IBM Support

Onboard AMD Ethernet adapter fails to detect correct duplex mode - Servers

Troubleshooting


Problem

Onboard AMD Ethernet adapter fails to detect correct duplex mode for Servers.

Resolving The Problem

Source

RETAIN tip H174547

Symptom

Onboard AMD Am79c975 Ethernet adapter fails to auto-negotiate duplex correctly when the system is under stress.

Affected configurations

The system might be any of the following IBM eServer xSeries servers:

  • xSeries 350, type 8682, any model
  • xSeries 250, type 8665, any model
  • xSeries 240, type 8664, any model
  • xSeries 230, type 8658, any model

The system might be any of the following IBM Netfinity servers:

  • Netfinity 7600 server, type 8665, any model
  • Netfinity 7100 server, type 8666, any model
  • Netfinity 6000R server, type 8682, any model
  • Netfinity 5600 server, type 8664, any model
  • Netfinity 5100 server, type 8658, any model

The following network operating systems are affected:

  • Red Hat, version 7.2
  • SUSE LINUX, version 7.3
  • TurboLinux, version 7.0
  • Caldera OpenLinux, version 3.1.1

The pcnet32 (version 1.26p) device driver for the Ethernet is affected.

Solution

TurboLinux version 7.0
  1. Install kernel-2.4.9-6xxx.i586.rpm (which includes the pcnet32 fixes). The referenced file is available from the Turbolinux web site (http://www.turbolinux.com).
  2. At the command prompt, type rpm -ivh --force kernel-2.4.9-6.i586.rpm and press Enter.
    If the system is an SMP box, type rpm -ivh kernel-smp-2.4.9-6.i586.rpm and press Enter.
    If more than 4GB of RAM is installed in the SMP box, type rpm -ivh kernel-smp64G-2.4.9-6.i586.rpm and press Enter.

    Note: The file kernel-2.4.9-6.i586.rpm and kernel-smp64G-2.4.9-6.i586.rpm will vary as new versions of the kernel are released.

  3. Restart the server by typing init 6 and press Enter.
SUSE LINUX version 7.3
  1. Successfully boot into the system.
  2. Download SUSE LINUX 2.4.18 kernel and updated modutils package from the Downloads section of the SUSE LINUX web site (http://www.suse.com). Versions later than 2.4.18 will also suffice.
  3. From a command prompt, change the directory to where the kernel was downloaded and execute the following commands:
    1. rpm -Uvh k_smp_<version>.i386.rpm (replace <version> with the version number of the kernel)
    2. rpm -Uvh modutils-<version>.i386.rpm (if applicable; replace <version> with the version number of the modutils)
    3. mk_initrd
    4. lilo
    5. reboot
Workaround
  1. Edit the file /etc/modules.conf with an appropriate text editor. Locate the line that reads "alias eth(x) pcnet32" where "(x)" is the instance of the AMD network interface card (NIC).
  2. Edit the line to read "alias eth(x) pcnet32 full_duplex=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1 options=14,14,14,14,14,14,14,14".
  3. Shutdown and reboot the machine for the changes to take effect.
Additional information

The driver detected the chip correctly from the message log ("PCnet/FAST III 79C975 @ 0x2000 ..."). However, the options value for the chip is incorrectly set to "0x04 = PORT_ASEL". As a result, the system may or may not load the card in full duplex mode, even when the full_duplex parameter is set to 1.

 

Document Location

Worldwide

Operating System

Older System x:SUSE Linux

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Document Information

Modified date:
28 January 2019

UID

ibm1MIGR-40423

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