How to maintain persistent Network Interface Card (NIC) settings on SLES 8

(Last modified: 22Oct2004)

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goal

fact

Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 (SLES 8)

fix

For SLES 8, persistent NIC settings can be established by modifying the /etc/modules.conf file and adding a 'options' line that is specific for the network driver module being loaded. For example, if a server has a Broadcom NIC, the /etc/modules.conf would have line similar to the following:

alias eth0 bcm5700 (bcm5700 being the driver name)

The bcm5700 specifies the driver module that is loaded. To provide persistent options for this card, the following line could be added to the /etc/modules.conf file:

options bcm5700 line_speed=100 auto_speed=0 full_duplex=1

The above parameter will specify that the bcm5700 module needs to be loaded to support 100Mbps at full duplex with auto-negotiation disabled.

If a system had two bcm5700 NICs that needed persistent settings, the following line could be added to the /etc/modules.conf file:

options bcm5700 line_speed=100,100 auto_speed=0,0 full_duplex=1,1

This option would set both NICs to the same parameters. To get a listing of the syntax and parameters supported by each please refer to documention from the vendor. You may also get parameter information by querying the module. This can be done by typing:

modinfo [network_driver_name]

For the bcm5700 you would type the following:

modinfo bcm5700

document

Document Title:	How to maintain persistent Network Interface Card (NIC) settings on SLES 8
Document ID:	10095109
Solution ID:	NOVL99412
Creation Date:	21Oct2004
Modified Date:	22Oct2004
Novell Product Class:	Linux

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