by This is more of a informational post than a question for everyone. I
spent the last few days trying to debug my home network that looks
something like this:
1 Linux RedHat 7.1, NetGear FA311, Pentium 133, 64 megs RAM (CVS
server)
1 Windows 2K, Linksys NC100 v2 (I think AKA NA100), AMD 1G, 512 megs
RAM
Linksys Router (standard not wireless)
RCN Cable modem (BTW RCN sucks, ping times and traceroutes show 3-5
hops get out of RCN, all with delays in the 100+ ms range)
I main problem was the Linux machine.
I was getting an enormous amount of RX Errors including lots of frame
errors. I read a ton of stuff online about all these concepts an
possible error sources. I tried half-duplex, which I found to be
impossible to actually get to occur. I tried new drivers from NetGear.
I change MTU to below 1500, below 1400, below 1200, below 1100. I
renamed the machine. I tweaked the router config. I tweaked the
routing. Checked DNS servers. I basically exhausted Google and
Linuxdoc on the subject.
So, what did I do next... I swapped the Linksys card and NetGear card.
I figured I wanted to make sure that the NetGear card wasn't faulty
and regardless of what people think, Windows is MUCH, MUCH better at
handling all types of network cards. I installed the NetGear in 1
minute, 23 seconds and two button clicks. It worked perfect.
RedHat was nice enough to find the new Linksys card and set it up. And
what do you know, no more errors. Everything worked perfectly. The
Network Everywhere series is notorious for offloading work to the CPU
and I figured it would cause more errors with such an old machine and
all. Well, it works perfect in my box. This is the fifth or sixth
linux system I've built with Linksys cards that worked perfectly. I
should have know better than to switch to NetGear. Each time it was
different Linksys cards, some very expensive with all the work on the
card, others cheap. The types of systems ranged from pentium 66 all
the way to AMD 1 Gig (with PII 400 in the middle somewhere).
Problem solved. Lesson learned? NetGear does not, regardless of what
it says on the box, on their website, on the web, work well with
Linux. Some varieties of cards might work fine on certain varieties of
systems, but it is hit and miss with those bastards. I'd stick with
Linksys or Intel if I were you. If you are having problems with
NetGear, don't waste a week battling with it. Return it and buy a
different companies card.
Ponch