>>> so O(100K) packets, 0 collisions, 177 Ierrs. Things seem to work right, 
>>> just very slowly. 
>> 
>> The large number of ierrs is indicative of late or undetected
>> collisions.
>
> is 117 ierrs out of 115046 Ipkts a large number? (serious question, I 
> don't know). 

Unless you're actively plugging or unplugging live machines, you
shouldn't see more than 1 or 2 per *week*.  (And even in that case,
since you're using full-duplex mode, you must be using a switch, which
would eat any bad transmissions from another host.)  177 in a short
period indicates a serious network problem -- bad hardware, bad
cabling, etc.  In this case I have to believe it's just a
configuration issue.