Changing NIC Speed

[shasha_1]

We have two rx7620 servers having the following NIC Cards:

Class I H/W Path Driver S/W State H/W Type Description
==========================================================================
lan 0 0/0/10/1/0 igelan CLAIMED INTERFACE HP A6825-60101 PCI 1000Base-T Adapter
lan 1 0/0/12/1/0 igelan CLAIMED INTERFACE HP A6825-60101 PCI 1000Base-T Adapter
lan 2 1/0/1/1/0/4/0 igelan CLAIMED INTERFACE HP A6794-60001 PCI 1000Base-T
lan 3 1/0/4/1/0 igelan CLAIMED INTERFACE HP A6825-60101 PCI 1000Base-T Adapter

When I looked at the speed of lan0, it's set to auto-negotiate. I want to change it to 1000FD, I don't know if this is possible. Which /etc/rc.config.d file should I change?

[Rajeev Shukla]

Yes there are 2 ways you can change the NIC speed and negotiation.
use lanadmin -x PPA 1 to see the speed of the first card (lan0 and similarly for lan1, lan2 etc.. using the PPA number)
Now to set the speed temporarly use
lanadmin -X command
lanadmin -X 0 100FD but if you want to make the changes permanent you need to edit the corresponding file for the NIC card and in your case it is /etc/rc.config.d/hppci100conf and add entries like
HP_PCI100_INTERFACE_NAME[0]=lan1
HP_PCI100_SPEED[0]=100FD
and for every NIC cards.

[Mel Burslan]

you can not fix the speed to 1000FD on these cards. As far as fixed speed goes, all you can do is 100FD provided the other side, i.e. the switch port, is also nailed down to 100FD.

If you want to get to 1000FD, you need to let both sides float to autonegotiate, and hopefully, provided you have quality cabling, they will aouto negotiate to 1000FD.

The file to fix the interfaces to 100FD if needed is :

/etc/rc.config.d/hpigelanconf

you need to modify these lines only in that file:
HP_IGELAN_INTERFACE_NAME[1]=lan1
HP_IGELAN_SPEED[1]=100FD

for all the interfaces you want to modify. There are another 8 parameter settings but they are irrelevant to your purpose for speed fixing.

Hope this helps

[Mel Burslan]

Sorry, forgot to include this in my original response, if you modify the /etc/rc.config.d/hpigelanconf file, you need to run

/sbin/init.d/hpigelan stop
/sbin/init.d/hpigelan start

commands to make the changes take effect.

[Warren_9]

Hi,

The speed of the 1000BT NIC cannot be fix. The only thing you can do is set it to auto and fix the speed on the other side (switch or router).

[shasha_1]

Hi Guys,

I just have one question, why is it not possible to set the spped to 1000FD? When I look at the NIC configuration using SAM, I can set the speed to 1000FD, why is this not possible when editing the config file?

[shasha_1]

Hi again,


So which one should I follow? We will be changing the configuration tonight and I am already planning to set the speed to 100FD fixed.

[Adisuria Wangsadinata_1]

Hi Donna,

You can change the speed to 100FD, but you must sure that the speed must be match with the link partner.

So if the card set with 100FD and connect to the switch, the switch must configure also with 100FD. Otherwise it's better to set as auto_on (as auto negotiate).

1. edit /etc/rc.config.d/hpigelanconf
2. restart hpigelan to re-read the configuration :

# /sbin/init.d/hpigelan stop
# /sbin/init.d/hpigelan start

Check this thread below :
http://forums2.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=508130

Hope this can help you.

Cheers,
AW

[Mel Burslan]

even though in sam you seem to be able to set the speed to 1000FD as you will see later, this is not supported and will not work. Moreover if the switch side is fixed to 1000FD it will hinder the performance of your network communication. The cards does not support 1000FD fixed setting yet as far as I know.

let the setting float on both ends and see what you are getting after the hpigelan stop/start by running command :

lanadmin -x lanA

where A is your network card instance number, lan0, lan1 etc...

[Jay Kidambi]

On HP-UX the only way to operate a 1000Base-T device at 1000FD is to turn Auto-Negotiation ON. There is no 1000FD manual setting. However, HP-UX 1000Base-T devices fully support and interoperate with devices that allow the 1000FD setting.

Here's why:

Auto-Negotiation is a MUST for 1000Base-T operation, as mandated by 802.3ab. For 1000 Mbps operation, Auto-Negotiation is used for the so called Master-Slave resolution at the PHYsical layer.

Some switches and routers do have the 1000FD setting. However, it doesn't mean that they don't Auto-Negotiate at all. They would most definitely be using auto-negotiation to resolve the master-slave relationship prior to link establishment though they may not explicitly say so.

Therefore in your case you may use the 'lanadmin -X auto_on ' command, or for a more permanent configuration (to preserve it across reboots), use SAM, OR edit the /etc/rc.config.d/hpigelanconf file manually.

Regarding SAM behavior, if you observe closely, you'll notice that SAM is consistent with what I stated above. SAM will display the current speed grayed out when Auto-Negotiation is ON. It'll only allow you to set 10/100 speeds when Auto-Negotiation is OFF.

Hope that clarifies.

Jay

PS: In addition to resolving the master/slave configuration for 1000Base-T operation (this is not required for 10/100 speeds), Auto-Negotiation is used for other well-known purposes such as resolving speed and flow control (optional) settings.