I wrote:

> Aha!  Yup, this problem showed up after the switch was replaced by a
> modern Cisco that does proper auto-negotiation, including 1000Mbps.

...and, sure enough, when I fix the speed and duplex settings for the
interface, instead of letting it auto-negotiate, the behavior reverts
to what I'm used to -- a very brief hang as it re-initializes.

-tih
-- 
Don't ascribe to stupidity what can be adequately explained by ignorance.