DAHDI doesn't recognise card after migrating from FreePBX 16 to 17

utelit · July 31, 2025, 10:30am

Hi all,

After migrating from FreePBX 17 from 16 and restoring from backup, Dahdi Config cannot “see” my BRI card(s).

PBX Version: 17.0.19.30
PBX Distro: 12.7.8-2408-1.sng12
Asterisk Version: 22.4.1

I installed FreePBX 17 using the ISO and choosing the PUB spice on the same system that v16 was installed which is basically a PC. Installation is physical, not virtual.

I can see the cards with command lspci at the bottom of the list.

root@sangoma-freepbx-12-10-0-2504-2:~# lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82G33/G31/P35/P31 Express DRAM Controller (rev 10)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82G33/G31/P35/P31 Express PCI Express Root Port (rev 10)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 1 (rev 01)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 2 (rev 01)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 01)
00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 01)
00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 01)
00:1d.3 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 01)
00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 01)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev e1)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GB/GR (ICH7 Family) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 01)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family SATA Controller [IDE mode] (rev 01)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family SMBus Controller (rev 01)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation G98 [GeForce 8400 GS Rev. 2] (rev a1)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 02)
04:01.0 Ethernet controller: Digium, Inc. Wildcard TDM410 4-port analog card (rev 11)
04:02.0 ISDN controller: Cologne Chip Designs GmbH ISDN network Controller [HFC-4S] (rev 01)

dahdi lists the cards with command dahdi_hardware

root@sangoma-freepbx-12-10-0-2504-2:~# dahdi_hardware
pci:0000:04:01.0 wctdm24xxp- d161:8005 Wildcard TDM410P
pci:0000:04:02.0 wcb4xxp- 1397:08b4 BeroNet BN2S0

But when I try to dahdi_genconf it creates empty files.

root@sangoma-freepbx-12-10-0-2504-2:~# dahdi_genconf -vvv
Default parameters from /etc/dahdi/genconf_parameters
Empty configuration -- no spans
Generating /etc/dahdi/assigned-spans.conf
Empty configuration -- no spans
Generating /etc/dahdi/system.conf
Empty configuration -- no spans
Generating /etc/asterisk/dahdi-channels.conf

I initially assumed it is a permissions problem but I am not sure about that, it seems ok at first glance.

root@sangoma-freepbx-12-10-0-2504-2:~# ls -ld /etc/dahdi/
drwxr-xr-x 2 asterisk asterisk 4096 Jul 31 13:19 /etc/dahdi/

root@sangoma-freepbx-12-10-0-2504-2:~# ls -l /etc/dahdi/
total 60
-rw-r–r-- 1 asterisk asterisk 149 Jul 31 13:19 assigned-spans.conf
-rw-r–r-- 1 asterisk asterisk 149 Jul 22 00:58 assigned-spans.conf.bak
-rw-r–r-- 1 asterisk asterisk 1617 Jul 21 15:17 assigned-spans.conf.sample
-rw-r–r-- 1 asterisk asterisk 6095 Jul 22 00:22 genconf_parameters
-rw-r–r-- 1 asterisk asterisk 771 Jul 22 00:21 init.conf
-rwxr-xr-x 1 asterisk asterisk 1428 Jul 22 01:10 modules
-rw-r–r-- 1 asterisk asterisk 232 Jul 21 14:53 modules.bak
-rw-r–r-- 1 asterisk asterisk 1766 Jul 21 15:17 modules.sample
-rw-r–r-- 1 asterisk asterisk 820 Jul 21 15:17 span-types.conf.sample
-rw-r–r-- 1 asterisk asterisk 310 Jul 31 13:19 system.conf
-rw-r–r-- 1 asterisk asterisk 443 Jul 31 13:11 system.conf.bak
-rw-r–r-- 1 asterisk asterisk 11673 Jul 21 15:17 system.conf.sample

I have old configs and screenshots, but that doesn’t help if dahdiconfig creates empty files.

Any ideas how to troubleshoot it?

Thank you.

utelit · August 1, 2025, 8:26am

Hi again,

I am trying to understand if I am doing something wrong (eg was it right move to restore dahdiconfig from v16 config?), if it’s a known issue/quirk (eg something to do with the ISO installation) or it’s just the way it is with my current cards (eg no supported drivers).

I recall for specific chip (i think openvox cards??) I had to download some custom dahdi and compile it for the kernel in order to be able to use the card. But I can’t remember if it’s the case with BeroNet BN2S0.

In any case, all I would need is to point me to the right direction so that I know if it’s worth spending my time or not, so I can look other option, like requesting Service Provider to convert to SIP Trunk.

Thank you.
Nikiforos Sarantoglou

arielgrin · August 2, 2025, 3:08pm

Many telephony cards were dropped from DAHDI latest versions.
You might be left with the only choice to compile DAHDI manually in order to re-add support for your specific card.
If your card is supposed to be supported, try installing the DAHDI config module, it takes care of enabling all needed kernel drivers and initializing the card before starting Asterisk.

utelit · August 2, 2025, 3:14pm

Hi,

Thank you for the answer. I did mention that dahdiconfig is already installed (and even posted a screeshot from the module).

Also I can see the kernel modules being loaded by using the lsmod command.

So I can safely assume my card is not supported? How can I figure out if it’s supported or not.

Thank you.

arielgrin · August 2, 2025, 3:28pm

You can set DAHDI module config to read only once you configure the card manually.

The TDM-410 card is an analog card, it should show up on the analog tab.

Can you try first with the TDM-410 alone?

In any case, with latest versions of DAHDi, the TDM-410 is no longer supported, but you should be able to re-enable support by compiling manually AFAIK.

arielgrin · August 2, 2025, 3:35pm

You will have to add support back and compile manually, at least for TDM-410

Check this link as guidance, it is not a step-by-step guide:

utelit · August 8, 2025, 10:18am

I guess I will try to install an earlier dahdi version that I know it supports the cards. The same version I was using in FreePBX v16.

The card I actually need 100% to work is the other one → BeroNet BN2S0.

From the Github Page of dahdi, I can see inside the wcb4xxp driver that the card is mentioned on all dahdi version. I am ASSUMING that since it is metioned, it is also supported.

github.com/asterisk/dahdi-linux

drivers/dahdi/wcb4xxp/wcb4xxp.h

master

/*
 * Wilcard B410P Quad-BRI Interface Driver for Zapata Telephony interface
 * Written by Andrew Kohlsmith <[email protected]>
 */

#ifndef _B4XX_H_
#define _B4XX_H_

#include <linux/ioctl.h>

#define HFC_NR_FIFOS	32
#define HFC_ZMIN	0x80			/* from datasheet */
#define HFC_ZMAX	0x1ff
#define HFC_FMIN	0x00
#define HFC_FMAX	0x0f

/*
 * yuck. Any reg which is not mandated read/write or read-only is write-only.
 * Also, there are dozens of registers with the same address.
 * Additionally, there are array registers (A_) which have an index register

This file has been truncated. show original

I am not sure if this is the correct way to find if a card is supported or not, dahdi is a “black box” to me.

shahin · August 8, 2025, 11:10am

have you tried to reload dahdi spans from cli ?
if you are seeing system.conf and if dahdi_hardware comamnd displaying your hardware details. then try to load channels in to Asterisk.

dahdi_cfg -vvvvvv

utelit · August 8, 2025, 4:13pm

Hi,

I have mentioned on first post that dahdi_genconf -vvv creates empty files, including empty system.conf.

Naturally, dahdi_cfg -vvvvvv doesn’t show anything more than that.

root@utelit-voutzas:~# dahdi_cfg -vvvvvv
DAHDI Tools Version - 3.4.0

DAHDI Version: 3.4.0
Echo Canceller(s):
Configuration
======================


Channel map:


0 channels to configure.

Thank you for pointing it out though!