SLES11SP2 e1000e based NICs switching status between up / down

This document (7010930) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 Service Pack 2

Situation

On systems equipped with network interfaces supported by the e1000 driver, the following behavior is experienced:

[ 6771.642106] e1000e: eth2 NIC Link is Down
[ 6771.646135] e1000e: eth2 NIC Link is Up 1000 Mbps Full Duplex, Flow Control:
None
[ 6771.650043] e1000e: eth2 NIC Link is Down
[ 6771.654038] e1000e: eth2 NIC Link is Up 1000 Mbps Full Duplex, Flow Control:
None
[ 6771.658018] e1000e: eth2 NIC Link is Down
[ 6771.662135] e1000e: eth2 NIC Link is Up 1000 Mbps Full Duplex, Flow Control:
None
[ 6773.609125] e1000e: eth2 NIC Link is Down
[ 6773.612919] e1000e: eth2 NIC Link is Up 1000 Mbps Full Duplex, Flow Control:
None
[ 6775.627838] e1000e: eth2 NIC Link is Down
[ 6777.622676] e1000e: eth2 NIC Link is Up 1000 Mbps Full Duplex, Flow Control:
None

Resolution

Please update to kernel version 3.0.42-0.7.3 or later.

Cause

A problem in the e1000e driver. If the link partner is transmitting a codeword (even if NULL codeword) then the RXCW.C bit will be set. The problem is caused by an additional check for the RXCW.CW bit.

Disclaimer

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