NOTES: This release includes the 10 gigabit ixgbe FreeBSD Base Driver for Intel® Network Connection. All 82599 and 82598EB-based network connections require the ixgbe driver. All other network connections require the ixgb driver. The ixgb driver can be downloaded at: http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/src/sys/dev/ixgb/. First identify your adapter. Then follow the appropriate steps for building, installing, and configuring the appropriate driver. |
To verify that your Intel adapter is supported, find the board ID number on the adapter. Look for a label that has a barcode and a number in the format of 123456-001 (six digits hyphen three digits). For more information on how to identify your adapter, go to the Adapter & Driver ID Guide at:
http://support.intel.com/support/go/network/adapter/home.htm
For the latest Intel network drivers for FreeBSD, see:
http://support.intel.com/support/go/network/adapter/home.htm
To verify that your Intel adapter is supported, find the board ID number on the adapter. Look for a label that has a barcode and a number in the format of 123456-001 (six digits hyphen three digits). For more information on how to identify your adapter, go to the Adapter & Driver ID Guide at:
http://support.intel.com/support/go/network/adapter/home.htm
For the latest Intel network drivers for FreeBSD, see:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/scripts-df-external/Support_Intel.aspx
NOTE:
|
Supplier | Type | Part Numbers |
SR Modules | ||
Intel | DUAL RATE 1G/10G SFP+ SR (bailed) | AFBR-703SDZ-IN2 |
Intel | DUAL RATE 1G/10G SFP+ SR (bailed) | FTLX1471D3BCL |
LR Modules | ||
Intel | DUAL RATE 1G/10G SFP+ LR (bailed) | FTLX1471D3BCV-IT |
Intel | DUAL RATE 1G/10G SFP+ LR (bailed) | AFCT-701SDZ-IN2 |
The following is a list of 3rd party SFP+ modules and direct attach cables that have received some testing. Not all modules are applicable to all devices.
Supplier | Type | Part Numbers |
Finisar | SFP+ SR bailed, 10g single rate | FTLX8571D3BCL |
Avago | SFP+ SR bailed, 10g single rate | AFBR-700SDZ |
Finisar | SFP+ LR bailed, 10g single rate | FTLX1471D3BCL |
Finisar | DUAL RATE 1G/10G SFP+ SR (No Bail) | FTLX8571D3QCV-IT |
Avago | DUAL RATE 1G/10G SFP+ SR (No Bail) | AFBR-703SDZ-IN1 |
Finisar | DUAL RATE 1G/10G SFP+ LR (No Bail) | FTLX1471D3QCV-IT |
Avago | DUAL RATE 1G/10G SFP+ LR (No Bail) | AFCT-701SDZ-IN1 |
Molex | 1m - Twin-ax cable | 74752-1101 |
Molex | 3m - Twin-ax cable | 74752-2301 |
Molex | 5m - Twin-ax cable | 74752-3501 |
Molex | 10m - Twin-ax cable | 74752-9004 |
Tyco | 1m - Twin-ax cable | 2032237-2 |
Tyco | 3m - Twin-ax cable | 2032237-4 |
Tyco | 5m - Twin-ax cable | 2032237-6 |
Tyco | 10m - Twin-ax cable | 1-2032237-1 |
NOTES:
|
The following is a list of SFP+ modules and direct attach cables that have received some testing. Not all modules are applicable to all devices.
Supplier | Type | Part Numbers |
Finisar | SFP+ SR bailed, 10g single rate | FTLX8571D3BCL |
Avago | SFP+ SR bailed, 10g single rate | AFBR-700SDZ |
Finisar | SFP+ LR bailed, 10g single rate | FTLX1471D3BCL |
Molex | 1m - Twin-ax cable | 74752-1101 |
Molex | 3m - Twin-ax cable | 74752-2301 |
Molex | 5m - Twin-ax cable | 74752-3501 |
Molex | 10m - Twin-ax cable | 74752-9004 |
Tyco | 1m - Twin-ax cable | 2032237-2 |
Tyco | 3m - Twin-ax cable | 2032237-4 |
Tyco | 5m - Twin-ax cable | 2032237-6 |
Tyco | 10m - Twin-ax cable | 1-2032237-1 |
THIRD PARTY OPTIC MODULES AND CABLES REFERRED TO ABOVE ARE LISTED ONLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF HIGHLIGHTING THIRD PARTY SPECIFICATIONS AND POTENTIAL COMPATIBILITY, AND ARE NOT RECOMMENDATIONS OR ENDORSEMENT OR SPONSORSHIP OF ANY THIRD PARTY’S PRODUCT BY INTEL. INTEL IS NOT ENDORSING OR PROMOTING PRODUCTS MADE BY ANY THIRD PARTY AND THE THIRD PARTY REFERENCE IS PROVIDED ONLY TO SHARE INFORMATION REGARDING CERTAIN OPTIC MODULES AND CABLES WITH THE ABOVE SPECIFICATIONS. THERE MAY BE OTHER MANUFACTURERS OR SUPPLIERS, PRODUCING OR SUPPLYING OPTIC MODULES AND CABLES WITH SIMILAR OR MATCHING DESCRIPTIONS. CUSTOMERS MUST USE THEIR OWN DISCRETION AND DILIGENCE TO PURCHASE OPTIC MODULES AND CABLES FROM ANY THIRD PARTY OF THEIR CHOICE. CUSTOMERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSESSING THE SUITABILITY OF THE PRODUCT AND/OR DEVICES AND FOR THE SELECTION OF THE VENDOR FOR PURCHASING ANY PRODUCT. THE OPTIC MODULES AND CABLES REFERRED TO ABOVE ARE NOT WARRANTED OR SUPPORTED BY INTEL. INTEL ASSUMES NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER, AND INTEL DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY, RELATING TO SALE AND/OR USE OF SUCH THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS OR SELECTION OF VENDOR BY CUSTOMERS.
NOTE: You must have kernel sources installed in order to compile the driver module. |
In the instructions below, x.x.x is the driver version as indicated in the name of the driver tar file.
tar xfz ixgbe-x.x.x.tar.gz
cd
ixgbe-x.x.x
gzip -c ixgbe.4 > /usr/share/man/man4/ixgbee.4.gz
cd ixgbe-x.x.x/src
make load
ifconfig ix<interface_num> <IP_address>
ping <IP_address>
cd ixgbe-x.x.x/src
make
make install
Edit /boot/loader.conf, and add the following line:
ixgbe_load="YES"
OR
compile the driver into the kernel (see item 8).
Edit /etc/rc.conf, and create the appropriate ifconfig_ixgbe<interface_num>
entry:
ifconfig_ix<interface_num>
Example usage:
ifconfig_ix0="inet 192.168.10.1
netmask 255.255.255.0"
NOTE: For assistance, see the ifconfig man page.
The driver supports Transmit/Receive Checksum Offload and Jumbo Frames on all 10GbE adapters.
To enable Jumbo Frames, use the ifconfig utility to increase the MTU beyond 1500 bytes.
NOTES: The Jumbo Frames setting on the switch must be
set to at least 22 bytes larger than that of the MTU.
There are known performance issues with this driver when running UDP traffic with Jumbo Frames. |
The Jumbo Frames MTU range for Intel Adapters is 1500 to 16114. The default MTU range is 1500. To modify the setting, enter the following:
ifconfig ix<interface_num> <hostname or IP address> mtu 9000
To confirm an interface's MTU value, use the ifconfig command. To confirm the MTU used between two specific devices, use:
route get <destination_IP_address>
To create a new VLAN interface:
ifconfig <vlan_name> create
To associate the VLAN interface with a physical interface and assign an IP address, netmask, and VLAN ID:
ifconfig <vlan_name> <ip_address> netmask <subnet_mask> vlan <vlan_id> vlandev <physical_interface>
Example:
ifconfig vlan10 10.0.0.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 vlan 10 vlandev ixgb0
In this example, all packets will be marked on egress with 802.1Q VLAN tags, specifying a VLAN ID of 10.
To remove a VLAN interface:
ifconfig <vlan_name> destroy
Checksum offloading supports both TCP and UDP packets and is supported for
both transmit and receive.
Checksum offloading can be enabled or disabled using ifconfig. Both transmit and
receive offloading will be either enabled or disabled together. You cannot
enable/disable one without the other.
To enable checksum offloading:
ifconfig <interface_num> rxcsum
To disable checksum offloading:
ifconfig <interface_num> -rxcsum
To confirm the current setting:
ifconfig <interface_num>
TSO is enabled by default.
To disable:
ifconfig <interface_num> -tso
To re-enable:
ifconfig <interface_num> tso
Large Receive Offload is available in the driver; it is on by default. It can be disabled by using:
ifconfig <interface_num> -lro
To enable:
ifconfig <interface_num> lro
When there is a choice, run on a 64bit OS rather than 32, it makes a
significant difference in improvement.
The default scheduler SCHED_4BSD is not smart about SMP locality issues.
Significant improvement can be achieved by switching to the ULE scheduler.
This is done by changing the entry in the config file from SCHED_4BSD to
SCHED_ULE. Note that this is only advisable on FreeBSD 7, on 6.X there have
been stability problems with ULE.
The interface can generate high number of interrupts. To avoid running into the
limit set by the kernel, adjust hw.intr_storm_threshold setting using sysctl:
sysctl hw.intr_storm_threshold=9000 (the default is 1000)
For this change to take effect on boot, edit /etc/sysctl.conf and add the line:
hw.intr_storm_threshold=9000
If you still see Interrupt Storm detected messages, increase the limit to a
higher number.
Best throughput results are seen with a large MTU; use 9000 if possible.
The default number of descriptors is 256, increasing this to 1024 or even 2048
may improve performance.
Under small packets UDP stress test with the 10GbE driver, the FreeBSD system will drop UDP packets, due to socket buffers being full. You may want to change the driver's Flow Control variables to the minimum value for controlling packet reception.
When using the ixgbe driver with RSS
autoconfigured based on the number of cores (the default setting) and that
number is larger than 4, increase the memory resources allocated for the mbuf
pool as follows:
Add to the sysctl.conf file for the system:
kern.ipc.nmbclusters=262144
kern.ipc.nmbjumbop=262144
Some PCI-E x8 slots are actually configured as x4 slots. These
slots have insufficient bandwidth for full 10Gbe line rate with dual port 10GbE
devices. The driver can detect this situation and will write the following
message in the system log: “PCI-Express bandwidth available for this card is not
sufficient for optimal performance. For optimal performance a x8 PCI-Express
slot is required.”
If this error occurs, moving your adapter to a true x8 slot
will resolve the issue.
For general information and support, go to the support website
If an issue is identified, support is through email only at: freebsd@intel.com
Last modified on 9/09/09 1:04p Revision 70