NAME¶

ixl — Intel Ethernet 700 Series Driver

SYNOPSIS¶

To compile this driver into the kernel, place the following lines in your kernel configuration file:

To load the driver as a module at boot time, place the following lines in loader.conf(5):

if_ixl_load="YES"

DESCRIPTION¶

HARDWARE¶

Most adapters in the Intel Ethernet 700 Series with SFP+/SFP28/QSFP+ cages have firmware that requires that Intel qualified modules are used; these qualified modules are listed below. This qualification check cannot be disabled by the driver.

The ixl driver supports 40Gb Ethernet adapters with these QSFP+ modules:

• Intel 4x10G/40G QSFP+ 40GBASE-SR4 E40GQSFPSR
• Intel 4x10G/40G QSFP+ 40GBASE-LR4 E40GQSFPLR

The ixl driver supports 25Gb Ethernet adapters with these SFP28 modules:

• Intel 10G/25G SFP28 25GBASE-SR E25GSFP28SR
• Intel 10G/25G SFP28 25GBASE-SR E25GSFP28SRX (Extended Temp)

The ixl driver supports 25Gb and 10Gb Ethernet adapters with these SFP+ modules:

• Intel 1G/10G SFP+ SR FTLX8571D3BCV-IT
• Intel 1G/10G SFP+ SR AFBR-703SDZ-IN2
• Intel 1G/10G SFP+ LR FTLX1471D3BCV-IT
• Intel 1G/10G SFP+ LR AFCT-701SDZ-IN2
• Intel 1G/10G SFP+ 10GBASE-SR E10GSFPSR
• Intel 10G SFP+ 10GBASE-SR E10GSFPSRX (Extended Temp)
• Intel 1G/10G SFP+ 10GBASE-LR E10GSFPLR

Note that adapters also support all passive and active limiting direct attach cables that comply with SFF-8431 v4.1 and SFF-8472 v10.4 specifications.

This is not an exhaustive list; please consult product documentation for an up-to-date list of supported media.

LOADER TUNABLES¶

Tunables can be set at the loader(8) prompt before booting the kernel or stored in loader.conf(5).

hw.ixl.rx_itr

The RX interrupt rate value, set to 62 (124 usec) by default.

hw.ixl.tx_itr

The TX interrupt rate value, set to 122 (244 usec) by default.

hw.ixl.i2c_access_method

Access method that driver will use for I2C read and writes via sysctl(8) or verbose ifconfig(8) information display:

0 - best available method
1 - bit bang via I2CPARAMS register
2 - register read/write via I2CCMD register
3 - Use Admin Queue command (default best)

Using the Admin Queue is only supported on 710 devices with FW version 1.7 or newer. Set to 0 by default.

hw.ixl.enable_tx_fc_filter

Filter out packets with Ethertype 0x8808 from being sent out by non-adapter sources. This prevents (potentially untrusted) software or iavf(4) devices from sending out flow control packets and creating a DoS (Denial of Service) event. Enabled by default.

hw.ixl.enable_head_writeback

When the driver is finding the last TX descriptor processed by the hardware, use a value written to memory by the hardware instead of scanning the descriptor ring for completed descriptors. Enabled by default; disable to mimic the TX behavior found in ixgbe(4).

SYSCTL PROCEDURES¶

dev.ixl.#.fc

Sets the 802.3x flow control mode that the adapter will advertise on the link. A value of 0 disables flow control, 3 enables full, 1 is RX, and 2 is TX pause.

The negotiated flow control setting can be viewed in ifconfig(8), in the interface's media field.

dev.ixl.#.advertise_speed

Set the speeds that the interface will advertise on the link. dev.ixl.#.supported_speeds contains the speeds that are allowed to be set.

dev.ixl.#.current_speed

Displays the current speed.

dev.ixl.#.fw_version

Displays the current firmware and NVM versions of the adapter.

INTERRUPT STORMS¶

It is important to note that 40G operation can generate high numbers of interrupts, often incorrectly being interpreted as a storm condition in the kernel. It is suggested that this be resolved by setting:

hw.intr_storm_threshold: 0

 

IOVCTL OPTIONS¶

The driver supports additional optional parameters for created VFs (Virtual Functions) when using iovctl(8):

mac-addr (unicast-mac)

Set the Ethernet MAC address that the VF will use. If unspecified, the VF will use a randomly generated MAC address.

mac-anti-spoof (bool)

Prevent the VF from sending Ethernet frames with a source address that does not match its own.

allow-set-mac (bool)

Allow the VF to set its own Ethernet MAC address

allow-promisc (bool)

Allow the VF to inspect all of the traffic sent to the port.

num-queues (uint16_t)

Specify the number of queues the VF will have. By default, this is set to the number of MSI-X vectors supported by the VF minus one.

An up to date list of parameters and their defaults can be found by using iovctl(8) with the -S option.

SUPPORT¶

For general information and support, go to the Intel support website at: http://support.intel.com/.

If an issue is identified with this driver with a supported adapter, email all the specific information related to the issue to freebsd@intel.com.

SEE ALSO¶

arp(4), iavf(4), iflib(4), netintro(4), vlan(4), ifconfig(8), iovctl(8), iflib(9)

HISTORY¶

The ixl device driver first appeared in FreeBSD 10.1. It was converted to use iflib(9) in FreeBSD 12.

AUTHORS¶

The ixl driver was written by Jack Vogel <jfv@freebsd.org> and Eric Joyner <erj@freebsd.org>.