[Etherboot-developers] Wanted -the sis900 etherboot developer

[stanimir <st...@fb...>]

Hi everybody,
I'm an old etherboot user and a LTSP project fen.
Recently we deployed 30 workstation - thin clients in an UK school.
The MB are PCCHIPS M810 (no Linux support) - all-in-one, the integrated 
LAN adapter is sis900,the etherboot 5.0.8 driver recognise it as sis900 
with VIA 6103 PHYtransiver.After flashing the bios with the etherboot 
image the system boots up perfectly. But the performance in linux is 
terrible. I tryed everything, change the switch, test with crossover 
cable directly to the server, change the server, change the linux 
distro, test 5-6 different sis900 drivers, change the LTSP kernel, 
recompile several times the LTSP kernel with different sis900 drivers, 
change BIOS setings- NOTHING!
I repeat NOTHING!!!
The network performance is still teriblle - aldo the switch lights 
indicate 100mMbits - full duplex, by my opinion the net speed is no more 
then 1Mbits - half duplex.
When turn off the onboard card and put any other 100mbits card - 
everything is just fine.
I noticed that etheboot driver recognise the sis900 PHYtransiver as VIA 
6103, but the linux driver says - UNKNOWN PHYTRANSIVER and continues 
booting and working but with that terribly slow speed.
I'm not C coder, but when I browsed sis900.c file in all linux modiles, 
which I managed to find in SIS web site and in kernel.org, I noticed 
that there is missing the code considering VIA 6103 PHYtransiver.
Only the etherboot driver sis900.c has rows in the sorce code describing it.
Can this be the answer of that network speed slowdown?
I read that etherboot driver are coded from normal linux drivers, but 
apparently I can not find one with VIA6103 PHYtransiver support.

Please, if you can help, contact me as soon as possible.

I would rather pay for the development of Linux driver, then to buy 30 
new LAN cards.