Networking

> The NIC is el-cheapo no-name hardware. It is not removable.

>      Please tell me I don't need to go browsing through the linux hardware 
> compatibility lists. 

Lots more information is needed. Mainly what Card/Chipset is it? (you
can generally get this by doing lspci -vv (even if its part of the
motherboard). Then we can confirm you have the proper driver installed
and go from there.

If its on board and newer machine its very likely a 'realtek' which is
supported both in 2.2 and 2.4 series.

-Derek