network card compatable with Gentoo research ?

[cwc]

Please throw me a bone an a good Gentoo compatible Ethernet card that you use.

I have a ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. RAMPAGE IV EXTREME with an i7.

with the following slots:

4 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x16 or x16/x8/x16 or x16/x8/x8/x8, red) *1
1 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x8 mode, gray) *1
1 x PCIe 2.0 x1

[zen_desu]

I've never found a network card that doesn't work well on gentoo systems, especially dist-kernel. Some cards require out of tree modules, but common "server" cards will basically be plug and play.

I'm currently using a CCR2004-1G-2XS-PCIe in my desktop and 2 intel x520's in my server.

If you don't need more than a gbps, usb adapters will often be just fine with USB3, I keep some in my work bag because my laptop doesn't have ethernet ports. I have a $15 2.5g one that seems to do as advertised, some generic realtek chip is in it, but it works.

If you can find a used "server" card that has the right bracket size and doesn't expect "server airflow", that will probably be fine. If you care much about networking, i'd invest in a card with SFP+ cages. You can get 1g copper transceivers for pretty cheap and 10g optical modules for not much more. Some intel cards will be vendor locked to intel modules and will get angery if you put another type of module in them.

[cwc]

I'm currently using a CCR2004-1G-2XS-PCIe in my desktop and 2 intel x520's in my server.
.

Thanks zen_desu! I have a EdgeRouter X SFP router so I only need a 1GB (I think)

Having wrote the above . I'm looking at :
Intel Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X540-T1

edited

[pjp]

I've had no issues with Realtek and Intel. If I were to buy something today, I'd pick Intel unless there was a compelling reason not to. Things can change, but I haven't heard of them making any poor decisions with their NICs.

[cwc]

Realtek and Intel. .

I agree. I've had good luck with Intel chip set while I was working.
Thank you!

[gentoo_ram]

Intel cards are generally well-supported by the Linux kernel. Are you looking for a driver for the gigabit adapter already on that motherboard or are you looking for a special kind of external adapter with multiple ports?

Unfortunately, the documentation for that motherboard is not specific which exact chipset is installed. But I'm guessing the 'igb' for 'e1000e' driver would probably work for it. You'd have to load those modules and see which one detects the network port.

What does 'lspci' say? That might give you a clue.

[cwc]

Intel cards are generally well-supported by the Linux kernel. Are you looking for a driver for the gigabit adapter already on that motherboard or are you looking for a special kind of external adapter with multiple ports?

Unfortunately, the documentation for that motherboard is not specific which exact chipset is installed. But I'm guessing the 'igb' for 'e1000e' driver would probably work for it. You'd have to load those modules and see which one detects the network port.

What does 'lspci' say? That might give you a clue.

I have a lspci | grep net
00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82579V Gigabit Network Connection (rev 05)

The NIC is acting up a bit and I want to see if there is a difference with an NIC card.

I have other machines I and use this NIC for also. (testing)

Check this out. Here is my ifconfig
The MAC is ether 88:88:88:88:87:88 ?

Code: Select all

ifconfig
eno1: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.1.8  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.1.255
        ether 88:88:88:88:87:88  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 11692  bytes 6718922 (6.4 MiB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 14  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 8762  bytes 1767453 (1.6 MiB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0
        device interrupt 18  memory 0xfbf00000-fbf20000  

[zen_desu]

I'm currently using a CCR2004-1G-2XS-PCIe in my desktop and 2 intel x520's in my server.
.

Thanks zen_desu! I have a EdgeRouter X SFP router so I only need a 1GB (I think)

Having wrote the above . I'm looking at :
Intel Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X540-T1

edited

If you only need 1g support, a USB adapter should be totally fine, you can get a new tplink (realtek) one for around $10, the only issue is if you yank it out, but in some ways that's preferable to pulling the cable tipping over a server, breaking a port, or breaking a cable. It being USB means it's also easier to force reset the port, PCI devices tend to not like being removed/readded.

If budget is a concern, I would not go near 10g base-t. 10g copper transceivers tend to be much more expensive than fiber ones, and may have trouble working reliably over distances >30m. For shorter connections, using a "DAC" cable between sfp cages is generally ideal. For longer distances, optical transceivers are cheaper and more efficient, you just have to be a bit careful with fiber cables. I've somehow managed to never break one, but if you're not careful they can be damaged. The nice thing is that om3 fiber is rated for 100gbps at the distances I use it, but I only need 10gbps, so I'm sure that helps it tolerate some abuse.

Intel cards are generally well-supported by the Linux kernel. Are you looking for a driver for the gigabit adapter already on that motherboard or are you looking for a special kind of external adapter with multiple ports?

Unfortunately, the documentation for that motherboard is not specific which exact chipset is installed. But I'm guessing the 'igb' for 'e1000e' driver would probably work for it. You'd have to load those modules and see which one detects the network port.

What does 'lspci' say? That might give you a clue.

I have a lspci | grep net
00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82579V Gigabit Network Connection (rev 05)

The NIC is acting up a bit and I want to see if there is a difference with an NIC card.

I have other machines I and use this NIC for also. (testing)

Check this out. Here is my ifconfig
The MAC is ether 88:88:88:88:87:88 ?

Code: Select all

ifconfig
eno1: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.1.8  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.1.255
        ether 88:88:88:88:87:88  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 11692  bytes 6718922 (6.4 MiB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 14  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 8762  bytes 1767453 (1.6 MiB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0
        device interrupt 18  memory 0xfbf00000-fbf20000  

If your NIC is acting up, it wouldn't hurt to try another cable, ethernet cables can go bad.

[szatox]

That MAC looks really weird, it's not "random" enough to my liking. It might be acting up because there's something wrong with the particular device you have.

Honestly it's been a very long time since I last heard of ethernet adapters which _don't_ work, and even then it was stuff like very niche laptops which required out of tree modules or so. I'd say pick whatever looks good to you first, and then search for issues with the particular model you chose, just to confirm you can use it. You probably can, so there's no benefit to using compatibility as the first filter.

[dE_logics]

RTL8125 based cards work (and is cheap). However I believe it's performance is not very good (as per iperf).

[eccerr0r]

I used a pair of X540s between Gentoo machines, works fine. Need to get a 10G switch however. I've only tested between my X58 and X79 motherboards and do not have disk bandwidth to feed the X540s.

Pretty much a matter of selecting the right driver in the kernel.

Vast majority of my GbE are Intel e1000s (or their relatives, which use different drivers) or Realtek 8169s and I can't complain of either of them really, my disk bandwidth can saturate 1GbE however. I do have some Broadcom and Marvell onboard Ethernets. The Marvells are okay but had trouble with one of my Broadcoms but it may be a defective computer as it keeps corrupting data sent over it.

[cwc]

I used a pair of X540s between Gentoo machines, works fine. Need to get a 10G switch however. I've only tested between my X58 and X79 motherboards and do not have disk bandwidth to feed the X540s.

Pretty much a matter of selecting the right driver in the kernel.

Vast majority of my GbE are Intel e1000s (or their relatives, which use different drivers) or Realtek 8169s and I can't complain of either of them really, my disk bandwidth can saturate 1GbE however. I do have some Broadcom and Marvell onboard Ethernets. The Marvells are okay but had trouble with one of my Broadcoms but it may be a defective computer as it keeps corrupting data sent over it.

thanks eccerr0r!

I found these for $41

Code: Select all

10Gtek 10Gb PCI-E NIC Network Card, Single Copper RJ45 Port, with Intel X540-BT1 Controller, PCI Express Ethernet LAN Adapter Support Windows Server/Windows/Linux/ESX, Compare to Intel X540-T1 

[sdauth]

I recently added an Intel i350-t4 (4x GbE) to a custom router. No complaints.
It runs a bit hot though even idling.

Code: Select all

i350bb-pci-0100
Adapter: PCI adapter
loc1:         +44.0°C  (high = +120.0°C, crit = +110.0°C)

Anyway, it looks like it can endure much more. For now I've seen it reaching 80C. I think I will add a little fan next to it for the summer days. We'll see.

It was tempting to just put a 2x ports 10GbE card (X540 is the same price, used) but I don't have any 10GbE gear in my home.
So... For now I'm staying with gigabit ethernet

[NeddySeagoon]

There has been another recent topic about MAC ADDR 88:88:88:88:87:88 ... ah by cwc too.
Its cased by a BIOS update bug.

As long as all the MAC ADDR on your LAN are unique, its not a problem.

[zen_desu]

If you're concerned with price/modularity, a device with a SFP+ cage could use several different transceiver types. I bought both of my intel x520 cards used for around $50 each locally and they came with 2 10g optical transceivers (intel brand) included.

A new (off brand) 10GBase-T (10g copper) SFP+ transceiver is about $30 while a brand name one may be $75-150. I've had good luck with the cheap ones. These modules use as much as 5w per port depending on the cable length. That can be too much for some cards/devices to properly power or cool.
A 1000Base-T (1gbps copper) SFP transceiver costs about $10-20. These tend to use about a watt and don't cause issues, unless boards specifically only want 10g SFP+ modules.
A 10GBase-SR (10g fiber) SFP+ transceiver costs about $15. Unless things are vendor locked, I've had very good luck mixing and matching these modules.
DAC cables cost $10-20 depending on the length and directly attach SFP ports on 2 devices, they generally have exceptional latency and low power usage, but the cables can be damaged if bent too much.

If you're connecting high speed devices within a few meters of each other, DACs tend to be great, for longer distances, 10GBase-T can be more trouble than using fiber. OM2/3 fiber is not that expensive, and if you're mindful that it's fiber and handle with some care, and avoid touching/scratching the ends (keep caps on before plugging in) things will be fine. Fiber connections will tend to use less lower than Ethernet and you will never have ground issues with them.

[eccerr0r]

The X540s I have are original Intel cards, not sure about other OEMs but I suspect they should work just fine.

What I need to find cheaply is a 10G copper SFP+ to put in my X520. Haven't tried this card since I got it since I don't have any SFP+ modules.

(yeah I got all of these second hand...)

[zen_desu]

The X540s I have are original Intel cards, not sure about other OEMs but I suspect they should work just fine.

What I need to find cheaply is a 10G copper SFP+ to put in my X520. Haven't tried this card since I got it since I don't have any SFP+ modules.

(yeah I got all of these second hand...)

I don't think a decent and cheap copper 10g modules exist ($<25/ea), I think it's really worth considering DACs or optical modules. I tried to find some for a while and even if you get ones that work, they get real hot so optical tends to make more sense. Some "fiber switches" only have a PSU capable of handling a few 10g copper modules, or will overheat if you fill it with them.

I considered some cards with 10g copper builtin, but they are often a bit more expensive than ones with SFP+ cages (sure they include transceivers) but then you are obligated to use 10g copper in other places too

[szatox]

Actually, if you need a _fast_ and _local_ network, infiniband is a good alternative; it's fast and you can get second-hand HBAs and switches at reasonable prices, and you get an extra RDMA capability for all your supercomputing at home. Even though cables cost about as much as HBA... And try to get optic fiber cables; copper ones are as thick as a finger.

If you somehow can't live with IPoIB, you can always downgrade operation mode to ethernet at runtime (though I'm not sure if it's possible to connect an IB adapter running in Eth mode directly to an ethernet switch; you might need another a linux router in between those network segments).

[eccerr0r]

I suppose the X520 will be useless for a while for me then. A copper 1G SFP or 10G SFP+ I could at least test with my copper X540's or my 1GbE network, else if I get a fiber SFP+, I still have nothing to connect it to...
... maybe if I get a switch with a SFP+ port... alas it still needs to have 10G ports for the X540's...

(though technically if I get two SFP+ fiber I can loop back to the other port on the X520, but what fun is this?)

[zen_desu]

If you don't need 10gbe, you don't need it. I mostly got it setup to get more familiar with the equipment and whatnot. The nice thing about a SFP/SFP+ device is that the transceivers can be swapped. I think in most cases, 10gbe over copper (other than DACs) tends to not be great. I sorta pretend 10GBase-T doesn't exist. 2.5GBase-T is a step up from 1gbps but tends to tolerate cables/distances more. If you don't need distance, and need high speed, DACs are great, if you need high speed over a distance, fiber tends to be fantastic.

I got 2 cards so I could run tests across cards and not be worried that 2 ports on the same card being used would affect tests, beyond that I use LACP to bond 2 DAC links to a switch across each card, that way things should be fine if one of my (used) cards dies. I used to have 3 fiber links, my switch has 8 ports so that was a bit much, and I only get 2gbps + 1gbps service from my ISPs so 3 10gbps links grouped didn't do much more than be "fun"

(though technically if I get two SFP+ fiber I can loop back to the other port on the X520, but what fun is this?)

I did this for a bit of fun (to test cables), but it ended up being a bit less fun because I put non-intel modules in my intel card and that made it angery.

[damianb]

Hello,

Did any one of you every try multiple X540-T2 on a single motherboard?

I cant get them to work properly.
Keep getting Semaphore error SMBI between device drivers not granted. And then it says the adapter is removed error -16 or -5. when trying to load the ixgbe module to run these cards.
The motherboard im running is F1A55. It's an old consumer grade with 1x pcie16, 1x pcie1, 1xpcie4. The cards are in the pcie16 and pcie4 slots. Video is in the pci.

Trying to turn some old hardware into a 10Gig router/switch/firewall.

Only way I got both cards to work at the same time is if I disable one of the parts on one card. So then I have 3x 10Gbps in total, but I rather have all 4 if possible.

I got HPE 530T BCM957810 in the mail. Perhaps will have more luck with that one to play nice with the Intel's X540.