[lug] Server slowing network

[Zan Lynx]

Gordon Golding wrote:
>   We have a server with a single static connection to the network.
> 
> Every once in awhile, the network bogs down.  Unplugging and replugging 
> the ethernet cable on the server stops it.
> 
> Installed wireshark sniffer on a local Micro**** PC ( go ahead, beat me 
> up...  )
> 
> When the slowdown happened,  network traffic didn't really increase... 
> Either specifically from this machine or in general.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Is it possible that a bad ether card is dumping sludge on the network 
> that a sniffer wouldn't pick up?

Are you using a managed switch? If so, check the statistics on the port 
the server is on. Lots of errors would be sludge.

Or, if it is a fancy switch it might have flood/antivirus protection. A 
friend ran into this with an HP switch that kept throttling a network 
segment.

Or, the network cable might be bad somehow, and the card or switch is 
renegotiating the link down to a lower speed or to half-duplex. You 
could try force-setting the link speed and duplex on both card and 
switch to avoid that.

-- 
Zan Lynx
zlynx at acm.org

"Knowledge is Power.  Power Corrupts.  Study Hard.  Be Evil."