# Linux* Base Driver for the Intel® PRO/100 Family of Adapters

Overview

Supported Adapters

Building and Installation

Command Line Parameters

CPU Cycle Saver

Hot Plug

Additional Configurations

Troubleshooting

Support

## Overview

This file describes the Linux* Base Driver for the Intel® PRO/100 Family of Adapters, version 1.8.x. This driver is intended for 2.2.x and 2.4.x kernels; it is known to build properly on 2.2.x kernels through 2.2.20 and on 2.4.x kernels through 2.4.16. Intel focused testing on Intel processor-based systems running kernels 2.4.7 and 2.2.16. This driver includes support for Itanium™-based systems.

The Intel PRO/100 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 driver. For questions related to hardware requirements, refer to the documentation supplied with your Intel PRO/100 adapter.

This release version includes support for the ethtool interface. A third-party application can use the ethtool interface to get and set driver parameters.

## Supported Adapters

The following Intel network adapters are compatible with the drivers in this release:

Controller | Adapter Name | Board IDs
82550 | PRO/100 S Dual Port Server Adapter | A56831-xxx
82550 82559 | PRO/100 S Server Adapter | 752438-xxx (82550) A56831-xxx, A10563-xxx, A12171-xxx, A12321-xxx, A12320-xxx, A12170-xxx 748568-xxx, 748565-xxx (82559)
82550 82559 | PRO/100 S Desktop Adapter | 751767-xxx (82550) 748592-xxx, A12167-xxx, A12318-xxx, A12317-xxx, A12165-xxx 748569-xxx (82559)
82558 | PRO/100+ PCI Adapter | 668081-xxx, 689661-xxx
82558 | PRO/100+ Management Adapter | 691334-xxx, 701738-xxx, 721383-xxx
82558 | PRO/100+ Dual Port Server Adapter | 714303-xxx, 711269-xxx, A28276-xxx
82558 | PRO/100+ PCI Server Adapter | 710550-xxx
82559 | PRO/100+ Server Adapter | 729757-xxx
82559 | PRO/100 S Management Adapter | 748566-xxx, 748564-xxx
| PRO/100 S Advanced Management Adapter | 747842-xxx, 745171-xxx
CNR | PRO/100 VE Desktop Adapter | A10386-xxx, A10725-xxx, A23801-xxx, A19716-xxx
| PRO/100 VM Desktop Adapter | A14323-xxx, A19725-xxx, A23801-xxx, A22220-xxx, A23796-xxx

To verify that your adapter is supported, find the board ID number on the adapter. Look for a label that has a barcode and a number in the format 123456-001 (six digits hyphen three digits). Match this to the list of numbers above.

For more information on how to identify your adapter, go to the Adapter & Driver ID Guide at:

> http://support.intel.com/support/network/adapter/pro100/21397.htm

For the latest Intel PRO/100 network driver for Linux, see:

> http://appsr.intel.com/scripts-df/support_intel.asp

## Building and Installation

To build a binary RPM* package of this driver run 'rpm -tb <filename.tar.gz>'. Replace <filename.tar.gz> with the specific file name of the driver.

| NOTE: For the build to work properly it is important that the currently running kernel MATCH the version and configuration of the installed kernel source. If you have just recompiled your kernel reboot the system now. NOTE: If you are building the e100 driver on a fresh install of Red Hat* without recompiling the kernel, the build generates warnings. This is normal and does not affect driver performance. If you have difficulties, remove the non-Intel eepro100 module.

1. Move the base driver tar file to the directory of your choice. For example, use /home/username/e100 or /usr/local/src/e100.

2. Untar/unzip the archive by entering the following, where x.x.x is the version number for the driver tar:

   > tar xfz e100-x.x.x.tar.gz

3. Change to the driver src directory by entering the following, where x.x.x is the version number for the driver tar::

   > cd e100-x.x.x/src/

4. Compile the driver module:

   > make install

   The binary will be installed as:

   > For Linux 2.2.x systems: /lib/modules/[KERNEL_VERSION]/net/e100.o

   > For Linux 2.4.x systems: /lib/modules/[KERNEL_VERSION]/kernel/drivers/net/e100.o

   | NOTE: The install locations listed above are the default locations. They may not be correct for certain Linux distributions. For more information, go to ldistrib.htm.

5. Install the module:

   > insmod e100 <parameter>=<value>

   | NOTE: If you are using Hot Plug, see the Hot Plug section below.

6. Assign an IP address to the interface by entering the following, where <x> is the interface number:

   > ifconfig ethx <IP_address>

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>

| NOTE: In order to see link messages and other Intel driver information on your console, you must set the dmesg level up to six. This can be done by entering the following on the command line: dmesg -n 6

## Command Line Parameters

The following parameters are used by entering them on the command line with the modprobe or insmod command. For example, with two Intel PRO/100 PCI adapters, entering:

> modprobe e100 TxDescriptors=32,128

loads the e100 driver with 32 TX resources for the first adapter and 128 TX resources for the second adapter. This configuration favors the second adapter. The driver supports up to 16 network adapters concurrently.

| NOTE: Giving any command line option the value "-1" causes the driver to use the appropriate default value for that option, as if no value was specified.

Parameter Name | Valid Range/Settings | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
BundleMax | 0x1-0xFFFF | 6 | This parameter holds the maximum number of packets in a bundle. Suggested values range from 2 to 10. See CPU Cycle Saver.
BundleSmallFr | 0-1 (0=off, 1=on) | 0 | The value 1 (on) causes small packets (less than 128 bytes) to be bundled. See CPU Cycle Saver.
e100_speed_duplex | 0-4 (1=10half;2=10full;3=100half;4=100full) | 0 | The default value of 0 is set to auto-negotiate if the link partner is set to auto-negotiate. If the link partner is forced, e100_speed_duplex defaults to half-duplex. Example usage: insmod e100.o e100_speed_duplex=4,4 (for two adapters)
flow_control | 0-1 (0=off, 1=on) | 0 | This parameter controls the automatic generation(Tx) and response(Rx) to Ethernet PAUSE frames.
IntDelay | 0-0xFFFF (0=off) | 0 | This parameter holds the number of time units (in adapter terminology) until the adapter generates an interrupt. The recommended value for IntDelay is 0x600 (upon initialization). Suggested values range from 0x200h to 0x800. See CPU Cycle Saver.
IFS | 0-1 (0=off, 1=on) | 1 | Inter Frame Spacing (IFS) aims to reduce the number of Ethernet frame collisions by altering the time between frame transmissions. When IFS is enabled the driver tries to find an optimal IFS value. However, some switches function better when IFS is disabled.
RxDescriptors | 8-1024 | 64 | This parameter defines the number of receive descriptors allocated by the driver. Increasing this value allows the driver to buffer more incoming packets before the driver is required to service an interrupt. The maximum value for Itanium-based systems is 64.
TxDescriptors | 17-1024 | 64 | This value is the number of transmit descriptors allocated by the driver. Increasing this value allows the protocol stack to queue more transmits at the driver level. The maximum value for Itanium-based systems is 64.
ucode | 0-1 (0=off, 1=on) | 0 for 82558-based adapters 1 for 82559(and higher)-based adapters | On uploads the micro code to the adapter, which enables CPU Cycle Saver. See the section CPU Cycle Saver below. Example usage: insmod e100.o ucode=0 (does not reduce CPU usage) (not available for 82557-based adapters)
XsumRX | 0-1 (0=off, 1=on) | 1 | On allows Rx checksum offloading for TCP/UDP packets. Requires that the hardware support this feature.

## CPU Cycle Saver

CPU Cycle Saver reduces CPU utilization by reducing the number of interrupts that the adapter generates.

When CPU Cycle Saver is turned off, the adapter generates one interrupt for every frame that is received. This means that the operating system stops what it is doing and switches to the network driver in order to process the receive.

When CPU Cycle Saver is on, the adapter does not generate an interrupt for every frame it receives. Instead, it waits until it receives several frames before generating an interrupt. This reduces the amount of time spent switching to and from the driver.

CPU Cycle Saver consists of these arguments: IntDelay, BundleMax and BundleSmallFr. When IntDelay is increased, the adapter waits longer for frames to arrive before generating the interrupt. By increasing BundleMax, the network adapter waits for the number of frames specified to arrive before generating the interrupt. When BundleSmallFr is disabled, the adapter does not bundle packets that are smaller than 128 bytes. Such small packets are often, but not always, control packets that are better served immediately.

For most users, it is recommended that CPU Cycle Saver be used with the default values specified in the Command Line Parameters section. However, in some cases, performance problems may occur with CPU Cycle Saver. If such problems are observed, we recommend turning off this feature by setting ucode=0.

## Hot Plug

Hot Plug affects the driver load state. Below are some commands to help address the issues that might occur.

Disable Hot Plug until reboot:

> echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hotplug/

Disable Hot Plug across reboots:

> rpm -e hotplug

Hot Plug script location:

> /etc/hotplug/*

Stop the network:

>     service network stop
>     ifconfig ethx down
>     rmmod e100

## Additional Configurations

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 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 Linux Base Driver for the Intel PRO/100 Family of Adapters is e100.

## Troubleshooting

| NOTE: For distribution-specific information, see ldistrib.htm.

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

## Support

For general information and support, go to the Intel support website at:

> http://support.intel.com

If an issue is identified with the released source code on the supported kernel with a supported adapter, email the specific information related to the issue to linux.nics@intel.com.

Copyright © 2002 Intel Corporation. Legal Information