[eepro100] Re: Multicasting problem on shut down

[Donald Becker]

On Fri, 12 May 2000, Javier Garces Asensio wrote:

> Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 10:06:37 +0200 (MET DST)

I had expected that someone else would have answered this by now.

> 	I've a Compaq with SuSe 6.1 running kernel 2.2.14 and the ethernet
> adpater has the i82558B chipset. Sometimes, when the linux box  is halted,
> the ethernet adapter starts transmiting multicast packets to the
> destination 01:80:C2:00:00:01. This packet affects to a lot of PC's of my
> network, all with intel ethernet adapters. These PC's lose all
> communications. I can't repeat the problem on a known way but sometimes
> it occurs. 

These are 802.1X flow control packets.
The behavior you are seeing occurs because of a bug in the intel chip.
The chip is supposed to handle the autonegotiation of flow control itself.
Pointedly, flow should not be enabled on a half duplex link, and yet the.

> 	I would like to know if the solution is the modified driver
> eepro100.c in ftp.//cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/linux/drivers/test/eepro100.c
> and if the problem is the adapter's firmware or the driver to claim a new
> ethernet adapter to the vendor if the problem is the firmware of
> the adapter.

The fix is in the updated driver
   http://www.scyld.com/network/eepro100.html
      ftp://www.scyld.com/pub/network/eepro100.c

> 	If it's possible, I would like to repeat the problem on a known
> and easy way to verify if the problem's removed

  1. Put the machine on a repeater, perhaps with another machine running
     tcpdump.
  2. Start the machine and activate the interface.
  3. Shut down without powering off the machine.
  4  Watch for flow control packets.

Donald Becker				becker@scyld.com
Scyld Computing Corporation
410 Severn Ave. Suite 210
Annapolis MD 21403