NIC swap help
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Then I must have really bad luck with nics as I find the intel 1g models usually last about 1 year, realtek a few months based off experience. The 10g nics last longer when used with a 1g network. Plugged directly pc to modem I get 350-400 if i involve pfsense it drops to 150-250 range. And absolutely nics slow down and then they fail completely. I cant begin to tell you the number of computers that I have extended the life on by using a pcie nic from the start. that way I just swap a pcie card instead of a motherboard. I believe nics are designed as the most fragile part of a pc so they fail and they fail often so people buy new computers.
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@techpro2004 said in NIC swap help:
they fail and they fail often so people buy new computers.
No dude no... I have a dual port intel nic in one of my old nas, that is prob 7 years old works just fine full gig..
I have a dual port shit realtek nic currently in my pc that is got to be 3 years, working just the same as it did day one..
I am not saying nics don't fail - but over the 20+ years working with network cards.. Have never seen such a thing.. When they fail, they fail - have never seen such thing where they "slow down" Back 12 years ago or so, maintained 3 different locations with 100's of servers, and 1000's of PCs never seen such a thing.. Back then they were not all gig, but many of them were for sure.. Don't recall even once a user complaining that their network was slow - that turned out to be a bad nic.. Now had plenty of times where users said network didn't work - and sure the nic had failed.
I find it hard to believe that your nic is failing where it is the cause of your slow down to 240mbps vs 400.. It is way more likely something else is going on.. But hey if you want to swap out the nic for new one - more power too you..
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Well that's the thing about computers 2 people can have 2 completely different experiences with the same hardware. I also booted up my pfsense system into ubuntu and had the same result so I know it is not a configuration issue in pfsense. Also I find the same nic lasts longer in linux and freebsd then it does in windows. I truly believe these nics fail on purpose in partnership with microsoft just so people have to buy new computers.
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Mmm, I'm with @johnpoz on this. I've never seen a NIC 'slow down' as you're describing. Sure I have seen them fail but not on a schedule like that. I have numerous systems at least 5 years old that still pass gigabit traffic as good as the day I forst got them (when they had already seen thousands of hours
).Anyway, yes, I also would not expect replacing the NIC to help here. Try to run a test from pfSense directly. Try to determine if the throttling is on the WAN or LAN side of pfSense.
Steve
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@techpro2004 said in NIC swap help:
I also booted up my pfsense system into ubuntu and had the same result so I know it is not a configuration issue in pfsense
So your saying when you booted your router machine, connected to your modem - it sees the same 240 vs 400?
So how do you know your isp is not to blame?
A valid test would be to connect something to your isp device - does it see 400?
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@stephenw10 said in NIC swap help:
I'm with @johnpoz on this. I've never seen a NIC 'slow down' as you're describing.
+1, in my 30 years experience with thousands of client computers. My first thought is this seems more likely to be a patch cable (if moved a lot, can flex the wires which can break them and cause errors), or possibly a switch, if you've used the same switch the entire time.
Can an OS install a bad driver for a NIC? Sure, but that doesn't generally happen in a time period, and I would think drivers would tend to get better over time.
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When I booted into ubuntu, I saw the same speed as in pfsense
I have tested directly from pfsense using the py37-speedtest-cli-2.1.1 package
I have connected my modem directly to an i7 laptop (hardwired) and the speed is much higher.
I have a few 8 port switches, however I also have tested from a system plugged directly into my 12 port pfsense box with similar results.
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What hardware is your pfSense box?
Is the WAN DHCP or PPPoE?
Steve
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Specifics are needed to identify the error and enable to go further to localize it.
No, I don't think that the patch cable will decrease the bandwidth.
The whole world of informatics would be in trouble, if we exchanged NICs in every 1 - 2 years.
Although we've seen a crow on the picket.This forum is there to help each other, but we need specific professional information to help.
Can you give as a detailed test method?
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@DaddyGo said in NIC swap help:
The whole world of informatics would be in trouble, if we exchanged NICs in every 1 - 2 years.
Exactly!!! But you know MS is clearly in cahoots with the nic and computer makers to make sure they fail every year or so ;) And not just fail, where they are just bad - fail in such a manner where they get "slower"... But still function.
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@DaddyGo said in NIC swap help:
I don't think that the patch cable will decrease the bandwidth.
Not by itself, no, my thought was if it was generating enough errors to cause delays, and moving it to replace the NIC changed that. I was grasping at straws.
My favorite patch cable story was a new client brought us in to diagnose network problems another IT company couldn't. I walked in, looked down at the crushed patch cable running under the plastic chair mat, noticed I could see the spread apart individual wires (across about an inch, I think), and told them I'd found the issue. -
Currently it is a xeon dell t30 with 3 x of these nics here (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P0NX3G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) I am replacing the nics with the ones here (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H6NE4X2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1).
My wan is set up with dhcp
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@teamits said in NIC swap help:
noticed I could see the spread apart individual wires
Layer 1 is often overlooked because it normally doesn't fail... But yeah it does happen for sure..
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Patch cable hmmmmm..., well in this case the total bandwidth is lost, in the case discussed here, there is only a loss, but a significant one.
Edification: plastic chair mat and patch cables are not friends.
That's one of the rules of thumb for Layer 1.Intel 350 is a good choice, why have you used 12 ports (3x4 Intel NIC / is it part of a collection?) so far?
Another issue is that this is an OEM card....? (from Amazon)It is definitely worth paying attention to such things: https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/comparison-intel-i350-t4-genuine-vs-fake.6917/
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I just swapped the nics and now I am getting 395 down. I guess the proof is in the pudding. FYI: on first boot it said my old nics were absent and it asked me to reassign them lan vs wan vs opt. It did however remember the ip address I assigned to each nic. so I guess 50% is not too bad.
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If it works it's hard to argue, it just doesn't make a lot of sense, especially if it is a recurring issue.
Brainstorming further, if there was voltage on the wire (e.g. copper run between buildings), I would think the card would be more likely to burn out not get slower over time. Plus that would be one NIC and it sounds like you have run into this in multiple computers.
pfSense assigns IPs to the interface (WAN), and the interface is assigned to a network port (em0).
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Well then should be able to take this card, but it in a different machine and only see the 240mbps rate than... Since this card has aged and now can not run as fast it was designed too... Is what he is saying is happening.
And not just this card - all cards do this while running windows... But here is the thing, guess they are cahoots with the makers of freebsd to slow down nics over time... Or maybe its just the nic makers wanting users to buy new nics..
I have no idea what the root of the issue was - but its not freaking that nics slow down over time... Sorry its just not, I don't care what he says is happening... I have too many years working with multiple oses, multiple nics, all kinds of hardware both pc based, server based... Going back to dos and windows 3.11 days - before there was even tcp networks... Never in all my years ever seen such a thing... If it was a thing it would be all over the internet - users complaining that they have to swap out their PC every year, or nic because it "slows" down - which we all know is just not the case..
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Mmm, were the old ports em and the new igb? You would always have to re-assign them in that case.
Steve
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The old ones were em and the new ones igb. I ended up returning those nics and buying directly from netgate. One of the amazon nics would show up in pfsense but would not pass any data. Save yourselves the time and hassle of buying cheap knockoffs and just go for the good stuff even though it may cost more. The one thing I am surprised at is the netgate nics are tiny. For $200 each I thought they would at least be a decent size. They are less than half the length of my old pro/1000 nics. Also maybe offer them with the full size bracket pre installed so users don't have to swap them. Just wondering, are the netgate nics based off the i350-t4 or i350-t4v2. Thanks.
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Now in this case it is not the "size" that matters :-)
The size of the PCB depends on the component density of the cards and the ideas of the engineers designing the circuit.
The front of the cards is most often interchangeable with a full-size and half-size adapter plate.
Hmmm, if I remember correctly we have already talked about the right source of purchase above.
Amazon is not a typical quality hardware retailer site.
I'm glad you resolved the issue without community help.
