklist r8169
EOT

To apply the new blacklist to your kernel, update your initramfs via

sudo update-initramfs -u

I assume the "Removable bootloader found... reinstall GRUB" is because I still have the Lubuntu live ISO flash drive plugged in, and this shouldn't affect anything with the network driver. Is that assumption correct?

Thanks again for your help.

 

[CaliMiller]

After reboot, I'm getting the same result in LSHW - no device name for the RealTek NIC

Ultimately, I plan to add this system to a cluster. Do you think it's safe to do that now, before we have the network issue resolved, or should I wait, in case I have to wipe and reinstall?

 

[CaliMiller]

Before finding your thread, I did a bunch of these steps and other steps from other people's threads out of order. I'm wondering if doing things out of order, or perhaps conflicting steps borked my network interface, and I should just wipe and reinstall again.

 

[CaliMiller]

I just did a wipe and reinstall of Proxmox. After restarting, my USB to LAN turned off, so I could no longer access the system from the web UI. To enable it I had to use the keyboard and monitor connected directly to the system:

1. Find the interface name for the USB to LAN device:

ip link

2. This should list all of your interfaces. Next activate the USB to LAN device:

ip link set <interface_name>

ip link set enx000xxxxxxxxx

Depending on the USB to LAN used, your interface name may differ.

3. Then bind it to the bridge

brctl addif vrb0 <interface_name>

brctl addif vrb0 enx000xxxxxxxxx

4. Test to make sure you’re connected to the internet.

ping 1.1.1.1

If it shows a successful ping, you’re now able to go back to the web UI and can continue with the rest of the tutorial.

You may have to repeat steps 2 and 3 directly on the system any time you restart.

 

[CaliMiller]

So after wiping and reinstalling Proxmox and following the tutorial, the onboard network interface showed up with a device name. But after restarting the interface is completely missing. I'll keep troubleshooting.

 

[CaliMiller]

So I had given up months ago and installed Windows on the machine, because I need it for production. I just picked up another NVME so I can dual boot, and tried installing Proxmox again. I found a solution that has got my Realtek Ethernet card working.

Hallo,

Just solved by upgrading the kernel to 6.14
https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/o...e-8-available-on-test-no-subscription.164497/

apt update
apt install proxmox-kernel-6.14
reboot

Now Proxmox 8.4.1 recognizes the network card in the Network menu
Thank you Proxmox Team!

After this, I installed the 6.14 headers, and rebuilt the drivers for the new kernel.

apt install proxmox-headers-6.14
sudo dpkg -i realtek-r8126-dkms*.deb

After a reboot, the ethernet card showed up in the Network section of the web UI. Bridged it, reboot, and it works.