I"m trying to troubleshoot the network and (hopefully) rule out an incompatible NIC in my new server. I am connected via LAN to a Gig Switch. No matter what, my server only runs at 100Mb/s. The fastest transfer I've seen was 11.5 MB/s. I recently replaced the cable with known-working, brand new CAT 6 cables from Monoprice, but don't know if perhaps the drop in the wall or the termination is bad? What should the next step be in troubleshooting to rule out problems with the wall drop or the switch ports. I know the switch as a whole is ok because (after swapping cables) I get FULL gig speeds to my desktop in another room on a different wall run.

 

I am running Unraid Basic 4.7. My MoBo is a Biostar A880G+. I"ve attached the syslog.

 

Thanks.

syslog.txt

Paste the output of "ifconfig" and "ethtool eth0".

wer:~# ifconfig

eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:30:67:e9:78:7c

          inet addr:192.168.1.175  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0

          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:74702 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:113176 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000

          RX bytes:4843543 (4.6 MiB)  TX bytes:167230888 (159.4 MiB)

          Interrupt:25 Base address:0xc000

 

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback

          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0

          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1

          RX packets:9 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:9 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0

          RX bytes:664 (664.0 B)  TX bytes:664 (664.0 B)

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And ethtool results:

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Settings for eth0:

        Supported ports: [ TP MII ]

        Supported link modes:  10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full

                                100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full

                                1000baseT/Half 1000baseT/Full

        Supports auto-negotiation: Yes

        Advertised link modes:  10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full

                                100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full

                                1000baseT/Half 1000baseT/Full

        Advertised auto-negotiation: Yes

        Speed: 100Mb/s

        Duplex: Full

        Port: MII

        PHYAD: 0

        Transceiver: internal

        Auto-negotiation: on

        Supports Wake-on: pumbg

        Wake-on: g

        Current message level: 0x00000033 (51)

        Link detected: yes

 

You're definitely only negotiating at 100MB/s.

 

Start with a safe reboot. It's happened to me a few times when the connection was knocked down to 100MB/s. meh

 

Next, try different cables between the source, switch, and server. Only change one at a time.

I have rebooted several times. It has only ever negotiated to 100 since the beginning (Just built the rig and set it up a week and a half ago). I have replaced the cable between the server and the wall drop, and tried both ports at the wall. The switch is in the upstairs apt. and owned/setup by my neighbor/landlord. I will have to coordinate with him to test on that end. I was just wondering if there was any way to confirm/rule-out whether the NIC/BIOS/software was the problem before having to involve him and troubleshoot at the switch.

I will have to try another device plugged directly into the same port with the same cable first. If that only connects @ 100Mb/s, I can move on to testing the wall drop and then the switch if need be.

Your syslog shows constant link connections and disconnections (link up then down then up then ...).  Your ifconfig showed no errors or collisions, so I think your wires are good, but something is loose, perhaps a connector somewhere.  Or else a switch or router is constantly rebooting ...  You might want to watch the lights on them, to see if they are resetting.  If you have a laptop, try connecting its network wired port to the same network cable you are connecting your server to.

So it is working now. I thought all the connections on my end were solid, but after unplugging/reconnecting at the wall jack doing testing with other devices, I restarted the server and am now negotiating @ 1000Mb/s! I'm getting speeds copying TO The server ~20-30MB/s and ~50-60MB/s FROM the server.

 

I will do some furether tests to determine where exactly the faulty connection is happening (if that is the case) to see if I need to re-terminate the wall jacks. If not, the board might be finicky and maybe the repeated reboots did the trick. If this ends up being the case I will shop for an Intel NIC card. I'll update the title as RESOLVED once I"ve determined whether it's wiring or the NIC.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions and assistance!