Official Realtek Driver v1.95 Binary

TheNarc · Aug 7, 2018, 4:12 PM

Realtek released v1.95 of their FreeBSD driver on August 3, 2018:
Driver Page Link

I downloaded and compiled the driver in a FreeBSD 11.1 VM and successfully booted the module on my Zotac CI323 Nano running 2.4.3-RELEASE-p1. I know that at least the updated version of this machine, the CI327 Nano, uses the same driver. I don't know what has changed in v1.94 relative to v1.95, because I was unable to locate any change log or release notes from Realtek. So update at your own risk. I'll be sure to post back if I run into any troubles myself.

Link to compiled v1.95 driver:
if_re_ko_v195.zip

If you're already running the v1.94 driver, all you need to do is extract this ZIP file, change ownership and permissions on the if_re.ko file within:
chown root:wheel if_re.ko
chmod 0555 if_re.ko
Then copy it to /boot/kernel/
cp if_re.ko /boot/kernel/
Then reboot.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to back up the if_re.ko you have before replacing it:
cp /boot/kernel/if_re.ko /boot/kernel/if_re_ko.bak

If you weren't already using Realtek's official driver, you also need to add the line:
if_re_load="YES"
to /boot/loader.conf.local.

To verify that the driver is loaded, execute:
kldstat | grep if

The output should show if_re.

EDIT: I updated the if_re_ko_v195.zip file today (8/7/18). The original was uploaded on 8/6/18 and I had tested it and verified that it was working for me. However, I had built it with my existing pfSense 2.4 source, and I thought it would be prudent to grab the latest. So I cloned branch RELENG_2_4 of FreeBSD-src (https://github.com/pfsense/FreeBSD-src.git) and re-built against that. The resulting binary was different (as checked using shasums), so I'm updating the file here. I am currently running with this binary and know that it works.

stephenw10 · Aug 6, 2018, 9:14 PM

I assume that's 64bit?

Probably quite a few 32bit users running re NICs still.

Steve

TheNarc · Aug 6, 2018, 9:27 PM

@stephenw10 I knew I'd forget some critical detail . . . yes that's 64-bit. If I get a chance I'll grab a 32-bit ~~11.1~~ 10.3 VM and compile under it against the 2.3.5 sources as well.

TheNarc · Aug 7, 2018, 4:23 PM

@stephenw10 I've made what I consider to be a valiant effort to compile a 32-bit version of this module, but with no luck so far. I started by cloning the RELENG_2_3 label of FreeBSD-src (https://github.com/pfsense/FreeBSD-src.git) and can build the 64-bit module. But when I try to build 32-bit, I receive a bunch of errors:
🔒 Log in to view

I've also tried to build using gcc (FreeBSD Ports version 6.4.0) instead of clang and receive the error:
🔒 Log in to view

Now, I was attempting to cross-compile from a FreeBSD 11.1 64-bit environment, which I thought should be possible, but maybe not. I'll still try to grab a 10.3 32-bit VM soon and see whether it's happier then . . .

TheNarc · Aug 7, 2018, 5:08 PM

@stephenw10 Got it; a 32-bit 10.3 VM worked. So the following was built against the RELENG_2_3 branch of https://github.com/pfsense/FreeBSD-src.git:

32-bit Realtek v1.95 Driver: if_re__ko_v195_32bit.zip

Please note that I do not have a 32-bit pfSense 2.3.5 system with which to test, so this module has not been tested by me.

wogman · Aug 13, 2018, 9:00 AM

@thenarc Working fine in my CI323, thanks for compiling this for us.

TheNarc · Aug 13, 2018, 2:04 PM

@wogman Glad to hear it! And no problem. I'll try to get one out ASAP once 2.4.4 is released also. In theory I believe I could do it in advance now by compiling against the official FreeBSD 11.2 kernel source, but I figure it's best to wait and compile against the pfSense 2.4.4 kernel source once it's finalized.

coreyinoz · Aug 25, 2018, 6:08 PM

Thanks OP! I periodically check to see if Realtek has made any updates and was super pleased to see a binary already built.

CI 325 Nano user here. Did the update this morning, and all appears to be working well. Ran a handful of speedtests trying to stress things out a bit, so far so good. Will report back later if anything changes.

gregeeh · Sep 22, 2018, 4:33 AM

I have tried to compile the Realtek Driver version 1.95 following these instructions:

https://gist.github.com/jovimon/524e116471f249626fd2ccd141f3fe05

just changing the commands from 1.94 to those of 1.95.

However the size of my if_re_ko is slightly different to yours at 524584 bytes.

I did get the following messages after the make command, so I may have an issue:

https://vgy.me/Rp2XxO.jpg

Any help appreciated.

TIA

Greg

TheNarc · Sep 22, 2018, 7:26 PM

It's certainly possible that you might not get a bitwise identical binary if the compiler version and/or kernel sources were at all different. But that doesn't mean it's invalid either. Is there a reason you don't want to use the compiled 1.95 binaries already available? I'll be building one for 2.4.4 as well; I've just been holding off for the official release.

gregeeh · Sep 22, 2018, 9:36 PM

@thenarc said in Official Realtek Driver v1.95 Binary:

Is there a reason you don't want to use the compiled 1.95 binaries already available?

No not really, I just thought I would try and do it myself, I suppose just as practice/learning experience. Silly when you think about it I suppose.

What I do not understand is must the drivers be re-compiled for each version of pfSense or FreeBSD, or is it just best practice? Presently I have 1.94 drivers installed on the current stable release of pfSense (2.4.3-RELEASE-p1), so do they stop working, or cause issues, once I upgrade?

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Greg

Edit: I'm assuming the messages after the make command were normal?

TheNarc · Sep 24, 2018, 1:09 AM

Nothing wrong with wanting to do it yourself. And I don't think that warning is anything to worry about. It was output before the compilation (the line beginning with "cc") even began. I believe that technically a re-compilation should only be necessary on major release changes of FreeBSD, which going from pfSense 2.4.3 to 2.4.4 will be (it's going from 10 to 11). So a re-compilation will be necessary for 2.4.4.

Grimson · Sep 24, 2018, 1:17 AM

@thenarc said in Official Realtek Driver v1.95 Binary:

I believe that technically a re-compilation should only be necessary on major release changes of FreeBSD, which going from pfSense 2.4.3 to 2.4.4 will be (it's going from 10 to 11).

No it's going from 11.1 to 11.2.

gregeeh · Sep 24, 2018, 1:17 AM

@thenarc said in Official Realtek Driver v1.95 Binary:

I believe that technically a re-compilation should only be necessary on major release changes of FreeBSD, which going from pfSense 2.4.3 to 2.4.4 will be (it's going from 10 to 11). So a re-compilation will be necessary for 2.4.4.

So which comes first, upgrade from 2.4.3 to 2.4.4 and then re-compile and install. Or, re-compile and install and then upgrade from 2.4.3 to 2.4.4. Or does it not matter.

Sorry for all the dumb questions, just trying to understand.

gregeeh · Sep 24, 2018, 1:20 AM

@grimson said in Official Realtek Driver v1.95 Binary:

@thenarc said in Official Realtek Driver v1.95 Binary:

I believe that technically a re-compilation should only be necessary on major release changes of FreeBSD, which going from pfSense 2.4.3 to 2.4.4 will be (it's going from 10 to 11).

No it's going from 11.1 to 11.2.

It's going from 11.1-RELEASE-p10 to 11.2-RELEASE-p11.

TheNarc · Sep 24, 2018, 1:20 AM

No problem. It shouldn't really matter, it's just that if you have the driver compiled for 2.4.4 and are running 2.4.3, it will fail to load and will use the built-in driver. Likewise, if you have the driver compiled for 2.4.3 and are running 2.4.4, it will also fail and use the built-in driver. But no catastrophic failure will occur.

TheNarc · Sep 24, 2018, 1:22 AM

@gregeeh Thanks @Grimson, I should have checked. So in that case, possibly the driver will still work in 2.4.4. I think it's probably still best practice to re-compile, and I plan to. But I'm not familiar enough with FreeBSD development to be sure.

gregeeh · Sep 24, 2018, 1:22 AM

@thenarc said in Official Realtek Driver v1.95 Binary:

No problem. It shouldn't really matter, it's just that if you have the driver compiled for 2.4.4 and are running 2.4.3, it will fail to load and will use the built-in driver. Likewise, if you have the driver compiled for 2.4.3 and are running 2.4.4, it will also fail and use the built-in driver. But no catastrophic failure will occur.

Great, thanks for clearing that up.

Grimson · Sep 24, 2018, 12:37 PM

@gregeeh said in Official Realtek Driver v1.95 Binary:

It's going from 11.1-RELEASE-p10 to 11.2-RELEASE-p11.

Nope. 11.2 is at p3 currently, p11 doesn't even exist yet for 11.2.

breakaway · Oct 18, 2018, 9:51 AM

Hi TheNarc - Did you manage to compile v1.95 driver for pfSense 2.4.4 yet?