I just installed Redhat 7.2 on a machine with a DLink DFE530-TX NIC. The NIC seems to detect fine, and i checked the HCL it is completly compatible. However, i can't comunicate with the network at all. I can't ping it from other machines and i can't ping from that machine. When i do cat /proc/net/dev It comes up with all zeros except for dump. Under dump it has 8. All the network info is correct, ip address, etc... . Any suggestions on what to check next.

If you can't even ping the card locally (from the box it's installed in), then the NIC or it's module might not be installed correctly. Post the output of ifconfig. If the NIC isn't listed there, try ifconfig -a instead.
Also run lsmod and see if the NIC's driver (module) shows as active.

Otherwise, posting more info on your network's structure/configuration would probably help.

If i do an ifconfig it has all the network info correct. Under RX packets: it has all zeros except for dropped, dropped now has 42658. I noticed that if i do a dmesg|more i comes up with

eth0: D-link DFE-538TX (RealTek RTL8139)
eth0: Identified 8139 chip type 'RTL-8139C'
eth0: Setting half-duplex based on auto-negotiated partner ability 0000.
NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out
eth0:Tx queue start entry 4 dirty entry 0
eth0: Txdescripter 0 is 00002000. (queue head)
eth0: tx descritper 1 is 00002000. ((does this up to 3))
eth0: Setting half-duplex based on auto-negotiated partner
probable hardware bug: clock timer configuration lost - probably a VIA686A motherboard.
probable hardware bug: restoring chip configuration.

What does this mean?

That was normal, the Clocktimer configuration lost. Its a bug in PII and PPro motherboards with VIA components, and probably has nothing at all to do with that rtl8139 card.

The dmesg read looks to me like the normal card recognition and timing negotiation. I have no idea why its dropping every packet on the floor. Have you done anything funky with IPtables? What is the exact ifconfig/LAN set-up of this machine and its pals.

Cheers,

Finegan

If you go to the D Link Site http://support.dlink.ca/faq/search.asp and type in Linux and do a search they actually have some commands to install this particular card on Red had 6.x but i am guess it'll work for higher versions. I hope this helps a bit.

I didn't bother to do the search before... I just went through the drivers pages, which of course don't mention our favorite .07% market share OS. I still only found info up to the 680, and you have 1 version higher than that right?

Even if you have the right driver for the card, if that driver was compiled without knowing of the existence of your card, it probably won't bind. Right now it should be trying to bind either rtl8139 or 8139too depending on whether I was right about when the new one got put in the kernel tree.

Try it though, might work.

Cheers,

Finegan

Actually i was trying to help out the linuxwannabe person, but i'll try to bind those drivers to the card.....Finnegan you should check back to the original thread i put up.

Whoops, sorry mis-posted... er... wondered why I couldn't find that thing on the D-Link page. Pardon me, doh!

Well feed me a doughnut and call me Homer.

Cheers,

Finegan

hehehe, had me really confused there for a minute. Ill try the d-link site. Thanks.

Ok here is what the site says.

1. Before you install Redhat, you can setup the NIC during the installation procedure. When the system asks you to setup the NIC, please select via-rhine for the DFE-530TX.

I was never promted to select anything?

2. After you install Redhat, you can execute netconf, in the Client Task -> Basic Host Information. Set up your IP and subnet mask, the important thing is the "kernel module". The following is the kernel module list of D-Link NIC:

I don't think netconf works in 7.2???? At least it won't for me.

Thanks for trying though

RH dumped Netconf/Linuxconf somewhere in the 7.x line.
Here's an link to their new (Rh 7.2) network configuration procedures:
https://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/...ide/p2553.html.

Hope this helps...