Networks

You didn't specify what card you use. If it is capable of 100mb then that may be your problem. Your network may have been running at the higher speed. You should allow your cards and switches to auto-negotiate the speed. If that doesn't help, set the speed of both to the highest the cards will go with full duplex turned on. Hope this helps.

Here is some more info about emartinezm's network:

The NICS are all 3COM 3C90X, both at the server and at the workstations. 7 of the switches are connected to the same switch as the servers using crosover cables. l disabled full duplex in all ports after reading at the Novell site that some 3COM cards have problems negotiating with Cisco equipment. The Catalysts are using IOS version 12. We are running using the IPX protocol.

I think you are creating a huge collision domain in your network... They are all converging at the switch where the servers are physically connected to...

If you have flexibility in the design you may want to do this over the weekend...

Have a tiered approach... A triangle on it's point...

A-A-A A-A
\ /
B --- B
\ /
C

A are your client network switches, hopefully all of your traffic is in-house and doesn't need to go out, if it does, then go to Bis the traffic is on the other side of A... If not then and only then do they go to C... This segments the networks well and allows for scalability in the future where as the seven tied to one would defintitely need fixing later...

Just a thought...

I would keep the users at 10M and the server connections at 100... If the users need or want 100, then there should be multiple 100M links between the B and C levels...


I hope this gives you some food for thought...

Johnny

YOU NEED A SNIFFER! What's on the network? Check for any ICMP messages. Check out www.netanalysis.org. Also try to minimize any amount of multicasts. But basically... you need to sniff your network to root out the problem. You'll just be guessing 'till you do.

Hope this helps.
Stan :)

The network is set like Saber_21 says. The problem was our 3COM NICs not autonegotiating correctly with the switches. We configured the switches and the servers explicitly to use duplex 100MBps. Now the network is very, very fast!
Thanks to all for your help. emartinez should close this very soon.