... >> I noticed a default route 0.0.0.0 while the connection is up. ... >> I am stunned to see ETH1 in the following excerpt from /var/log/messages: ... >> ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth1: link is not ready Maybe this has something to do with BOOTP or DHCP. It's been a while, but I recall that these protocols start with the host requesting an IP address sending a packet with 0.0.0.0 as its source address. Since BOOTP and DHCP are usually done locally, it seems entirely possible that they might *force* an ethernet interface up if none is currently available. It might not be sufficient just to kill all BOOTP/DHCP processes while troubleshoot your problem. I would explicitly reconfigure your box to prevent BOOTP or DHCP from starting (including "cron"), physically disconnect any network cables from your box, make sure your box *cannot* communicate by wireless, then reboot. I don't know the details because my experience is with a proprietary embedded system completely unrelated to any *NIX or Microsoft operating system. A Google search for: +addrconf +netdev_up came back with many hits suggesting that this might be common problem.
