unknown slowdown

[Matthew Seaman]

On Thu, Jan 01, 2004 at 07:45:49PM +0100, Simon Strandgaard wrote:
> In my wardrobe I have my noisy/fast server, to which I can connect via
> the xdmcp protocol, either with my silent desktop machine or if im not
> at home I can use ssh. It worked fluently for 6 months, but recently it
> has become non-responsive and lagging. The network speed are 100Mbits
> and I have killed all suspicius processes. I have even tried to restart
> the server, but no luck. 

Two things to check:

Does 'netstat -i' show any errors, either on your server or on your desktop?

   If so, then there's probably a fault somewhere in your networking
   setup.  It could be a simple as a network cable not plugged in
   properly or as bad as your switch/hub slowly giving up the ghost,
   or one of the NICs in one of the machines spiralling into oblivion.
   Best way to isolate the problem is to swap out the various parts
   with known good components.  Nb. with this sort of search, always
   start with the cheapest components: don't assume that eg. network
   cables are so simple nothing can go wrong with them...

Do both machines agree on the duplex settings for your network?

   Certain combinations of NIC and network switches seem to have
   trouble negotiating the duplex settings for the network.  This
   leads to a large number of dropped packets and the sort of symptoms
   you've described.  Comparing the ifconfig(8) output on both
   machines and the blinken lights on the switch will soon tell you if
   this is the problem.  Solve it by hardwiring the 'media' and
   'mediaopts' settings in the ifconfig lines in /etc/rc.conf

	Cheers,

	Matthew

-- 
Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil.                       26 The Paddocks
                                                      Savill Way
PGP: http://www.infracaninophile.co.uk/pgpkey         Marlow
Tel: +44 1628 476614                                  Bucks., SL7 1TH UK
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