Network issues after Kernel upgrade

[Will McDonald]

On 21/01/06, Jason Williard <jwilliard at pcsafe.com> wrote:
> I recently upgraded the kernel using up2date on one of my RHEL3 servers and
> began running into issues starting up the network interfaces.  When I try, I
> get the error:
>
> [root at host root]# ifup eth0
> natsemi device eth1 does not seem to be present, delaying initialization.
> [root at host root]# ifup eth1
> natsemi device eth1 does not seem to be present, delaying initialization.
>
> This is true whether I am trying to start eth0 or eth1, though eth1 uses tg3
> rather than natsemi.  I checked to see if the drivers existed, and they do.
> I was upgrading from 2.4.21-27.ELsmp to 2.4.21-37.ELsmp.  As this failed, I
> immediately reverted back, but am still experiencing the same issue.  I was
> not seeing this before the upgrade.  Does anyone know what would cause such
> an error?

Usually interface problems after kernel upgrades are due to module
changes or deprecation. You say you've checked for drivers/modules,
are they definitely the correct ones? i.e. in the right
/lib/modules/x.x.x/kernel/drivers/net directory?

Check /etc/modprobe.conf (or modules.conf I believe on EL3) for the
appropriate aliases for your hardware. Check in /etc/ for any .rpmnew
or .rpmold files and see what they relate to. Same in /etc/sysconfig
and /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts.

Can you insmod or modprobe the tg3 driver from a shell prompt? What
errors do you get if any? Are there any clues in /var/log/messages ?

Will.