autoneg setting

[James Rohrich]

On my HP9000 which is used soley as a backup server for 85 servers (most are NT), the current nic setting for fast ethernet is 100 half with AUTONEG ON. I assume the autoneg on is the same as autosense which means the 100 half is being ignored. My wan support said the server is broadcasting a large number of runt errors. The port is set at 100 half, so technically the two (port and nic) should be in agreement unless the autoneg setting is causing the 100 half to be ignored.

1. Does the autoneg setting cause the 100 half to be ignored?
2. How can I change it? SAM would not let me because it complained about Bind not being updated as a result of Berlkely settings.
3. Can I change the setting without a reboot?
4. Most of our NT servers are set at 100 full, but the default is 100 half on HP. Is this prefered for a server being used only for backups which does generate major traffic.

[Lasse Knudsen]

Hi there,

Dont use sam - edit the proper file in /etc/rc.config.d - propably called hpbase100conf (depending on you lan adapter)

Notice that in order to run autoneg the switch should also be set to autonegotiation. What I think your problem might be here is that the switch might be hardcoded 100-full duplex. The drivers cant handle this and ends up running 100half and the result is a lot of runts (and posibly error disabled port).

If the switch is hard coded just set SPEED to 100FD.

[Sean Bastille]

My recollection of it is that 100Half, Auto Neg on will auto negotiate, but only up to 100 Half.

So see what your system is currently running at, run `lanscan` to see what the NMID is for the NIC you're interested in. Let's call this vaule 4

You can check the current speed with:
# lanadmin -x 4
Current Speed = 100 Half-Duplex

You can force this to 100 Full with:
# lanadmin -X 100FD 4

WARNING: an incorrect setting could cause serious network problems!!!

(like your NIC may entirely stop working until to fix it via the console)

Also, if you'd like to do this on boot, you need to modify /etc/rc.config.d/* (mine was hpbase100conf, but yours may vary) and change
HP_BASE100_SPEED[X]=AUTO_ON
to
HP_BASE100_SPEED[X]=100FD

It's possible that there is a 100FD_AUTO_ON setting. You'll need to check your references.

[James R. Ferguson]

James:

Use 'lanscan' to get the NMID for 'lanadmin'.

lanadmin -x displays settings like auto-negotiation and speed.

lanadmin -X can set them (temporarily).

...JRF...

[James Rohrich]

The port can be reset to what I want. Typically in our environment which is more NT than UNIX, we avoided auto if we knew the speed. My impression now is that the port is set at 100 half, but the nic is set with AUTONEG ON so my 100 half setting is being ignored.

Does the edit of that file require a reboot and is 100 half preferred over 100 full.

[Alan Riggs]

Resetting the NIC speed does not require a reboot, though it will cause a hiccough in network access. As a rule, HP recommends against using autonegotiation. IIRC, HP will not guarantee that 3rd party switches will "negotiate" properly with HP NIC cards. Set the speed explicitely.

If your switch will run 100FD, then use full. It is theoretically twice as fast as half-duplex. In half duplex, the card will allow traffic in only one direction at a time: either talking or listening out the line. With full duplex, packets can travel both directions in an intermingled stream.

[James Rohrich]

The config file shows:
HP_BASE100_SPEED(0)=100HD

This seems to imply that I am in congruence with the port setting and that possibly what is shown in SAM is ignored.

[Rick Garland]

As opposed to using the AUTONEG feature, you can turn it off and hard set the NIC to be 100FD.

Can do this with lanscan (get the NMID if 10.20, get the ppa if 11.00), run the lanadmin -X NMID# 100FD.

Then edit the file in the /etc/rc.config.d so that when the system boots, the card will come up at the specified settings.

[Alan Riggs]

The way to test how the card is actually set is with the lanadmin -x command. The NMID can be found from a lanscan. For instance:

# lanscan
Hardware Station Crd Hardware Net-Interface NM MAC HP DLPI Mjr
Path Address In# State NameUnit State ID Type Support Num
8/0/1/0 0x0060B04BF366 1 UP lan1 UP 4 ETHER Yes 119

# lanadmin -x 4
Current Speed = 100 Full-Duplex

[James Rohrich]

Please verify that if my hpbase100conf shows on the 3rd and 4th line (first 2 are just lan card and station address) and i know the second line below is a comment:

HP_BASE100_SPEED(0)=100HD
#HP_BASE100_DUPLEX(0)=

that I am running 100 Half Duplex and autoneg that shows as yes in SAM is actually not on.

[Alan Riggs]

Assuming that HP_BASE100_SPEED is the correct variable and that this is the correct configuration file (I have seen a system where unnecessary patch installations resulted in unused/inaccurate network configuration/startup files.) then the lines you posted show that the card should initially have been set to 100 half-duplef IF the () were actually []. Hard braces are the expected (at least in all systems I have seen) delimiter for card instances.

However, as has ben posted before, lanadmin is the only way to tell what settings are operating on the card NOW. If the -x flag is not working for your lanadmin command, it means that you are missing required network patches. Look for PHNE_18924 (or a superceding patch).