Updated Realtek NIC drivers missing in PfSense 2.6.0

ITWorxNZ

@stephenw10 Okay. Last question, I promise.
Our previous PFSense box has Intel NICs, but we were getting watchdog timeouts on it. Is there an update to the Intel drivers that are as easy to install as the Realtek ones?

stephenw10

No but the Intel NICs do not hang in the same way when seeing errors like that. You can't really compare the two states.

Gradius

This post is deleted!

Gradius

@tgdsilva FYI, 198 is out:
pkg add https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/latest/All/realtek-re-kmod-198.00.pkg

RK0

@gradius Thank you! Good addition to this post string!
...if any people has experience with 198 in a production environment, it would be good to hear from them...

DominikHoffmann

@rk0: Your post raises the following questions:

What specific edits do I have to make to loader.conf.local?
What directory is it in?
Does loader.conf.local supersede loader.conf?
If so, am I correct in assuming that loader.conf remains unchanged?

I realized just now that Question 1 & 2 are answered in @RK0’s [post from Nov. 28, 2022] (https://forum.netgate.com/post/1072717) and @stephenw10’s post from the same day.

RK0

@dominikhoffmann it should be the same entries I outlined in this same post string on Nov 28, 2022, 7:16 AM

I did load nano as the editor, just because it is easier.

Putting the entries in /boot/loader.conf.local should just have that file persist if you update PFSense.

You won't have those entries in /boot/loader.conf, unless you already modified it yourself.

Also, when you install the package, it should flash up on the screen the entries it wants you to make, with the difference being it will tell you to put them in /boot/loader.conf vs /boot/loader.conf.local. I just do it in the /boot/loader.conf.local so it will be persistent.

stephenw10

@dominikhoffmann said in Updated Realtek NIC drivers missing in PfSense 2.6.0:

Does loader.conf.local supersede loader.conf?
If so, am I correct in assuming that loader.conf remains unchanged?

Yes and yes.

But, as said, mainly you use the .local file because it will survive pfSense updates/changes that may otherwise re-write the main loader.conf file.

Steve

DominikHoffmann

@rk0 said in Updated Realtek NIC drivers missing in PfSense 2.6.0:

I then issued the commands to download the revised Realtek drivers from freebsd
fetch -v https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/latest/All/realtek-re-kmod-197.00.pkg
pkg install -f -y realtek-re-kmod-197.00.pkg

Because my Protectli PC with two Realtek NICs had difficulty with one of them, I had trouble controlling it via the WebConfigurator or ssh on the LAN port, while there was an active internet connection. I managed to copy the PKG file over to the Protectli via a USB thumb drive. But then the

pkg install -f -y realtek-re-kmod-198.00.pkg

command did not work, because there was no active internet connection. A bit of a chicken-and-egg problem.

I think, I’ll wait for the next major version beyond 2.6.0 and hope that the drivers will be included.

By the way the 197 drivers are no longer at pkg.freebsd.org, although the 198 drivers are.

Gradius

@dominikhoffmann just use "pkg add" instead

RK0

@stephenw10 is there any chance the Realtek 198 drivers will be natively integrated into the next public release of PfSense?

Or...is this impossible since PFSense will probably move to FreeBSD 14.x? Looking at https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/latest/All/ I get a "forbidden" message, unfortunately.

stephenw10

The kmod pkg is in our repo for pfSense 2.7 and 23.01 so installing it there is much easier.

It's unlikely they will be used instead of the native driver by default though. At least not any time soon.

Steve

RK0

@stephenw10 any word on what that native realtek ethernet package driver version would be for FreeBSD 14? I ask because the previous realtek ethernet native driver version in FreeBSD 12.x (and PfSense) was problematic with the native realtek driver at the time, while the 197 and 198 driver seems to run well.

this site implies 198 exists for FreeBSD 14, but doesn't explicitly say it will be the native driver, and I can't say its in any way authoritative.
https://www.freshports.org/net/realtek-re-kmod/

stephenw10

It does. Freshports is pretty accurate, I don't think I've seen it wrong.

The native FreeBSD driver doesn't use the same numbering scheme as Realteks driver:
https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/main/sys/dev/re/if_re.c

DominikHoffmann

@stephenw10: Can you comment on when those versions will be out?

stephenw10

23.01 should be out very soon, there were some last minute hardware issues to resolve before a public RC.
2.7 doesn't have a target date.

Steve

RK0

I went ahead and installed the 198 drivers. No errors, no issues with about 30 hours of operation going on so far on my dual NIC M90n

JimBob Indiana

I just tried a Realtek based 2.5gb NIC. I swear I followed the steps. Did not work. I have a Realtek 1gb builtin NIC in the PC. It was found by the updated driver. I was trying out of curiosity’s sake so not critical. Went back to my Intel i-225 NIC and am good to go again…..

stephenw10

If the driver is installed and loading at boot correctly it will be reported clearly as such in the boot log for each NIC:

re0: version:1.97.00

JimBob Indiana

@stephenw10

I don’t see that, or anything like it, in system log. Where is the log for the NIC’s?