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

[Nadav Har'El]

On Sun, Aug 29, 2010, Micha wrote about "Re: Can there be an Ethernet Switch that doesn't work with Linux???":
> I had a problem actually with a realtek nic on a laptop I had. Everything 
> seemed to negotiate ok, the link was up, but the nic wouldn't talk unless I 
> forced in to 10Mb/s half duplex. It kept dropping the connection and 
> renegotiating.

I can test the 10 Mbps idea, but frankly, if I'm forced to use this as a
solution (and not just a test...) I'd rather use my 10 year old hub, which
is 100 Mbps :-)

> I also had a problem with a network cable that was mostly plugged in but 
> not all the way. The linked seemed to be up and negotiated correctly but no 
> data went across.

I switched cables, so it cannot be a cable problem. It could be a sub-optimal
(in some way) NIC, but since it works perfectly without the switch (with the
"router", or directly with the cable modem), I would hesitate calling the NIC
faulty.

> Could it be that the switch is just killing the dhcp negotiation, what 
> happens if you hardwire the addresses?

Then it still doesn't work, because the same problem happens with ARP (my
machine does an ARP broadcast for the gateway's IP address, and while a
response is generated, my machine doesn't get it).

-- 
Nadav Har'El                        |        Sunday, Aug 29 2010, 19 Elul 5770
nyh at math.technion.ac.il             |-----------------------------------------
Phone +972-523-790466, ICQ 13349191 |Computers are like air conditioners. Both
http://nadav.harel.org.il           |stop working if you open windows.