Temporary fix: uncomment the following lines in 
/etc/sysconfig/networkscripts/ifup:


echo -n $"Determining IP information for 
${DEVICE}..."
   if check_link_down ${DEVICE}; then
        echo $" failed; no link present.  Check 
cable?"
        ip link set ${DEVICE} down >/dev/null 2>&1
        exit 1
   fi