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    pfSense - 2.5G port disconnects

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    • P
      puffin23 @stephenw10
      last edited by puffin23

      @stephenw10 I am connecting the pfSense with a PC with a 2.5G network card (again a I225-V). I tried to change the ethernet cable (cat.6) but nothing has changed.
      Just a note: currently I have a gigabit connection (1000 DL / 1000 UL) and in fact if I set the port to 1G it seems to work regularly without connection losses. Maybe there is a compatibility problem in case the speeds are lower than those of the port? 🤔

      Now you will ask me: "why do you have to set the port to 2.5G if you have a gigabit?"
      Well, because soon I will install 2.5Gbps at home and I would like everything to work properly.

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      • ?
        A Former User @puffin23
        last edited by

        @puffin23

        Well, because soon I will install 2.5Gbps at home and I
        would like everything to work properly.

        Some ISPs are offering overprovisioning, let us say with 1 GBit/s you will able to see something like 1100 or 1200 MBit/s, why not being able to get the last out if a paid line.

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        • stephenw10S
          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
          last edited by

          It should work with two 2.5G NICs connected like that.

          What does the other end show logged when it happens?

          It's losing link for some reason.

          What I can say is that the i225 NIC cannot use a fixed speed, it can only be auto-negotiate. When you set a different link speed it actually only removes all the other speeds from the list it can negotiate to. So it cannot link to something that is actually fixed with autoneg disabled.
          Given then that is stays connected when set to 1G it's not a negotiation issue.

          Steve

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          • P
            puffin23 @stephenw10
            last edited by puffin23

            @stephenw10 said in pfSense - 2.5G port disconnects:

            What does the other end show logged when it happens?

            When it happens, a new "Collision" is added to the counter on "Interfaces" tab, and then on my Windows PC I have this error:

            1.png

            Obviously, in the 3-4 seconds that pass from disconnection to reconnection, nothing works.

            I also tried to set the speed on 2.5 Gbps (instead of using automatic negotiation) on both the pfSense and the PC. Nothing...

            Question: what does collision mean? In which cases does it happen?
            If I try to detach and reattach the ethernet cable it is not counted as a collision, for example.

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            • ?
              A Former User
              last edited by

              Is this a PCIe card or an onboard NIC on an Asus ROG - xyz
              or perhaps a NAS inside 4 Port NIC?

              Some mentioned on Windows 10/11 to install the latest driver from the board vendor and some peoples were
              getting rid of this problem by installing the latest Intel drivers. (Not pfSense, on their VM host or Windows host)

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              • P
                puffin23 @A Former User
                last edited by

                @dobby_ It's a PCIe card and I already installed the latest drivers.

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                • stephenw10S
                  stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                  last edited by

                  Can you try connecting something other than Windows at the other end? Another pfSense instance perhaps? Or boot a live Linux distro there as a test?

                  When you set both sides to 2.5G only do you mean there was difference, what I'd expect, or that it failed to connect.

                  Steve

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                  • P
                    puffin23 @stephenw10
                    last edited by

                    @stephenw10 The pfSense NICs are the cause of the problem. I bought a router with two 2.5GbE ports (Broadcom) and everything works perfectly with no disconnections.

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                    • stephenw10S
                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                      last edited by

                      Mmm, interesting. What's the actual card you were using there? I've not really seen any significant issues with igc NICs here.

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                      • P
                        puffin23 @stephenw10
                        last edited by

                        @stephenw10 pfSense has 4 I225-V rev3 ports. Same card on my PC (rev3 as well).

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                        • stephenw10S
                          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                          last edited by

                          Right but what's the actual card? I assume it's not an Intel card. I'm not aware of a particular issue with igc but other Intel NIC types have a real problem with cheap fakes and all that implies.

                          Steve

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                          • P
                            puffin23 @stephenw10
                            last edited by

                            @stephenw10 BCM50991E

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                            • stephenw10S
                              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                              last edited by

                              @puffin23 said in pfSense - 2.5G port disconnects:

                              BCM50991E

                              Umm, that's a Broadcom chip.

                              What I mean here is you can buy, for example, a 4 port Intel 10G NIC for a massively wide range of prices. Some of them are 'too cheap'.

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                              • P
                                puffin23 @stephenw10
                                last edited by puffin23

                                @stephenw10 Perhaps in the future, when devices with four 10GbE will cost less, I might think about buying one.

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                                • stephenw10S
                                  stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                  last edited by

                                  I'm asking if the igc NIC you're using in pfSense was in fact suspiciously cheap?

                                  Spontaneously losing link like that could be overheating or just bad hardware.

                                  I've not seen that issue with igc NICs (yet) though and in fact I bought the cheapest one I could find and it's been fine.

                                  Steve

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                                  • P
                                    puffin23 @stephenw10
                                    last edited by puffin23

                                    @stephenw10 I really don't know, I bought a Mini PC with everything already installed.
                                    I tried a lot of O.S., not just pfSense, but still same issues.

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                                    • stephenw10S
                                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                      last edited by

                                      Ah, they are on-board NICs?

                                      Mmm, well that does sound like a hardware issue then if multiple OSes show the same thing. I would return it if you can.

                                      Steve

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                                      • P
                                        puffin23 @stephenw10
                                        last edited by

                                        @stephenw10 Yeah, right!
                                        I think I'll return it, yes.

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