Overview
Supported Adapters
Building and Installation
Command Line Parameters
Speed and Duplex Configuration
Additional Configurations
Troubleshooting
Support
This file describes the Linux* Base Driver for the Intel PRO/1000 Family of Adapters, version 5.0.x, installed on Red Hat Linux* systems. This driver is intended for 2.4.x kernels; it is known to build properly on 2.4.x kernels through 2.4.18. Intel focused testing on Intel architectures running the 2.4.18 kernel.
The Intel PRO/1000 driver is only supported as a loadable module at this time. Intel is not supplying patches against the kernel source to allow for static linking of the driver. For questions related to hardware requirements, refer to the documentation supplied with your Intel PRO/1000 adapter. All hardware requirements listed apply to use with Red Hat Linux.
Native VLANs are now available with supported kernels.
Intel supplies pre-built binary RPM files of this driver for Red Hat Linux distributions. For instructions on installing an RPM, see the Building and Installation section.
The following Intel network adapters are compatible with the drivers in this release:
| Controller | Adapter Name | Board IDs |
| 82543 | Intel PRO/1000 F Server Adapter | 738640-xxx, A38888-xxx, A06512-xxx |
| 82543 | Intel PRO/1000 T Server Adapter | A19845-xxx, A33948-xxx |
| 82544 | Intel PRO/1000 XT Server Adapter | A51580-xxx |
| 82544 | Intel PRO/1000 XF Server Adapter | A50484-xxx |
| 82540 | Intel 82540EM Based Network Connection |
To verify your 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 123456-001 (six digits hyphen three digits). Match this to the list of numbers above.
For more information on how to identify your adapter or for the latest network drivers for Red Hat Linux, see Customer Support.
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NOTE: For the build to work properly, the currently running kernel MUST match the version and configuration of the installed kernel sources. Also, if you have just recompiled the kernel, reboot the system now. |
There are two methods available for installing the e1000 driver: installing from source code; and installing from a pre-built binary RPM. Pre-built binary RPM installation is recommended if you are using Red Hat Advanced Server 2.1 kernel ver. 2.4.9-e.3. If not, you must use the source code installation method.
tar zxf e1000-<x.x.x>.tar.gz<x.x.x> is the version number for the driver tar:cd e1000-<x.x.x>/src/make installinsmod e1000 <option>=<value>See the Command Line Parameters Section for
options and values.
ifconfig eth<x> <IP_address>ping <IP_address>To build a binary RPM* package of this driver, run 'rpmbuild -tb <filename.tar.gz>'. Replace <filename.tar.gz> with the specific file name of the driver.
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NOTE: Only use this method if using Red Hat Advanced Server 2.1 kernel ver. 2.4.9-e.3. |
Intel supplies pre-built binary RPM files of this driver for Red Hat Linux distributions. On the installation CD, the RPM is located at: \PRO1000\LINUX\e1000-5.0.27-rh21as.i386.rpm. Otherwise, navigate to the directory containing the RPM that you wish to install. To install or uninstall the RPMs, follow the instructions below.
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NOTE: The <filename> and
<package> must be specific to the driver version and
distribution you are using.
<filename> is the entire filename; for example,
e1000-4.2.16-rh72.i386.rpm.
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NOTE: If you have a previous RPM
installed, it must be uninstalled before installing the new RPM. To
determine whether or not a previous RPM is installed, enter rpm -q e1000.
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To install the RPM, enter:
rpm -i <filename>
To uninstall the RPM, enter:
rpm -e <package>
The following optional parameters are used by entering them on the command line with the modprobe or insmod command using this syntax:
modprobe e1000 [<option>=<VAL1>,<VAL2>,...]
insmod e1000 [<option>=<VAL1>,<VAL2>,...]
For parameters and possible values, see the table below.
For example, with two Intel PRO/1000 PCI adapters, entering:
insmod e1000 TxDescriptors=80,128
loads the e1000 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.
For more information about the AutoNeg, Duplex, and Speed parameters, see the Speed and Duplex Configuration section in this document.
The following table contains parameters and possible values for insmod and modprobe commands:
| Parameter Name | Valid Range/Settings | Default | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
AutoNeg (see table below for values) |
0x01-0x0F, 0x20-0x2F | 0x2F | This parameter is a bit mask that specifies which speed
and duplex settings the board advertises. When this parameter is used,
the Speed and Duplex parameters must not be specified.
(adapters using copper connections only) |
||
| Duplex | 0-2 (0=auto-negotiate, 1=half, 2=full) | 0 | Defines the direction in which data is allowed to flow.
Can be either one or two-directional. If both Duplex and the link
partner are set to auto-negotiate, the board auto-detects the correct
duplex. If the link partner is forced (either full or half), Duplex
defaults to half-duplex.
(adapters using copper connections only) |
||
| FlowControl | 0-3 (0=none, 1=Rx only, 2=Tx only, 3=Rx&Tx) | Read flow control settings from the EEPROM | This parameter controls the automatic generation(Tx) and response(Rx) to Ethernet PAUSE frames. | ||
| InterruptThrottleRate | 100-100000 (0=off) | 8000 | This value represents the maximum number of interrupts
per second the controller generates. InterruptThrottleRate is another setting
used in interrupt moderation. Dynamic mode uses a heuristic algorithm to
adjust InterruptThrottleRate based on the current traffic load.
|
||
| RxDescriptors | 80-256 for 82542 and 82543-based adapters
80-4096 for 82540, 82544, 82545, and 82546-based adapters |
80 | 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, 4096, 8192, or
16384 bytes, depending on the MTU setting. The maximum MTU size is
16110.
|
||
| RxIntDelay | 0-65535 (0=off) | 0 | This value delays the generation of receive interrupts in
units of 1.024 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.
|
||
| RxAbsIntDelay | 0-65535 (0=off) | 128 | This value, in units of 1.024 microseconds, limits the
delay in which a receive interrupt is generated. Useful only if RxIntDelay is non-zero, this value ensures that an interrupt is
generated after the initial packet is received within the set amount of
time. Proper tuning, along with RxIntDelay, may improve traffic
throughput in specific network conditions.
(82540, 82545, and 82546-based adapters only) |
||
| Speed | 0, 10, 100, 1000 | 0 | Speed forces the line speed to the specified value in
megabits per second (Mbps). If this parameter is not specified or
is set to 0 and the link partner is set to auto-negotiate, the
board will auto-detect the correct speed. Duplex must also be set when
Speed is set to either 10 or 100. (adapters using copper connections only) |
||
| TxDescriptors | 80-256 for 82542 and 82543-based adapters
80-4096 for 82540, 82544, 82545, and 82546-based adapters |
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. | ||
| TxIntDelay | 0-65535 (0=off) | 64 | This value delays the generation of transmit interrupts in units of 1.024 microseconds. Transmit interrupt reduction can improve CPU efficiency if properly tuned for specific network traffic. If the system is reporting dropped transmits, this value may be set too high causing the driver to run out of available transmit descriptors. | ||
| TxAbsIntDelay | 0-65535 (0=off) | 64 |
This value, in units of 1.024 microseconds, limits the delay in which a transmit interrupt is generated. Useful only if TxIntDelay is non-zero, this value ensures that an interrupt is generated after the initial packet is sent on the wire within the set amount of time. Proper tuning, along with TxIntDelay, may improve traffic throughput in specific network conditions. (82540, 82545, and 82546-based adapters only) |
||
| XsumRX | 0-1 | 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. |
Three keywords are used to control the speed and duplex configuration. These keywords are Speed, Duplex, and AutoNeg.
If the board uses a fiber interface, these keywords are ignored, and the fiber interface board only links at 1000 Mbps full-duplex.
For copper-based boards, the keywords interact as follows:
The default operation is auto-negotiate. The board advertises all supported speed and duplex combinations, and it links at the highest common speed and duplex mode IF the link partner is set to auto-negotiate.
If Speed = 1000, limited auto-negotiation is enabled and only 1000 Mbps is advertised (The 1000BaseT spec requires auto-negotiation.)
If Speed = 10 or 100, then both Speed and Duplex must be set. Auto-negotiation is disabled, and the AutoNeg parameter is ignored. Partner MUST also be forced.
The AutoNeg parameter is used when more control is required over the auto-negotiation process. When this parameter is used, Speed and Duplex must not be specified. This parameter is a bitmap that specifies which speed and duplex settings are advertised to the link partner.
| Bit: | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Speed (Mbps): | N/A | N/A | 1000 | N/A | 100 | 100 | 10 | 10 |
| Duplex: | Full | Full | Half | Full | Half |
Note that setting AutoNeg does not guarantee that the board will link at the highest specified speed or duplex mode, but the board will link at the highest possible speed/duplex of the link partner IF the link partner is also set to auto-negotiate. If the link partner is forced speed/duplex, the adapter MUST be forced to the same speed/duplex.
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/modules.conf as well as editing other system startup scripts and/or configuration files. Many popular Red Hat 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 PRO/1000 Family of Adapters is e1000.
As an example, if you install the e1000 driver for two Intel PRO/1000 adapters (eth0 and eth1) and set the speed and duplex to 10full and 100half, add the following to modules.conf:
alias eth0 e1000
alias eth1 e1000
options e1000 Speed=10,100 Duplex=2,1
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
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NOTE: This setting is not saved across reboots. |
The driver supports Jumbo Frames for all adapters except 82542-based adapters. Jumbo Frames support is enabled by changing the MTU to a value larger than the default of 1500. Use the ifconfig command to increase the MTU size. For example:
ifconfig eth<x> mtu 9000 up
The maximum MTU setting for Jumbo Frames is 16110. This value coincides with the maximum Jumbo Frames size of 16128.
When trying to compile the driver by running make install, the following error may occur: "Linux kernel source not configured - missing version.h"
To solve this issue, create the version.h file by going to the Red Hat Linux source tree and entering:
make include/linux/version.h
Memory allocation failures have been observed on Red Hat 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.
Due to the ARP behavior on Red Hat 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.
When this occurs, transmits and receives for a single conversation can be split across different network interfaces. Additionally, the server might have up to twice as much transmit capacity as receive capacity, which can result in the receive side being overrun and dropping receives.
If you have multiple interfaces in a server, install them in different switches or partition the switch into VLANs to prevent broadcast traffic from going to the wrong interface. This does not apply when using a teaming solution, like ANS.
Adding an adapter to your system may cause a change in the interface name (ethx) assignments, due to the order that PCI devices are enumerated by the system BIOS. For example, eth0 may shift to eth1 after an adapter is added to the system, if the new adapter is enumerated before the previously installed adapter.
For general information and support, check with Customer Support.
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 linux.nics@intel.com.
Please read all restrictions and disclaimers.