This chapter describes various issues that may occur when using a Gigabit Ethernet network. It includes the following sections:
This section explains the following:
The fiber-optic and copper Gigabit Ethernet boards have light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that indicate whether the board is configured correctly and connected to an active Ethernet, as discussed in the following sections.
Table 3-1 describes the functions of these LEDs.
Table 3-1. LEDs on the Fiber-optic Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express Board
Components | Purpose |
|---|---|
LEDs
| One LED per port Link/Activity: Turns on link, blinks on activity (green) LEDs are located on the Fiber-Optic board visible through holes in the metal bracket holder. |
Connectors | small form factor (SFF) LC |
During normal operation, the link LED is on; the data LED blinks whenever the board is receiving traffic.
The copper Gigabit Ethernet board has three LEDs per ports. Table 3-2 describes the functions of these LEDs.
Table 3-2. LEDs on the Copper Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express Board
Components | Purpose |
|---|---|
LEDs | Three LEDs per port Link/Activity: Turns on any link speed, blinks on activity (green) 100Mbits/s: Turns on 100 Mbit/s link (green) 1000 Mbits/s: Turns on 1000 Mbit/s link (green) LEDs are located on the Copper board visible through holes in the metal bracket holder. |
Connectors | Four shielded RJ-45 |
To verify that the operating system has located the Gigabit Ethernet board, use the Linux PCI utilities lspci(8) command, as follows:
% lspci |
... 0b:04.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet (rev a3) 0b:04.1 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet (rev a3) |
In 0b:04.0 Ethernet controller identification, 0b is the bus number, 04 is the slot number, and 0 is the port, respectively.
Use the installation tool that comes with your operating system to install and configure the Ethernet board.
You can use the ifconfig -a command to verify the configuration information, as follows:
systemA:~ # ifconfig -a
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:04:23:D3:A2:E8
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Base address:0x3020 Memory:b9160000-b9180000
eth1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:E0:ED:08:F4:D4
BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Interrupt:169
eth2 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:E0:ED:08:F4:D5
BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Interrupt:90
eth3 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:04:23:D3:A2:E9
BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Base address:0x3000 Memory:b9120000-b9140000
eth4 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:04:23:D9:4C:1C
inet addr:128.162.246.41 Bcast:128.162.246.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::204:23ff:fed9:4c1c/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:1689 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:857 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:100
RX bytes:344382 (336.3 KiB) TX bytes:101929 (99.5 KiB)
Base address:0x2020 Memory:b9020000-b9040000
eth5 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:04:23:D9:4C:1D
BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Base address:0x2000 Memory:b9000000-b9020000
ib0 Link encap:InfiniBand HWaddr 00:00:04:04:FE:80:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00
BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:2044 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:128
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:153 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:153 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:11259 (10.9 KiB) TX bytes:11259 (10.9 KiB)
sit0 Link encap:IPv6-in-IPv4
NOARP MTU:1480 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
|
For more information on ifconfig, see the ifconfig(8) man page.
In the unlikely event that you need to reset the fiber-optic or copper Gigabit Ethernet board, enter the following:
ifconfig <interface> down ifconfig <interface> up |
where interface is name of the interface. This is usually a driver name followed by a unit number, for example, ifconfig eth0 down, for the first Ethernet interface.
For more information on ifconfig, see the ifconfig(8) man page.
Configuration changes for Ethernet devices drivers are made by means of the ethtool(8) command. The ethtool command works with all Linux Ethernet drivers.
In general, each feature has a query and a modify variant. If you are wondering whether the current driver and ethtool support a specific feature, attempt to run the query option first, an example is, as follows:
# ethtool -a eth0 Pause parameters for eth0: Autonegotiate: on RX: on TX: on |
This shows the current settings of the pause (or flow control) parameters. You can then change these parameters with the ethtool -A option.
As with any system configuration changes, make sure to have a back out strategy, read the most recent documentation for potential changes and pitfalls, and consult with a relevant Linux archives for examples of common usage.