XG-7100 1U ix0 Sfp+ not working

[Admin2019]

Hi @all,

i have a problem to activate the 10gbe fiber port (ix0&ix1) with a ftlx1471d3bcl Finisar SFP.
The Transreciver should be compatible.
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/solutions/xg-7100/io-ports.html
The Pfsense version is 2.4.4-Release-p3.

The problem is, that there is no connection or even any activity on this port.
Output ifconfig:
ix0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> metric 0 mtu 1500 options=e400bb<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,VLAN_MTU,VLAN_HWTAGGING,JUMBO_MTU,VLAN_HWCSUM,VLAN_HWTSO,RXCSUM_IPV6,TXCSUM_IPV6>
ether 00:08:a2:0d:61:f7
hwaddr 00:08:a2:0d:61:f7
inet6 fd80::208:a2ff:feed:61d9%ix0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1
inet 192.168.155.1 netmask 0xffffffff broadcast 192.168.155.1
nd6 options=21<PERFORMNUD,AUTO_LINKLOCAL>
media: Ethernet autoselect
status: no carrier

I tested the Sfp on a different Switch and it works fine.
And, after connect to the netgate, i executed:
ifconfig ixX down ; ifconfig ixX up
ifconfig ixX media autoselect

But anything without effect.
Has anybody a idea?

Thanks!

Toni

[stephenw10]

Try running ifconfig -vvvm ix0 does it 'see' the module at all?

Steve

[Admin2019]

Hi Steve,

thanks for answer.

But i get the same output llike before.
ix0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> metric 0 mtu 1500
options=e500bb<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,VLAN_MTU,VLAN_HWTAGGING,JUMBO_MTU,VLAN_HWCSUM,VLAN_HWFILTER,VLAN_HWTSO,RXCSUM_IPV6,TXCSUM_IPV6>
capabilities=f507bb<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,VLAN_MTU,VLAN_HWTAGGING,JUMBO_MTU,VLAN_HWCSUM,TSO4,TSO6,LRO,VLAN_HWFILTER,VLAN_HWTSO,NETMAP,RXCSUM_IPV6,TXCSUM_IPV6>
ether 00:08:a2:0d:61:f7
hwaddr 00:08:a2:0d:61:f7
nd6 options=21<PERFORMNUD,AUTO_LINKLOCAL>
media: Ethernet autoselect
status: no carrier
supported media:
media autoselect

Also a restart doesn't change the status.
Any other ideas?

Thanks, Toni

[stephenw10]

Hmm well assuming it's in ix0 it looks like it doesn't see the module at all. It shows the same thing in both ports I assume?

Steve

[Admin2019]

Yes, same behavior on both ports.
Maybe there is a driver problem.
Can i update the Intel x553 - driver manually? Or it's the driver a part of pfsense?
Currently is installed "Intel(R) PRO/10GbE PCI-Express Network Driver, Version - 3.2.12-k" and newer driver are avilable for FreeBSD.
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/14688/Intel-Network-Adapters-Driver-for-PCIe-10-Gigabit-Network-Connections-Under-FreeBSD-

Thanks, Toni

[stephenw10]

Not easily, no. You could try upgrading to a 2.5 snapshot which has the FreeBSD 12 drivers. You would need to re-install to get back to 2.4.4 though, there is no downgrade path.

Are there no error shown in the system log or at the console when you connect those modules? Or maybe when you boot with them already installed? I expect to see a 'module not supported' message there rather than just seeing nothing detected.

Just using different modules is probably going to be the easiest solution here though.

Steve

[Admin2019]

No, i dont see anything in the system log (/var/log/system.log) when i plug/unplug the SFP or when i set the interface down/up.
I also tested with a different SFP (same model) but it makes no difference.
Is there a other location with log files?

Thank you
Toni

[stephenw10]

The only other place I would check would be the boot log, /var/log/dmesg.boot.

But what I would expect there is a message about the module being unsupported and the driver refusing to attach to the port. That means the port is not recognised at all and ifconfig would only show 3 ix ports instead of the expected 4.

If that is the case you can try forcing it to accept those modules:
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/install/upgrading-older-versions-2.2.html#intel-10gbit-s-ixgbe-ix-users-with-unsupported-sfp-modules

However I'm not sure I've ever seen that work in the XG-7100. It looks like those modules are just not compatible.

Steve