Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/1000 Family of Adapters
===============================================================
January 8, 2003
Contents
========
- In This Release
- Supported Adapters
- Command Line Parameters
- Speed and Duplex Configuration
- Additional Configurations
- Known Issues
- Support
In This Release
===============
This file describes the Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/1000 Family
of Adapters, version 5.0.x. This driver includes support for
Itanium(TM)-based systems.
Supported Adapters
==================
The following Intel network adapters are compatible with the drivers in this
release:
Controller Adapter Name Board IDs
---------- ------------ ---------
82542 PRO/1000 Gigabit Server Adapter 700262-xxx, 717037-xxx
82543 PRO/1000 F Server Adapter 738640-xxx, A38888-xxx
82543 PRO/1000 T Server Adapter A19845-xxx, A33948-xxx
82544 PRO/1000 XT Server Adapter A51580-xxx
82544 PRO/1000 XF Server Adapter A50484-xxx
82544 PRO/1000 T Desktop Adapter A62947-xxx
82540 PRO/1000 MT Desktop Adapter A78408-xxx
82541 C91016-xxx
82545 PRO/1000 MT Server Adapter A92165-xxx
82546 PRO/1000 MT Dual Port Server Adapter A92111-xxx
82545 PRO/1000 MF Server Adapter A91622-xxx
82545 PRO/1000 MF Server Adapter(LX) A91624-xxx
82546 PRO/1000 MF Dual Port Server Adapter A91620-xxx
To verify 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
A12345-001. Match this to the list of numbers above.
For more information on how to identify your adapter, go to the Adapter &
Driver ID Guide at:
http://support.intel.com/support/network/adapter/pro100/21397.htm
For the latest Intel network drivers for Linux, refer to the following
http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df/support_intel.asp
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 or insmod command
using this syntax:
modprobe e1000 [<option>=<VAL1>,<VAL2>,...]
insmod e1000 [<option>=<VAL1>,<VAL2>,...]
For example, with two 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.
AutoNeg (adapters using copper connections only)
Valid Range: 0x01-0x0F, 0x20-0x2F
Default Value: 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.
Duplex (adapters using copper connections only)
Valid Range: 0-2 (0=auto-negotiate, 1=half, 2=full)
Default Value: 0
Defines the direction in which data is allowed to flow. Can by 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.
FlowControl
Valid Range: 0-3 (0=none, 1=Rx only, 2=Tx only, 3=Rx&Tx)
Default: Read flow control settings from the EEPROM
This parameter controls the automatic generation(Tx) and response(Rx) to
Ethernet PAUSE frames.
InterruptThrottleRate
Valid Range: 100-100000 (0=off, 1=dynamic)
Default Value: 1
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.
NOTE: InterruptThrottleRate takes precedence over the TxAbsIntDelay and
RxAbsIntDelay parameters. In other words, minimizing the receive
and/or transmit absolute delays does not force the controller to
generate more interrupts than what the Interrupt Throttle Rate
allows.
RxDescriptors
Valid Range: 80-256 for 82542 and 82543-based adapters
80-4096 for 82540, 82544, 82545, and 82546-based adapters
Default Value: 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.
NOTE: MTU designates the frame size. It only needs to be set for Jumbo
Frames.
RxIntDelay
Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off)
Default Value: 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.
CAUTION: When setting RxIntDelay to a value other than 0, adapters may
hang (stop transmitting) under certain network conditions. If
this occurs a NETDEV WATCHDOG message is logged in the system
event log. In addition, the controller is automatically reset,
restoring the network connection. To eliminate the potential for
the hang ensure that RxIntDelay is set to 0.
RxAbsIntDelay (82540, 82545, and 82546-based adapters only)
Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off)
Default Value: 128
This value, in units of 1.024 microseconds, limits the delay in which a
transmit 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.
Speed (adapters using copper connections only)
Valid Settings: 0, 10, 100, 1000
Default Value: 0 (auto-negotiate at all supported speeds)
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 should also be set when Speed is set to either 10 or 100.
TxDescriptors
Valid Range: 80-256 for 82542 and 82543-based adapters
80-4096 for 82540, 82544, 82545, and 82546-based adapters
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.
TxIntDelay
Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off)
Default Value: 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 (82540, 82545, and 82546-based adapters only)
Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off)
Default Value: 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.
XsumRX (not available on the 82542-based adapter)
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.
Speed and Duplex Configuration
==============================
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 should be set. Auto-
negotiation is disabled, and the AutoNeg parameter is ignored. Partner SHOULD
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.
Additional Configurations
=========================
Jumbo Frames
------------
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 ethx mtu 9000 up
The maximum MTU setting for Jumbo Frames is 16110. This value coincides
with the maximum Jumbo Frames size of 16128.
NOTE: Jumbo Frames are supported at 1000 Mbps only. Using Jumbo Frames at
10 or 100 Mbps may result in poor performance or loss of link.
Known Issues
============
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.
Support
=======
For general information, 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 linux.nics@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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