|  | .. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+ | 
|  |  | 
|  | ===================================================================== | 
|  | Linux Base Driver for 10 Gigabit Intel(R) Ethernet Network Connection | 
|  | ===================================================================== | 
|  |  | 
|  | October 1, 2018 | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | Contents | 
|  | ======== | 
|  |  | 
|  | - In This Release | 
|  | - Identifying Your Adapter | 
|  | - Command Line Parameters | 
|  | - Improving Performance | 
|  | - Additional Configurations | 
|  | - Known Issues/Troubleshooting | 
|  | - Support | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | In This Release | 
|  | =============== | 
|  |  | 
|  | This file describes the ixgb Linux Base Driver for the 10 Gigabit Intel(R) | 
|  | Network Connection.  This driver includes support for Itanium(R)2-based | 
|  | systems. | 
|  |  | 
|  | For questions related to hardware requirements, refer to the documentation | 
|  | supplied with your 10 Gigabit adapter.  All hardware requirements listed apply | 
|  | to use with Linux. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The following features are available in this kernel: | 
|  | - Native VLANs | 
|  | - Channel Bonding (teaming) | 
|  | - SNMP | 
|  |  | 
|  | Channel Bonding documentation can be found in the Linux kernel source: | 
|  | /Documentation/networking/bonding.rst | 
|  |  | 
|  | The driver information previously displayed in the /proc filesystem is not | 
|  | supported in this release.  Alternatively, you can use ethtool (version 1.6 | 
|  | or later), lspci, and iproute2 to obtain the same information. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Instructions on updating ethtool can be found in the section "Additional | 
|  | Configurations" later in this document. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | Identifying Your Adapter | 
|  | ======================== | 
|  |  | 
|  | The following Intel network adapters are compatible with the drivers in this | 
|  | release: | 
|  |  | 
|  | +------------+------------------------------+----------------------------------+ | 
|  | | Controller | Adapter Name                 | Physical Layer                   | | 
|  | +============+==============================+==================================+ | 
|  | | 82597EX    | Intel(R) PRO/10GbE LR/SR/CX4 | - 10G Base-LR (fiber)            | | 
|  | |            | Server Adapters              | - 10G Base-SR (fiber)            | | 
|  | |            |                              | - 10G Base-CX4 (copper)          | | 
|  | +------------+------------------------------+----------------------------------+ | 
|  |  | 
|  | For more information on how to identify your adapter, go to the Adapter & | 
|  | Driver ID Guide at: | 
|  |  | 
|  | https://support.intel.com | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | Command Line Parameters | 
|  | ======================= | 
|  |  | 
|  | If the driver is built as a module, the  following optional parameters are | 
|  | used by entering them on the command line with the modprobe command using | 
|  | this syntax:: | 
|  |  | 
|  | modprobe ixgb [<option>=<VAL1>,<VAL2>,...] | 
|  |  | 
|  | For example, with two 10GbE PCI adapters, entering:: | 
|  |  | 
|  | modprobe ixgb TxDescriptors=80,128 | 
|  |  | 
|  | loads the ixgb driver with 80 TX resources for the first adapter and 128 TX | 
|  | resources for the second adapter. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The default value for each parameter is generally the recommended setting, | 
|  | unless otherwise noted. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Copybreak | 
|  | --------- | 
|  | :Valid Range: 0-XXXX | 
|  | :Default Value: 256 | 
|  |  | 
|  | This is the maximum size of packet that is copied to a new buffer on | 
|  | receive. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Debug | 
|  | ----- | 
|  | :Valid Range: 0-16 (0=none,...,16=all) | 
|  | :Default Value: 0 | 
|  |  | 
|  | This parameter adjusts the level of debug messages displayed in the | 
|  | system logs. | 
|  |  | 
|  | FlowControl | 
|  | ----------- | 
|  | :Valid Range: 0-3 (0=none, 1=Rx only, 2=Tx only, 3=Rx&Tx) | 
|  | :Default Value: 1 if no EEPROM, otherwise read from EEPROM | 
|  |  | 
|  | This parameter controls the automatic generation(Tx) and response(Rx) to | 
|  | Ethernet PAUSE frames.  There are hardware bugs associated with enabling | 
|  | Tx flow control so beware. | 
|  |  | 
|  | RxDescriptors | 
|  | ------------- | 
|  | :Valid Range: 64-4096 | 
|  | :Default Value: 1024 | 
|  |  | 
|  | This value is the number of receive descriptors allocated by the driver. | 
|  | Increasing this value allows the driver to buffer more incoming packets. | 
|  | Each descriptor is 16 bytes.  A receive buffer is also allocated for | 
|  | each descriptor and can be either 2048, 4056, 8192, or 16384 bytes, | 
|  | depending on the MTU setting.  When the MTU size is 1500 or less, the | 
|  | receive buffer size is 2048 bytes. When the MTU is greater than 1500 the | 
|  | receive buffer size will be either 4056, 8192, or 16384 bytes.  The | 
|  | maximum MTU size is 16114. | 
|  |  | 
|  | TxDescriptors | 
|  | ------------- | 
|  | :Valid Range: 64-4096 | 
|  | :Default Value: 256 | 
|  |  | 
|  | This value is the number of transmit descriptors allocated by the driver. | 
|  | Increasing this value allows the driver to queue more transmits.  Each | 
|  | descriptor is 16 bytes. | 
|  |  | 
|  | RxIntDelay | 
|  | ---------- | 
|  | :Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off) | 
|  | :Default Value: 72 | 
|  |  | 
|  | This value delays the generation of receive interrupts in units of | 
|  | 0.8192 microseconds.  Receive interrupt reduction can improve CPU | 
|  | efficiency if properly tuned for specific network traffic.  Increasing | 
|  | this value adds extra latency to frame reception and can end up | 
|  | decreasing the throughput of TCP traffic.  If the system is reporting | 
|  | dropped receives, this value may be set too high, causing the driver to | 
|  | run out of available receive descriptors. | 
|  |  | 
|  | TxIntDelay | 
|  | ---------- | 
|  | :Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off) | 
|  | :Default Value: 32 | 
|  |  | 
|  | This value delays the generation of transmit interrupts in units of | 
|  | 0.8192 microseconds.  Transmit interrupt reduction can improve CPU | 
|  | efficiency if properly tuned for specific network traffic.  Increasing | 
|  | this value adds extra latency to frame transmission and can end up | 
|  | decreasing the throughput of TCP traffic.  If this value is set too high, | 
|  | it will cause the driver to run out of available transmit descriptors. | 
|  |  | 
|  | XsumRX | 
|  | ------ | 
|  | :Valid Range: 0-1 | 
|  | :Default Value: 1 | 
|  |  | 
|  | A value of '1' indicates that the driver should enable IP checksum | 
|  | offload for received packets (both UDP and TCP) to the adapter hardware. | 
|  |  | 
|  | RxFCHighThresh | 
|  | -------------- | 
|  | :Valid Range: 1,536-262,136 (0x600 - 0x3FFF8, 8 byte granularity) | 
|  | :Default Value: 196,608 (0x30000) | 
|  |  | 
|  | Receive Flow control high threshold (when we send a pause frame) | 
|  |  | 
|  | RxFCLowThresh | 
|  | ------------- | 
|  | :Valid Range: 64-262,136 (0x40 - 0x3FFF8, 8 byte granularity) | 
|  | :Default Value: 163,840 (0x28000) | 
|  |  | 
|  | Receive Flow control low threshold (when we send a resume frame) | 
|  |  | 
|  | FCReqTimeout | 
|  | ------------ | 
|  | :Valid Range: 1-65535 | 
|  | :Default Value: 65535 | 
|  |  | 
|  | Flow control request timeout (how long to pause the link partner's tx) | 
|  |  | 
|  | IntDelayEnable | 
|  | -------------- | 
|  | :Value Range: 0,1 | 
|  | :Default Value: 1 | 
|  |  | 
|  | Interrupt Delay, 0 disables transmit interrupt delay and 1 enables it. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | Improving Performance | 
|  | ===================== | 
|  |  | 
|  | With the 10 Gigabit server adapters, the default Linux configuration will | 
|  | very likely limit the total available throughput artificially.  There is a set | 
|  | of configuration changes that, when applied together, will increase the ability | 
|  | of Linux to transmit and receive data.  The following enhancements were | 
|  | originally acquired from settings published at https://www.spec.org/web99/ for | 
|  | various submitted results using Linux. | 
|  |  | 
|  | NOTE: | 
|  | These changes are only suggestions, and serve as a starting point for | 
|  | tuning your network performance. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The changes are made in three major ways, listed in order of greatest effect: | 
|  |  | 
|  | - Use ip link to modify the mtu (maximum transmission unit) and the txqueuelen | 
|  | parameter. | 
|  | - Use sysctl to modify /proc parameters (essentially kernel tuning) | 
|  | - Use setpci to modify the MMRBC field in PCI-X configuration space to increase | 
|  | transmit burst lengths on the bus. | 
|  |  | 
|  | NOTE: | 
|  | setpci modifies the adapter's configuration registers to allow it to read | 
|  | up to 4k bytes at a time (for transmits).  However, for some systems the | 
|  | behavior after modifying this register may be undefined (possibly errors of | 
|  | some kind).  A power-cycle, hard reset or explicitly setting the e6 register | 
|  | back to 22 (setpci -d 8086:1a48 e6.b=22) may be required to get back to a | 
|  | stable configuration. | 
|  |  | 
|  | - COPY these lines and paste them into ixgb_perf.sh: | 
|  |  | 
|  | :: | 
|  |  | 
|  | #!/bin/bash | 
|  | echo "configuring network performance , edit this file to change the interface | 
|  | or device ID of 10GbE card" | 
|  | # set mmrbc to 4k reads, modify only Intel 10GbE device IDs | 
|  | # replace 1a48 with appropriate 10GbE device's ID installed on the system, | 
|  | # if needed. | 
|  | setpci -d 8086:1a48 e6.b=2e | 
|  | # set the MTU (max transmission unit) - it requires your switch and clients | 
|  | # to change as well. | 
|  | # set the txqueuelen | 
|  | # your ixgb adapter should be loaded as eth1 for this to work, change if needed | 
|  | ip li set dev eth1 mtu 9000 txqueuelen 1000 up | 
|  | # call the sysctl utility to modify /proc/sys entries | 
|  | sysctl -p ./sysctl_ixgb.conf | 
|  |  | 
|  | - COPY these lines and paste them into sysctl_ixgb.conf: | 
|  |  | 
|  | :: | 
|  |  | 
|  | # some of the defaults may be different for your kernel | 
|  | # call this file with sysctl -p <this file> | 
|  | # these are just suggested values that worked well to increase throughput in | 
|  | # several network benchmark tests, your mileage may vary | 
|  |  | 
|  | ### IPV4 specific settings | 
|  | # turn TCP timestamp support off, default 1, reduces CPU use | 
|  | net.ipv4.tcp_timestamps = 0 | 
|  | # turn SACK support off, default on | 
|  | # on systems with a VERY fast bus -> memory interface this is the big gainer | 
|  | net.ipv4.tcp_sack = 0 | 
|  | # set min/default/max TCP read buffer, default 4096 87380 174760 | 
|  | net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = 10000000 10000000 10000000 | 
|  | # set min/pressure/max TCP write buffer, default 4096 16384 131072 | 
|  | net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 10000000 10000000 10000000 | 
|  | # set min/pressure/max TCP buffer space, default 31744 32256 32768 | 
|  | net.ipv4.tcp_mem = 10000000 10000000 10000000 | 
|  |  | 
|  | ### CORE settings (mostly for socket and UDP effect) | 
|  | # set maximum receive socket buffer size, default 131071 | 
|  | net.core.rmem_max = 524287 | 
|  | # set maximum send socket buffer size, default 131071 | 
|  | net.core.wmem_max = 524287 | 
|  | # set default receive socket buffer size, default 65535 | 
|  | net.core.rmem_default = 524287 | 
|  | # set default send socket buffer size, default 65535 | 
|  | net.core.wmem_default = 524287 | 
|  | # set maximum amount of option memory buffers, default 10240 | 
|  | net.core.optmem_max = 524287 | 
|  | # set number of unprocessed input packets before kernel starts dropping them; default 300 | 
|  | net.core.netdev_max_backlog = 300000 | 
|  |  | 
|  | Edit the ixgb_perf.sh script if necessary to change eth1 to whatever interface | 
|  | your ixgb driver is using and/or replace '1a48' with appropriate 10GbE device's | 
|  | ID installed on the system. | 
|  |  | 
|  | NOTE: | 
|  | Unless these scripts are added to the boot process, these changes will | 
|  | only last only until the next system reboot. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | Resolving Slow UDP Traffic | 
|  | -------------------------- | 
|  | If your server does not seem to be able to receive UDP traffic as fast as it | 
|  | can receive TCP traffic, it could be because Linux, by default, does not set | 
|  | the network stack buffers as large as they need to be to support high UDP | 
|  | transfer rates.  One way to alleviate this problem is to allow more memory to | 
|  | be used by the IP stack to store incoming data. | 
|  |  | 
|  | For instance, use the commands:: | 
|  |  | 
|  | sysctl -w net.core.rmem_max=262143 | 
|  |  | 
|  | and:: | 
|  |  | 
|  | sysctl -w net.core.rmem_default=262143 | 
|  |  | 
|  | to increase the read buffer memory max and default to 262143 (256k - 1) from | 
|  | defaults of max=131071 (128k - 1) and default=65535 (64k - 1).  These variables | 
|  | will increase the amount of memory used by the network stack for receives, and | 
|  | can be increased significantly more if necessary for your application. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | Additional Configurations | 
|  | ========================= | 
|  |  | 
|  | Configuring the Driver on Different Distributions | 
|  | ------------------------------------------------- | 
|  | Configuring a network driver to load properly when the system is started is | 
|  | distribution dependent. Typically, the configuration process involves adding | 
|  | an alias line to /etc/modprobe.conf as well as editing other system startup | 
|  | scripts and/or configuration files.  Many popular Linux distributions ship | 
|  | with tools to make these changes for you.  To learn the proper way to | 
|  | configure a network device for your system, refer to your distribution | 
|  | documentation.  If during this process you are asked for the driver or module | 
|  | name, the name for the Linux Base Driver for the Intel 10GbE Family of | 
|  | Adapters is ixgb. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Viewing Link Messages | 
|  | --------------------- | 
|  | Link messages will not be displayed to the console if the distribution is | 
|  | restricting system messages. In order to see network driver link messages on | 
|  | your console, set dmesg to eight by entering the following:: | 
|  |  | 
|  | dmesg -n 8 | 
|  |  | 
|  | NOTE: This setting is not saved across reboots. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Jumbo Frames | 
|  | ------------ | 
|  | The driver supports Jumbo Frames for all adapters. Jumbo Frames support is | 
|  | enabled by changing the MTU to a value larger than the default of 1500. | 
|  | The maximum value for the MTU is 16114.  Use the ip command to | 
|  | increase the MTU size.  For example:: | 
|  |  | 
|  | ip li set dev ethx mtu 9000 | 
|  |  | 
|  | The maximum MTU setting for Jumbo Frames is 16114.  This value coincides | 
|  | with the maximum Jumbo Frames size of 16128. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Ethtool | 
|  | ------- | 
|  | The driver utilizes the ethtool interface for driver configuration and | 
|  | diagnostics, as well as displaying statistical information.  The ethtool | 
|  | version 1.6 or later is required for this functionality. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The latest release of ethtool can be found from | 
|  | https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/network/ethtool/ | 
|  |  | 
|  | NOTE: | 
|  | The ethtool version 1.6 only supports a limited set of ethtool options. | 
|  | Support for a more complete ethtool feature set can be enabled by | 
|  | upgrading to the latest version. | 
|  |  | 
|  | NAPI | 
|  | ---- | 
|  | NAPI (Rx polling mode) is supported in the ixgb driver. | 
|  |  | 
|  | See https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/networking/napi for more information on | 
|  | NAPI. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | Known Issues/Troubleshooting | 
|  | ============================ | 
|  |  | 
|  | NOTE: | 
|  | After installing the driver, if your Intel Network Connection is not | 
|  | working, verify in the "In This Release" section of the readme that you have | 
|  | installed the correct driver. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Cable Interoperability Issue with Fujitsu XENPAK Module in SmartBits Chassis | 
|  | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 
|  | Excessive CRC errors may be observed if the Intel(R) PRO/10GbE CX4 | 
|  | Server adapter is connected to a Fujitsu XENPAK CX4 module in a SmartBits | 
|  | chassis using 15 m/24AWG cable assemblies manufactured by Fujitsu or Leoni. | 
|  | The CRC errors may be received either by the Intel(R) PRO/10GbE CX4 | 
|  | Server adapter or the SmartBits. If this situation occurs using a different | 
|  | cable assembly may resolve the issue. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Cable Interoperability Issues with HP Procurve 3400cl Switch Port | 
|  | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | 
|  | Excessive CRC errors may be observed if the Intel(R) PRO/10GbE CX4 Server | 
|  | adapter is connected to an HP Procurve 3400cl switch port using short cables | 
|  | (1 m or shorter). If this situation occurs, using a longer cable may resolve | 
|  | the issue. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Excessive CRC errors may be observed using Fujitsu 24AWG cable assemblies that | 
|  | Are 10 m or longer or where using a Leoni 15 m/24AWG cable assembly. The CRC | 
|  | errors may be received either by the CX4 Server adapter or at the switch. If | 
|  | this situation occurs, using a different cable assembly may resolve the issue. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Jumbo Frames System Requirement | 
|  | ------------------------------- | 
|  | Memory allocation failures have been observed on Linux systems with 64 MB | 
|  | of RAM or less that are running Jumbo Frames.  If you are using Jumbo | 
|  | Frames, your system may require more than the advertised minimum | 
|  | requirement of 64 MB of system memory. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Performance Degradation with Jumbo Frames | 
|  | ----------------------------------------- | 
|  | Degradation in throughput performance may be observed in some Jumbo frames | 
|  | environments.  If this is observed, increasing the application's socket buffer | 
|  | size and/or increasing the /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_*mem entry values may help. | 
|  | See the specific application manual and /usr/src/linux*/Documentation/ | 
|  | networking/ip-sysctl.txt for more details. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Allocating Rx Buffers when Using Jumbo Frames | 
|  | --------------------------------------------- | 
|  | Allocating Rx buffers when using Jumbo Frames on 2.6.x kernels may fail if | 
|  | the available memory is heavily fragmented. This issue may be seen with PCI-X | 
|  | adapters or with packet split disabled. This can be reduced or eliminated | 
|  | by changing the amount of available memory for receive buffer allocation, by | 
|  | increasing /proc/sys/vm/min_free_kbytes. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Multiple Interfaces on Same Ethernet Broadcast Network | 
|  | ------------------------------------------------------ | 
|  | Due to the default ARP behavior on Linux, it is not possible to have | 
|  | one system on two IP networks in the same Ethernet broadcast domain | 
|  | (non-partitioned switch) behave as expected.  All Ethernet interfaces | 
|  | will respond to IP traffic for any IP address assigned to the system. | 
|  | This results in unbalanced receive traffic. | 
|  |  | 
|  | If you have multiple interfaces in a server, do either of the following: | 
|  |  | 
|  | - Turn on ARP filtering by entering:: | 
|  |  | 
|  | echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/all/arp_filter | 
|  |  | 
|  | - Install the interfaces in separate broadcast domains - either in | 
|  | different switches or in a switch partitioned to VLANs. | 
|  |  | 
|  | UDP Stress Test Dropped Packet Issue | 
|  | -------------------------------------- | 
|  | Under small packets UDP stress test with 10GbE driver, the Linux system | 
|  | may drop UDP packets due to the fullness of socket buffers. You may want | 
|  | to change the driver's Flow Control variables to the minimum value for | 
|  | controlling packet reception. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Tx Hangs Possible Under Stress | 
|  | ------------------------------ | 
|  | Under stress conditions, if TX hangs occur, turning off TSO | 
|  | "ethtool -K eth0 tso off" may resolve the problem. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | Support | 
|  | ======= | 
|  | For general information, go to the Intel support website at: | 
|  |  | 
|  | https://www.intel.com/support/ | 
|  |  | 
|  | or the Intel Wired Networking project hosted by Sourceforge at: | 
|  |  | 
|  | https://sourceforge.net/projects/e1000 | 
|  |  | 
|  | If an issue is identified with the released source code on a supported kernel | 
|  | with a supported adapter, email the specific information related to the issue | 
|  | to e1000-devel@lists.sf.net |