4-4
Cisco IE 4000 Switch Hardware Installation Guide
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Chapter 4 Troubleshooting
Diagnosing Problems
Switch Performance
Speed, Duplex, and Autonegotiation
Port statistics that show a large amount of alignment errors, frame check sequence (FCS), or
late-collisions errors, might mean a speed or duplex mismatch.
A common issue occurs when duplex and speed settings are mismatched between two switches, between
a switch and a router, or between the switch and a workstation or server. Mismatches can happen when
manually setting the speed and duplex or from autonegotiation issues between the two devices.
To maximize switch performance and to ensure a link, follow one of these guidelines when changing the
duplex or the speed settings.
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Let both ports autonegotiate both speed and duplex.
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Manually set the speed and duplex parameters for the interfaces on both ends of the connection.
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If a remote device does not autonegotiate, use the same duplex settings on the two ports. The speed
parameter adjusts itself even if the connected port does not autonegotiate.
Autonegotiation and Network Interface Cards
Problems sometimes occur between the switch and third-party network interface cards (NICs). By
default, the switch ports and interfaces autonegotiate. Laptops or other devices are commonly set to
autonegotiate, yet sometimes issues occur.
To troubleshoot autonegotiation problems, try manually setting both sides of the connection. If this does
not solve the problem, there could be a problem with the firmware or software on the NIC. You can
resolve this by upgrading the NIC driver to the latest version.
Cabling Distance
If the port statistics show excessive FCS, late-collision, or alignment errors, verify that the cable
distance from the switch to the connected device meets the recommended guidelines. See the
“Cables
and Adapters” section on page C-4
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