Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/1000 Family of Adapters =============================================================== October 12, 2002 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 4.4.x. This driver includes support for Itanium(TM)-based systems. This release version includes the following: - Support for the ethtool 1.6 interface. A third-party application can use the ethtool interface to get and set driver parameters. - Zero copy. This feature provides faster data throughput. Enabled by default in supporting kernels. It is not supported on the Intel(R) PRO/1000 Gigabit Server Adapter. Features include: - Support for the 82545 and 82546-based adapters listed below - Wake on LAN* support via ethtool for 82540, 82544, 82545, and 82546- based adapters - Adaptive IFS for increased performance at half duplex 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 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 of 123456-001 (six digits hyphen three digits). 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, go to: http://appsr.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. 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. 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. 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 must 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 PRO/1000 Gigabit Server 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 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. 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 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 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 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.