Redhat NIC problem

hiya

I have a Redhat box with Samba that controlls a network with about 5 other windows servers and about 80 win 98/95 workstations (lovely!!!!).

We've been having problems with the network crashing every 3 days and now think the problem is being caused buy a problem with a Intel eepro100 Nic. It keeps throwing errors saying errors saying card has no resources. When i checked on ifconfig it said over 104,000 errors and 730 overruns (this was over 1200 4 mins later!!!) I've checked the Redhat site and found mention of other users haveing the same problem with the same Nic. Seems that the driver needs patching. Unfortunately the patch is only available if I upgrade the kernel and thats a step my boss doesn't want to rush into.

The solution suggested was to back up the driver (eepro100.o) and copy another driver (e100.o) over it, remove the module reinstall it, stop then restart the card. I tried this and the driver threw loads of errors and wouldn't install with insmod. I tried putting the other driver back but that did the same thing! A restart sorted the system out, well back to the state it was before and now i'm stuck.

SO.... two questions

1. Is there a fix for this driver/Nic problem that works?

2. If I update the kernal to the latest Redhat version is this likely to cause many problems? For example could my version of samba not be supported under the new kernel?

This is a big problem because everyone connects to everything, internet included via this machine. If I (a lowly placement student with minimal linux experience) f*ck it up my boss is gonna kill me and everyone in our office wont be able to do anything.

Can anyone help?

Thanks
Mitchell

to prevent you from being killed: make a backup before you change anything

if you switch to a newer distro, your config files might not work anymore. recently there have been big changes in the packages supplied. saba 2.2 is out, which is quite different from 2.0 series. Kernel 2.4 might be standard kernel in your new Distro. glibC also has a very new version around...

you should check your installed packages (rpm -q -a) and compare to the list at redhat´s ftp site. but beware, most programs are dependent on specific versions of others too.

if you only switch kernels, make sure if eg. you had "2.2.10" before, you get "2.2.25" and not "2.4.25". the 2.2 and 2.4 series are not compatible.
and you need the new modules-package too. this should not give you any problems, but again: make backups before you change anything!

i think your best bet is to get a new NIC where there is no known problems (i know of SuSE certifying hardware, redhat probably does the same)
this should not take you more than $20 and one hour of work to switch it (time includes going to a store and buying the nic)...

Or order a new one from www.dabs.com, I've had them deliver next day through royal mail And it should set you back about £12.

I wouldn't touch the kernel unless you've tried it before on another machine. I went headfirst into Linux admin at my last job not being that great with it, and it scared the hell out of me everytime somethind odd happened that I didn't expect. Tinker at home, or try to find an old box nobody's using at work to tinker with, and get used to it before you try it at work