FreeBSD Driver for 10 Gigabit PCI Express Server Adapters
=============================================
/*$FreeBSD$*/
May 14, 2008
Contents
========
- Overview
- Supported Adapters
- Building and Installation
- Additional Configurations
- Known Limitations
Overview
========
This file describes the FreeBSD* driver for the 10 Gigabit PCIE Family of
Adapters. Drivers has been developed for use with FreeBSD 7 or later.
For questions related to hardware requirements, refer to the documentation
supplied with your Intel 10GbE adapter. All hardware requirements listed
apply to use with FreeBSD.
Supported Adapters
==================
The following Intel network adapters are compatible with the drivers in this
release:
Controller Adapter Name Physical Layer
---------- ------------ --------------
82598EB Intel(R) 10 Gigabit XF SR/AF 10G Base -LR (850 nm optical fiber)
Dual Port Server Adapter 10G Base -SR (1310 nm optical fiber)
82598EB Intel(R) 10 Gigabit XF SR/LR
Server Adapter
Intel(R) 82598EB 10 Gigabit AF
Network Connection
Intel(R) 82598EB 10 Gigabit AT
CX4 Network Connection
Building and Installation
=========================
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.
1. Move the base driver tar file to the directory of your choice. For
example, use /home/username/ixgbe or /usr/local/src/ixgbe.
2. Untar/unzip the archive:
tar xfz ixgbe-x.x.x.tar.gz
3. To install man page:
cd ixgbe-x.x.x
gzip -c ixgbe.4 > /usr/share/man/man4/ixgbee.4.gz
4. To load the driver onto a running system:
cd ixgbe-x.x.x/src
make load
5. To assign an IP address to the interface, enter the following:
ifconfig ix<interface_num> <IP_address>
6. Verify that the interface works. Enter the following, where <IP_address>
is the IP address for another machine on the same subnet as the interface
that is being tested:
ping <IP_address>
7. If you want the driver to load automatically when the system is booted:
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>="<ifconfig_settings>"
Example usage:
ifconfig_ix0="inet 192.168.10.1 netmask 255.255.255.0"
NOTE: For assistance, see the ifconfig man page.
8. If you want to compile the driver into the kernel, enter:
FreeBSD 7 or later:
cd ixgbe-x.x.x/src
cp *.[ch] /usr/src/sys/dev/ixgbe
cp Makefile.kernel /usr/src/sys/modules/ixgbe/Makefile
Edit the kernel configuration file (i.e., GENERIC or MYKERNEL) in
/usr/src/sys/i386/conf (replace "i386" with the appropriate system
architecture if necessary), and ensure the following line is present:
device ixgbe
Compile and install the kernel. The system must be reboot for the kernel
updates to take affect. For additional information on compiling the kernel,
consult the FreeBSD operating system documentation.
Configuration and Tuning
=========================
The driver supports Transmit/Receive Checksum Offload and Jumbo Frames on
all 10 Gigabit adapters.
Jumbo Frames
------------
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 adapter.
- 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>
VLANs
-----
To create a new VLAN pseudo-interface:
ifconfig <vlan_name> create
To associate the VLAN pseudo-interface with a physical interface and
assign a VLAN ID, IP address, and netmask:
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 ixgbe0
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 pseudo-interface:
ifconfig <vlan_name> destroy
Checksum Offload
----------------
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
---
To disable:
ifconfig <interface_num> -tso
To re-enable:
ifconfig <interface_num> tso
LRO
___
Large Receive Offload is available in version 1.4.4, it is on
by default. It can be toggled off and on by using:
sysctl dev.ix.X.enable_lro=[0,1]
NOTE: when changing this feature you MUST be sure the interface
is reinitialized, it is easy to do this with ifconfig down/up.
The LRO code will ultimately move into the kernel stack code,
but for this first release it was included with the driver.
Important system configuration changes:
---------------------------------------
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.
Change the file /etc/sysctl.conf, add the line:
hw.intr_storm_threshold: 8000 (the default is 1000)
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.
Known Limitations
=================
Under small packets UDP stress test with 10GbE driver, the FreeBSD system
will 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.
Support
=======
For general information and support, go to the Intel support website at:
http://support.intel.com
If an issue is identified with the released source code on the supported
kernel with a supported adapter, email the specific information related to
the issue to freebsd@intel.com.
License
=======
This software program is released under the terms of a license agreement
between you ('Licensee') and Intel. Do not use or load this software or any
associated materials (collectively, the 'Software') until you have carefully
read the full terms and conditions of the LICENSE located in this software
package. By loading or using the Software, you agree to the terms of this
Agreement. If you do not agree with the terms of this Agreement, do not
install or use the Software.
* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
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