yikes! MAC address of default gateway changed ??

[Matthew Seaman]

On 11/02/2010 14:28, James Smallacombe wrote:
> If it was caused by a malicious arp command on my server, wouldn't a
> reboot have gotten rid of it?  Would it also result in a "NO CARRIER" on
> the interface?  Network did not come back until the Ethernet card was
> swapped.
> 
> The bottom line is whether it is possible for a NIC failure to cause the
> kernel to register an ARP change.

Yes.  Getting 'NO CARRIER' all of a sudden after the NIC has been
behaving weirdly looks very much like hardware spiralling into oblivion
and not enemy action.  Having a corrupted arp cache is also likely a
symptom of hardware going bad.

NIC failure can have the observed results, and it's quite likely that
on reboot the NIC would fail to work entirely in that situation.

Actually, one thing it's always a good idea to test in these
circumstances is that it's not a broken or loose ethernet cable.  This
can cause all sorts of similar weirdness, but it's a lot easier and
cheaper to fix.  I've seen the like sort of problems just from people
pulling cable ties too tight.

	Cheers,

	Matthew

-- 
Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil.              7 Priory Courtyard, Flat 3
Black Earth Consulting                       Ramsgate
                                             Kent, CT11 9PW
Free and Open Source Solutions               Tel: +44 (0)1843 580647

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