Problems with NIC card on SPARC 20

[pete <pmkofod@datasages.com>]

All:

I recently installed Debian (Woody) on an old SPARC 20 I had laying 
around.  Didn't do much with it for a couple of months.  When I went 
back to connect to it (SSH), the NIC wasn't responding.  After a hard 
reboot (ughh), it ran again for a while (a few hours), then the same.  
Anybody seen this before? (If it is on a FAQ somewhere, my apologies.  I 
am new to Debian).  It could be a firmware issue, but I don't think so, 
since I didn't see it when the box was running Solaris.

Any hints would be appreciated.

Regards,
   - Pete