Re: adding eth1

[Elizabeth Barham <lizzy@soggytrousers.net>]

Frank writes:

> Is modifying /etc/interfaces and /etc/ifstate sufficient? 

If the cards are PCI cards, it should be sufficient.

> Where do I tell the system what IRQ to use.

   For ISA cards, one generally passes in the parameters when loading
the module (if the drivers have been compiled as a module). If the
drivers are compiled into the kernel, you'll need to pass the data in
to the kernel at start-up.

   But, if they are modules then they are module options and then I
suggest placing something like:

      rtl8139 options rtl8139 io=0x240,0x260

in /etc/modutils/rtl8139.

> And does that have to be another IRQ as eth0?

   Yes, they are two different devices and need to interrupt the
processor at different times.

> Or can they share it?

No.

> Or do I have to compile a new kernel? 

   If your cards are ISA cards I personally recommend you do this as
the 2.4.x kernels have the ISA-PNP built in and makes bringing up such
devices a snap. For example, my firewall uses two identical ISA-PNP
cards, an ne type, and I literally have a blank /etc/modutils/ne.

> Or is there a config tool for it, like gpmconfig for the mouse?

I don't know of one.

> I try to find out what to expect before trying it, so I have no
> experiance yet.

   If your cards are PCI, however, you might just want to plug the new
one and see if the kernel recognizes both when the rtl8139 kernel is
loaded. If so, its just a matter of determining which one is eth0 and
which is eth1 and going from there.

Elizabeth