Problem with RealTek Network card.

I have a real problem with my RealTek Card. Every now and then (about every 5-7 seconds) it completely stops responding, and it stays like that for 10-30 seconds. Since it is a small server which urgently needs the network. The realtek module 8139 is compiled into the kernel and I dropped out everey other Ethernet module.
dmesg has the following output:

lux ~ # dmesg y 27167. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a042. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a0b2. (queue head) eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 26592 dirty entry 26588. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a5ea. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a20a. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 17986 dirty entry 17982. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a20a. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5ea. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5ea. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 1779 dirty entry 1775. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5ea. (queue head) eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 2939 dirty entry 2935. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a03c. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a03c. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a03c. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a03c. (queue head) eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 3324 dirty entry 3320. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a08e. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a5e2. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5e2. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5e2. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 7404 dirty entry 7400. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a06e. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a06e. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a089. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a089. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 12290 dirty entry 12286. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a089. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a089. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a089. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a0b2. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 9222 dirty entry 9218. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a086. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a06e. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a04a. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 41211 dirty entry 41207. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5ea. (queue head) eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 30314 dirty entry 30310. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a089. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a042. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a06e. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 266 dirty entry 262. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a06e. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a0b2. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a042. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0015 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 12729 dirty entry 12725. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a042. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a0b2. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a042. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 15971 dirty entry 15967. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5ea. (queue head) eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 142 dirty entry 138. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a06e. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a042. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a04e. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a089. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 7 dirty entry 3. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a042. (queue head) eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 8228 dirty entry 8224. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a058. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a086. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a2b9. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a042. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 3838 dirty entry 3834. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a04a. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a04a. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 9064 dirty entry 9060. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a058. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a089. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5c2. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5c2. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 517 dirty entry 513. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a058. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a042. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a042. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a058. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 7300 dirty entry 7296. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a195. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a0bc. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a40c. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 7505 dirty entry 7501. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a089. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a089. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a12c. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a089. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 26935 dirty entry 26931. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a058. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a089. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a089. (queue head) eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 24 dirty entry 20. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a03c. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a03c. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a03c. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5e2. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 10815 dirty entry 10811. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a20a. (queue head) eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 46 dirty entry 42. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a042. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5ea. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5c2. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 121 dirty entry 117. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a042. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a04a. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 3259 dirty entry 3255. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a5c2. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a5c2. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a1a9. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a0a6. (queue head) eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 9352 dirty entry 9348. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a042. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a089. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5c2. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a086. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 21534 dirty entry 21530. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a086. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a06e. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a586. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 9026 dirty entry 9022. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5ea. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5ea. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 12 dirty entry 8. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a5ea. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a0bc. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5e2. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 277 dirty entry 273. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a5c2. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a042. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a042. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a042. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 9823 dirty entry 9819. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a19e. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a0bc. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5ea. (queue head) eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 15577 dirty entry 15573. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a06e. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a089. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a06e. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a089. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 51078 dirty entry 51074. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a5d6. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a5d6. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5d6. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5d6. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 46508 dirty entry 46504. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a5ea. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5ea. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 8838 dirty entry 8834. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a06e. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a089. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a5ea. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a5ea. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 155 dirty entry 151. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a03c. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a042. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a089. (queue head) eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 412 dirty entry 408. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a042. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a042. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a04a. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 9030 dirty entry 9026. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a586. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a586. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a042. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a042. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 161 dirty entry 157. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a042. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a089. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a03c. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a07d. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 550 dirty entry 546. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a089. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a0bc. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a043. (queue head) eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a043. eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 00. eth0: Tx queue start entry 331 dirty entry 327. eth0: Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a5ea. eth0: Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a04a. eth0: Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a042. (queue head) eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1 lux ~ #

Can someone please help me?

This is an interesting one. It happened to me on my server which has two 8139 cards and had been running faultlessly for 4 months. I have yet to see a solution. I rebooted the box and had the same problem. I then moved one card into a different pci slot and rebooted and that stopped it. Then I moved the card back into its original slot and everything is working fine and has been for a few months.

So you suggest that I switch PCI-Slot?
I didn't think about this solution yet, but it might help :-)

It might be dirty contacts that get cleaned when you move the card.

Mhz, this is really freaking me out...
I tried all 3 PCI-Ports on my Motherboard and still it does not work
Anyone got an idea? I really need this badly...

Take the card out and boot the system without it. Insert it again and see if that solves it. Failing that, try installing a newer kernel.

Hi,
I have the same problem. I had a perfectly working linux server (gateway,mail,www) since today. The harddisk got broken. A new one was installed, and I had to reinstall everithing. Since then, nothing is working on the local area network (192.168.0.0). I have 2 network adapters: rtl8139 and via-rhine. I get the same messeges as you in my log files and no network connection is possible.
Also I observed, that, only incoming datas are lost, outgoing looks fine ... strange becouse logs say " transmit timed out". I found this out by pinging my linux box from another pc (winXP), and thet winxp got my network card's hardware address.
Also, the sistem can detect when i plug the cable in the pc, and a log is created every time.

I looked on the internet for solutions, and I compared my old linux with this freshly installed one. The only diference is, I'm just guessing, that acpi is started on this new one, and atm also. So, tomorrow morning I'l try to desable both acpi and atm. You should try too. Some people solved this problem this way, at least thet's what I found on the internet.

Sorry for my bad English,
Have a nice day

I sort of stopped it happening by inserting a switch between the server and my home WAG54G router. I also then connected my other computers to the switch, and they all talked to each other very happily.

However access to the router and the outside world (via the router) become troublesome. So I have now removed the switch. And guess what? The problem has started - but not straight awaysu -

Interestingly, I have two servers at home: one is Fedora Core 3, the other Fedora Core 4. The FC3 has been working beatifully for 6 months. Installed the new FC4 box (rest of the network remained the same) - now both the FC4 AND FC3 server's are both reporting the problem - i.e.

Aug 4 10:52:56 server kernel: eth0: link down
Aug 4 10:52:57 server kernel: eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1

Aug 4 10:52:38 server2 kernel: eth0: link down
Aug 4 10:52:39 server2 kernel: eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1


Adrian

Ok I'll try that immediately, ACPI wasn't working anyway ^^

Is the common factory the "Realtek rtl8139" network cards? Both my server's have these...

Adrian

I tried the solution I wrote, today, didn't worked for mee too. Also I tried mii_tool for eliminateing auto negotiation and manual definition of 100basTX...
Again, no success.
Mai be broken hardware???
Tomorrow I'll try again to install from zero, but this time with a 60Euro 3Com network card. If I get any success, I'll let you know.

Fixed (I think...)

I got myself a new NIC - that appeared to have no effect (was a RealTek chipset).

I updated my WAG54G to firmware 1.02.5_07 - that appeared to have no effect

Finally on advice from a friend I disabled the mDNSResponder service. At that point, it appeared to then work correctly...

So far it is all working happily...

Adrian

I had no success too. I even tried 3com network adapters without any result. So I installed there a backup server, and the company will by a new PC.
Anyway, I'll save your solution, maybe sometime it will be usefull. Thanks for publicating it.

I got it to work nicely, just don't compile ACPI and APM support into the kernel :-)