Ethernet interface down after repeatedly reconfiguring MAC - Servers

Resolving The Problem

Source

RETAIN tip: H194546

Symptom

The ethernet interface is down after repeatedly reconfiguring the MAC address.

An ethernet interface on the blade server is down after the MAC address for the network interface has repeatedly been reconfigured in quick succession, such as with ethtool.

Rebooting the blade server does not resolve the issue.

Affected configurations

The system is configured with one or more of the following IBM Options:

• Cisco Systems Intelligent Gigabit Ethernet Switch Module, Option 32R1892

This tip is not hardware specific.

This tip is not software specific.

Solution

Be sure to apply configuration changes to your network interfaces according to the settings of your network components. Switches might observe security policies that do not tolerate multiple changes in MAC addresses at short intervals.

Workaround

Check the port on the Ethernet switch to which the failed Ethernet interface is connected and, if applicable, reactivate the port.

If this does not resolve the issue, restart the switch.