Broadcom tg3

I am trying to debug a network problem. The system is using a broadcom
(tg3 module) 1000Mb ethernet adapter. The problem I am having is
obtaining an IP address.

I have tried using ethtool to check the status. Here are some lines
reported (unfortunately I don't have the complete output.):

# eththool eth1
Supported ports: [ TP MII ]

Port: TP

Current message level: 0x000000ff (255)
Link detected: no

However when running the mii-tool and watching the link:
# mii-tool -w eth1

It clearly sees the cable being plugged and unplugged.

Also it reports being able to autonegotiate a 100Mb Full duplex connection
on the network with this command:

# mii-tool -R eth1

However, ethtool still reports, "Link detected: no"

Also, attempting to obtain an an IP address fails.

# dhcpcd -t 10 -d eth1
dhcpcd: MAC address = xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
#

It seems inconsistent that mii-tool reports the connection operating,
while ethtool does not.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

--
Douglas Mayne

Douglas Mayne wrote:
> I am trying to debug a network problem. The system is using a broadcom
> (tg3 module) 1000Mb ethernet adapter. The problem I am having is
> obtaining an IP address.
>
> I have tried using ethtool to check the status. Here are some lines
> reported (unfortunately I don't have the complete output.):
>
> # eththool eth1
> Supported ports: [ TP MII ]
>
> Port: TP
>
> Current message level: 0x000000ff (255)
> Link detected: no
>
> However when running the mii-tool and watching the link:
> # mii-tool -w eth1
>
> It clearly sees the cable being plugged and unplugged.
>
> Also it reports being able to autonegotiate a 100Mb Full duplex connection
> on the network with this command:
>
> # mii-tool -R eth1
>
> However, ethtool still reports, "Link detected: no"
>
> Also, attempting to obtain an an IP address fails.
>
> # dhcpcd -t 10 -d eth1
> dhcpcd: MAC address = xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
> #
>
> It seems inconsistent that mii-tool reports the connection operating,
> while ethtool does not.
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>

Are you sure that your ethernet cable is good? (i.e. not crossover, 4 pairs)

Robert

On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 16:11:43 +0000, Robert Harris wrote:

> Douglas Mayne wrote:
>> I am trying to debug a network problem. The system is using a broadcom
>> (tg3 module) 1000Mb ethernet adapter. The problem I am having is
>> obtaining an IP address.
>>
>> I have tried using ethtool to check the status. Here are some lines
>> reported (unfortunately I don't have the complete output.):
>>
>> # eththool eth1
>> Supported ports: [ TP MII ]
>>
>> Port: TP
>>
>> Current message level: 0x000000ff (255)
>> Link detected: no
>>
>> However when running the mii-tool and watching the link:
>> # mii-tool -w eth1
>>
>> It clearly sees the cable being plugged and unplugged.
>>
>> Also it reports being able to autonegotiate a 100Mb Full duplex connection
>> on the network with this command:
>>
>> # mii-tool -R eth1
>>
>> However, ethtool still reports, "Link detected: no"
>>
>> Also, attempting to obtain an an IP address fails.
>>
>> # dhcpcd -t 10 -d eth1
>> dhcpcd: MAC address = xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
>> #
>>
>> It seems inconsistent that mii-tool reports the connection operating,
>> while ethtool does not.
>>
>> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>>
>
> Are you sure that your ethernet cable is good? (i.e. not crossover, 4 pairs)
>
> Robert
>
Thanks for the quick reply.

Tried to connect with two different cables- the one in bag with laptop
and one provided by the hotel. The cable I sent was working the last time
it was used.

Also, I noticed a mistake in my first post. Here is what I meant
to write:

"Also it reports being able to autonegotiate a 100Mb Full duplex
connection on the network with this command:

# mii-tool -r eth1

Fix: Lower case r switch for restart autonegotiation.

And for one other random factor into the mix, the hotel tech support
claims the answer should be 10Mb, Full duplex.

--
Douglas Mayne

Douglas Mayne <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> It seems inconsistent that mii-tool reports the connection operating,
> while ethtool does not.

The mii-tool utility works perfectly with some NICs/drivers, and
ethtool will work with a subset, and then with some other combos
where mii-tool will be useless.

--
andrei

On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:57:22 +0000, Andrei Ivanov wrote:

> Douglas Mayne <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> It seems inconsistent that mii-tool reports the connection operating,
>> while ethtool does not.
>
> The mii-tool utility works perfectly with some NICs/drivers, and
> ethtool will work with a subset, and then with some other combos
> where mii-tool will be useless.
>
Thanks for the response.

That is my experience, too. When I ran into this problem, I started
querying network cards to verify what a "known good" card looked like.
The DLink 530 TX cards provide good reports under both commands. Netgear
cards seem less consistent. I hadn't used these commands until yesterday.
Until this error cropped up, I have just plugged it in an expected it to
work.

--
Douglas Mayne