[vortex] network slow w/25% Broadcasts

[Kjartan Fannberg]

Hello

Let's do it the other way round for better "relevance filtering":

Question:

Does/can a data:broadcast frame ratio of about 3:1 (sending, along with 5%
multicast and a few collisions) hint at a specific problem?




Background:

Network is slow, setup is linux-switch-linux, both computers Athlon >
500MHz, but allowing a margin also can occur with PentiumIII and/or any of
linux-linux (crossover-cable) or linux-windows (with or without switch). We
are using 3c905C-TX and -TX-M cards, switch is a 10/100Mbit (Allied Telesyn
ATS-8224XL), total netload is very low (switch backbone runs at maybe 5-10%
load when net is busy).

Sometimes looks like negotiation tends to fail, both auto and "fixed"
(100Mbit/full-duplex/flow-control), usually the full-duplex setting.
Sometimes all "ends" show 100Mbit full-duplex, but speed varies from 11MB/s
to 100kB/s and CPU-load tops (even on a 1GHz Athlon) during ftp transfers
and collisions, though not very frequent, DO occur. Diag-Tools
(mii-diag/vortex-diag) don't agree (mii: full-duplex, vortex: half-duplex)
and setting with mii-diag doesn't change netspeed nor the output of
vortex-diag. 3c59x on 2.2.16-kernel sometimes works fine, but in a case
after upgrading mainboard/CPU (still Athlon) suddenly shows same symptoms.
Sending along module parameters not always fixes it and has no effect with
3c90x.

The worst is that I sometimes cannot reproduce some specific behavior. Two
identical computers get two identical cards, connected to each other ONE
switches to FD, the other obviously doesn't and won't.

And a "less urgent" question: interface is down, module unloaded. When I
reload it with different options, sometimes they show no effect. Only
rebooting seems to get the job done. What did I do wrong?


Thanks - at least for reading THIS far ;)

Kjartan Fannberg

_____________________________________________
fannberg@netmedia.de, http://www.netmedia.de

netmedia GmbH
Neugrabenweg 5-7
66123 Saarbruecken
Germany

fon: +49 (0) 681 / 3 79 88 - 0
fax: +49 (0) 681 / 3 79 88 - 99