Enterasys Networks 700 - Manual (Page 55)

Managing the Module 2-35
The MultiSwitch 700 Device View
• Link Partner does not support Auto-Negotiation — Auto-Negotiation is either
not supported by or is not currently selected on the remote port.
• Unknown — the link partner’s capabilities could not be determined.
When the local node is not set to Auto-Negotiation, this field will be grayed out,
even if the link partner is set to Auto-Negotiation and is advertising abilities.
Setting the Desired Operational Mode
For any 100Base-TX port, you can specifically choose any one of the four available
operational modes, or you can select Auto-Negotiation mode, which allows the
port to negotiate with its link partner to find the highest mutually available
bandwidth. If you select Auto-Negotiation mode, you must also choose which of
the port’s bandwidth capabilities you wish to advertise to the link partner.
For a 100Base-FX port, the selection process is somewhat simpler;
Auto-Negotiation for these ports is not supported at this time, so you need only
choose between 100Base-FX standard mode and 100Base-FX Full Duplex.
However, you must still be sure that both link partners are set to the same
operational mode, or the link will be unstable.
To set your desired operational mode:
1. Click on the Desired Operational Mode combo box to display the menu of
available options; drag down to select the operational mode you wish to set.
For 100Base-TX ports, the available options are:
Auto Negotiation — the operational mode will be dynamically set based on
the modes selected in the Advertised Abilities field (where both link partners
are auto-negotiating) and the speeds and modes supported by the attached
device
10Base-T — 10 Mbps connection, Standard Mode
10Base-T Full Duplex — 10 Mbps connection, Duplex Mode
100Base-TX — 100 Mbps connection, Standard Mode
NOTE
If both link partners are set to Auto-Negotiation, but there is no mutually-advertised
operational mode, no link will be achieved, and both nodes may display the message “Link
Partner does not support Auto-Negotiation.” To resolve this situation, be sure both link
partners advertise all their abilities, or be sure they advertise at least one
mutually-available mode.
TIP
If you select Auto-Negotiation at both ends of a link, be sure at least one
mutually-advertised operational mode is available.