This chapter describes various issues which may occur when using a gigabit Ethernet network:
Following is a description of each section:
This section explains
The Fiber-Optic and Copper Gigabit Ethernet boards have light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that indicate whether the board is configured correctly and connected to an active Ethernet.
The Fiber-Optic Gigabit Ethernet board has two small light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Figure 1-1 shows the location of these LEDs. Table 3-1 describes LED functions on the Fiber-Optic Gigabit Ethernet board.
Table 3-1. Gigabit Ethernet Fiber-Optic Board LEDs
LED | State | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
DATA | Blinking Off | Data detected No data detected |
LINK | On Blinking Off | Good link Port has been disabled by software No link: faulty cable, faulty connector, or communication mismatch |
During normal operation, the link LED is on; the data LED blinks whenever the board is receiving traffic. If the ifconfig(1M) command is used to mark the interface as being down, the link LED flashes until the interface is re-enabled.
The Copper Gigabit Ethernet board has four small light-emitting diodes (LEDs), one for each port speed option (10Mps, 100Mps, and 1Gbps) to indicate which link is active, and one LED for data transfer status. Figure 1-2 shows the location of these LEDs. Until the driver software is installed, all four LEDs remain lit when the server is powered on. Table 3-2 describes LED functions on the Copper Gigabit Ethernet board.
Table 3-2. Gigabit Ethernet Copper Board LEDs
LED | State | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
DATA | Blinking On Off | Brief bursts of data detected on the port Streams of data detected on the port No data detected on the port
|
10 | Blinking slowly On Off | Port has been disabled by software
Good 10Mbps Ethernet link No 10Mbps link; possible link at different speed, possible bad cable, bad connector, or configuration mismatch
|
100 | Blinking slowly On Off | Port has been disabled by software
Good 100Mbps Fast Ethernet link No 100Mbps link; possible link at different speed, possible bad cable, bad connector, or configuration mismatch
|
1000 | Blinking slowly On Off | Port has been disabled by software
Good Gigabit Ethernet link No 1000Mbps link; possible link at different speed, possible bad cable, bad connector, or configuration mismatch
|
The network interface name for the Fiber-Optic and Copper Gigabit Ethernet boards is eg<N>, where <N> is 0 for the first board, 1 for the second board (if installed), and so on. Use the commands in the example below to display the network interface names.
To verify that the operating system has located the Gigabit Ethernet board, enter
% /bin/hinv |
A line similar to the following should appear:
Gigabit Ethernet: eg<N>, module 1, XIO slot io6, firmware version 11.3.1 |
where eg<N> is the number of the board; for example, eg0.
If a similar line does not appear, a required patch may not be installed correctly on your system.
 | Note: After installing the Gigabit Ethernet patch, run autoconfig to reconfigure the kernel and reboot the system. |
To verify that the network interface is configured properly and is enabled, enter
% /usr/etc/netstat -ina |
Columns with the following headings should appear:
Name Mtu Network Address |
In the Name column, the eg number should appear. If it is followed by an asterisk (*), the interface is disabled for some reason.
In the Mtu column, the number 1500 should appear.
In the Network column, the IP network address should appear.
In the Address column, the canonical MAC address of the Gigabit Ethernet board should appear, which looks similar to
08:00:69:0b:e0:41 |
In this address, the first three sets of numbers (for example, 08:00:69) are the organizationally unique identifier (OUI) of the board vendor. The last three sets vary depending on the system.
Refer also to the netstat(1) man page for more details.
In the unlikely event that you need to reset the Fiber-Optic or Copper Gigabit Ethernet board, enter
egconfig eg<N> ifconfig eg<N> down ifconfig eg<N> up |
where <N> is the board number. Unlike other network adapters, the Gigabit Ethernet board must be reset with egconfig (as shown above) as well as with ifconfig.
To take full advantage of your gigabit Ethernet network's performance, tune TCP/IP. Set the following parameters to the values shown in Table 3-3.
Use the method appropriate for the IRIX release on your system:
For IRIX 6.5, configure these values in the /etc/config/ifconfig-*.options files.
For IRIX 6.4, hand-edit the variables tcp_sendspace and tcp_recvspace in the file /var/sysgen/master.d/bsd.
The Gigabit Ethernet Fiber-Optic and Copper boards have autonegotiation on by default. However, some equipment does not implement the most up-to-date standard for autonegotiation of link speed. For such cases, you can disable the Gigabit Ethernet board's autonegotiation. For example, if you attach the Gigabit Ethernet board to a switch or end system that does not support autonegotiation, the link LED (see “Using LEDs to Determine Board Functionality”) might not illuminate.
| Note: You do not have to set a speed or duplex mode if you turn autonegotiation off; the Gigabit Ethernet board maintains its gigabit speed and full duplex setting. |
To disable autonegotiation, follow these steps:
Make sure all users are off the system and that no I/O operations are in progress.
Enter
egconfig -l eg<N> ifconfig eg<N> down ifconfig eg<N> up
where <N> is the board number.
To preserve this configuration for the required reboot, open /etc/config/eg<N>.options and add -l, which is a hyphen followed by the letter l.
Save and exit the file.
Options in this file are automatically passed to the egconfig command when the system comes up after reboot.