Hi all,
I've just installed a Crunchbang Waldorf on a PowerEdge R210 II, all works well except the 4 ethernet connexions.
I've a BCM5716C as embedded NIC 1&2 (eth2, eth3) and a BCM5709C as PCIE 1&2 (eth0, eth1). And even ethernet cards seems to work properly they don't detect any wired connexion.

Here is a lspci result :
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor DRAM Controller (rev 09)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor PCI Express Root Port (rev 09)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev b4)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev a4)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation C202 Chipset Family LPC Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 04)
01:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme II BCM5709 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 20)
01:00.1 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme II BCM5709 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 20)
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme II BCM5716 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 20)
02:00.1 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme II BCM5716 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 20)
03:03.0 VGA compatible controller: Matrox Electronics Systems Ltd. MGA G200eW WPCM450 (rev 0a)

Both two cards appears.

Any idea to solve this ?

Thanks a lot.
Renaud

Hi Renaud,

In my experience with wired ethernet issues, it is best to start with the easy physical things first.

1. Do not assume the ethernet cable is working (I spent hours finding a fault to discover it was the cable)
So - replace or check the cable and ensure the cable is not the problem

2. The switch. One of my ethernet switches at home was damaged by lightning strike (when I eventually took it apart and saw the scorch damage).
So again if possible, ensure the switch works fine with other equipment

3. Some cards default to only connect at a certain speed and certain duplex setting. So for example, if you cards will only connect at gigabit and your switch is 100mbit, the connections may not work.
Check that the ethernet card settings are set to "AUTO" - Auto negotiate.

4. NetXtreme II are "picky". I have a machine with one of these embedded on the motherboard and it would never work correctly under Windows7 (though it would work fine under Linux).
Try (if possible) to load a CD or DVD "LIVE" image (no need to install) and see if the cards work fine with another operating system - this will rule out hardware issues and move the problem to drivers.

5. Try different drivers - I am not clear on the operating system you are using but most Operating Systems offer the ability to change drivers.

6. Google for similar problems people have had - it may be that you can get clues for a similar problem that is not exactly the same as yours.

Hi mcmorj,
thanks for this reply.

I'm using a CrunchBang 11, derivated from Debian Wheezy, so don't thing there are problems with this OS.
Before I've tested a Wheezy live on this server with the same result.

Points 1 and 2 are ok.
Point 3 could be the issue, these cards are Gb
and I only have a 10/100/1000 network to config and test the server.

To be continued...

Ok finally found the solution, drivers weren't good.
I change it for thses ones :
http://packages.debian.org/wheezy/al...-bnx2/download
http://packages.debian.org/wheezy/al...bnx2x/download
As indicated on this page
http://blackbird.si/debian-wheezy-de...i-bnx2-driver/

Broadcom NXII Gigabit Ethernet BCM5709C and BCM5716C works well on a 10/100/1000 network.

Excellent!!