igb Linux* Base Driver for Intel(R) Ethernet Network Connection
-------------------------------------------------------------

================================================================================

February 23, 2017

================================================================================

- Overview
- Identifying Your Adapter
- Building and Installation
- Command Line Parameters
- Additional Configurations
- Known Issues
- Support
- License


================================================================================


Important Notes
---------------

Configuring SR-IOV for improved network security
------------------------------------------------

In a virtualized environment, on Intel(R) Server Adapters that support SR-IOV,
the virtual function (VF) may be subject to malicious behavior. Software-
generated layer two frames, like IEEE 802.3x (link flow control), IEEE 802.1Qbb
(priority based flow-control), and others of this type, are not expected and
can throttle traffic between the host and the virtual switch, reducing
performance. To resolve this issue, configure all SR-IOV enabled ports for
VLAN tagging. This configuration allows unexpected, and potentially malicious,
frames to be dropped.


Overview
--------

This driver supports kernel versions 2.6.30 or newer.

It supports Itanium(R)2 based systems.

Driver information can be obtained using ethtool, lspci, and ifconfig.
Instructions on updating ethtool can be found in the section Additional
Configurations later in this document.

This driver is only supported as a loadable module at this time. Intel is
not supplying patches against the kernel source to allow for static linking of
the drivers.

For questions related to hardware requirements, refer to the documentation
supplied with your Intel adapter. All hardware requirements listed apply to
use with Linux.

The following features are now available in supported kernels:
- Native VLANs
- Channel Bonding (teaming)
- SNMP

Adapter teaming is implemented using the native Linux Channel bonding
module. This is included in supported Linux kernels.

Channel Bonding documentation can be found in the Linux kernel source:
/documentation/networking/bonding.txt

The driver information previously displayed in the /proc file system is not
supported in this release.

The igb driver supports IEEE 1588 time stamping for kernels 2.6.30 and newer.

The igb driver supports 2.5 Gbps operating speed on 2500BASE-KX only for
I354-based network connections.




================================================================================


Identifying Your Adapter
------------------------
For information on how to identify your adapter, go to the Adapter &
Driver ID Guide at:
http://support.intel.com/support/go/network/adapter/proidguide.htm

For the latest Intel network drivers, refer to the
following website and select your adapter.
http://www.intel.com/support


================================================================================


Building and Installation
-------------------------

To build a binary RPM* package of this driver, run 'rpmbuild -tb
igb-<x.x.x>.tar.gz', where <x.x.x> is the version number for the driver tar file.

NOTES:

- For the build to work properly, the currently running kernel MUST match
  the version and configuration of the installed kernel sources. If you have
  just recompiled the kernel reboot the system before building.
- RPM functionality has only been tested in Red Hat distributions.

1. Move the base driver tar file to the directory of your choice. For
   example, use '/home/username/igb' or '/usr/local/src/igb'.

2. Untar/unzip the archive, where <x.x.x> is the version number for the
   driver tar file:
   tar zxf igb-<x.x.x>.tar.gz

3. Change to the driver src directory, where <x.x.x> is the version number
   for the driver tar:
   cd igb-<x.x.x>/src/

4. Compile the driver module:
   # make install
   The binary will be installed as:
   /lib/modules/<KERNEL VERSION>/updates/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/igb/igb.ko

   The install location listed above is the default location. This may differ
   for various Linux distributions.

5. Load the module using the modprobe command:
   modprobe <igb> [parameter=port1_value,port2_value]

   Make sure that any older igb drivers are removed from the kernel before
   loading the new module:
   rmmod igb; modprobe igb

6. Assign an IP address to the interface by entering the following,
   where ethX is the interface name that was shown in dmesg after modprobe:
   
   ip address add <IP_address>/<netmask bits> dev ethX

7. Verify that the interface works. Enter the following, where IP_address
   is the IP address for another machine on the same subnet as the interface
   that is being tested:
   ping <IP_address>



To build igb driver with DCA
----------------------------

If your kernel supports DCA, the driver will build by default with DCA enabled.


NOTE:
   For certain distributions like (but not limited to) RedHat Enterprise
   Linux 7 and Ubuntu, once the driver is installed the initrd/initramfs
   file may need to be updated to prevent the OS loading old versions
   of the igb driver. The dracut utility may be used on RedHat
   distributions:
	# dracut --force
   For Ubuntu:
	# update-initramfs -u


================================================================================


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 command using this
syntax:
modprobe igb [<option>=<VAL1>,<VAL2>,...]

There needs to be a <VAL#> for each network port in the system supported by
this driver. The values will be applied to each instance, in function order.
For example:
modprobe igb InterruptThrottleRate=16000,16000

In this case, there are two network ports supported by igb in the system.
The default value for each parameter is generally the recommended setting,
unless otherwise noted.

NOTES:
- For more information about the command line parameters, see the application
  note at: http://www.intel.com/design/network/applnots/ap450.htm.
- A descriptor describes a data buffer and attributes related to the data
  buffer. This information is accessed by the hardware.


InterruptThrottleRate
---------------------
Valid Range:
0=off
1=dynamic
3=dynamic conservative
<min_ITR>-<max_ITR>
Interrupt Throttle Rate controls the number of interrupts each interrupt
vector can generate per second. Increasing ITR lowers latency at the cost of
increased CPU utilization, though it may help throughput in some circumstances.
0 = Setting InterruptThrottleRate to 0 turns off any interrupt moderation
  and may improve small packet latency. However, this is generally not
  suitable for bulk throughput traffic due to the increased CPU utilization
  of the higher interrupt rate.
  NOTES:
  - On 82599, and X540, and X550-based adapters, disabling InterruptThrottleRate
    will also result in the driver disabling HW RSC.
  - On 82598-based adapters, disabling InterruptThrottleRate will also
    result in disabling LRO (Large Receive Offloads).
1 = Setting InterruptThrottleRate to Dynamic mode attempts to moderate
  interrupts per vector while maintaining very low latency. This can
  sometimes cause extra CPU utilization. If planning on deploying igb
  in a latency sensitive environment, this parameter should be considered.
<min_ITR>-<max_ITR> = 100-100000
  Setting InterruptThrottleRate to a value greater or equal to <min_ITR>
  will program the adapter to send at most that many interrupts
  per second, even if more packets have come in. This reduces interrupt load
  on the system and can lower CPU utilization under heavy load, but will
  increase latency as packets are not processed as quickly.

 

NOTE:
- Un-supported Adapters: InterruptThrottleRate is NOT supported by
  82542, 82543, or 82544-based adapters.









LLI (Low Latency Interrupts)
----------------------------

LLI allows for immediate generation of an interrupt upon processing receive
packets that match certain criteria as set by the parameters described below.
LLI parameters are not enabled when Legacy interrupts are used. You must be
using MSI or MSI-X (see cat /proc/interrupts) to successfully use LLI.


LLIPort
-------
Valid Range: 0-65535
LLI is configured with the LLIPort command-line parameter, which specifies
which TCP port should generate Low Latency Interrupts.
For example, using LLIPort=80 would cause the board to generate an immediate
interrupt upon receipt of any packet sent to TCP port 80 on the local machine.
WARNING: Enabling LLI can result in an excessive number of interrupts/second
that may cause problems with the system and in some cases may cause a kernel
panic.


LLIPush
-------
Valid Range: 0-1
LLIPush can be set to be enabled or disabled (default). It is most effective
in an environment with many small transactions.
NOTE: Enabling LLIPush may allow a denial of service attack.


LLISize
-------
Valid Range: 0-1500
LLISize causes an immediate interrupt if the board receives a packet smaller
than the specified size.


IntMode
-------
Valid Range: 0-2 (0 = Legacy Int, 1 = MSI and 2 = MSI-X)
IntMode controls allow load time control over the type of interrupt
registered for by the driver. MSI-X is required for multiple queue
support, and some kernels and combinations of kernel .config options
will force a lower level of interrupt support.
'cat /proc/interrupts' will show different values for each type of interrupt.


RSS
---
Valid Range: 0-8
0 = Assign up to the lesser value of the number of CPUs or the number of queues
X = Assign X queues, where X is less than or equal to the maximum number of
queues (8 queues). 
The driver allows maximum supported queue value. For example,
I350-based adapters allow RSS=8, where 8 queues is the maximum allowable
queues.

NOTE: For 82575-based adapters, the maximum number of queues is 4; for
82576-based and newer adapters it is 8; for I210-based adapters it is 4
queues; and for I211-based adapters it is 2 queues.

This parameter is also affected by the VMDq parameter in that it will limit
the queues more.
	VMDQ
Model 0 1 2 3+
82575 4 4 3 1
82576 8 2 2 2
82580 8 1 1 1


VMDQ
----
Valid Range: 0-4 on 82575-based adapters; 0-8 for 82576/82580-based adapters
Supports enabling VMDq pools as this is needed to support SR-IOV.
0 = Disabled
1 = Sets the netdev as pool 0
2+ = Add additional queues but they currently are not used
This parameter is forced to 1 or more if the max_vfs module parameter is used.
In addition, the number of queues available for RSS is limited if this is set
to 1 or greater.

NOTE: When either SR-IOV mode or VMDq mode is enabled, hardware VLAN filtering
and VLAN tag stripping/insertion will remain enabled.


max_vfs
-------
This parameter adds support for SR-IOV. It causes the driver to spawn up to
max_vfs worth of virtual functions.
Valid Range: 0-7
If the value is greater than 0 it will also force the VMDq parameter to be 1
or more.


The parameters for the driver are referenced by position. Thus, if you have a
dual port adapter, or more than one adapter in your system, and want N virtual
functions per port, you must specify a number for each port with each parameter
separated by a comma. For example:

  modprobe igb max_vfs=4

This will spawn 4 VFs on the first port.

  modprobe igb max_vfs=2,4

This will spawn 2 VFs on the first port and 4 VFs on the second port.

NOTE: Caution must be used in loading the driver with these parameters.
Depending on your system configuration, number of slots, etc., it is impossible
to predict in all cases where the positions would be on the command line.

NOTE: Neither the device nor the driver control how VFs are mapped into config
space. Bus layout will vary by operating system. On operating systems that
support it, you can check sysfs to find the mapping. 

NOTE: When either SR-IOV mode or VMDq mode is enabled, hardware VLAN
filtering and VLAN tag stripping/insertion will remain enabled. Please remove
the old VLAN filter before the new VLAN filter is added. For example,
ip link set eth0 vf 0 vlan 100	// set vlan 100 for VF 0
ip link set eth0 vf 0 vlan 0	// Delete vlan 100
ip link set eth0 vf 0 vlan 200	// set a new vlan 200 for VF 0


Configuring SR-IOV for improved network security
------------------------------------------------

In a virtualized environment, on Intel(R) Server Adapters that support SR-IOV,
the virtual function (VF) may be subject to malicious behavior. Software-
generated layer two frames, like IEEE 802.3x (link flow control), IEEE 802.1Qbb
(priority based flow-control), and others of this type, are not expected and
can throttle traffic between the host and the virtual switch, reducing
performance. To resolve this issue, configure all SR-IOV enabled ports for
VLAN tagging. This configuration allows unexpected, and potentially malicious,
frames to be dropped.


Configuring VLAN tagging on SR-IOV enabled adapter ports
--------------------------------------------------------

To configure VLAN tagging for the ports on an SR-IOV enabled adapter,
use the following command. The VLAN configuration should be done 
before the VF driver is loaded or the VM is booted.

$ ip link set dev <PF netdev id> vf <id> vlan <vlan id>

For example, the following instructions will configure PF eth0 and 
the first VF on VLAN 10.
$ ip link set dev eth0 vf 0 vlan 10
.

QueuePairs
----------
Valid Range: 0-1
If set to 0, when MSI-X is enabled, the Tx and Rx will attempt to occupy
separate vectors.
This option can be overridden to 1 if there are not sufficient interrupts
available. This can occur if any combination of RSS, VMDQ, and max_vfs results
in more than 4 queues being used.


Node
----
Valid Range: 0-n
0 - n: where n is the number of the NUMA node that should be used to allocate
memory for this adapter port.
-1: uses the driver default of allocating memory on whichever processor is
running modprobe.
The Node parameter allows you to choose which NUMA node you want to have the
adapter allocate memory from. All driver structures, in-memory queues, and
receive buffers will be allocated on the node specified. This parameter is
only useful when interrupt affinity is specified; otherwise, part of the
interrupt time could run on a different core than where the memory is
allocated causing slower memory access and impacting throughput, CPU, or both.


EEE
---
Valid Range: 0-1
0 = Disables EEE
1 = Enables EEE
A link between two EEE-compliant devices will result in periodic bursts of
data followed by periods where the link is in an idle state. This Low Power
Idle (LPI) state is supported in both 1 Gbps and 100 Mbps link speeds.



DMAC
----
Valid Range: 0, 1, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000,
9000, 10000
This parameter enables or disables DMA Coalescing feature. Values are in
microseconds and set the internal DMA Coalescing internal timer.
DMA (Direct Memory Access) allows the network device to move packet data
directly to the system's memory, reducing CPU utilization. However, the
frequency and random intervals at which packets arrive do not allow the
system to enter a lower power state. DMA Coalescing allows the adapter
to collect packets before it initiates a DMA event. This may increase
network latency but also increases the chances that the system will enter
a lower power state.
Turning on DMA Coalescing may save energy with kernel 2.6.32 and newer.
DMA Coalescing must be enabled across all active ports in order to save
platform power.


MDD (Malicious Driver Detection)
--------------------------------
Valid Range: 0-1
0 = Disabled
1 = Enabled
This parameter is only relevant for I350 devices operating in SR-IOV mode.
When this parameter is set, the driver detects malicious VF driver and
disables its Tx/Rx queues until a VF driver reset occurs.


================================================================================


Additional Features and Configurations
-------------------------------------------


Configuring the Driver on Different Distributions
-------------------------------------------------

Configuring a network driver to load properly when the system is started is
distribution dependent. Typically, the configuration process involves adding
an alias line to /etc/modules.conf or /etc/modprobe.conf as well as editing
other system startup scripts and/or configuration files. Many popular Linux
distributions ship with tools to make these changes for you. To learn the
proper way to configure a network device for your system, refer to your
distribution documentation. If during this process you are asked for the
driver or module name, the name for the Base Driver is igb.

For example, if you install the igb driver for two adapters (eth0
and eth1) and want to set the interrupt mode to MSI-X and MSI, respectively,
add the following to modules.conf or /etc/modprobe.conf:
alias eth0 igb
alias eth1 igb
options igb InterruptThrottleRate=3,1


Viewing Link Messages
---------------------

Link messages will not be displayed to the console if the distribution is
restricting system messages. In order to see network driver link messages on
your console, set dmesg to eight by entering the following:
dmesg -n 8

NOTE: This setting is not saved across reboots.


Jumbo Frames
------------
Jumbo Frames support is enabled by changing the Maximum Transmission Unit
(MTU) to a value larger than the default value of 1500.

Use the ifconfig command to increase the MTU size. For example, enter the
following where <x> is the interface number:

   ifconfig eth<x> mtu 9000 up
Alternatively, you can use the ip command as follows:
   ip link set mtu 9000 dev eth<x>
   ip link set up dev eth<x>

This setting is not saved across reboots. The setting change can be made
permanent by adding 'MTU=9000' to the file:
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth<x> for RHEL or to the file
/etc/sysconfig/network/<config_file> for SLES.



NOTES:
- The maximum MTU setting for Jumbo Frames is 9216. This value coincides
  with the maximum Jumbo Frames size of 9234 bytes.
- Using Jumbo frames at 10 or 100 Mbps is not supported and may result in
  poor performance or loss of link.



ethtool
-------
The driver utilizes the ethtool interface for driver configuration and
diagnostics, as well as displaying statistical information. The latest
ethtool version is required for this functionality. Download it at
http://ftp.kernel.org/pub/software/network/ethtool/


Speed and Duplex Configuration
------------------------------

In addressing speed and duplex configuration issues, you need to
distinguish between copper-based adapters and fiber-based adapters.

In the default mode, an Intel(R) Network Adapter using copper connections
will attempt to auto-negotiate with its link partner to determine the best
setting. If the adapter cannot establish link with the link partner using
auto-negotiation, you may need to manually configure the adapter and link
partner to identical settings to establish link and pass packets. This
should only be needed when attempting to link with an older switch that
does not support auto-negotiation or one that has been forced to a specific
speed or duplex mode. Your link partner must match the setting you choose.
1 Gbps speeds and higher cannot be forced. Use the autonegotiation
advertising setting to manually set devices for 1 Gbps and higher.

Speed, duplex, and autonegotiation advertising are configured through
the ethtool* utility. ethtool is included with all versions of Red Hat
after Red Hat 7.2. For the latest version, download and install
ethtool from the following website:

   http://ftp.kernel.org/pub/software/network/ethtool/

Caution: Only experienced network administrators should force speed and
duplex or change autonegotiation advertising manually. The settings at
the switch must always match the adapter settings. Adapter performance
may suffer or your adapter may not operate if you configure the adapter
differently from your switch.

An Intel(R) Network Adapter using fiber-based connections, however, will not
attempt to auto-negotiate with its link partner since those adapters operate
only in full duplex and only at their native speed.


Enabling Wake on LAN* (WoL)
---------------------------

WoL is configured through the ethtool* utility. ethtool is included with all
versions of Red Hat after Red Hat 7.2. For other Linux distributions, download
and install ethtool from the following website:
http://ftp.kernel.org/pub/software/network/ethtool/.

For instructions on enabling WoL with ethtool, refer to the website listed
above.

WoL will be enabled on the system during the next shut down or reboot. For
this driver version, in order to enable WoL, the igb driver must be loaded
prior to shutting down or suspending the system.

NOTES:
- Wake on LAN is only supported on port A of multi-port devices.
- Wake On LAN is not supported for the Intel(R) Gigabit VT Quad Port Server
  Adapter.


Multiqueue
----------
In this mode, a separate MSI-X vector is allocated for each queue and one for
"other" interrupts such as link status change and errors. All interrupts are
throttled via interrupt moderation. Interrupt moderation must be used to avoid
interrupt storms while the driver is processing one interrupt. The moderation
value should be at least as large as the expected time for the driver to
process an interrupt. Multiqueue is off by default.

REQUIREMENTS: MSI-X support is required for Multiqueue. If MSI-X is not found,
the system will fallback to MSI or to Legacy interrupts. This driver supports
multiqueue in kernel versions 2.6.24 and newer. This driver supports receive
multiqueue on all kernels that support MSI-X.

NOTES:
- Do not use MSI-X with the 2.6.19 or 2.6.20 kernels.
- On some kernels a reboot is required to switch between single queue mode
and multiqueue mode or vice-versa.


LRO
---
Valid Range: 0(off), 1(on)
Large Receive Offload (LRO) is a technique for increasing inbound throughput
of high-bandwidth network connections by reducing CPU overhead. It works by
aggregating multiple incoming packets from a single stream into a larger
buffer before they are passed higher up the networking stack, thus reducing
the number of packets that have to be processed. LRO combines multiple
Ethernet frames into a single receive in the stack, thereby potentially
decreasing CPU utilization for receives.
NOTE: LRO requires 2.4.22 or later kernel version.
IGB_LRO is a compile time flag. The user can enable it at compile time to add
support for LRO from the driver. The flag is used by adding
CFLAGS_EXTRA="-DIGB_LRO" to the make file when it's being compiled.
# make CFLAGS_EXTRA="-DIGB_LRO" install
You can verify that the driver is using LRO by looking at these counters in
ethtool:
- lro_aggregated - counts total packets that were combined
- lro_flushed - counts the number of packets flushed out of LRO
- lro_recycled - counts the number of buffers returned to the ring from
  recycling
NOTE: IPv6 and UDP are not supported by LRO.


IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) Hardware Clock (PHC)
------------------------------------------------------------

Precision Time Protocol (PTP) is used to synchronize clocks in a computer
network. PTP support varies among Intel devices that support this driver.
Use "ethtool -T <netdev name>" to get a definitive list of PTP capabilities
supported by the device.

NOTE: PTP requires 3.0.0 or later kernel version that has PTP support enabled
in the kernel and a user-space software daemon.


IGB_PTP is a compile time flag. The user can enable it at compile time to add
support for PTP from the driver. The flag is used by editing the make file
as follows when it is being compiled:

>make CFLAGS_EXTRA="-DIGB_PTP" install


NOTE: The driver will fail to compile if your kernel does not support PTP.

You can verify that the driver is using PTP by looking at the system log to
see whether a PHC was attempted to be registered or not. If you have a kernel
and version of ethtool with PTP support, you can check the PTP support in the
driver by executing:
ethtool -T ethX


MAC and VLAN anti-spoofing feature
----------------------------------

When a malicious driver attempts to send a spoofed packet, it is dropped by
the hardware and not transmitted.

An interrupt is sent to the PF driver notifying it of the spoof attempt.
When a spoofed packet is detected, the PF driver will send the following
message to the system log (displayed by the "dmesg" command):

Spoof event(s) detected on VF(n), where n = the VF that attempted to do the
spoofing



Setting MAC Address, VLAN and Rate Limit Using IProute2 Tool
------------------------------------------------------------
You can set a MAC address of a Virtual Function (VF), a default VLAN and the
rate limit using the IProute2 tool. Download the latest version of the
IProute2 tool from Sourceforge if your version does not have all the features
you require.


================================================================================


Known Issues/Troubleshooting
----------------------------


MAC address of Virtual Function changes unexpectedly
----------------------------------------------------

If a Virtual Function's MAC address is not assigned in the host, then the
VF (virtual function) driver will use a random MAC address. This random MAC
address may change each time the VF driver is reloaded. You can assign a
static MAC address in the host machine. This static MAC address will survive
a VF driver reload.


Hardware Issues
---------------

For known hardware and troubleshooting issues, either refer to the "Release
Notes" in your User Guide, or for more detailed information, go to
http://www.intel.com.

In the search box enter your devices controller ID followed by "spec update"
(i.e., 82599 spec update). The specification update file has complete
information on known hardware issues.


Software Issues
---------------

NOTE: After installing the driver, if your Intel Ethernet Network Connection
is not working, verify that you have installed the correct driver.

Intel(R) Active Management Technology 2.0, 2.1, 2.5 Not Supported in
Conjunction with Linux driver.



Using the igb driver on 2.4 or older 2.6 based kernels
------------------------------------------------------

Due to limited support for PCI-Express in 2.4 kernels and older 2.6 kernels,
the igb driver may run into interrupt related problems on some systems, such
as no link or hang when bringing up the device.

We recommend the newer 2.6 based kernels, as these kernels correctly configure
the PCI-Express configuration space of the adapter and all intervening
bridges. If you are required to use a 2.4 kernel, use a 2.4 kernel newer than
2.4.30. For 2.6 kernels we recommend using the 2.6.21 kernel or newer.

Alternatively, on 2.6 kernels you may disable MSI support in the kernel by
booting with the "pci=nomsi" option or permanently disable MSI support in your
kernel by configuring your kernel with CONFIG_PCI_MSI unset.


Detected Tx Unit Hang in Quad Port Adapters
-------------------------------------------

In some cases ports 3 and 4 don't pass traffic and report 'Detected Tx Unit
Hang' followed by 'NETDEV WATCHDOG: ethX: transmit timed out' errors. Ports 1
and 2 do not show any errors and will pass traffic.

This issue may be resolved by updating to the latest kernel and BIOS. You should
use an OS that fully supports Message Signaled Interrupts (MSI) and make sure
that MSI is enabled in your system's BIOS.


Compiling the Driver
--------------------

When trying to compile the driver by running make install, the following error
may occur: "Linux kernel source not configured - missing version.h"

To solve this issue, create the version.h file by going to the Linux source
tree and entering:
# make include/linux/version.h


Performance Degradation with Jumbo Frames
-----------------------------------------

Degradation in throughput performance may be observed in some Jumbo frames
environments. If this is observed, increasing the application's socket buffer
size and/or increasing the /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_*mem entry values may help.
See the specific application manual and
/usr/src/linux*/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.txt for more details.


Jumbo Frames on Foundry BigIron 8000 switch
-------------------------------------------
There is a known issue using Jumbo frames when connected to a Foundry BigIron
8000 switch. This is a 3rd party limitation. If you experience loss of
packets, lower the MTU size.


Multiple Interfaces on Same Ethernet Broadcast Network
------------------------------------------------------

Due to the default ARP behavior on Linux, it is not possible to have one
system on two IP networks in the same Ethernet broadcast domain
(non-partitioned switch) behave as expected. All Ethernet interfaces will
respond to IP traffic for any IP address assigned to the system. This results
in unbalanced receive traffic.

If you have multiple interfaces in a server, either turn on ARP filtering by
entering:
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/all/arp_filter

This only works if your kernel's version is higher than 2.4.5.


NOTE: This setting is not saved across reboots. The configuration change can
be made permanent by adding the following line to the file /etc/sysctl.conf:
net.ipv4.conf.all.arp_filter = 1

Another alternative is to install the interfaces in separate broadcast domains
(either in different switches or in a switch partitioned to VLANs).


Disable rx Flow Control with ethtool
------------------------------------

In order to disable receive flow control using ethtool, you must turn off
auto-negotiation on the same command line:
ethtool -A eth? autoneg off rx off


Unplugging Network Cable While ethtool -p is Running
----------------------------------------------------

In kernel versions 2.5.50 and newer, unplugging the network cable while
ethtool -p is running will cause the system to become unresponsive to
keyboard commands, except for control-alt-delete. Restarting the system
appears to be the only remedy.


Trouble Passing Traffic on Ports 1 and 2 Using RHEL3
----------------------------------------------------

There is a known hardware compatibility issue on some systems with RHEL3
kernels. Traffic on ports 1 and 2 may be slower than expected, and ping times,
higher than expected.

This issue MAY be resolved by updating to the latest kernel and BIOS. You can
check your system BIOS by downloading the Linux Firmware Developer Kit at
http://www.linuxfirmwarekit.org/.


Do Not Use LRO When Routing Packets
-----------------------------------

Due to a known general compatibility issue with LRO and routing, do not use LRO
when routing packets.


Build Error with Asianux 3.0 - Redefinition of typedef 'irq_handler_t'
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Some systems may experience build issues due to the redefinition of
irq_handler_t. To resolve this issue, build the driver (step 4 above) using
the command:
# make CFLAGS_EXTRA=-DAX_RELEASE_CODE=1 install


MSI-X Issues with Kernels Between 2.6.19 - 2.6.21 (inclusive)
-------------------------------------------------------------

Kernel panics and instability may be observed on any MSI-X hardware if you use
irqbalance with kernels between 2.6.19 and 2.6.21. If such problems are
encountered, you may disable the irqbalance daemon or upgrade to a newer
kernel.


Rx Page Allocation Errors
-------------------------

'Page allocation failure. order:0' errors may occur under stress.
with kernels 2.6.25 and newer.
This is caused by the way the Linux kernel reports this
stressed condition.

Under Redhat 5.4-GA, System May Crash when Closing Guest OS Window after
Loading/Unloading Physical Function (PF) Driver

Do not remove the igb driver from Dom0 while Virtual Functions (VFs) are
assigned to guests. VFs must first use the xm "pci-detach" command to hot-plug
the VF device out of the VM it is assigned to or else shut down the VM.

Unloading Physical Function (PF) Driver Causes System Reboots When VM is
Running and VF is Loaded on the VM.

Do not unload the PF driver (igb) while VFs are assigned to guests.


SLES10 SP3 Random System Panic when Reloading Driver
----------------------------------------------------

This is a known SLES-10 SP3 issue. After requesting interrupts for MSI-X
vectors, system may panic.

Currently, the only known workaround is to build the driver with
CFLAGS_EXTRA=-DDISABLE_PCI_MSI if the driver needs to be loaded/unloaded.
Otherwise, the driver can be loaded once and will be safe, but unloading it
will lead to the issue.

Enabling SR-IOV in a 32-bit Microsoft* Windows* Server 2008 Guest OS Using
Intel? 82576-based GbE or Intel? 82599-based 10GbE Controller Under KVM
KVM Hypervisor/VMM supports direct assignment of a PCIe device to a VM. This
includes traditional PCIe devices, as well as SR-IOV-capable devices using
Intel 82576-based and 82599-based controllers.

While direct assignment of a PCIe device or an SR-IOV Virtual Function (VF) to
a Linux-based VM running 2.6.32 or newer kernel is functional, there is a
known issue with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 VM that results in a "yellow
bang" error. This problem is within the KVM VMM itself, not the Intel driver
or the SR-IOV logic of the VMM. The KVM emulates an older CPU model for the
guests, and this older CPU model does not support MSI-X interrupts, which is a
requirement for Intel SR-IOV.

If you wish to use the Intel 82576- or 82599-based controllers in SR-IOV mode
with KVM and a Microsoft Windows Server 2008 guest, try the following
workaround. Configure KVM to emulate a different model of CPU
when using qemu to create the KVM guest:
"-cpu qemu64,model=13"


Host May Reboot after Removing PF when VF is Active in Guest
------------------------------------------------------------

Using kernel versions earlier than 3.2, do not unload the PF driver with
active VFs. Doing this will cause your VFs to stop working until you reload
the PF driver and may cause a spontaneous reboot of your system.

Prior to unloading the PF driver, you must first ensure that all VFs are
no longer active. Do this by shutting down all VMs and unloading the VF driver.


================================================================================


Support
-------
For general information, go to the Intel support website at:
www.intel.com/support/

or the Intel Wired Networking project hosted by Sourceforge at:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/e1000

If an issue is identified with the released source code on a supported
kernel with a supported adapter, email the specific information related to the
issue to e1000-devel@lists.sf.net.



================================================================================


License
-------

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
the terms and conditions of the GNU General Public License, version 2, as
published by the Free Software Foundation.

This program is distributed in the hope it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR
A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin
St - Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.

The full GNU General Public License is included in this distribution in the
file called "COPYING".

Copyright(c) 1999 - 2017 Intel Corporation.
================================================================================


Trademarks
----------

Intel and Itanium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel
Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.