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    pfSense - 2.5G port disconnects

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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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