Hi, > > I have a Linux desktop for which lspci reports as having a realtek > > 8110/8169. I could not install it via NFS so I popped in a 3COM card > > and installed it with SL4.5. After installation, I tried to switch back > > to the onboard LAN. I removed the 3com card and modified the network > > config by editing/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 and > > /etc/modprobe.conf. Basically replacing the ifcfg-eth0 with the correct > > MAC address and modprobe.conf with the right driver. There is an r8169.ko > > in > > the /lib/modules which I believe is the correct driver because I used a > > sysrescuecd image on the box and it correctly detected the chipset, loaded > > r8169, and activated the card without any difficulty. > > > > When I try to do an ifup eth0, I get an error message saying that the > > device has a different mac address than what was expected and it ignored > > my attempt. I'm stumped by this. My understanding may be dated but > > as far as I know the information to start the network correctly is in > > ifcfg-eth0 and modprobe.conf. I notice that a modprobe r8169 does not > > generate any messages in dmesg. So, it could be that r8169 is not the > > correct driver. Except for the fact that sysrescuecd used this driver and > > it > > also has a 2.6 kernel. > > > > Can anyone shed any light on this? Thanks > > Just remove HWADDR line from ifcfg-eth0, it's not required.
Yes he's correct, but just so you know, the HWADDR line is required when: * you need to have an IP go onto a specific NIC and * when the server may auto-assign PCI addresses to NIC's on boot I personally always use HWADDR to guarantee that a NIC is on a specific IP, if you don't use it you do stand the chance that an IP assigned in ifcfg-eth? can go to a different physical NIC. Regards, Michael.
