mii-tool(8) - phpMan

MII-TOOL(8) Linux System Administrator's Manual MII-TOOL(8)

NAME
mii-tool - view, manipulate media-independent interface status

SYNOPSIS
mii-tool [-v, --verbose] [-V, --version] [-R, --reset] [-r, --restart] [-w, --watch] [-l,
--log] [-A, --advertise=media,...] [-F, --force=media] [-p, --phy=addr] interface ...

NOTE
This program is obsolete. For replacement check ethtool.

DESCRIPTION
This utility checks or sets the status of a network interface's Media Independent Inter-
face (MII) unit. Most fast ethernet adapters use an MII to autonegotiate link speed and
duplex setting.

Most intelligent network devices use an autonegotiation protocol to communicate what media
technologies they support, and then select the fastest mutually supported media technol-
ogy. The -A or --advertise options can be used to tell the MII to only advertise a subset
of its capabilities. Some passive devices, such as single-speed hubs, are unable to
autonegotiate. To handle such devices, the MII protocol also allows for establishing a
link by simply detecting either a 10baseT or 100baseT link beat. The -F or --force
options can be used to force the MII to operate in one mode, instead of autonegotiating.
The -A and -F options are mutually exclusive.

The default short output reports the negotiated link speed and link status for each inter-
face.

OPTIONS
-v, --verbose
Display more detailed MII status information. If used twice, also display raw MII
register contents.
Alert: If used three times, will force reading all MII registers, including non
standard ones. It's not guaranteed any valid answer from PHY while PHY communica-
tion can even hang. With driver e1000e will fail while reading register 0x07.

-V, --version
Display program version information.

-R, --reset
Reset the MII to its default configuration.

-r, --restart
Restart autonegotiation.

-w, --watch
Watch interface(s) and report changes in link status. The MII interfaces are
polled at one second intervals.

-l, --log
Used with -w, records link status changes in the system log instead of printing on
standard output.

-F media, --force=media
Disable autonegotiation, and force the MII to either 100baseTx-FD, 100baseTx-HD,
10baseT-FD, or 10baseT-HD operation.

-A media,..., --advertise=media,...
Enable and restart autonegotiation, and advertise only the specified media tech-
nologies. Multiple technologies should be separated by commas. Valid media are
100baseT4, 100baseTx-FD, 100baseTx-HD, 10baseT-FD, and 10baseT-HD.

-p addr, --phy=addr
Override the MII address provided by kernel with value addr.

DIAGNOSTICS
SIOCGMIIPHY on 'eth?' failed: Invalid argument
If the interface is not running (up), kernel will refuse to report its link state.

SIOCGMIIPHY on 'eth?' failed: Operation not permitted
Most kernels restrict access to root.

SIOCGMIIPHY on 'eth?' failed: No such device
This error is shown, if the kernel does not know about the named device.

SIOCGMIIPHY on 'eth?' failed: Operation not supported
The interface in question does not support MII queries. Most likely, it does not
have MII transceivers, at all.