Strange network problem

[Gerald Combs]

Brian Densmore wrote:

> and ifconfig returns something like:
> 
> eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
>           inet addr:172.21.12.2  Bcast:172.21.12.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
>           UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
>           RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:23
                                                             ^^
>           TX packets:193 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
>           collisions:0 txqueuelen:100
>           RX bytes:0 TX bytes:6348 
>           Interrupt:x Base address:0xxxxx

The ifconfig(8) man page doesn't say what the "frame" counter is for
(you'd think it would after all these years), but according to the
net-tools source code it's the output of a variable called
"rx_frame_errors".  It looks like you have framing errors on your line.
 Lots of things could cause this, including a bad driver, NIC, cable,
patch, or switch port.  It _might_ be due to a duplex mismatch, but in
that situation you usually have frames come through.  A speed mismatch
might be a possibility as well.