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    NIC swap help

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    • stephenw10S
      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
      last edited by

      What hardware is your pfSense box?

      Is the WAN DHCP or PPPoE?

      Steve

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      • DaddyGoD
        DaddyGo
        last edited by

        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?

        Cats bury it so they can't see it!
        (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

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        • johnpozJ
          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
          last edited by johnpoz

          @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.

          An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
          If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
          Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
          SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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          • S
            SteveITS Galactic Empire @DaddyGo
            last edited by

            @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.

            Pre-2.7.2/23.09: Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
            When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to restart, or more depending on packages and device speed.
            Upvote ๐Ÿ‘ helpful posts!

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            • T
              techpro2004
              last edited by

              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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              • johnpozJ
                johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                last edited by

                @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..

                An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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                • DaddyGoD
                  DaddyGo
                  last edited by

                  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/

                  Cats bury it so they can't see it!
                  (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

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                  • T
                    techpro2004
                    last edited by

                    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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                    • S
                      SteveITS Galactic Empire
                      last edited by

                      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).

                      Pre-2.7.2/23.09: Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
                      When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to restart, or more depending on packages and device speed.
                      Upvote ๐Ÿ‘ helpful posts!

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                      • johnpozJ
                        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                        last edited by

                        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..

                        An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                        If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                        Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                        SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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                        • stephenw10S
                          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                          last edited by

                          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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                          • T
                            techpro2004
                            last edited by

                            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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                            • DaddyGoD
                              DaddyGo
                              last edited by

                              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.

                              Cats bury it so they can't see it!
                              (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

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