problems with ethernet interface

[Steve Dyer]

I am running A/UX 1.0 and find that I have to reboot the machine
regularly because the network dies with the messages

   ae0: overflow NIC reset failed.
   ae6_intr: Receive overflow warning.

Following this, the network is effectively dead.  Some utilities whose
names escape me actually say so: "network down", but this is not reflected
in a call to "netstat -i", nor does a call to ifconfig reset things.

Usually I see many copies of this message on my screen when I come in
the first time each day, but I can also make it happen on command by doing
a rcp with files going to the A/UX box.  Very occasionally, a message of
the form 

   ae0 transmitter frozen, resetting

appears within a few minutes, and the system is again usable, but more often,
I never see this message and rebooting is the only way to clear things.

What's the matter here?  Is the ethernet interface bad?  A mVAX-II, an
Apollo, a Bell Tech V.3 box and a RT/PC are all on the same DELNI and
exhibit no problems whatsoever.  Any and all clues would be appreciated.
---
Steve Dyer
dyer at arktouros.MIT.EDU
dyer at spdcc.COM aka {harvard,husc6,linus,ima,bbn,m2c,mipseast}!spdcc!dyer