Topic: How do change network cards?

[Richard Emory]

I have 2 Realtek cards in my e-smith server.  The network in very slow with lots of collisions.  I want to change network cards and have a series of questions. Pointing me to some How-To docs would be great.  I can't seem to find what I need.

The new card, Netgear 311 comes with a make file that I cannot get to work.  What do I type at the command line to compile the drivers?  Can I compile the drivers?  Is gcc on a e-smith server or was it unloaded for security?  If gcc is not on the server what next?

How do I find out what verion of E-Smith, RedHat and Linux I have? I bought this from a E-bay seller and am not sure if I have 4.1, 4.1.1 or 4.1.2.

Thanks
Richard Emory

[Kirrily Robert]

The first thing to do is check whether your new network card
is supported by e-smith.  This is listed in the manual, which
can be found at http://www.e-smith.org/docs/manual/

Specifically, the page you want is http://www.e-smith.org/docs/manual/4.1/supportedenet.html which lists supported ethernet adapters.  You'll see from that list that Netgear 311 is not supported, though some other Netgear cards are.

You're right in guessing that gcc has been removed from e-smith
for security reasons.  This is a Frequently Asked Question... see
http://www.e-smith.org/faq.php3#8q7 for the answer.
If you want to compile a driver for your network card you'll either have to install gcc or do it on another system.  In either case, this isn't something that we officially support, and it's rather an advanced topic.  If you're not familiar with compiling and installing kernel modules
already, you will find this rather tricky.

To be honest, you'd be better off finding out *why* there were lots of collisions on the network -- it may not have been anything to do with your network card or the e-smith server.  The other option I'd recommend is simply buying a network card which is supported by e-smith.  They're so inexpensive these days that
it's probably not worth the time and effort it would take to get
the 311 working.

To find out what version you're using, you can type "cat /etc/issue" on the command line of your system.  The current version is 4.1.2, and you can download the CD image from ftp.e-smith.com if you want to upgrade.

[Kirrily Robert]

It's just been pointed out to me that you can also see the version number at the top of the e-smith console, and in the login banner.

K.

[Richard Emory]

Thank you very much for the answers.  At least I know where to go from here.

Sincerely,

Richard Emory

[Jochen Hoegerl]

Richard Emory wrote:
>
> The new card, Netgear 311 comes with a make file that I
> cannot get to work.  What do I type at the command line to
> compile the drivers?  
> Thanks
> Richard Emory

I'm using the FA311 with no problems. You DON'T have to compile
the driver, just use the fa311.o thats on the driver disk or check the
NETGEAR Website if there is a newer one.

copy the driver to /lib/modules/2.2.16-22/net

Enter the following commands  at the console:

/sbin/e-smith/config set EthernetDriver1 fa311   (for local LAN)
/sbin/e-smith/config set EthernetDriver2 fa311   (for external LAN)

/sbin/e-smith/signal-event console-save

If you just want to get rid of your network collisions, I recommend to
install a network sniffer on one maschine to trace down who/what is causing
this. I had a similar problem in one of our subnets and traced it down to
a damn networkcard permanentely broadcasting its maschinename.

jochen

[Richard Emory]

Mr. Jochen Hoegerl,

Thanks you for your response.  The first time I tried to follow your instructions it did not work.  Since I am not that good with command line any more I use a remote windows console to move files around.  When windows got finished with the file "fa311.o" it became "FA311.O" with the incorrect permissions.  Once I changed all that, typed in your command strings, shut down the conputer, replaced the card and BLAM!!  It works right off the shelf!!

I owe you one

Richard Emory