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Running X/LXDE causes packet loss/dmesg errors on networking #29

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@marsman2020

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@marsman2020

I am seeing extreme packet loss/networking issues when launching X/LXDE, but not at the console. In an attempt to rule out an issue with my power supply setup, I have gone through the troubleshooting steps below.

Hardware configuration:
-Pi Power Supply -> HP Touchpad 5.3V/2A supply, 24AWG USB A to Micro B cable
-Pi Storage -> SandDisk Extreme HD Video 4GB 20MB/s Class 6 SDHC Card
-Ethernet connected directly to router
-USB Hub -> Belkin F5U307 w/PS0538 5V 3.5A power supply
--USB Mouse (connected to hub) -> Logitech Wireless, 100mA receiver
--Keyboard Adapter (connected to hub) -> Belkin F5U119vE PS/2 to USB Adapter
--PS/2 Keyboard (connected to keyboard adapter) -> IBM KPD8923
-Pi Monitor - Lenovo L220x connected via HDMI->DVI Cable

Software Configurations:
I used the latest Debian Squeeze image, with the latest kernel (PREEMPT #89) installed via rpi-update and the Debian system fully updated using apt-get upgrade.

I did the following:

  1. On another machine on the network - Used "python -m http.server" in Python 3.2.2 to create an http server. Picked a random ~90MB file on the machine as a test download over http
  2. On the Pi - Installed the 'stress' utility using apt-get. Used "stress -c 15" to load the Pis CPU to 100%. Started htop at the console
  3. On the other machine on the network - SSHed into the Pi and ran wget in the ssh terminal to download the 90MB test.zip onto the Pi using http over the local network. Download speeds ~2.9-3.0 MB/s. ssh window responsiveness is stable. Repeated over a period of 10 minutes to allow the Pis CPU to reach a steady state temperature/power draw at 100% CPU load. Started a final instance of the download
  4. On the Pi (do this while the download is running in the ssh window!) - Exited htop. Ran "Startx"
  5. On the other machine - Observed that the download running in the ssh window on the Pi slowed from ~3MB/s to ~44KB/s as soon as X/LXDE loaded . (The 'stress' command is still running in the background, loading the CPU to the same constant 100% as with the console download tests in Step 3)
  6. On the Pi - Exited X/LXDE ("Logout")
  7. On the other machine - Observed that the download returned to its original ~3MB/s speed as soon as the system returned to the console.
  8. On the Pi - Observed that there are error messages in the dmesg log releated to the eth0 driver - see http://paste.debian.net/172123

I do not believe this is solely a power related issue, as others on this forum have repeatedly stated when users have asked about it. I can peg my Pis CPU at 100% for > 10 minutes at the console and Ethernet works just find until I start X/LXDE (with the same stress programs still running). Only then does the Ethernet drop out. No change in hardware configuration between the two cases (100% CPU at console, 100% CPU with X/LXDE running).

Other reports of similar issues on the Raspberry Pi forums:
http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=6928
http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=6042
http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=6827#p87855
http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=6677
http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7075
http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7445
http://forum.stmlabs.com/showthread.php?tid=441&pid=3258#pid3258

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