First inexpensive 10GBase-T / NBASE-T card with FreeBSD drivers?

Alar

Cadet
Joined
Sep 18, 2017
Messages
3
There is a new card Edimax EN-9320TX-E in Amazon at $100:

https://www.amazon.com/Edimax-EN-93...X0DER&qid=1557180650&s=merchant-items&sr=1-13

I bought one, it's based on:
Tehuti TN9710P card
Tehuti TN4010 MAC
Marvell Alaska® X 88X3310P/88E2010P transceiver

and you can load FreeBSD/FreeNAS (versions 11.2 and 12) drivers from Tehuti homepage (free registration).

I'm little cautious about Edimax products, but this one seems to be fine. Drivers installed easily, and right now it is working couple of days very nicely at 1G speed in my experimental FreeNAS 11.2-U3 server (haven't done performance tests, cause don't have 10G switch at homelab, yet).

So I would like to say a few words of praise about Edimax / Tehuti and I wonder if it is conceivable that FreeNAS / FreeBSD specialists will test these drivers and, if appropriate, will validate this card with FreeBSD / FreeNAS hardware?
 
D

dlavigne

Guest
Go ahead and create a feature request at bugs.ixsystems.com and include a link to the drivers section of the Tehuti homepage.
 

Alar

Cadet
Joined
Sep 18, 2017
Messages
3
There are also some performance stats.

iperf default settings (TCP protocol).
average speed: 9 Gbps
CPU load: 38% (17% system, 21% interrupt)

Server:
OS: FreeNAS 11.2-U3
CPU: i3-6100
RAM: 40 GB
LAN cards: Edimax EN-9320TX-E (both server and client)

Client:
OS: Win 7
CPU: i5-4570S
RAM: 16 GB

switch: MikroTik CRS317-1G-16S+RM with 2x S+RJ10 SFP+ modules
cables: 2x Cat6 UTP, 3m

Tehuti drivers can be downloaded here:
http://www.tehutinetworks.net/?t=drivers&L1=8&L2=12

Screenshots attached
 

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Arwen

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May 17, 2014
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3,600
One comment. Most of the newer cards that support >1Gbps, also support the in-between speeds of 2.5Gbps & 5Gbps. Some of the cheaper switches support those speeds because some of the newer WiFi standards are faster than 1Gbps.

So, if I were considering that card, I'd research it a bit more and see if the chip set supports 2.5Gbps & 5Gbps speeds. (The Amazon page does not mention those speeds.)
 

Alar

Cadet
Joined
Sep 18, 2017
Messages
3
Edimax advertised EN-9320TX-E card as NBASE-T compatible (and Tehuti reference card TN9710P also). Just in case, I set Windows drivers Link Speeds from Auto to 5G and 2.5G, iperf results (hardware same as in 10G tests):

5G speed: 4.72 Gbps
2.5G speed: 2.37 Gbps

Only difference was, that when I run iperf from FreeNAS Shell and tried to switch to System Processes Menu in FreeNAS UI, it breaks iperf server. Now I have FreeNAS 11.2-U4 installed (10G tests, when switching between Shell and System Processes works was run from FreeNAS 11.2-U3 version).

Was there something broken in FreeNAS 11.2-U4 UI Shell/System Processes implementation?
 

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HofkoSK

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Joined
May 24, 2019
Messages
4
Hello,

I am newcome to the FreeNAS. My test with Tehuti gave results on printscreen...

Tehuti on FreeNAS-11.2-U4.1, AQuantia AQC107 on client with W10 1809.
 

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crkinard

Explorer
Joined
Oct 24, 2019
Messages
80
This card sounds promising. Been looking for something that is NBASE-T for 5G as I am looking to get a USB3.1 5G adapter for my desktop. I just need something faster than 1G but can't go 10G (Mini ITX computers with no free slot and even with USB3.1 Gen 2 10G adapters dont exist for obvious reasons).

Humm only 11.2 and 12.0 in the driver pack. I wonder if the 11.2 will install in 11.3.
 
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LVLouisCyphre

Dabbler
Joined
Dec 22, 2019
Messages
16
While it's nice that the manufacturer is making FreeBSD/NAS drivers available; they're pulling an nVidia and being closed source.

How do they work with carp or lagg which would be my concern if you're using a closed source product. If you go with a closed source product, it's up to the manufacturer to fix any issues you may have.
 

omid_1985

Dabbler
Joined
Aug 22, 2018
Messages
10
@Cameron D Have you submit anything with FreeBSD to add driver for this card?
Does anyone know if Edimax EN-9320TX-E are supported in FreeNAS out of the box yet?
 

Redcoat

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Feb 18, 2014
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Velcade

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Mar 28, 2019
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I picked up used intel x540 NICs for less than that. They work great. Plug n Play...
 

Cameron D

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Mar 14, 2019
Messages
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@Cameron D Have you submit anything with FreeBSD to add driver for this card?
Does anyone know if Edimax EN-9320TX-E are supported in FreeNAS out of the box yet?
Didn't end up doing it. There were some issues with the driver/card and the hardware I could not resolve, lockups and startup failures. Since then I've taken the route @Velcade said and just used Intel. Having success with the dual port 710 cards.
 
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