2.5 Gbps Hardware
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Hello All,
I am in the unenviable position that my ISP is providing over 1 Gbps service, but all the hardware that works reliably has 2.5 Gbps ports and no 10 Gbps ports. They borked LCAP in my modem with 2 - 1 Gbps ports by applying an update to the modem. Currently, I am using an X520 dual sfp+ card to provide 10 Gbps to my internal network and initially used a 10Gtek transceiver to connect to the cable modem (Motorola MB8611). Everything seemed to work fine. 1.2 Gbps + speed tests and no errors on the pfSense interface, but it was showing at 10 Gbps instead of 2.5 Gbps. Also, the transceiver didn't list 2.5 Gbps as supported. After some research in a panic, I bought a 2.5 Gbps Realtek NIC that is now installed and working but required that the driver be manually installed. I am not a big fan of using Realtek and manually installing drivers, but the Intel 2.5 Gbps options are limited and 10x as expensive.Should I:
- Just suck it up and manually install drivers for Realtek until there is a better-supported option?
- Find an SFP+ transceiver that supports 2.5 Gbps and install that in the second port of the x520. Does it matter if I have a transceiver that supports 2.5 Gbps, but the x520 doesn't?
- Other options?
I lean toward the more reliable option even if it is more expensive, but a $300+ Intel X710-t2l vs the $30 Realtek 2.5 Gbps is hard to justify.
Cheers,
Ian -
@iprowell I just asked about something similar. I think the Intel i225 chipset is what you want. There's working but incomplete support in 2.5.2 and full support in the upcoming 2.6 afaik. If you're in the USA check out the QNAP cards, they have 1, 2, and 4 port i225 options with the single port starting at $39 on Amazon. If those particular cards don't work on pfSense then yeah maybe just try and find the SFP+ option.
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@whosmatt Thanks for the info. Would something like this work without a custom diver install?
https://smile.amazon.com/QNAP-QXG-2G1T-I225-Single-4-Speed-Network/dp/B08FB83C1H/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=qnap+2.5+gbps&qid=1633245287&sr=8-3
Based on my searching the I225 cards were not well support either.
Thanks,
Ian -
@whosmatt Yeah, the X710 tp cards were where I got the 10x cost. If it is what it takes I will bite the bullet but am hoping for a lower cost option.
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@iprowell I was literally just asking these questions yesterday or the day before, lol. https://forum.netgate.com/topic/166901/nics-that-can-negotiate-1gbps-but-10gbps-and-work-with-pfsense?_=1633245645180
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@iprowell said in 2.5 Gbps Hardware:
https://smile.amazon.com/QNAP-QXG-2G1T-I225-Single-4-Speed-Network/dp/B08FB83C1H/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=qnap+2.5+gbps&qid=1633245287&sr=8-3
That's the card i was referring to. There's also a 2 port and a 4 port (with fan) version of it. Search the forum and there's a fairly long thread about it, but the TL;DR is that the new Netgate 6100 device has 4 i225 ports so the support is lagging a bit behind in the FOSS version but it's coming. I'm planning to buy i225 and deal with it until 2.6. If i was starting fresh I'd just buy the 6100 tbh
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As far as I know 2.5.2 is only missing a fix for the hardware checksum off-loading. You can just disable that in the GUI anyway.
Steve
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@stephenw10 so the i225 should be supported out of the box in 2.5.2 and I just need to go in and disable hardware checksum off-loading? Is there a preferred i225 based card? I only need a single port for WAN as I have the x520 working on the LAN side.
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What about AQC107 based NICs? That is tempting due to 10 Gbps/5 Gbps/2.5 Gbps/1 Gbps/100 Mbps support.
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There is an Aquantia driver but it's not included in pfSense. You need to load the FreeBSD module but there is now a pkg for that. There have been mixed reports, for example:
https://forum.netgate.com/topic/166522/tx401-support.Steve
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@stephenw10 thanks for the info. Those are the sort of results I am not very interested in dealing with. I ended up buying a QNAP i225 based card. It went into the system last night, was recognized by 2.5.2, linked up to my modem at 2.5 Gbps, and everything seems to be happy.
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@iprowell said in 2.5 Gbps Hardware:
QNAP i225 based card. It went into the system last night, was recognized by 2.5.2, linked up to my modem at 2.5 Gbps, and everything seems to be happy.
Just double checking. I'm interested in building a PC with 2.5gb to WAN and LAN. Have a very nice older i5 with 3 pci-e slots that'd be a perfect PFSENSE router. Not doing anything fancy. Just want to build a basic home router with 2.5gb to match my ISP speed.
I have read the threads here, REDDIT, etc., on PFSense and 2.5gbe PCI-E NIC support. And of course have gotten myself confused.
Checking my understanding. As quoted the latest PFSENSE by default supports the Intel based 2.5? The i225 chipset?
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The igc driver is included in 2.5.2, yes. Because of the release timing it missed a hardware checksum fix that is in 2.6 snapshots but you can just disable hardware checksum offloading.
I have not personally tested anything other than the i225 NIC we use in the 6100 but there are several reports of success such as the one above.
Steve
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@stephenw10 said in 2.5 Gbps Hardware:
disable hardware checksum offloading.
I'm assuming that's an option I can set via LAN IP interface in the software?
Some reason not to use the .6 snapshot?
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There's a global setting for it in Sys > Adv > Networking.
Current 2.6 snapshots are pretty stable, I'm aware of any major issues. I have several instances running here. But that is the dev branch, new snapshots may introduce issues. So if you choose to run 2.6 you should not upgrade to every new snapshot if stability is an issue.
Or course the more people who can run a 2.6 test box and report problems the better.
Steve
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Thanks. While I’m not adverse to playing with new releases, use RMerlins Beta’s on my AX86U, two family work from home so it has to be stable.
It’ll be end of week I’m going to have a chance to play.
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@stephenw10 I checked and I already had hardware checksum offloading disabled. Should I disable that when 2.6 is released? I have the i225 for WAN and a x520-da2 for LAN in the system. Thanks for all the support!
-Ian
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@iprowell said in 2.5 Gbps Hardware:
Should I disable that when 2.6 is released?
I assume you mean enable it, if you already have it disabled?
Yes, you could enable it in 2.6 but there is almost advantage in doing so. I would leave it disabled.
Steve
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Figured out bios options, etc., for the install to be recognized as a bootable drive. Worked. Install obviously installed.
Initial configuration did not work. I'm using version 2.6.0 which does not recognize the Intel I-225 NIC's are present. I tested everything with Windows 10 before blasting everything with the PFSENSE install. All worked, 2.5gb cards recognized, etc.
What am I missing? Is there some option I'm supposed to go to the manual screen and enter something to download and install the drivers for the 2.5gb cards?
