Dell PowerEdge 850 bge(4) RELENG_6 (WAS: Re: bge(4) problem)

[Brian A. Seklecki]

On Thu, 10 Aug 2006, Brian A. Seklecki wrote:

>
> I will experiment with it tomorrow.

Sorry about the delay.

The problem persists with a fresh 6.1-STABLE kernel (rev 1.91.2.16 
2006/08/10).

When I force the duplex on both sides, I still have to manually bounce the 
interface state post-boot.  I still get "bge1: 2 link states coalesced".

It seems to perform well once that happens.

If I leave it in auto-media, it comes up at 100/half duplex, which leads 
to unusable performance.  100/half duplex is technically impossible 
anyway.

I doubt the cause of this problem is the driver at this point.  It can't 
be the switch.  This Broadcom chipset must just suck.

I will just throw a dual-port em(4) in this machine instead.  I will make 
sure to let our Dell sales rep know we're not interested in purchasing any 
more systems with Broadcom chips onboard.

The PE 1950/2950 better not have this problem.

~BAS

>
> Meanwhile it should be pointed out that the new Dell 9th generation 
> PE{1,2}950 uses the 5708 integrated dual port.
>
> However the Addon-NIC option is still the dual port 5721.
>
> ~BAS
>