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Linux Server only connects via Hub

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by aron 1 view

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We are installing Mandrake Linux V 8.0 and have found that the Linux machine (192.168.1.71) will only connect to our local (192.168.1.0) network if it is first plugged into a regular 10BaseT hub that is then plugged into one of our switches.

Whenconnected directly into our intelligent HP switch, neither the Linux box nor the Network communicate with each other in any way.

We have switched : wall outlets, cabling, ports on the switch and the only way communication exists is if the Linux machine is first plugged into the hub first!

Any ideas on why this is happening?

Thank you, Aron.

5 replies

by stillatit

Offhand, it sounds like either there is something incompatible between the NIC and the switch which the hub takes care of, or you have an X cable somewhere in the mix, and you are plugging into the hub's upload port, which is reversing the connections back to normal.

It is very unlikely that Linux is the problem here. It sounds like a normal cabling problem.

Things to check:

Is the NIC trying for 100mbps, and the switch stricly 10 (or vice-versa), but the hub 10/100?

Is the NIC fullduplex, but the switch only half-duplex, and the hub handles both (or some combination thereof)?

Is the distance between the computer and the switch excessive (or the cable the wrong spec), so that the hub is providing needed amplification?

Isthe line to the hub plugged into the upload port (typically the first or last)? If so, there may be an X cable between the computer and the wall or between the patch panel and the hub. Examine the plugs -- the colors should be in the same order at both ends for normal cables.

Good luck.

by rossiter

Try using a crossover cable instead of a straight through cable. I've had exactly the same thing happen. If you use a hub, you use a straight through cat5 cable....If no hub, use a crossover cable. Consult any Cat5 cabling guide on how to pin outa crossover cable.

HTH,
Eric

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