VMWare Server on Debian Etch Link is down/up

[BriX]

I have a fresh install of vmware server on debian etch using howto.
The problem is after a while the network stops working.

dmesg output on host machine reveals this:

skge eth1: Link is down.
skge eth1: Link is up at 100 Mbps, full duplex, flow control tx and rx
skge eth1: Link is down.
skge eth1: Link is up at 100 Mbps, full duplex, flow control tx and rx
skge eth1: Link is down.
skge eth1: Link is up at 100 Mbps, full duplex, flow control tx and rx
skge eth1: disabling interface
bridge-eth1: disabling the bridge
device eth1 left promiscuous mode
audit(1199479745.046:3): dev=eth1 prom=0 old_prom=256 auid=4294967295
bridge-eth1: disabled promiscuous mode
bridge-eth1: down

/etc/init.d/networking restart brings the network up again
I checked the NIC in the host, the network switch and cable.
Any idea how to stop the link from going down?
TIA