10 Mbps DL (from 980 Mbps) after upgrade to Netgate 6100
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I am upgrading my internal home network to 10G-Base-T from 1000-Base-T as many of my new devices, including my new office PC support 10G-Base-T. My first purchase was a Netgate 6100 with pfSense and SFP+ module as my old Netgate device only had 1GB ports. With the exception of the Interface assignments, I replicated my new pfSense config to match my old exactly.
I have 1.5 Gbps Fibre Internet. Prior to swapping the new Netgate device in for old, I had 900+ Gbps DL and 900+ Gbps UL to my desktop. After the swap, I now have ~10 Mbps DL, but still 900+ UL to the same desktop.
I should note that my two new 10G-Base-T QNAP switches have not arrived yet, so what I have is one of the 2.5G-Base-T 6100 Ports plugged into my Internet provider's Fibre Optic modem. The LAN ports on the modem are only 1000-Base-T, unfortunately. On the LAN side, I have one of the 6100's SFP+ Ports with a 10G-Base-T module installed plugged into a 1000-Base-T unmanaged switch.
I tried three different troubleshooting scenarios to see if I could narrow down the issue. Here are the results:
PC plugged into 1000-Base-T switch:
PC plugged directly into Netgate 6100 10G-Base-T SFP+ module:
PC plugged directly into Internet Provider Fibre Optic Modem 1GB LAN Port (bypassing Netgate 6100 altogether):
Does anyone know what is going on? pfSense is having a noticeable impact on DL speeds, but little to no impact on UL speeds. And the 1000-Base-T unmanaged switch plugged into the Netgate 10G-Base-T SFP+ module causes considerable impact, but again, only to DL speeds. UL speeds are still very good.
Is there an incompatibility of some sort between a 10G-Base-T SFP+ module and a 1000-Base-T switch?
Thanks for your help.
Peter
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@plawlor Hard to say, but it could be a autonegotiation issue. Try using the ix2 and ix3 interfaces on the 6100 (rj45 ports and not SFP) to see if it’s the NICs that are causing issues. Those are a different controller than the 2.5Gbe ports.
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@plawlor said in 10 Mbps DL (from 980 Mbps) after upgrade to Netgate 6100:
Does anyone know what is going on?
Bad cable, bad switch, bad combination of the two, Auto-MDX negotiation fail,... lots of possibilities.
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Yup, try the ix2 or ix3 combo ports. Technically the 6100 does not support 10G-baseT modules. We have seen some reports of success using them but you have to be lucky.
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/solutions/netgate-6100/io-ports.html#sfp-ethernet-ports
I would not expect them to work at 1G at all.10Mbps is some low level restriction though. Check Status > Interfaces for errors/collisions and make sure the expected link speed is shown.
Steve
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@stephenw10 said in 10 Mbps DL (from 980 Mbps) after upgrade to Netgate 6100:
Yup, try the ix2 or ix3 combo ports. Technically the 6100 does not support 10G-baseT modules. We have seen some reports of success using them but you have to be lucky.
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/solutions/netgate-6100/io-ports.html#sfp-ethernet-ports
I would not expect them to work at 1G at all.10Mbps is some low level restriction though. Check Status > Interfaces for errors/collisions and make sure the expected link speed is shown.
Steve
Thanks Steve. This is helpful. I wish I had read that point about the SFP+ ports not supporting copper Ethernet modules before I purchased them... As suggested, I guess I can go with the 2.5 Gbps ports which are still faster than my Internet connection.
Here is Status-Interfaces. No collisions, but lots of interrupts and some In/Out Errors.
Also seeing some Interrupts on my WAN interface.
Is this normal?
I'm not totally wanting to give up on the 10G option yet, though. I've got some new Cat 6a patch cables coming in along with a pair of QNAP 10G-Base-T switches. Perhaps I'll try this same config with the new switch, and if it is still a problem, give up on the 10G ports and use the 2.5G ports as suggested.
Thanks for the info everyone.
Peter
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Seeing interrupts like that is expected but In/Out errors is not. You can see some errors when reconnecting cables etc and that value is cumulative until pfSense is rebooted so it may just be that. That fact that you are seeing Input errors there and not Output would be more likely to affect upload speeds given that you're using that as a LAN. What was the port connected to when that was taken?
Your switches are 10G-baseT only?
Does the switch show the link as 10G correctly?
On of the reasons baseT modules are not supported is that the NIC cannot read the link speed from the module. So whilst it shows 10G it may not be.I would absolutely try using something else as the LAN. If you get the correct speeds there it at least proves the WAN is good.
Steve
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I did as suggested and moved my LAN to igc2, one of the 2.5 Gbps ports. Here are my results:
Same cabling, same switch, so yes, my issues were related to the use of an unsupported RJ-45 SFP+ module in port ix0/1.
Bell is coming on Wednesday to upgrade my Fibe Modem from the Home Hub 3000, which only has 1000-Base-T LAN Ports to the Gigahub which has a 10G Port. Hoping the 10G Port will behave nicely with the Netgate 2.5 Gbps Port so I can get the full 1.5 Gbps of my service onto my network (once my new 10G switches and Cat 6a patch cables arrive). The house is wired with Cat 6.
Thanks for your help everyone.
Peter
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Well at least that's as expected I guess. You might try one of the ix combo ports at 1G also just to make sure that does what you expect.
Otherwise connecting at 10G using DAC cables or fiber would probably work of your switches have SFP+ ports.
Steve
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For those of you who are interested, my Cat 6a Patch cables and two new QNAP 10G switches came in today. My Bell Fibe Hub was also recently upgraded to a version with a 10G port.
I tried using the ix0 and ix1 ports again with SFP+ 10G RJ-45 modules for both my WAN (connected to the 10G Port on my Bell Fibe Hub) and LAN (connected to a SFP+ 10G RJ-45 module in my QNAP Switch). Here are the results from my desktop which has a 10G Port of its own:
So I guess I lucked out and have SFP+ RJ-45 modules that seem to work okay in the ix0 and ix1 Ports afterall.
My Internet service is 1.5 Gbps.
Peter
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@plawlor What is the make/model of the SPF+ 10G RJ45 modules?
Please and Thank You.
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@qcezwadxs said in 10 Mbps DL (from 980 Mbps) after upgrade to Netgate 6100:
@plawlor What is the make/model of the SPF+ 10G RJ45 modules?
Please and Thank You.
