What Happens During Card Initialization Sequence?

Following is an overview of the initialization sequence for the PCI 10/100Base-TX card:

Initialization of an PCI 10/100Base-TX card happens during system bootup only, and it is driven by the btlan5 driver for the card.

Whenever initialization fails, it prints a message on the console identifying the failure. You can later retrieve initialization messages after the system is fully booted up by using the dmesg command.

Finally, the driver tries to establish a good data link between the card and the hub or switch. If there is no cable connection, or if the cable connection is bad, or if the hub or switch is not compatible, that is, not 10Base-T or 100Base-TX capable, no LEDS will be lit. Also, a message indicating the detection of a bad cable connection is printed on the console as well as logged in NETTL logs. The link LED must be lit to indicate proper functioning. The link LED is lit only when the card is connected properly to a 10/100 Mbit/s switch or hub.