Proper way to configure NIC in full duplex

[K Anderson]

William Ashworth wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I'm using an r10 nic and have all the information already configured in
> rc.conf, however, transfer speeds are unusually slow (i.e., 55-60kbps when
> it SHOULD be somewhere near 1.00mbps+)
> 
> Someone told me that I might not be running the interface in full duplex.
> How can I determine this?  How can I fix it if I am not currently running in
> full duplex?
> 
> Any assistance is appreciated and below is the output of my interface
> information:
> 
> www# ifconfig rl0
> rl0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
>         inet 246.193.67.3 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 216.194.67.255
>         inet6 fe80::248:54ff:fe3d:350%rl0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1
>         inet 66.51.100.209 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         inet 66.51.100.210 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         inet 66.51.100.211 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         inet 66.51.100.212 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         inet 66.51.100.213 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         inet 66.51.100.214 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         inet 66.51.100.215 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         inet 66.51.100.216 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         inet 66.51.100.217 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         inet 66.51.100.218 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         inet 66.51.100.219 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         inet 66.51.100.220 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         inet 66.51.100.221 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         inet 66.51.100.222 netmask 0xfffffff0 broadcast 66.51.100.223
>         ether 00:48:54:3d:03:50
>         media: Ethernet autoselect (none)
>         status: active
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> William Ashworth
> will at pchammer.net
> 
> 
> 
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> 

A couple of things could prevent this from happening, this being wether 
or not you get full duplex.

I also have a rl0 interface and here's it's ifconfig
rl0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
         inet 192.168.100.105 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.100.255
         inet6 fe80::200:c5ff:feb3:316c%rl0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x2
         ether 00:00:c5:b3:31:6c
         media: Ethernet autoselect (100baseTX <full-duplex>)
         status: active

As you can see media: is autoselect and it chose 100baseTX with 
full-duplex (FD). The reason is, the NIC is connected to a switch that 
understands and supports both features. There is a tiny chance that some 
hubs or switches, if you are not connected connected to a switch 
supporting these features, may not support 100 with FD.

I have a Linksys 10/100 H/F Duplex with indicators that show if a given 
connection is as such, that's my second clue I have 100 with FD. It also 
could be the type of cable you are using, I am using Cat 5e.

I haven't tried it, but if you have a Cat 5e, or maybe a standard 
cross-over cable hook it in to two NICs that are indeed 100 FD, maybe on 
the same computer. Reboot the system and see if it can get FD. If not 
then try forcing it to be what you want. If it still refuses to go then 
the card has determined that nope, no way, forget about it, I ain't 
doing full duplex.

To do that you'll need to read and understand what ifconfig wants for 
the -mediaopts. You could probably do a Google search in the freebsd 
groups and find your answer on what to use.

HTH :)