Linux Proxy NIC interfacing woes

[jeffwass at MIT.EDU (Wass)]

Hello Linux gurus,

	I'm running into a problem trying to set up my linux-based
proxy.  Basically, my NIC cannot see the cable modem, or vice versa.
Read on for more details.

	I've got a cable-modem, which I've successfully used with linux
for several months now, with a Acer card (compatible with Via-Rhine).
After getting a new computer, some NIC's, and an 8-port hub, I decided
to try my hand at setting up a LAN.  

	So, I've got two 3c905 "Boomerang" PCI cards in my proxy box.
Two weeks ago I decided to try setting up a proxy with OpenBSD, and during
the install the NIC's were detected, and I'm fairly certain I had a working
connection to the cable modem with one of the NIC's.  However, I know BSD
far far less than I know linux, so I decided to install Mandrake 6.1 on my
proxy instead (I've got mandrake on my other desktops, as well). 

	My current desktop uses the Acer card to connect to the cable modem,
and this was set up during the Mandrake 6.1 install.  It worked like a charm
with the setup, and I didn't even have to think about any of the settings.

	I then installed 6.1 on my proxy box, and had it disconnected from
the network, such that I could configure the tcp_wrappers and secure other
things before connecting it.  So I declined networking during the install.
now, however, I've gone back to try to configure it, and am running into 
problems.

	I've gone through the dhcpcd mini-HOWTO to get things started.
This thing is very out of date!  Are there any plans to add entries for
Mandrake 6.x to it?  I'd help out with his task, if I can get my box running.

	Firstly, I set up my resolv.conf to mimic my desktop's resolv.conf,
with the automagically-determined name servers and other parameters.  I then
set up the network script to set ONBOOT and the protocol to DHCP.  However,
on reboot, the cable modem doesn't acknowledge the NIC trying to establish
it's IP.

	I've connected the eth1 NIC to the hub, and if I try "dhcpcd eth1"
for kicks, I can see the packet LED's lighting up on the hub, so I know 
something must be working with the hardware.  Even if I connect eth0 NIC
to the hub, and type "dhcpcd eth0", I still see the LED's.  However, these
cards are 100baseT, and I believe the hub is as well.  But I think the cable
modem is only 10baseT.  Using dmesg, I get:
"eth0: 3Com 3c905 Boomerang 100baseTx at 0x6100, "blah blah.  The MAC
address is listed there for both cards, so linux can see the hardware.  
What worries me is that "100baseTx" segment, could this be the problem?

	It alludes to this possibility in the dhcpcd mini-howto, but
says that if the card is set to 100baseT, just change that setting.  there
is no detail/info about how to go about this.

	I searched through the archives here, and found one message
previously, but with no followups, that described setting options in the
/etc/conf.modules file to set the speeds of the card.  I've glanced through
the C code for the driver, but cannot find any documentation of these
options, where is this stuff documented?

	I've also played around with various module commands.  Trying
"insmod 3c90x" I get an error: "3c90x.o: init_module: Device or resource busy"
Why could this be?  ANd I've seen vague implications that I may also
need to include the 3c59x module, is this true too?

	Also, ifconfig shows only the 'lo' interface, not eth0.

	I'm not sure how to fix this.  One solution may be to re-install
mandrake and setup the NIC during the install, but I'd like to know what
the installer is doing here behind my back, such that I can configure this
myself, too.  

	Thanks to any help that can be offered!

	- Wass
	

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