QNX 7.0.0 x86 Unable to ping host adapter

[amhblore]

Host only adapter not accessible by the QNX7 guest VM in the Virtual Box. Host is Windows 10

We are trying to create VMs as x86 targets for our SW engineers when working on QNX7 projects. After burning the image & booting up the target, the network is setup properly & DHCP IP is assigned by the Virtual Box's DHCP server. A reboot multiple times confirms DHCP IP is assigned properly. Everything is fine until now.

However, when the VM is powered down completely, on the next reboot, the host only adapter is not accessible & hence the DHCP IP assignment fails. Any number of reboots does not solve the problem. Ping to host adapter also fails. Static IP assignments also fails.

The same setup works fine when using VMWare. Network setup is as follows.
Network adapter on Virtual box "ParaVirtualized adapter virtio-net".
QNX7 network driver devnp-virtio.so. Virtual box Version 6.1.34 r150636.

It has something to do with the System settings 64 bit vs 32bit of the VM. When burning the image, it is set to Other(64 bit) because I use Mint Linux Live CD iso. Reboot as long as its not power off, works fine. However, after burning the image, power off the VM, change settings to other(32 bit), then power on, even the first reboot after burning will not work.

Note: I have a Windows XP on the same VM network & it works fine. Its just the QNX7 VM that has the problem. I also have QNX4 VMs that is set to static IP. They also run fine.

Not sure where the problem is.

[mpack]

I believe Windows 10 by default does not respond to ping (ICMP).

And ps. is Mint not still just Ubuntu with a different desktop? So the correct template is Ubuntu (64bit).

[amhblore]

The problem is the QNX7 VM is not able to ping to any of its peers on the VM network as well. There is a WinXP machine on the VM network. It gets the DHCP address properly. The XP machine is also not able to ping to the QNX7 VM. Its seems that the QNX7 VM is isolated some how.

The same setup works fine when using VMWare. Here the QNX7 VM is able to ping the host adapter. The problem is, we have very limited number of licenses for VMWare. Hence want to use Virtual Box.

If it was just that Windows 10 does not respond to ping, at least the VM should have been assigned a DHCP IP. What is confusing is that as long as I do not power down the machine, it works.

[fth0]

When burning the image, it is set to Other(64 bit) because I use Mint Linux Live CD iso.

I'm not sure if I understand your VM setup. Do you create a Linux Mint VM, a QNX VM or both? What does "burning the image" mean in this context? Can you elaborate?

[amhblore]

I have a windows 10 host. I created a QNX 7 VM using the following steps.
1. Create a VM with blank HD & a CD drive
2. Attach the Mint Linux live CD iso & boot this VM into the Linux.
3. Attach a USB stick that contains the QNX 7 bootable disk image.
4. Burn this image to the HD using image writer SW.
5. After burning is done, remove iso file. Reboot
6. It should now boot into QNX 7

The VM settings I am talking about is in General --> Basic (name, type & version).

[fth0]

Thanks for the explanation. I usually associate "burning an image" only to (virtual) CDs/DVDs, whereas HD images are "written to". That being understood:

VirtualBox has a "host side", which is initialized when a VM is started, and a "guest side", which is initialized when a guest OS is started. Rebooting into the same or another guest OS means renewing only the guest side of things, because the VM keeps running. Additionally, shutting down a guest OS doesn't necessarily mean that the guest OS releases its DHPC leases. In the C:\Users\.VirtualBox\ folder, you'll find several log file regarding VirtualBox networking and the VirtualBox DHCP server.

If you need help interpreting the logs, reproduce the issue and provide a (zipped) VBox.log file and the contents of the aforementioned folder.

Another testing strategy may be to also reboot the host OS in between, to (hopefully) erase any memory of the earlier network handling. If the problem persists, it could point to QNX not doing something necessary ...

[amhblore]

I have attached the dhcp logs. The good case is the dhcp.log.winxp file & the bad case is dhcp.log.qnx7. I could not understand the logs. But at some point the ciaddr gets the ip address in the good case. While it remains 0.0.0.0 in the bad case. Not sure what to make of it

[fth0]

The typical 4-way DHCP negotiation consists of DISCOVER, OFFER, REQUEST and ACK, as you can see in the Windows XP case. Windows XP later sends DHCP INFORM packets containing the ciaddr (Client IP address), which are acknowledged by the VirtualBox DHCP server.

In the QNX case, the DHCP client sends a DISCOVER and the VirtualBox DHCP server sends an OFFER, then the DHCP client repeats the DISCOVER, and so on. This means that the DHCP client either doesn't receive the OFFER or doesn't like its contents. The next obvious step would be to investigate inside QNX ...

[amhblore]

I am more inclined towards the client not receiving the OFFER. Else, it should not have worked the 1st time as well. I tried with a static IP address also. Even with that host adapter is not reachable. Somehow the host --> client traffic is blocked after power down & reboot

[scottgus1]

Let's take a look at the network settings. Please find and copy all the VMs' .vbox files on that network:

Right-click each VM in the main Virtualbox window's VM list, choose Show in Explorer/Finder/File Manager. Copy the VM's .vbox file (not the .vbox-prev file) to a folder on the desktop. When you have them all, post the zip file, using the forum's Upload Attachment tab. (Configure your host OS to show all extensions if the folder that opens does not show a .vbox file.)

Also, please give us these:

an "ipconfig /all" from the host.
an "ipconfig /all" from the XP guest.
a "ifconfig" or "ip address" from the QNX7 VM

Finally, please give us a complete VM log from the QNX7 VM: Start the VM from full normal shutdown, not save-state. Run until you see the problem happen, then shut down the VM from within the VM's OS if possible. If not possible, close the Virtualbox window for the VM with the Power Off option set. Right-click the VM in the main Virtualbox window's VM list, choose Show Log. Save the far left tab's log, zip it, and post the zip file, using the forum's Upload Attachment tab.

[amhblore]

I have attached all the relevant data. I also collected nicinfo data. As can be seen, packets are transmitted ok, but there is no received packets.

PS: I have scrubbed the DNS data in ipconfig-host.txt file as it contained my work place DNS info which I did not want to share the confidential data. I hope its ok.

[fth0]

The VBox-x86-Test-2022-06-16-11-21-36.log file is missing the statistics at the end. Did you follow the instructions of scottgus1 closely and terminate the VM before acquiring the log file?

Even better than verifying the statistics after the VM run would be to watch them live. You could try the following procedure:

1. In the VM configuration, disconnect the virtual cable from the network adapter (Cable Connected checkbox).

2. Start the VM using the following command in a command prompt: VirtualBoxVM --startvm "VBox-x86-Test" --debug. In the statistics window opening on the right hand side, unfold the Devices > virtio-net#0 and Drivers > IntNet-0 subtrees. In the menu, un-pause the VM by selecting Machine > Pause.

3. In the QNX guest OS, start a packet capture with a tool of your choice (Wireshark? tcpdump?).

4. In the status line of the VM window, click on the network icon and connect the virtual network cable. You can then watch the live statistics and the packet capture. Packets from host to guest are expected to be counted 1st in IntNet0, 2nd in virtio-net#0, 3rd in the packet capture and finally in the DHCP client.

[amhblore]

Sorry my bad. Attached the latest VM logs. file name final.log

[scottgus1]

Everything so far looks OK.

I have scrubbed the DNS data in ipconfig-host.txt

Ah, that's why the host didn't look to be connected to a network..... That's OK. Just as long as your office network is not also using the 192.168.29.# range. If it is, then confusion could reign in Host-Only.

The QNX7 VM is using the virtio network system. Curiously, when I make a new VM called "QNX7", Virtualbox auto-picks a QNX environment template, and that template uses the PCnet-FAST III network card. Please try switching your VM to PCnet-FAST III, see if it can recognize and use the card, then see if network is working.

[amhblore]

Attached debug window screen shot. Looks like data is getting exchanged. But why my VM is not seeing any incoming data is a mystery. Next step tcpdump on my VM