I need ppp-mod-pppoa file to make my Internet work but cannot find it. Can anyone point me to a download link please? Why is it not in the firmware by default?

First attempt to post timed out so fingers crossed this time

Hi,

I'm finding, as an example, kmod-pppoa_3.18.20-1_ar71xx.ipk and ppp-mod-pppoa_2.4.7-6_ar71xx.ipk, on the download website for 15.05/Chaos Calmer.

If you're running a different version, the recent hardware failure and replacement seems to have taken some parts of the parent repository offline.  They haven't yet been rebuilt.  Have you tried mirrors in your opkg config file?

https://wiki.openwrt.org/about/mirrors

HTH.

Clemmitt

The problem is not obtaining the packages but rather getting them on the router to install them. It might be simplest to hook the new router up to another one, but that would also mean you'd have to reconfigure your LAN so it doesn't clash with the existing one.

Either that or transfer the packages to the router via SCP and install them manually. Which means the PPPoA packages, and their dependencies, as well as their dependencies in turn, if I remember correctly it involves about half a dozen packages in total.

It took me a few reads but I finally worked out what you are both saying. I found the ppp file (well hidden away if you aren't used to it) and as stated. the problem is how to get it on. Personally I think this element of the software is flawed.

As I said, I don't understand why this very important piece of software isn't already included in the firmware if I can't function without it  and also why it is so difficult to find if it is so necessary?

(Last edited by ytrewq on 9 Mar 2016, 03:05)

PPPoA support is not included with the standard image because not everyone needs it and it takes up quite a lot of space (there is no way to free up that space for pre-installed packages). It's unfortunate in your case, and one could make an argument to include it for models like yours, but that's the way things are right now.

The simplest way would be to temporarily hook up your WAN port (the grey one I assume) to a LAN port of an existing router. That way your router can access the internet, download the necessary packages itself, and the whole process becomes quite straightforward. Can that be done?

(Last edited by metai on 9 Mar 2016, 02:20)

Hi,

In short, OpenWRT is modular.  Most users don't and won't need PPPoA so it's a package added via opkg.  You need to learn what the processor/SoC architecture of your router is, that is, if your router uses the ar71xx architecture or, if not, what it uses.  You can find it in the table of hardware:

https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/start

Then look here:

https://downloads.openwrt.org/chaos_calmer/15.05/

You can find the necessary package under that architecture subdirectory, for example:

https://downloads.openwrt.org/chaos_cal … ages/base/

I strongly suspect that you can't download these packages using the default settings because the /etc/opkg.conf file is pointing to a source on downloads.openwrt.org which isn't working ATM.  EDIT:  Aha!  metai is right, if you're not connected to the Internet you won't be able to download.  Sorry for my thick skull.

Then look below to learn more.  You can do it without anyone holiding your hand!!!   The documentation is available, not too hard, and covers many topics in depth:

https://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/installopenwrt

https://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/start

https://wiki.openwrt.org/

That should give you an excellent start.  Good luck!

Clemmitt

(Last edited by cmsigler on 9 Mar 2016, 02:15)

Fortunately, that has been resolved. The package repositories are working fine again, even for BB and older releases.

Edit: Eek! 666th post!

(Last edited by metai on 9 Mar 2016, 02:19)

OK - thanks for all he above comments. I have a file on my computer now called: ppp-mod-pppoa_2.4.7-6_ppc44x.ipk (as recommended earlier) and as also suggested I need to find a way to get it on. I'll work my way through all the new comments and see if I need anything else (as it's not clear ATM) and then how to go about it. I guess what I'm looking for at this stage is an article which tells me how to install ipk files. If PPPoA is left off as an added extra due to size or whatever reason then it would be nice to see a simple way of adding in these files. Maybe there is - I just haven't found it.

(Last edited by ytrewq on 9 Mar 2016, 03:17)

Not being a PPPoA user, I'm just presuming here.  But I think that module will depend on kmod-pppoa_3.18.20-1_ppc44x.ipk.  How to install ipkg files from a remote or local filesystem is explained here:

https://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/techref/op … nipulation

Again, HTH.

Clemmitt

Thank you Clemmitt. I checked the link and unfortunately it doesn't explain it in a way that I understand. It assumes the user has some sort of CLI knowledge and I don't so it's all gibberish to me. Even if I learned how to use it, how would I be expected to know what the dependencies are? This is all new to me and I'm  trying my best but simplicity is not something connected with this OpenWrt firmware unfortunately. I can't be the only person whose ISP uses PPPoA surely? I understand the need for modularity but surely a piece of software designed to connect to the Internet should work out of the box whatever the protocol? I have a file on my computer which claims to be the one I need. It may need other files which are dependent on it, I have no way of knowing. After reading the information in the link you provided (for which I am grateful) I am none the wiser.

download both files for your platform/release and put em to the router's /tmp folder via any scp client (like WinSCP, after a root password setup)
run any SSH client (like putty) and execute the following commands

opkg install /tmp/kmod-pppoa*
opkg install /tmp/ppp-mod-pppoa*

pppoa is rare used and have been removed to reduce a default image size

(Last edited by stas2z on 9 Mar 2016, 06:48)

Now that's an explanation I might be able to understand - thank you. I'll have a go.

OK, I've progressed. I think I have placed the 2 files in the /tmp directory OK and then I tried Putty without success. The OpenWrt Software page has some sort of facility to do the install but I haven't managed to figure that out yet either. I feel I'm not far away from completion.

(Last edited by ytrewq on 9 Mar 2016, 07:52)

Not to mention, PPPoA support is only relevant for a very small number of the devices supported by OpenWrt. As the OP seems new to all this, I'll just mention that PPPoA is PPP over ATM. If you need PPPoA to connect to your ISP you need an ATM interface. In layman terms, ATM interface == DSL modem chip. Most OpenWrt devices only have Ethernet and Wi-Fi hardware. OpenWrt does support a few DSL modems, but it is a small minority of the supported devices. On many devices with DSL modems, OpenWrt can run, but can't use the actual modem chip, so the device is only useful for Ethernet and Wi-Fi (all brcm63xx targets, for example).

I don't see any mention of what hardware you have (make, model and hardware version (printed on label) of your device running OpenWrt) in this thread. You should post it, it would make things much simpler for everyone trying to help you. You have downloaded a file for the ppc44x architecture, and according to the wiki the only supported device on ppc44x is a development board (that doesn't have a DSL modem).

Edit: Never mind, you stated it was a Netgear DGND3700v1 in your other thread. Please see toh/netgear/dgnd3700:

You will have to run Netgear stock firmware to connect to your ISP with this device. With OpenWrt it isn't happening, end of story. If you want OpenWrt, and have another device that supports OpenWrt you could install it on that, and put your DGND3700 in bridge mode.

(Last edited by makro on 9 Mar 2016, 08:15)

Thanks to all for your ideas. I'd actually overcome all my previous problems and got as far as Puttying into the Netgear but it is rejecting the files. I'm pretty sure they are the right files but from what I am reading it isn't going to work. Unless there is a miraculous cure in the wings it looks like I'm going to have to revert to stock Netgear firmware - I'm gutted. I also posses a Draytek Vigor 2820n which is crying out for OpenWrt but I can't find any open source firmware anywhere for Draytek, and I'd still probably be up against PPPoA.

(Last edited by ytrewq on 9 Mar 2016, 10:15)

OK. So now that I've done all that for nothing, how do I get the Netgear firmware back on? I tried to follow the instructions but it tells me it is an incorrect file, I downloaded it off the Netgear website and it is correct for my unit. I have placed it in the /tmp folder as I did for the PPPoA files. Maybe it doesn't like that. Any ideas very welcome or I'm bricked well and truly.

Hi,

Oh, goodness -- your device isn't fully supported so you can't use it as you intended.  I'm sorry I pointed you to the PPPoA files.  Since you knew which ipkg files you were looking for I'm afraid I assumed you knew what you were doing and your device was fully supported

For others reading this thread, I hope everyone will take the time to read the device page for their equipment make/model fully....

The good news is that if you can connect to your device via PuTTY and WinSCP, it's not bricked   According to the webpage for your device:

https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/netgear/dg … m_firmware

it is possible to restore the Netgear stock firmware.  (You won't be able to follow -- "It can be done with the Method 2 described here" -- as that requires a serial header which you don't have.)

I *think* the problem you're seeing is caused by the Netgear firmware header which, according to the above webpage instructions, must be removed by the command `dd if=netgear-firmware.chk bs=65 skip=1 of=netgear-firmware_noheader.bin'.

- Can you connect to the router now using PuTTY?
- Can you transfer the file you downloaded via WinSCP?

If so, rename the stock Netgear firmware you downloaded to "netgear-firmware.chk".  Transfer it to the /tmp subdirectory on the router.  Log in to the router with PuTTY.  Change to the /tmp directory with `cd /tmp'.  Run the above "dd" command.  Please make sure you type it in exactly right.  Transfer the modified file "netgear-firmware_noheader.bin" from the /tmp subdirectory back to your Windows laptop with WinSCP.  Then -- if the webpage for your device is accurate -- you can flash this file using the System -> Backup/Flash Firmware -> Flash new firmware image tab on the web interface.

Please note that I don't have this hardware so I'm assuming the above will work, namely, that there's enough RAM space to allow using the /tmp subdirectory to hold both these files.  As always, there are no guarantees and YMMV.

Please be careful and read more documentation if you don't understand.  This will help you so you're much less likely to end up with a brick.  Good luck

Clemmitt

Thanks for all that Clemmitt. I'll try it out. From my perspective OpenWrt was something I wanted to try (I only partly knew what I was doing) and if I look in the supported hardware list and see my model listed then I assume it should be good to go or it wouldn't be there, as it wasn't for some time. I had no idea all these problems were going to arise. I don't recall seeing anything about PPPoA, at least anything I understood. Perhaps on the page showing my unit there should be a specific proviso; it would have saved me a lot of time and trouble. On the plus side, I've used Putty and WinSRC for the first time (successfully) so I did learn something, even if it was the hard way. The Netgear CHK firmware file is already in the TMP folder waiting but so far it is being seen as the wrong file so I'm going to follow your instructions and see if I can get past that.

There was a note about it on the wiki page about the DGND3700, I quoted it in my previous post. The wiki page in question is linked in every variant of the table of hardware, and the unsupported DSL modem is mentioned explicitly in the extended ToH. If you didn't see it, you did the bare minimal research. If you did see that some part of your device wasn't supported, and you didn't understand how that would affect you, and you knew you had a limited understanding of what you were doing, you should have asked prior to flashing.

It probably would have. On the other hand, not counting your posts, any quotes, or this post, more than 1100 words have been written in this thread to try to help you. You're not the only one who has voluntarily spent time on your issue, and everyone could have spent much less in total if you spent five extra minutes on prior research using links and sources handed to you in the ToH.

(Last edited by makro on 9 Mar 2016, 20:54)

As somebody new to this it is not possible to read every single article as this involves trawling through a lot of information, some of which I understand and some of which I don't. An extra 5 minutes would not have changed anything. I read what I could and didn't go into this totally blindly but I have learned much along the way and will know what to expect if I try again in the future. I did see part of my unit was not supported but did not pick up on the PPPoA aspect and from the thread nor did others initially. We all have to start somewhere and it often involves some trial and error. I tried and got errors but thanks to Clemmitt who has been a star I now have my DGND3700 back to its original state.

Hooray!  I was just following instructions on the device webpage   Then explaining step-by-step what to try.  It does help to have a little experience reading the pages and working on the devices.

So glad it's been restored to factory firmware so you have your DSL modem back again.  Cheers!

Clemmitt

You're a trooper Clemmitt. Some people don't understand what it is like for newbies but you are an exception. We all have to learn and you have taught me well. Thanks for all your help. I now know how to use WinSCP and Putty which are new to me and this will come in handy. The experience won't stop me trying again but will make me more cautious. Maybe I should just change ISP and specify PPPoE as the criteria.......... Actually, I have the opportunity to upgrade to a gigabit fibre connection so maybe I should just do that. The only issue is it would take the control of my modem out of my hands - maybe that's a good thing.

(Last edited by ytrewq on 9 Mar 2016, 22:48)