Troubleshooting Static IP on RFSoC 4x2 Board

I’m working with a PYNQ Linux board (RFSoC 4x2) and trying to set a static IP address. I initially created a new configuration file to set the static IP, but I’ve run into a series of issues:

  • My first attempts to restart the networking service failed with an “RTNETLINK answers: File exists” error. I found that I had a conflicting DHCP configuration file that was also trying to set an IP.

  • After I disabled the DHCP configuration file, the board stopped connecting to the network entirely after a reboot.

  • To fix this, I had to connect directly using a serial console. While connected, I discovered that the dhclient process was still running because of a conflicting script in /etc/network/if-up.d/.

  • After disabling that script, the board still failed to connect after a reboot.

  • I then ran into a new problem: my computer stopped recognizing the board’s serial connection. It shows up as an “Unknown USB Device” in Device Manager, even after trying different ports and cables.

  • Through troubleshooting, I found that the board’s Hardware ID contains VID_0403, confirming it uses an FTDI chip. I tried to manually install the FTDI driver, but Windows warned me that it wasn’t a recommended driver.I’m now at a point where I can’t connect to the board via the network or the serial console.

I’ve decided my best course of action is to re-flash the board’s PYNQ image to get a clean slate, but I’d like to confirm I haven’t missed any potential fixes before I do that.

Re-imaging is probably best.
If you need help configing the IP, please post back.

Cathal