Troubleshooting Reactive Network Configuration Issues

This section describes how to troubleshoot reactive network configuration issues.

Monitoring the Current State of All Network Connections

The netadm command can be used with the show-events subcommand to listen for and display events that are being monitored by the network management daemon, nwamd. This subcommand provides useful information about events that are related to the configuration process for network profiles and configuration objects.

The syntax for the netadm show-events command is as follows:

netadm show-events [-v]

For information about the netadm subcommands, see netadm Subcommands.

In the following example, the netadm show-events command is used with the -v option when an Automatic NCP is enabled. The -v option display events in verbose mode to show the change in different states.

$ netadm show-events -v
EVENT                    DESCRIPTION                                            
OBJECT_ACTION           ncp Automatic -> action enable
OBJECT_STATE            ncp Automatic -> state online, active
OBJECT_STATE            ncu link:net0 -> state offline*, (re)initialized but not config
OBJECT_STATE            ncu link:net0 -> state online, interface/link is up
OBJECT_STATE            ncu interface:net0 -> state offline*, (re)initialized but not c
OBJECT_STATE            ncu interface:net0 -> state offline*, waiting for IP address to
PRIORITY_GROUP          priority-group: 0
LINK_STATE              net0 -> state up
OBJECT_STATE            loc NoNet -> state offline*, method/service executing
OBJECT_STATE            loc Automatic -> state offline, conditions for activation are u
OBJECT_STATE            loc NoNet -> state online, active
IF_STATE                net0 -> state flags 1004843 addr 10.153.125.198/24
OBJECT_STATE            ncu interface:net0 -> state offline*, interface/link is up
OBJECT_STATE            ncu interface:net0 -> state online, interface/link is up
IF_STATE                net0 -> state flags 2080841 addr 2002:a99:7df0:1:221:28ff:fe3c:
IF_STATE                net0 -> state flags 2004841 addr 2001:db8:1:2::4ee7/128
OBJECT_STATE            loc Automatic -> state offline*, method/service executing
OBJECT_STATE            loc NoNet -> state offline, conditions for activation are unmet
OBJECT_STATE            loc Automatic -> state online, active
 

Troubleshooting Network Interface Configuration Issues

The netadm list -x command is useful for determining why a network interface might not be configured correctly. This command displays the various profiles and configuration objects, their current state, and the reason why they are in that state.

For example, if a cable is unplugged, you can use the netadm list -x command to determine if the link state is offline and why, for example, “link is down.” Similarly, for duplicate address detection, the output of the netadm list -x command reveals that the physical link is online (up), but the IP interface is in a maintenance state. In this instance, the reason that is given is “Duplicate address detected.”

The following is an example of the netadm list -x command output:

$ netadm list -x
TYPE        PROFILE        STATE          AUXILIARY STATE
ncp         DefaultFixed   offline        disabled by administrator
ncp         Automatic      online         active
ncu:phys    net0           offline        interface/link is down
ncu:ip      net0           offline        conditions for activation are unmet
ncu:phys    net1           offline*       need WiFi network selection
ncu:ip      net1           offline        conditions for activation are unmet
ncp         User           disabled       disabled by administrator
loc         Automatic      offline        conditions for activation are unmet
loc         NoNet          online         active
loc         office         offline        conditions for activation are unmet
loc         DefaultFixed   offline        conditions for activation are unmet
$

After determining the reason that a link or interface is offline, you can proceed to correct the problem. In the case of a duplicate IP address, you must modify the static IP address that is assigned to the specified interface by using the netcfg command. For instructions, see Setting and Changing Property Values for a Profile. After you commit the changes, run the netadm list -x command again to check that the interface is now configured correctly, and that its state is displayed as online.

Another example of why an interface might not be configured correctly is if no known WLANs are available. In this case, the WiFi link's state would be displayed as offline, and the reason would be need WiFi network selection. Alternatively, if a WiFi selection was made, but a key is required, the reason would be need WiFi key.