NIC Problem, inbound traffic fails, outbound ok

[Andreas Holz_3]

Hello all,

I'm encountering the following network problem using an Alphaserver 800/500 running True64 5.1.a

A:
- tranferring data using FTP or NFS from a Win2k box or from a Sparcstation to the Alpha is
1. slow, approx 60Kbyte/s, sometimes only < 10k
2. is hanging after a while. Transferring data will stop after some tranferred megabytes.

-> Netstat is showing packets in error

B:
on the Alpha there is running a software, which is using NFS to access the Alpha's filesystem. It seems to be, that even on the Alpha NFS hangs from time to time while accessing the local filesystem.

On the other hand, transferring data from the Alpha to the Win2k box or the Sparcstation is fast, approx 300-500Kbyte/s and does not hang (10Mbit NIC). It is possible to tranfer several hundred megabytes without any problem.

Any hints are very welcome!


Andreas

[Michael Schulte zur Sur]

Hi,

can you tell us more about the network infrastructure you are using and the patch kit level on the alpha? Please post also a netstat -I"nicname" -s

greetings,

Michael

[Andreas Holz_3]

Hi,

this is a plain Tru64 5.1.a installation, no patches. There is no special networking infrastructure.

The Alpha ist connected to a Sun Sparcstation 20 and a Win2k box, using a 10Mbit Hub. All three systems are using 10Mbit NIC's. The cabling (Twisted pair) should be ok, since I exchanged the cables several times.

The output of netstat I could send tomorrow, because the I've the systems at home for programming in LISP.

From 4.0.f I know, there was a packetfilter bug. Is there a similar bug in 5.1.a?

Andreas

[Al Licause]

Check to see what type of device you have either using uerf -Rr 300, or hwmgr get attr
-cat network. Look for the DECchip designation or the device type.

If it is a 10/100 card, make sure it's actually running at 10Mbps and not trying to run at 100.

Run netstat -is -I{interface_name}. This will show more details and tell you, in some cases, what the cause of the errors might be.

If all else fails, try hooking this system directly to another one with a crossover cable and run test for both incoming and outgoing data. If the direct connection shows no problems and no increase in error counts, then more than likely the problem is external to the system.

[Alexey Borchev]

And check up half duplex\Full duplex settings as well.
Try to specify it explicitly via ifconfig, as well as speed.

[Andreas Holz_3]

At first thank you for your replies.

I've some more informations excepted from the output of sys_check in an attachment to this posting (It is a plain MS-Notepad textfile).


Andreas

[Erich Wimmer]

I'm not a network specialist, but looking at your textfile I found most of the errors (receive errors) have been "frame errors". This usually happens if your network hardware (cable, switches, hubs) has problems. Try to connect your alpha box directly to your Win2K or Sparc Box by a crossover cable and see what happens.
Erich

[Michael Schulte zur Sur]

Andreas,

you have quite a few collisions.
Could you connect the machines to a switch?
Please make sure that the Alpha nic is set to 10mbit via console variable fix and not autosensing. This card does not handle that very well. Make sure all hosts have the same speed.

greetings,

Michael

[Andreas Holz_3]

Hello,

I followed your hints to connect the Alpha to the Sun using a crossover cable without success.

Finally I decided to change the NIC and surprisingly I found a NIC with a DEC-chips.

After changing the NIC all went smooth!

Thank you for your help!

[Andreas Holz_3]

I'm closing this thread now.

The NIC seems to be defective.