Intel 82579LM & 82574L Speed Detection Problem

[apulaski]

Just built a new freenas server using a Supermicro X9SCM-F-O board which has on board dual gigabit lan via the Intel 82579LM & 82574L. The problem I'm having is that freenas seems to be detecting one of the cards as 100mbps and the other at the correct speed of 1000mbps. The LED's on the back of the cards also seem to indicate a 100 mbps speed on one of the ports. I've tried changing cable and also tried a different switch port. Both cards are plugged into the same switch. I'm not sure where to begin troubleshooting. Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Andy

 

[cyberjock]

You probably should check out your network hardware. Something is wrong if its only negotiating 100Mb. More than likely the problem is a bad network cable.

 

[apulaski]

I'm not a BSD wizard but I was able to get into a shell and take a look at the interface. It is in fact being detected as 100mbps. Is there a way I can force the speed to 1 gbps?

 

[jgreco]

Try hooking the ports together. It is possible one of the ports is bad.

 

[apulaski]

Well, I've replaced the cable with a new one and it's still linking at 100mbps, since it's a new board I'm guessing my next option is to take it up with supermicro or the retailer.

 

[apulaski]

yeah when I hook them both together they both come up at 100 so I guess I'm looking at bad hardware.

On another note, thank you jgreco for all your contributions to this forum. I heavily researched your hardware recommendations when I was building this box, and it made my life MUCH easier. I would have learned a lot of hard lessons without your help!

 

[cyberjock]

If they both come up as 100 then you've got problems that an RMA isn't going to fix. You should stop and figure out which cables are good and which aren't along with your switch ports as it sounds like you have hardware that may not work with 1Gb.

 

[apulaski]

If they both come up as 100 then you've got problems that an RMA isn't going to fix. You should stop and figure out which cables are good and which aren't along with your switch ports as it sounds like you have hardware that may not work with 1Gb.

Switch is fine, I've thoroughly tested it, cables are fine, they are brand new and I've interchanged them. When I run a single cable from LAN Port 1 (em0) to LAN Port 2 (em1) (essentially a loopback between the boards 2 nic ports), both ports come up at 100 mbps. When I run two cables to the switch one comes up 1000 and the other comes up at 100 mbps.

 

[jgreco]

Sounds like a bad port, which is unfortunate. I can only say that the Intel ethernets are usually very reliable. The RMA is a PITA but even with that I think you'll appreciate the Intel ports in the end. You can also try inspecting the board and ports for any defects. A port that passes 100 but fails 1000 often has a fault in pairs 4/5 or 7/8; it is not unheard-of for there to be a solder bridge on the pins of the jack! It is a long shot but worth five minutes with a magnifying glass.

 

[cyberjock]

Switch is fine, I've thoroughly tested it, cables are fine, they are brand new and I've interchanged them. When I run a single cable from LAN Port 1 (em0) to LAN Port 2 (em1) (essentially a loopback between the boards 2 nic ports), both ports come up at 100 mbps. When I run two cables to the switch one comes up 1000 and the other comes up at 100 mbps.

Oh, ok. I thought you meant you swapped a cable and now both LAN ports are connected to your switch and both are 100Mb. Very likely a bad port. Not something anyone wants to hear(I had a bad NIC myself but it behaved fine at 1Gb and would just stop working completely without warning).

 

[joeschmuck]

First, which port comes up as 100mb? I'm surprised that wasn't asked.

I'm not familiar with supermicro boards but is it possible there is a BIOS setting to set the ethernet ports up and limit each one's speed individually? That are after all two separate controllers and both are of a different model might be a key thing here. Also are you running the current BIOS (R 2.0c)?

Lastly, which version of FreeNAS are you running? And does someone else have this specific board running whichever version of FreeNAS the OP is using and having the same issue, maybe just not noticed it yet? My concern is a possible driver issue before ruling the board as a failure.

Can you boot pull the boot drive (assuming it's a USB flash drive) and power on the MB. With your cable hooked up to your ports, are both of them at 1000mb/s connection? I'd like to rule out the FreeNAS operating system.

 

[cyberjock]

I have that board. So I know both NICs should work at 1000Mb. No bios setting for speed are offered. It should "just work"

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