1 Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/100 Family of Adapters
2 ==============================================================
10 - Identifying Your Adapter
11 - Building and Installation
12 - Driver Configuration Parameters
13 - Additional Configurations
21 This file describes the Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/100 Family of
22 Adapters. This driver includes support for Itanium(R)2-based systems.
24 For questions related to hardware requirements, refer to the documentation
25 supplied with your Intel PRO/100 adapter.
27 The following features are now available in supported kernels:
29 - Channel Bonding (teaming)
32 Channel Bonding documentation can be found in the Linux kernel source:
33 /Documentation/networking/bonding.txt
36 Identifying Your Adapter
37 ========================
39 For information on how to identify your adapter, and for the latest Intel
40 network drivers, refer to the Intel Support website:
41 http://www.intel.com/support
43 Driver Configuration Parameters
44 ===============================
46 The default value for each parameter is generally the recommended setting,
47 unless otherwise noted.
49 Rx Descriptors: Number of receive descriptors. A receive descriptor is a data
50 structure that describes a receive buffer and its attributes to the network
51 controller. The data in the descriptor is used by the controller to write
52 data from the controller to host memory. In the 3.x.x driver the valid range
53 for this parameter is 64-256. The default value is 256. This parameter can be
54 changed using the command::
58 Where n is the number of desired Rx descriptors.
60 Tx Descriptors: Number of transmit descriptors. A transmit descriptor is a data
61 structure that describes a transmit buffer and its attributes to the network
62 controller. The data in the descriptor is used by the controller to read
63 data from the host memory to the controller. In the 3.x.x driver the valid
64 range for this parameter is 64-256. The default value is 128. This parameter
65 can be changed using the command::
69 Where n is the number of desired Tx descriptors.
71 Speed/Duplex: The driver auto-negotiates the link speed and duplex settings by
72 default. The ethtool utility can be used as follows to force speed/duplex.::
74 ethtool -s eth? autoneg off speed {10|100} duplex {full|half}
76 NOTE: setting the speed/duplex to incorrect values will cause the link to
79 Event Log Message Level: The driver uses the message level flag to log events
80 to syslog. The message level can be set at driver load time. It can also be
81 set using the command::
83 ethtool -s eth? msglvl n
86 Additional Configurations
87 =========================
89 Configuring the Driver on Different Distributions
90 -------------------------------------------------
92 Configuring a network driver to load properly when the system is started is
93 distribution dependent. Typically, the configuration process involves adding
94 an alias line to /etc/modprobe.d/*.conf as well as editing other system
95 startup scripts and/or configuration files. Many popular Linux
96 distributions ship with tools to make these changes for you. To learn the
97 proper way to configure a network device for your system, refer to your
98 distribution documentation. If during this process you are asked for the
99 driver or module name, the name for the Linux Base Driver for the Intel
100 PRO/100 Family of Adapters is e100.
102 As an example, if you install the e100 driver for two PRO/100 adapters
103 (eth0 and eth1), add the following to a configuration file in /etc/modprobe.d/
108 Viewing Link Messages
109 ---------------------
110 In order to see link messages and other Intel driver information on your
111 console, you must set the dmesg level up to six. This can be done by
112 entering the following on the command line before loading the e100 driver::
116 If you wish to see all messages issued by the driver, including debug
117 messages, set the dmesg level to eight.
119 NOTE: This setting is not saved across reboots.
125 The driver utilizes the ethtool interface for driver configuration and
126 diagnostics, as well as displaying statistical information. The ethtool
127 version 1.6 or later is required for this functionality.
129 The latest release of ethtool can be found from
130 https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/network/ethtool/
132 Enabling Wake on LAN* (WoL)
133 ---------------------------
134 WoL is provided through the ethtool* utility. For instructions on enabling
135 WoL with ethtool, refer to the ethtool man page.
137 WoL will be enabled on the system during the next shut down or reboot. For
138 this driver version, in order to enable WoL, the e100 driver must be
139 loaded when shutting down or rebooting the system.
144 NAPI (Rx polling mode) is supported in the e100 driver.
146 See https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/networking/napi for more information
149 Multiple Interfaces on Same Ethernet Broadcast Network
150 ------------------------------------------------------
152 Due to the default ARP behavior on Linux, it is not possible to have
153 one system on two IP networks in the same Ethernet broadcast domain
154 (non-partitioned switch) behave as expected. All Ethernet interfaces
155 will respond to IP traffic for any IP address assigned to the system.
156 This results in unbalanced receive traffic.
158 If you have multiple interfaces in a server, either turn on ARP
161 (1) entering:: echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/all/arp_filter
162 (this only works if your kernel's version is higher than 2.4.5), or
164 (2) installing the interfaces in separate broadcast domains (either
165 in different switches or in a switch partitioned to VLANs).
170 For general information, go to the Intel support website at:
171 http://www.intel.com/support/
173 or the Intel Wired Networking project hosted by Sourceforge at:
174 http://sourceforge.net/projects/e1000
175 If an issue is identified with the released source code on a supported kernel
176 with a supported adapter, email the specific information related to the issue
177 to e1000-devel@lists.sf.net.