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#1 2009-04-11 23:05:52

ralvez
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From: Canada
Registered: 2005-12-06
Posts: 1,694
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CISCO Roter connection problem

I have a friend of mine that is working on his cisco certification. He also likes to learn some more Linux skills so he ended up setting up a CISCO router at home to work on.
I help him install Arch in one of his boxes and everything went OK up to the point in which we had to tftp into his router. As soon as I connect the cable from the pc nic to the router it dies.
If we use a windows machine it works OK, if we use my laptop with Arch it works OK too but not with his new Arch desktop box.
I know what you are thinking ... is the NIC card... wink and so did I ... I tested 5 different cards and all work to go to the Internet but as soon as I plug them in the router they all die. yikes

I used mii-tools to re-configure the cards to half-duplex (the natural/default connectivity of the cisco box) but no joy, however, I was able to connect at full speed with both laptops.

If there in anyone here in the forums that has any experience in cisco/networking I would very much appreciate any ideas. I even tested another box (in case the first had some issues with the motherboard or something) but same problem.

The thing that gets to me is the fact that we have clearly eliminated the OS as a problem (since it connects with both Arch and windows) we also eliminated the Nic cards as a problem because they all connect to  the Internet (they only fail with the CISCO box) and we know the cisco router is OK because both laptops connect  to it ... what gives here?? mad

Thanks in advance for any help.

R

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#2 2009-04-14 06:51:30

daf666
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Registered: 2007-04-08
Posts: 470
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Re: CISCO Roter connection problem

What do you mean 'it dies'? no connection? crash? what does mii-tool show at that point? what does eth-tool?
Did you try a different kernel on that box?

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#3 2009-04-14 10:12:19

timetrap
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From: Here and There
Registered: 2008-06-05
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Re: CISCO Roter connection problem

Are you using a cross-over cat5 cable or a straight-through? Router-to-Router and Router-to-PC connections all need cross-over cables.

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#4 2009-04-14 11:31:01

ralvez
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From: Canada
Registered: 2005-12-06
Posts: 1,694
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Re: CISCO Roter connection problem

@daf666,

By "dies" I mean not connection wastoever. The mii-tool says no connection too.
The kernel in the laptop that has Arch is the same as the kernel in the box we use to connect to the router.

@timetrap,

Yes we are using the crossover cat cable and yes, we are doing a pc to router connection.
Again, remember that both laptops (his windows laptop and my linux laptop both connected fine).

It is the strangest thing. I tested 5 different NIC cards in that box and all of them connect to the Internet from the "affected" box just fine, but they all produce no connection if the cable is connected to the CISCO router.

Any other ideas?

Thanks for posting.

R.

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#5 2009-04-14 13:00:54

daf666
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Registered: 2007-04-08
Posts: 470
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Re: CISCO Roter connection problem

ralvez wrote:

@daf666,

By "dies" I mean not connection wastoever. The mii-tool says no connection too.
The kernel in the laptop that has Arch is the same as the kernel in the box we use to connect to the router.

You mean mii-tool says no link? what does ethtool say about link state? (important)
Also, try a different kernel on the same hardware (like a gentoo live cd or something)

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#6 2009-04-14 13:09:46

ralvez
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From: Canada
Registered: 2005-12-06
Posts: 1,694
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Re: CISCO Roter connection problem

@daf666,
The ethtool I do not remember but I'm certain is *not* a kernel issue because, as I mentioned earlier, my Arch laptop (with the same kernel as the failing box) connects just fine.
The most significant difference I can see, so far is that both laptops that can connect have Gigabit ethernet and the cards we had to test where 3Com and DLink. Perhaps the CISCO router does "not like" those cards? or the cards (being rather chip wink ) may lack some capability needed?

R.

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#7 2009-04-14 13:50:32

daf666
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Registered: 2007-04-08
Posts: 470
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Re: CISCO Roter connection problem

Oh I though you said Windows worked on the *same* hardware, in any event using a different kernel is something that I would have tried.
Did you check that MTU's match on both hardwares? 
Reset bios settings? change interface driver settings with ethtool..?  lots of stuff to try smile

Edit: also, are you saying that you connect the cable, there is a link (led) but mii/ethtool say there is no link?
Please post the output of 'ethtool eth0'

Last edited by daf666 (2009-04-14 13:52:40)

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#8 2009-08-08 22:08:06

cactus
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From: t͈̫̹ͨa͖͕͎̱͈ͨ͆ć̥̖̝o̫̫̼s͈̭̱̞͍̃!̰
Registered: 2004-05-25
Posts: 4,622
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Re: CISCO Roter connection problem

a bit late to this thread, but the following _might_ be helpful...

1) the card is older and thus has a hard time with speed/duplex detection. I have run into this many times with cisco devices. They seem to have 'fickle' speed/duplex detection. You could try forcing the speed and duplex on the cisco (for that port) AND the workstation, to both be 100mbit and full-duplex, and see if that works out for you.

usually if autodetection fails, both sides default to 10mbit half-duplex as a 'omg nobody knows what to do, lets try the bottom of the barrel and see if it works'.

2) check the port state on the router, and see if the cisco yields up any info. you could try turning on debug on the cisco for a short period of time, and see if it outputs any useful information while you plug in the cables.


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#9 2009-08-09 18:07:57

ckristi
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From: Bucharest, Romania
Registered: 2006-11-21
Posts: 225

Re: CISCO Roter connection problem

Did he configured the fast ethernet interface on the router? And, ofc, did he issued a "no shutdown" command for that specific interface (on the Cisco router)?


In love I believe and in Linux I trust

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