This problem now also appears when trying to install openSUSE 12.3 32bit on an HP DL360. I see multiple lines such as:
[ 44.340002] BUG: soft lockup - CPU#1 stuck for 23s! [ethtool:732] [ 84.212002] BUG: soft lockup - CPU#0 stuck for 22s! [ethtool:734] [ 136.212002] BUG: soft lockup - CPU#0 stuck for 22s! [ethtool:922] [ 176.340002] BUG: soft lockup - CPU#1 stuck for 23s! [ethtool:924] [ 220.340002] BUG: soft lockup - CPU#1 stuck for 23s! [ethtool:952] [ 260.212002] BUG: soft lockup - CPU#0 stuck for 23s! [ethtool:954] [ 300.340002] BUG: soft lockup - CPU#1 stuck for 22s! [ethtool:982] [ 340.212003] BUG: soft lockup - CPU#0 stuck for 22s! [ethtool:984]
This eventually prevents network configuration altogether, thereby making network install impossible. I found out the a high load on the host that runs the VM increases the change
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=768714
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=768714#c27
--- Comment #27 from Jan Bouwhuis