• Hello MLAers! We've re-enabled auto-approval for accounts. If you are still waiting on account approval, please check this thread for more information.

Yet Another Netatalk 2.2 Fork

No surprises there. MacOS X 10.6 dropped the AppleTalk stack, so netatalk is TCP/IP only on that platform. Another troubleshooting tip. Are any of the client Macs showing up on the nbplkup list? Once the AppleTalk control panel is set to "Ethernet", the client Macs should be outputting NBP packets to announce themselves on the network. They should also be listening and acknowledging they are connected to an AppleTalk zone and show the popup "Your AppleTalk Network is Now Available".
 
I'm having some trouble getting Netatalk and Daynaport emulation on a PiSCSi to work together. I'm hoping maybe someone here might know what I'm doing wrong!

My setup:
- Raspberry Pi 2B, wired ethernet
- PiSCSI fullspec board
- PiSCSI April 2023 release image

After installing a fresh release image, I did `modprobe appletalk`, installed Netatalk 2.x via easyinstall.sh, and added `eth0` to atalkd.conf. Having done that, AFP via DDP works great: `nbplkup` correctly reports the PiSCSI's shares and other AppleTalk machines on my local network, and the PiSCSI is there in the Chooser when I go look for it on my local Macs.

Now for the trouble. Next, I used easyinstall.sh to configure the PiSCSI Bridge/DaynaPort emulation. But this breaks AFP via DDP. Either I can have `eth0` in atalkd.conf, in which case `nbplkup` reports the PiSCSI's AFP shares only, or I can have `piscsi_bridge` there, in which case it reports other local machines only. In either case, the PiSCSI is not visible in Chooser on other machines.

Reinstalling Netatalk after configuring Daynaport emulation doesn't seem to make a difference.

Is there some more complex configuration I need for atalkd.conf, involving phase/seed/? Or both interfaces? Or something entirely?
 
Actually, there should be no need for configuration outside easyinstall.sh.. (not even the modprobe). I usually do options 1), 7) and 5) in easy install.sh and then add the Daynaport through the web interface (and save the SCSI device configuration as default)

Best delete your current configuration and redo steps 7 and 5
 
Strange, I'm pretty sure the modprobe step was necessary for me. I'll run through this again from scratch and see if the results look any different.
 
No luck. Here's some more information.

Code: 
PiSCSI software version: 23.4.1
Hardware and OS: Raspberry Pi 2 Model B Rev 1.1, Linux 6.1.21-v7+ armv7l

After fresh image install and Netatalk (7) via easyinstall.sh:

Code: 
pi@piscsi:~ $ nbplkup
                         piscsi:ProDOS16 Image                     65280.182:3
                         piscsi:Apple //e Boot                     65280.182:3
                         piscsi:TimeLord                           65280.182:131
                         piscsi:AFPServer                          65280.182:129
                         piscsi:Apple //gs                         65280.182:3
                  Color Classic:Macintosh                          65280.243:252
                  Color Classic:Workstation                        65280.243:4
                              Q:Darwin                             65356.78:128
                              Q:AFPServer                          65356.78:129

You can see two other Macs on the network, and I see the piscsi from the CC's Chooser. (And you're right, modprobe wasn't necessary!) No entries in atalkd.conf. ifconfig reports just eth0 and lo.

After configuring the Daynaport network bridge (5):

Code: 
● atalkd.service - Netatalk AppleTalk daemon
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/atalkd.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Tue 2023-10-10 20:29:01 BST; 1min 16s ago
    Process: 517 ExecStart=/usr/local/sbin/atalkd (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
      Tasks: 1 (limit: 1595)
        CPU: 35ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/atalkd.service
             └─522 /usr/local/sbin/atalkd

Oct 10 20:28:12 piscsi systemd[1]: Starting Netatalk AppleTalk daemon...
Oct 10 20:28:12 piscsi atalkd[522]: Set syslog logging to level: LOG_DEBUG
Oct 10 20:28:12 piscsi atalkd[522]: restart (2.230302)
Oct 10 20:28:30 piscsi atalkd[522]: zip_getnetinfo for piscsi_bridge
Oct 10 20:28:40 piscsi atalkd[522]: zip_getnetinfo for piscsi_bridge
Oct 10 20:28:50 piscsi atalkd[522]: zip_getnetinfo for piscsi_bridge
Oct 10 20:29:00 piscsi atalkd[522]: config for no router
Oct 10 20:29:01 piscsi atalkd[522]: ready 0/0/0
Oct 10 20:29:01 piscsi systemd[1]: Started Netatalk AppleTalk daemon.

Code: 
pi@piscsi:~ $ nbplkup
                              Q:Darwin                             65336.58:128
                              Q:AFPServer                          65336.58:129
                  Color Classic:Macintosh                          65280.243:252
                  Color Classic:Workstation                        65280.243:4

Code: 
eth0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        ether b8:27:eb:54:7f:6c  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 1131  bytes 200037 (195.3 KiB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 378  bytes 128814 (125.7 KiB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

lo: flags=73<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING>  mtu 65536
        inet 127.0.0.1  netmask 255.0.0.0
        inet6 ::1  prefixlen 128  scopeid 0x10<host>
        loop  txqueuelen 1000  (Local Loopback)
        RX packets 679  bytes 200656 (195.9 KiB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 679  bytes 200656 (195.9 KiB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

piscsi0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet6 fe80::6c53:d0ff:fe49:c1b7  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether 6e:53:d0:49:c1:b7  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

piscsi_bridge: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.178.75  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.178.255
        inet6 fd00::ba27:ebff:fe54:7f6c  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x0<global>
        inet6 2001:a61:2bae:1f01:ba27:ebff:fe54:7f6c  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x0<global>
        inet6 fe80::ba27:ebff:fe54:7f6c  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether 6e:53:d0:49:c1:b7  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 1089  bytes 193298 (188.7 KiB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 342  bytes 122390 (119.5 KiB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

So at this point, I've lost access to the local shares via DDP, and no clue how to get them back.

Here's a gist of the whole process: https://gist.github.com/tweedyf/ff73439dd26778d1bdba99dd7473b803

Edit: I didn't run (1) in easyinstall.sh first since it takes ages to rebuild the piscsi software and I was using a release image from the piscsi github page, but I have tried that step in previous attempts to troubleshoot this issue, and it doesn't change things.
 
Last edited:
I wonder where the piscsi0 device comes from..

I realized I didn't use DaynaPort Emulation on my second PiSCSI yet, so I configured it now (not tested!)

This is my /etc/network/interfaces.d/piscsi_bridge
Code: 
robin@raspberrypi4:~/piscsi $ cat /etc/network/interfaces.d/piscsi_bridge
#
# Defines the 'piscsi_bridge' bridge that connects the PiSCSI network
# interface (ex DaynaPort SCSI/Link) to the outside world.
#
# Depending upon your system configuration, you may need to update this
# file to change 'eth0' to your Ethernet interface
#
# This file should be place in /etc/network/interfaces.d

auto piscsi_bridge
iface piscsi_bridge inet dhcp
    bridge_ports eth0

/etc/dhcpcd.conf ends with:

Code: 
# fallback to static profile on eth0
#interface eth0
#fallback static_eth0
denyinterfaces eth0

and atalkd.conf is empty (just comments)

I hope this helps..

Btw. I'm not quite sure if you had the DaynaPort driver working yet or not. Did you install it correctly and did you change the AppleTalk connection (Control Panel "Network" or "AppleTalk") to "EtherTalk Alternate" (or similar)?
 
You may be running into a weird bug with nbplkup. Check to see if all the hosts are appearing on the client Macs. I noticed when testing the tashtalk as a bridge, nbplkup showed either the LocalTalk segment or the Ethernet segments depending on what order I placed the interfaces in atalkd.conf.

Also you may want to add the "-seed" option to each interface line and assign a zone to your network. This should allow bridging to work properly on the AppleTalk side of things. A sample atalkd.conf is below.

Code: 
eth0 -seed -phase 2 -net 1 -zone "Ethernet"
piscsi_bridge -seed -phase 2 -net 2 -zone "PiSCSI"

I don't know what interface is the "raw" tap interface from the DaynaPort emulation. You may have to substitute "piscsi0" instead of the bridge interface.
 
Thanks! I do have the Daynaport drivers installed and the device added to the SCSI bus on the piscsi. I can use it to access the Internet and AppleTalk over TCP/IP. So the piscsi software seems to be working fine; it's Netatalk that's running into problems (albeit with the piscsi bridge interface). Your interfaces.d/piscsi_bridge, dhcpcd.conf, and atalkd.conf look the same as mine after easyinstall.sh (5).

NJRoadfan:

Interesting about nbplkup, but alas the piscsi doesn't appear in the client Macs' Choosers either after I enable the network bridge.

I'm away from home now, but I'll try your atalkd.conf suggestions when I'm back on Sunday. I hadn't considered putting the piscsi0 interface in there -- where does that interface come from/what is it doing? (I only barely know what I'm doing with Linux network interfaces, and I know even less what I'm doing with AppleTalk zones and routing.)
 
Still not working, but I think we may have some progress.

NJRoadfan said:
eth0 -seed -phase 2 -net 1 -zone "Ethernet"
piscsi_bridge -seed -phase 2 -net 2 -zone "PiSCSI"
Click to expand...

I added these lines to atalkd.conf and restarted afpd and atalkd. Afterwards, this is what nbplkup reported:

Code: 
pi@piscsi:~ $ nbplkup
                         piscsi:ProDOS16 Image                     2.191:3
                         piscsi:Apple //e Boot                     2.191:3
HP OfficeJet Pro 9010 series 8D:LaserWriter                        2.191:131
                         piscsi:TimeLord                           2.191:129
                         piscsi:Apple //gs                         2.191:3
                  Color Classic:Macintosh                          65280.243:252
                  Color Classic:Workstation                        65280.243:4

Which is better than I've had so far! But there are two problems: 1. The crucial entry `piscsi:AFPServer` is missing, and more importantly, 2. The piscsi doesn't show up in the client machine's Chooser (in AppleShare or in Tardis).

On reboot, the atalkd.conf entries are preserved but it adds -addr flags, and nbplkup reverts to its earlier behavior:

Code: 
eth0 -seed -phase 2 -net 1 -addr 1.143 -zone "Ethernet"
piscsi_bridge -seed -phase 2 -net 2 -addr 2.191 -zone "PiSCSI"

Code: 
pi@piscsi:~ $ nbplkup
                         piscsi:AFPServer                          1.143:128
                         piscsi:ProDOS16 Image                     1.143:3
                         piscsi:Apple //e Boot                     1.143:3
HP OfficeJet Pro 9010 series 8D:LaserWriter                        1.143:132
                         piscsi:TimeLord                           1.143:129
                         piscsi:Apple //gs                         1.143:3

And again nothing in the client machine's Chooser. At least this time the printer sticks around...?

It does seem like atalkd.conf entries might be the key here, but I'm in over my head. Any other suggestions?
 
Another clue -- when I select Chooser/Tardis on the client machine, I get a stream of entries like the following in /var/log/syslog:

Code: 
Oct 15 20:35:43 piscsi atalkd[927]: nbp lkup sendto 65280.243: Network is unreachable
Oct 15 20:35:44 piscsi atalkd[927]: nbp lkup sendto 65280.243: Network is unreachable
Oct 15 20:35:45 piscsi atalkd[927]: nbp lkup sendto 65280.243: Network is unreachable
Oct 15 20:35:46 piscsi atalkd[927]: nbp lkup sendto 65280.243: Network is unreachable
Oct 15 20:35:47 piscsi atalkd[927]: nbp lkup sendto 65280.243: Network is unreachable

(65280.243 is the client machine's AFP address)
 
Sorry, it turns out I should have waited to write. But the good news is I got it to work!

I used `-router` and `-phase 2` in atalkd.conf, then restarted all the relevant services: atalkd, afpd, timelord, papd. Then they all show up in the client machine's Chooser. Having `-seed` in there doesn't seem to do anything. -net and -addr are auto populated regardless when atalkd starts.

Weirdly, on reboot atalkd.conf still (not immediately but as atalkd starts up) gets overwritten with an eth0 entry. Can anyone guide me as to why that might be happening and how to prevent it?

Edit: davewongillies hack works to keep atalkd from loading before the piscsi_bridge interface does at startup.
 
Last edited:
Not having all the network interfaces available on boot is going to cause problems with atalkd. It'll overwrite your previous configuration since it only sees eth0 and considers the other interface as invalid.

I think the issue with the Color Classic is that it didn't reconfigure itself to your network. It should have switched to a network of "2" and showing the configured zones. Usually unplugging and replugging the network cable in fixes that. Some machines just don't get the hint that there is a router on the network advertising.
 
> Which is better than I've had so far! But there are two problems: 1. The crucial entry `piscsi:AFPServer` is missing, and more importantly, 2. The piscsi doesn't show up in the client machine's Chooser (in AppleShare or in Tardis).

This can happen when afpd starts up before atalkd during f.e. system boot. When atalkd is fully started up, stopping afpd, waiting 2s, starting afpd should get the AFPServer service registered with NBP.

> Weirdly, on reboot atalkd.conf still (not immediately but as atalkd starts up) gets overwritten with an eth0 entry. Can anyone guide me as to why that might be happening and how to prevent it?

Another hack is to make atalkd.conf read-only e.g. <code>chmod 444</code> although the override workaround seems more sophisticated.

I have started collecting AppleTalk troubleshooting tips in the project wiki. Please don't hesitate to add to this (anyone with a github account has permissions to edit the wiki.)
github.com

Home

Netatalk is a Free and Open Source AFP fileserver that can provide file sharing services to macOS, Classic Mac OS, and Apple II clients. - Netatalk/netatalk
github.com github.com
 
For the record: The original topic of this thread is my fork, eventually known as "Netatalk 2.x". However, I archived my fork last month in favor of Netatalk proper, since the upstream 2.2 branch is now perfectly usable. For a clearer separation of concerns, I gently request that further Netatalk discussion takes place in other threads. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Netbooting a IIgs (ROM01) using Netatalk 4.x a2boot/atalkd with AsanteTalk LocalTalk to ETH Bridge
Replies
12
Views
3K
matthewcroughan
M
slipperygrey
Netatalk 4.0 - Future-proofing Apple File Sharing
13 14 15
Replies
284
Views
50K
shirsch
S
mactjaap
Release of MacIPRpi 6.02
2 3 4
Replies
79
Views
15K
slipperygrey
slipperygrey
slipperygrey
Netatalk 2.2.8 Released
2 3
Replies
50
Views
12K
Vaelen
Vaelen
slipperygrey
Netatalk 2.2.7 Released
2
Replies
35
Views
9K
CC_333
CC_333
Back
Top