1Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/100 Family of Adapters
2==============================================================
3
4March 15, 2011
5
6Contents
7========
8
9- In This Release
10- Identifying Your Adapter
11- Building and Installation
12- Driver Configuration Parameters
13- Additional Configurations
14- Known Issues
15- Support
16
17
18In This Release
19===============
20
21This file describes the Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/100 Family of
22Adapters. This driver includes support for Itanium(R)2-based systems.
23
24For questions related to hardware requirements, refer to the documentation
25supplied with your Intel PRO/100 adapter.
26
27The following features are now available in supported kernels:
28 - Native VLANs
29 - Channel Bonding (teaming)
30 - SNMP
31
32Channel Bonding documentation can be found in the Linux kernel source:
33/Documentation/networking/bonding.txt
34
35
36Identifying Your Adapter
37========================
38
39For more information on how to identify your adapter, go to the Adapter &
40Driver ID Guide at:
41
42  http://support.intel.com/support/network/adapter/pro100/21397.htm
43
44For the latest Intel network drivers for Linux, refer to the following
45website. In the search field, enter your adapter name or type, or use the
46networking link on the left to search for your adapter:
47
48  http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df/support_intel.asp
49
50Driver Configuration Parameters
51===============================
52
53The default value for each parameter is generally the recommended setting,
54unless otherwise noted.
55
56Rx Descriptors: Number of receive descriptors. A receive descriptor is a data
57   structure that describes a receive buffer and its attributes to the network
58   controller. The data in the descriptor is used by the controller to write
59   data from the controller to host memory. In the 3.x.x driver the valid range
60   for this parameter is 64-256. The default value is 64. This parameter can be
61   changed using the command:
62
63   ethtool -G eth? rx n, where n is the number of desired rx descriptors.
64
65Tx Descriptors: Number of transmit descriptors. A transmit descriptor is a data
66   structure that describes a transmit buffer and its attributes to the network
67   controller. The data in the descriptor is used by the controller to read
68   data from the host memory to the controller. In the 3.x.x driver the valid
69   range for this parameter is 64-256. The default value is 64. This parameter
70   can be changed using the command:
71
72   ethtool -G eth? tx n, where n is the number of desired tx descriptors.
73
74Speed/Duplex: The driver auto-negotiates the link speed and duplex settings by
75   default. The ethtool utility can be used as follows to force speed/duplex.
76
77   ethtool -s eth?  autoneg off speed {10|100} duplex {full|half}
78
79   NOTE: setting the speed/duplex to incorrect values will cause the link to
80   fail.
81
82Event Log Message Level:  The driver uses the message level flag to log events
83   to syslog. The message level can be set at driver load time. It can also be
84   set using the command:
85
86   ethtool -s eth? msglvl n
87
88
89Additional Configurations
90=========================
91
92  Configuring the Driver on Different Distributions
93  -------------------------------------------------
94
95  Configuring a network driver to load properly when the system is started is
96  distribution dependent. Typically, the configuration process involves adding
97  an alias line to /etc/modprobe.d/*.conf as well as editing other system
98  startup scripts and/or configuration files.  Many popular Linux
99  distributions ship with tools to make these changes for you. To learn the
100  proper way to configure a network device for your system, refer to your
101  distribution documentation.  If during this process you are asked for the
102  driver or module name, the name for the Linux Base Driver for the Intel
103  PRO/100 Family of Adapters is e100.
104
105  As an example, if you install the e100 driver for two PRO/100 adapters
106  (eth0 and eth1), add the following to a configuration file in /etc/modprobe.d/
107
108       alias eth0 e100
109       alias eth1 e100
110
111  Viewing Link Messages
112  ---------------------
113  In order to see link messages and other Intel driver information on your
114  console, you must set the dmesg level up to six. This can be done by
115  entering the following on the command line before loading the e100 driver:
116
117       dmesg -n 8
118
119  If you wish to see all messages issued by the driver, including debug
120  messages, set the dmesg level to eight.
121
122  NOTE: This setting is not saved across reboots.
123
124
125  ethtool
126  -------
127
128  The driver utilizes the ethtool interface for driver configuration and
129  diagnostics, as well as displaying statistical information.  The ethtool
130  version 1.6 or later is required for this functionality.
131
132  The latest release of ethtool can be found from
133  http://ftp.kernel.org/pub/software/network/ethtool/
134
135  Enabling Wake on LAN* (WoL)
136  ---------------------------
137  WoL is provided through the ethtool* utility.  For instructions on enabling
138  WoL with ethtool, refer to the ethtool man page.
139
140  WoL will be enabled on the system during the next shut down or reboot. For
141  this driver version, in order to enable WoL, the e100 driver must be
142  loaded when shutting down or rebooting the system.
143
144  NAPI
145  ----
146
147  NAPI (Rx polling mode) is supported in the e100 driver.
148
149  See www.cyberus.ca/~hadi/usenix-paper.tgz for more information on NAPI.
150
151  Multiple Interfaces on Same Ethernet Broadcast Network
152  ------------------------------------------------------
153
154  Due to the default ARP behavior on Linux, it is not possible to have
155  one system on two IP networks in the same Ethernet broadcast domain
156  (non-partitioned switch) behave as expected. All Ethernet interfaces
157  will respond to IP traffic for any IP address assigned to the system.
158  This results in unbalanced receive traffic.
159
160  If you have multiple interfaces in a server, either turn on ARP
161  filtering by
162
163  (1) entering: echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/all/arp_filter
164      (this only works if your kernel's version is higher than 2.4.5), or
165
166  (2) installing the interfaces in separate broadcast domains (either
167      in different switches or in a switch partitioned to VLANs).
168
169
170Support
171=======
172
173For general information, go to the Intel support website at:
174
175    http://support.intel.com
176
177    or the Intel Wired Networking project hosted by Sourceforge at:
178
179    http://sourceforge.net/projects/e1000
180
181If an issue is identified with the released source code on the supported
182kernel with a supported adapter, email the specific information related to the
183issue to e1000-devel@lists.sourceforge.net.
184