Ethernet and Wi-Fi Interfaces Not Starting Automatically on Jetson Orin Nano Dev Kit

Issue Overview

Users of the Nvidia Jetson Orin Nano development kit are experiencing issues with the automatic startup of ethernet (eth0) and Wi-Fi (wlan0) interfaces when using the Jetson Linux 35.5.0 minimal/basic flavor image. The problem occurs after flashing the SD card and booting the system. While users can log in through the serial-over-USB connection, the main network interfaces are not initialized, and DHCP client (dhclient) does not start automatically.

Possible Causes

1. Minimal Rootfs Configuration: The minimal/basic flavor of the Jetson Linux image intentionally excludes certain network configuration systems commonly found in full Ubuntu distributions.

2. Missing Network Manager: The Network Manager package, which typically handles automatic network interface configuration, is not included in the minimal/basic flavor package list.

3. Incomplete Documentation: The documentation may not clearly specify that SSH connections in minimal configurations are intended to be made through the Ethernet-over-USB connection (192.168.55.1).

4. Absence of Standard Network Configuration Tools: Common Ubuntu network configuration systems like /etc/network/interfaces, netplan, or NetworkManager are not present in the minimal image.

Troubleshooting Steps, Solutions & Fixes

1. Manual Network Interface Activation:

   • Log in through the serial-over-USB connection.
   • Manually start the DHCP client to bring up the interfaces:

     sudo dhclient
     

   This should activate eth0 and wlan0, with eth0 successfully obtaining an IP address via DHCP.

2. Install Network Manager:

   • Update the package list:

     sudo apt update
     

   • Install the Network Manager package:

     sudo apt install network-manager
     

   • Reboot the system to apply changes:

     sudo reboot
     

   This solution has been confirmed to resolve the issue for some users.

3. Add Network Manager to Package List:
   For a more permanent solution when creating custom images:

   • Modify the package list used by the nvubuntu_samplefs.sh script to include network-manager.

4. Using Ethernet-over-USB for Initial Setup:

   • Connect to the device using SSH through the Ethernet-over-USB connection:

     ssh [email protected]
     

   This allows for initial configuration and troubleshooting.

5. Netplan Configuration (Alternative approach, not confirmed to work):

   • Install netplan:

     sudo apt install netplan.io
     

   • Create a netplan configuration file (e.g., /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml):

     network:
       version: 2
       renderer: networkd
       ethernets:
         eth0:
           dhcp4: true
     

   • Apply the configuration:

     sudo netplan apply
     

6. Disabling USB Access for Production:
   While not directly addressed in the forum, for production environments:

   • Consider disabling the USB gadget driver or removing related kernel modules.
   • Modify the device tree to disable USB OTG functionality.
   • Consult NVIDIA documentation or support for specific instructions on securing the device for production use.

It is worth highlighting that while the Network Manager solution has been reported to work, the netplan approach was not successful for some users. If issues persist after trying these solutions, consider reaching out to NVIDIA support or consulting the official Jetson documentation for more advanced troubleshooting steps.