I have the following situation: A Linux 2.4.22 server: Physical ethernet: lan1 - Ethernet port (Internet) lan2 - Ethernet port (Cisco Switch, Trunk port) Tunnel: tap1 - OpenVPN in tcp-server mode VLAN's: lan2.201 lan2.202 lan2.203 tap1.201 tap1.202 tap1.203 Bridges: br201 (lan2.201, tap1.201) br202 (lan2.202, tap1.202) br203 (lan2.203, tap1.203) On the other end, the same type of server: Physical ethernet: lan1 - Ethernet port (Internet) lan2 - Ethernet port (LAN) lan3 - Ethernet port (LAN) lan4 - Ethernet port (LAN) Tunnel: tap1 - OpenVPN in tcp-client mode VLAN's: tap1.201 tap1.202 tap1.203 Bridges: br201 (lan2, tap1.201) br202 (lan3, tap1.202) br203 (lan4, tap1.203) Both servers are connected over Internet. This setup works. The server with the trunk port actually has more bridges; there are 3 servers that connect to it thru an OpenVPN tunnel, and all 3 server have 3 unique VLAN's bridged to it. The problem is, that although in testing the setup everything runs stable, in reality, it doesn't. The first server crashes irregularly, but usually after a day or 2/3. The other servers have the exact same hardware, and crash aswell, albeit after a longer period of time. There is no indication as to what goes wrong. The servers still reply to ping and xinetd-daytime, but ssh is gone, as are the tunnels. The log shows nothing. The hardware watchdog does not reset and seems to keep receiving signals from the kernel module to prevent it from rebooting. I don't know anymore. I replaced vtun with OpenVPN for the ethernet tunneling, but that does not seem to matter. Please advice, I am lost. Would upgrading to kernel 2.6.1 be a valid solution? Am I overreaching the possibilities of the bridging functionality? Am I overlooking some pitfall? With kind and desperate regards, ing. Jeroen Hoek
