Can there be an Ethernet Switch that doesn't work with Linux???

[Nadav Har'El]

On Sun, Aug 29, 2010, geoffrey mendelson wrote about "Re: Can there be an Ethernet Switch that doesn't work with Linux???":
> My guess is that it's an autonegotation speed and or duplex problem.  
> Try setting the speed to 10mbit and the duplex to half.

It doesn't seem to be a negotiation problem - negotiation succeeded and
settled on the expected 100 mbps full-duplex, and like I said a sniffer
(on the Windows machine) showed that the DHCP and ARP requests from my Linux
computer do travel on the network.

> Make sure the cables are correct, not crossover cables. The switch  
> accomodates autosensing and will work with either, but the computer  
> may not.

These are not cross cables, though like you said, even if they were they should
have worked. The same cables with the switch replaced by a hub (or nothing)
work. Obviously I also tried rotating the cables, and using different cables.

> 10 year old switches generally did not support autosensing of cable  
> type, full duplex and many of them were only 10mbit.

This is a brand new switch, which does support sensing of cable type.
The switch is 100mbps and all computers attached to it actually have a
gigabit NIC.
Only the hub (which does work...) is 10 years old.

-- 
Nadav Har'El                        |        Sunday, Aug 29 2010, 19 Elul 5770
nyh at math.technion.ac.il             |-----------------------------------------
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http://nadav.harel.org.il           |man dies for it. - Oscar Wilde