1 Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/1000 Family of Adapters
2 ===============================================================
12 - Command Line Parameters
13 - Speed and Duplex Configuration
14 - Additional Configurations
22 This file describes the Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/1000 Family
23 of Adapters, version 5.0.x. This driver includes support for
24 Itanium(TM)-based systems.
27 Native VLANs are now available with supported kernels.
33 The following Intel network adapters are compatible with the drivers in this
36 Controller Adapter Name Board IDs
37 ---------- ------------ ---------
39 82542 PRO/1000 Gigabit Server Adapter 700262-xxx, 717037-xxx
41 82543 PRO/1000 F Server Adapter 738640-xxx, A38888-xxx
43 82543 PRO/1000 T Server Adapter A19845-xxx, A33948-xxx
45 82544 PRO/1000 XT Server Adapter A51580-xxx
47 82544 PRO/1000 XF Server Adapter A50484-xxx
49 82544 PRO/1000 T Desktop Adapter A62947-xxx
51 82540 PRO/1000 MT Desktop Adapter A78408-xxx
54 82545 PRO/1000 MT Server Adapter A92165-xxx
56 82546 PRO/1000 MT Dual Port Server Adapter A92111-xxx
58 82545 PRO/1000 MF Server Adapter A91622-xxx
60 82545 PRO/1000 MF Server Adapter(LX) A91624-xxx
62 82546 PRO/1000 MF Dual Port Server Adapter A91620-xxx
66 To verify your Intel adapter is supported, find the board ID number on the
67 adapter. Look for a label that has a barcode and a number in the format
68 A12345-001. Match this to the list of numbers above.
70 For more information on how to identify your adapter, go to the Adapter &
73 http://support.intel.com/support/network/adapter/pro100/21397.htm
75 For the latest Intel network drivers for Linux, refer to the following
77 http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df/support_intel.asp
80 Command Line Parameters
81 =======================
83 If the driver is built as a module, the following optional parameters are
84 used by entering them on the command line with the modprobe or insmod command
87 modprobe e1000 [<option>=<VAL1>,<VAL2>,...]
89 insmod e1000 [<option>=<VAL1>,<VAL2>,...]
91 For example, with two PRO/1000 PCI adapters, entering:
93 insmod e1000 TxDescriptors=80,128
95 loads the e1000 driver with 80 TX resources for the first adapter and 128 TX
96 resources for the second adapter.
98 The default value for each parameter is generally the recommended setting,
99 unless otherwise noted.
101 For more information about the AutoNeg, Duplex, and Speed parameters, see the
102 "Speed and Duplex Configuration" section in this document.
105 AutoNeg (adapters using copper connections only)
106 Valid Range: 0x01-0x0F, 0x20-0x2F
108 This parameter is a bit mask that specifies which speed and duplex
109 settings the board advertises. When this parameter is used, the Speed and
110 Duplex parameters must not be specified.
112 Duplex (adapters using copper connections only)
113 Valid Range: 0-2 (0=auto-negotiate, 1=half, 2=full)
115 Defines the direction in which data is allowed to flow. Can by either one
116 or two-directional. If both Duplex and the link partner are set to auto-
117 negotiate, the board auto-detects the correct duplex. If the link partner
118 is forced (either full or half), Duplex defaults to half-duplex.
121 Valid Range: 0-3 (0=none, 1=Rx only, 2=Tx only, 3=Rx&Tx)
122 Default: Read flow control settings from the EEPROM
123 This parameter controls the automatic generation(Tx) and response(Rx) to
124 Ethernet PAUSE frames.
126 InterruptThrottleRate
127 Valid Range: 100-100000 (0=off, 1=dynamic)
129 This value represents the maximum number of interrupts per second the
130 controller generates. InterruptThrottleRate is another setting used in
131 interrupt moderation. Dynamic mode uses a heuristic algorithm to adjust
132 InterruptThrottleRate based on the current traffic load.
134 NOTE: InterruptThrottleRate takes precedence over the TxAbsIntDelay and
135 RxAbsIntDelay parameters. In other words, minimizing the receive
136 and/or transmit absolute delays does not force the controller to
137 generate more interrupts than what the Interrupt Throttle Rate
141 Valid Range: 80-256 for 82542 and 82543-based adapters
142 80-4096 for 82540, 82544, 82545, and 82546-based adapters
144 This value is the number of receive descriptors allocated by the driver.
145 Increasing this value allows the driver to buffer more incoming packets.
146 Each descriptor is 16 bytes. A receive buffer is also allocated for each
147 descriptor and can be either 2048, 4096, 8192, or 16384 bytes, depending
148 on the MTU setting. The maximum MTU size is 16110.
150 NOTE: MTU designates the frame size. It only needs to be set for Jumbo
154 Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off)
156 This value delays the generation of receive interrupts in units of 1.024
157 microseconds. Receive interrupt reduction can improve CPU efficiency if
158 properly tuned for specific network traffic. Increasing this value adds
159 extra latency to frame reception and can end up decreasing the throughput
160 of TCP traffic. If the system is reporting dropped receives, this value
161 may be set too high, causing the driver to run out of available receive
164 CAUTION: When setting RxIntDelay to a value other than 0, adapters may
165 hang (stop transmitting) under certain network conditions. If
166 this occurs a NETDEV WATCHDOG message is logged in the system
167 event log. In addition, the controller is automatically reset,
168 restoring the network connection. To eliminate the potential for
169 the hang ensure that RxIntDelay is set to 0.
171 RxAbsIntDelay (82540, 82545, and 82546-based adapters only)
172 Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off)
174 This value, in units of 1.024 microseconds, limits the delay in which a
175 transmit interrupt is generated. Useful only if RxIntDelay is non-zero,
176 this value ensures that an interrupt is generated after the initial
177 packet is received within the set amount of time. Proper tuning,
178 along with RxIntDelay, may improve traffic throughput in specific network
181 Speed (adapters using copper connections only)
182 Valid Settings: 0, 10, 100, 1000
183 Default Value: 0 (auto-negotiate at all supported speeds)
184 Speed forces the line speed to the specified value in megabits per second
185 (Mbps). If this parameter is not specified or is set to 0 and the link
186 partner is set to auto-negotiate, the board will auto-detect the correct
187 speed. Duplex should also be set when Speed is set to either 10 or 100.
190 Valid Range: 80-256 for 82542 and 82543-based adapters
191 80-4096 for 82540, 82544, 82545, and 82546-based adapters
193 This value is the number of transmit descriptors allocated by the driver.
194 Increasing this value allows the driver to queue more transmits. Each
195 descriptor is 16 bytes.
198 Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off)
200 This value delays the generation of transmit interrupts in units of
201 1.024 microseconds. Transmit interrupt reduction can improve CPU
202 efficiency if properly tuned for specific network traffic. If the
203 system is reporting dropped transmits, this value may be set too high
204 causing the driver to run out of available transmit descriptors.
206 TxAbsIntDelay (82540, 82545, and 82546-based adapters only)
207 Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off)
209 This value, in units of 1.024 microseconds, limits the delay in which a
210 transmit interrupt is generated. Useful only if TxIntDelay is non-zero,
211 this value ensures that an interrupt is generated after the initial
212 packet is sent on the wire within the set amount of time. Proper tuning,
213 along with TxIntDelay, may improve traffic throughput in specific
216 XsumRX (not available on the 82542-based adapter)
219 A value of '1' indicates that the driver should enable IP checksum
220 offload for received packets (both UDP and TCP) to the adapter hardware.
223 Speed and Duplex Configuration
224 ==============================
226 Three keywords are used to control the speed and duplex configuration. These
227 keywords are Speed, Duplex, and AutoNeg.
229 If the board uses a fiber interface, these keywords are ignored, and the
230 fiber interface board only links at 1000 Mbps full-duplex.
232 For copper-based boards, the keywords interact as follows:
234 The default operation is auto-negotiate. The board advertises all supported
235 speed and duplex combinations, and it links at the highest common speed and
236 duplex mode IF the link partner is set to auto-negotiate.
238 If Speed = 1000, limited auto-negotiation is enabled and only 1000 Mbps is
239 advertised (The 1000BaseT spec requires auto-negotiation.)
241 If Speed = 10 or 100, then both Speed and Duplex should be set. Auto-
242 negotiation is disabled, and the AutoNeg parameter is ignored. Partner SHOULD
245 The AutoNeg parameter is used when more control is required over the auto-
246 negotiation process. When this parameter is used, Speed and Duplex must not
247 be specified. This parameter is a bitmap that specifies which speed and
248 duplex settings are advertised to the link partner.
251 Speed (Mbps) N/A N/A 1000 N/A 100 100 10 10
252 Duplex Full Full Half Full Half
254 Note that setting AutoNeg does not guarantee that the board will link at the
255 highest specified speed or duplex mode, but the board will link at the
256 highest possible speed/duplex of the link partner IF the link partner is also
257 set to auto-negotiate. If the link partner is forced speed/duplex, the
258 adapter MUST be forced to the same speed/duplex.
261 Additional Configurations
262 =========================
267 The driver supports Jumbo Frames for all adapters except 82542-based
268 adapters. Jumbo Frames support is enabled by changing the MTU to a value
269 larger than the default of 1500. Use the ifconfig command to increase the
270 MTU size. For example:
272 ifconfig ethx mtu 9000 up
274 The maximum MTU setting for Jumbo Frames is 16110. This value coincides
275 with the maximum Jumbo Frames size of 16128.
277 NOTE: Jumbo Frames are supported at 1000 Mbps only. Using Jumbo Frames at
278 10 or 100 Mbps may result in poor performance or loss of link.
284 Jumbo Frames System Requirement
285 -------------------------------
287 Memory allocation failures have been observed on Linux systems with 64 MB
288 of RAM or less that are running Jumbo Frames. If you are using Jumbo
289 Frames, your system may require more than the advertised minimum
290 requirement of 64 MB of system memory.
296 For general information, go to the Intel support website at:
298 http://support.intel.com
300 If an issue is identified with the released source code on the supported
301 kernel with a supported adapter, email the specific information related to
302 the issue to linux.nics@intel.com.
308 This software program is released under the terms of a license agreement
309 between you ('Licensee') and Intel. Do not use or load this software or any
310 associated materials (collectively, the 'Software') until you have carefully
311 read the full terms and conditions of the LICENSE located in this software
312 package. By loading or using the Software, you agree to the terms of this
313 Agreement. If you do not agree with the terms of this Agreement, do not
314 install or use the Software.
316 * Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.