Hi Manish,

The "%EARL-2-SWITCH_BUS_IDLE: Switching bus is idle for [dec] seconds" error message in Catalyst 6500/6000 series switches

Core issue   

The default syntax is:

%EARL-2-SWITCH_BUS_IDLE: Switching bus is idle for [dec] seconds

There are messages similar to this error message that appear in the logs:

    %EARL-DFC4-2-SWITCH_BUS_IDLE: Switching bus is idle for 5 seconds

    %EARL-DFC2-2-SWITCH_BUS_IDLE: Switching bus is idle for 5 seconds

This message indicates that the Encoded Address Recognition Logic (EARL) did not switch any packets on the EARL bus. A recovery mechanism attempts to fix the problem. The system reloads if the problem cannot be corrected.

Resolution   

If this error message appears after you install a new module, re-seat the module and check for errors.

Refer to the EARL Messages section of Message and Recovery Procedures for more information.

If possible please set up the diagnostics to complete and then reseat module
on slot 2

Step 1:

C6509_Sup720#conf t
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
C6509_Sup720(config)#diagnostic bootup level complete

Step 2:

Reseat the module
Capture the 'C6509_Sup720#show diagnostic result module X(x denotes the module number)

See if the errors re-occur.

Now as the error message describes that it is not able to switch packets so the switching bus being idle for some time can cause the EIGRP to loose peering as the timeout will happen.

Mostly the error denotes hardware issue if the error is persistent even after reseating the module.

Please let me know if you have any questions on the above.

I hope this helps!

Rahul K Rao