server nic craps out

The stats...
MB: Abit VP6 w/ Dual p3@800
ram:1GB of Micron pc133 non-ecc
nic:3com 3cr990-tx-97
video:creative 3d blaster TNT2
storage: adaptec SCSI raid 2100s w/3 IBM 18GB in raid 5

This computer is being used as a server, running win2k server advanced. It is used as both an html server and sql server.
When transfering both large and small files over the lan, using different computers, the nic stops working. I went to the event viewer and it said error event#514, DMA download engine failure detected. I checked 3coms web site and there are no updates for my nic, only shipping drivers. I also went to windows update and there are no updates to install. Does anyone know what is making this problem and/or how to fix it?


"I drank what?" -Socrates

Hmmm "DMA download engine failure" suggests that the NIC is fighting with a PCI peer (a device behind the same PCI bridge) over DMA bus-mastering, or the NIC is just in a slot that doesn't support bus-mastering.

That Adaptec 2100S might have something to do with it. It's an i960 I2O device which is, essentially, a DPT SmartRAID VI with a revamped chip layout and the flawed Qlogic chip removed or replaced. The card can even run off the same driver as the SmartRAID VI and SmartRAID V.

Anyways, I digress. Being an I2O device, and a high-bandwidth device, the 2100S masters the PCI bus rather more frequently than most other devices. If it's a peer to the NIC, it could conceivably be bullying the NIC in order to hog the PCI bus.

You could try moving the NIC or the RAID card to a different slot. Failing that, you could pick up a NIC that doesn't require bus-mastering, such as the Intel PRO/100+ "Management Adapter." I've gotten both a PRO/100+ management adapter and an Intel PRO/1000S Gigabit adapter to work as a peer to the SmartRAID V controller btw.

Kelledin
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