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+Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/1000 Family of Adapters
+===============================================================
+
+November 17, 2004
+
+
+Contents
+========
+
+- In This Release
+- Identifying Your Adapter
+- Command Line Parameters
+- Speed and Duplex Configuration
+- Additional Configurations
+- Known Issues
+- Support
+
+
+In This Release
+===============
+
+This file describes the Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/1000 Family
+of Adapters, version 5.x.x.
+
+For questions related to hardware requirements, refer to the documentation
+supplied with your Intel PRO/1000 adapter. All hardware requirements listed
+apply to use with Linux.
+
+Native VLANs are now available with supported kernels.
+
+Identifying Your Adapter
+========================
+
+For more information on how to identify your adapter, go to the Adapter &
+Driver ID Guide at:
+
+ http://support.intel.com/support/network/adapter/pro100/21397.htm
+
+For the latest Intel network drivers for Linux, refer to the following
+website. In the search field, enter your adapter name or type, or use the
+networking link on the left to search for your adapter:
+
+ http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df/support_intel.asp
+
+Command Line Parameters
+=======================
+
+If the driver is built as a module, the following optional parameters are
+used by entering them on the command line with the modprobe or insmod command
+using this syntax:
+
+ modprobe e1000 [<option>=<VAL1>,<VAL2>,...]
+
+ insmod e1000 [<option>=<VAL1>,<VAL2>,...]
+
+For example, with two PRO/1000 PCI adapters, entering:
+
+ insmod e1000 TxDescriptors=80,128
+
+loads the e1000 driver with 80 TX descriptors for the first adapter and 128 TX
+descriptors for the second adapter.
+
+The default value for each parameter is generally the recommended setting,
+unless otherwise noted. Also, if the driver is statically built into the
+kernel, the driver is loaded with the default values for all the parameters.
+Ethtool can be used to change some of the parameters at runtime.
+
+ NOTES: For more information about the AutoNeg, Duplex, and Speed
+ parameters, see the "Speed and Duplex Configuration" section in
+ this document.
+
+ For more information about the InterruptThrottleRate, RxIntDelay,
+ TxIntDelay, RxAbsIntDelay, and TxAbsIntDelay parameters, see the
+ application note at:
+ http://www.intel.com/design/network/applnots/ap450.htm
+
+ A descriptor describes a data buffer and attributes related to the
+ data buffer. This information is accessed by the hardware.
+
+AutoNeg (adapters using copper connections only)
+Valid Range: 0x01-0x0F, 0x20-0x2F
+Default Value: 0x2F
+ This parameter is a bit mask that specifies which speed and duplex
+ settings the board advertises. When this parameter is used, the Speed and
+ Duplex parameters must not be specified.
+ NOTE: Refer to the Speed and Duplex section of this readme for more
+ information on the AutoNeg parameter.
+
+Duplex (adapters using copper connections only)
+Valid Range: 0-2 (0=auto-negotiate, 1=half, 2=full)
+Default Value: 0
+ Defines the direction in which data is allowed to flow. Can be either one
+ or two-directional. If both Duplex and the link partner are set to auto-
+ negotiate, the board auto-detects the correct duplex. If the link partner
+ is forced (either full or half), Duplex defaults to half-duplex.
+
+FlowControl
+Valid Range: 0-3 (0=none, 1=Rx only, 2=Tx only, 3=Rx&Tx)
+Default: Read flow control settings from the EEPROM
+ This parameter controls the automatic generation(Tx) and response(Rx) to
+ Ethernet PAUSE frames.
+
+InterruptThrottleRate
+Valid Range: 100-100000 (0=off, 1=dynamic)
+Default Value: 8000
+ This value represents the maximum number of interrupts per second the
+ controller generates. InterruptThrottleRate is another setting used in
+ interrupt moderation. Dynamic mode uses a heuristic algorithm to adjust
+ InterruptThrottleRate based on the current traffic load.
+Un-supported Adapters: InterruptThrottleRate is NOT supported by 82542, 82543
+ or 82544-based adapters.
+
+ NOTE: InterruptThrottleRate takes precedence over the TxAbsIntDelay and
+ RxAbsIntDelay parameters. In other words, minimizing the receive
+ and/or transmit absolute delays does not force the controller to
+ generate more interrupts than what the Interrupt Throttle Rate
+ allows.
+ CAUTION: If you are using the Intel PRO/1000 CT Network Connection
+ (controller 82547), setting InterruptThrottleRate to a value
+ greater than 75,000, may hang (stop transmitting) adapters under
+ certain network conditions. If this occurs a NETDEV WATCHDOG
+ message is logged in the system event log. In addition, the
+ controller is automatically reset, restoring the network
+ connection. To eliminate the potential for the hang, ensure
+ that InterruptThrottleRate is set no greater than 75,000 and is
+ not set to 0.
+ NOTE: When e1000 is loaded with default settings and multiple adapters are
+ in use simultaneously, the CPU utilization may increase non-linearly.
+ In order to limit the CPU utilization without impacting the overall
+ throughput, we recommend that you load the driver as follows:
+
+ insmod e1000.o InterruptThrottleRate=3000,3000,3000
+
+ This sets the InterruptThrottleRate to 3000 interrupts/sec for the
+ first, second, and third instances of the driver. The range of 2000 to
+ 3000 interrupts per second works on a majority of systems and is a
+ good starting point, but the optimal value will be platform-specific.
+ If CPU utilization is not a concern, use RX_POLLING (NAPI) and default
+ driver settings.
+
+RxDescriptors
+Valid Range: 80-256 for 82542 and 82543-based adapters
+ 80-4096 for all other supported adapters
+Default Value: 256
+ This value is the number of receive descriptors allocated by the driver.
+ Increasing this value allows the driver to buffer more incoming packets.
+ Each descriptor is 16 bytes. A receive buffer is allocated for each
+ descriptor and can either be 2048 or 4096 bytes long, depending on the MTU
+
+ setting. An incoming packet can span one or more receive descriptors.
+ The maximum MTU size is 16110.
+
+ NOTE: MTU designates the frame size. It only needs to be set for Jumbo
+ Frames.
+ NOTE: Depending on the available system resources, the request for a
+ higher number of receive descriptors may be denied. In this case,
+ use a lower number.
+
+RxIntDelay
+Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off)
+Default Value: 0
+ This value delays the generation of receive interrupts in units of 1.024
+ microseconds. Receive interrupt reduction can improve CPU efficiency if
+ properly tuned for specific network traffic. Increasing this value adds
+ extra latency to frame reception and can end up decreasing the throughput
+ of TCP traffic. If the system is reporting dropped receives, this value
+ may be set too high, causing the driver to run out of available receive
+ descriptors.
+
+ CAUTION: When setting RxIntDelay to a value other than 0, adapters may
+ hang (stop transmitting) under certain network conditions. If
+ this occurs a NETDEV WATCHDOG message is logged in the system
+ event log. In addition, the controller is automatically reset,
+ restoring the network connection. To eliminate the potential for
+ the hang ensure that RxIntDelay is set to 0.
+
+RxAbsIntDelay (82540, 82545 and later adapters only)
+Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off)
+Default Value: 128
+ This value, in units of 1.024 microseconds, limits the delay in which a
+ receive interrupt is generated. Useful only if RxIntDelay is non-zero,
+ this value ensures that an interrupt is generated after the initial
+ packet is received within the set amount of time. Proper tuning,
+ along with RxIntDelay, may improve traffic throughput in specific network
+ conditions.
+
+Speed (adapters using copper connections only)
+Valid Settings: 0, 10, 100, 1000
+Default Value: 0 (auto-negotiate at all supported speeds)
+ Speed forces the line speed to the specified value in megabits per second
+ (Mbps). If this parameter is not specified or is set to 0 and the link
+ partner is set to auto-negotiate, the board will auto-detect the correct
+ speed. Duplex should also be set when Speed is set to either 10 or 100.
+
+TxDescriptors
+Valid Range: 80-256 for 82542 and 82543-based adapters
+ 80-4096 for all other supported adapters
+Default Value: 256
+ This value is the number of transmit descriptors allocated by the driver.
+ Increasing this value allows the driver to queue more transmits. Each
+ descriptor is 16 bytes.
+
+ NOTE: Depending on the available system resources, the request for a
+ higher number of transmit descriptors may be denied. In this case,
+ use a lower number.
+
+TxIntDelay
+Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off)
+Default Value: 64
+ This value delays the generation of transmit interrupts in units of
+ 1.024 microseconds. Transmit interrupt reduction can improve CPU
+ efficiency if properly tuned for specific network traffic. If the
+ system is reporting dropped transmits, this value may be set too high
+ causing the driver to run out of available transmit descriptors.
+
+TxAbsIntDelay (82540, 82545 and later adapters only)
+Valid Range: 0-65535 (0=off)
+Default Value: 64
+ This value, in units of 1.024 microseconds, limits the delay in which a
+ transmit interrupt is generated. Useful only if TxIntDelay is non-zero,
+ this value ensures that an interrupt is generated after the initial
+ packet is sent on the wire within the set amount of time. Proper tuning,
+ along with TxIntDelay, may improve traffic throughput in specific
+ network conditions.
+
+XsumRX (not available on the 82542-based adapter)
+Valid Range: 0-1
+Default Value: 1
+ A value of '1' indicates that the driver should enable IP checksum
+ offload for received packets (both UDP and TCP) to the adapter hardware.
+
+Speed and Duplex Configuration
+==============================
+
+Three keywords are used to control the speed and duplex configuration. These
+keywords are Speed, Duplex, and AutoNeg.
+
+If the board uses a fiber interface, these keywords are ignored, and the
+fiber interface board only links at 1000 Mbps full-duplex.
+
+For copper-based boards, the keywords interact as follows:
+
+ The default operation is auto-negotiate. The board advertises all supported
+ speed and duplex combinations, and it links at the highest common speed and
+ duplex mode IF the link partner is set to auto-negotiate.
+
+ If Speed = 1000, limited auto-negotiation is enabled and only 1000 Mbps is
+ advertised (The 1000BaseT spec requires auto-negotiation.)
+
+ If Speed = 10 or 100, then both Speed and Duplex should be set. Auto-
+ negotiation is disabled, and the AutoNeg parameter is ignored. Partner SHOULD
+ also be forced.
+
+The AutoNeg parameter is used when more control is required over the auto-
+negotiation process. When this parameter is used, Speed and Duplex parameters
+must not be specified. The following table describes supported values for the
+AutoNeg parameter:
+
+Speed (Mbps) 1000 100 100 10 10
+Duplex Full Full Half Full Half
+Value (in base 16) 0x20 0x08 0x04 0x02 0x01
+
+Example: insmod e1000 AutoNeg=0x03, loads e1000 and specifies (10 full duplex,
+10 half duplex) for negotiation with the peer.
+
+Note that setting AutoNeg does not guarantee that the board will link at the
+highest specified speed or duplex mode, but the board will link at the
+highest possible speed/duplex of the link partner IF the link partner is also
+set to auto-negotiate. If the link partner is forced speed/duplex, the
+adapter MUST be forced to the same speed/duplex.
+
+
+Additional Configurations
+=========================
+
+ Configuring the Driver on Different Distributions
+ -------------------------------------------------
+
+ Configuring a network driver to load properly when the system is started is
+ distribution dependent. Typically, the configuration process involves adding
+ an alias line to /etc/modules.conf as well as editing other system startup
+ scripts and/or configuration files. Many popular Linux distributions ship
+ with tools to make these changes for you. To learn the proper way to
+ configure a network device for your system, refer to your distribution
+ documentation. If during this process you are asked for the driver or module
+ name, the name for the Linux Base Driver for the Intel PRO/1000 Family of
+ Adapters is e1000.
+
+ As an example, if you install the e1000 driver for two PRO/1000 adapters
+ (eth0 and eth1) and set the speed and duplex to 10full and 100half, add the
+ following to modules.conf:
+
+ alias eth0 e1000
+ alias eth1 e1000
+ options e1000 Speed=10,100 Duplex=2,1
+
+ Viewing Link Messages
+ ---------------------
+
+ Link messages will not be displayed to the console if the distribution is
+ restricting system messages. In order to see network driver link messages on
+ your console, set dmesg to eight by entering the following:
+
+ dmesg -n 8
+
+ NOTE: This setting is not saved across reboots.
+
+ Jumbo Frames
+ ------------
+
+ The driver supports Jumbo Frames for all adapters except 82542-based
+ adapters. Jumbo Frames support is enabled by changing the MTU to a value
+ larger than the default of 1500. Use the ifconfig command to increase the
+ MTU size. For example:
+
+ ifconfig ethx mtu 9000 up
+
+ The maximum MTU setting for Jumbo Frames is 16110. This value coincides
+ with the maximum Jumbo Frames size of 16128.
+
+ NOTE: Jumbo Frames are supported at 1000 Mbps only. Using Jumbo Frames at
+ 10 or 100 Mbps may result in poor performance or loss of link.
+
+
+ NOTE: MTU designates the frame size. To enable Jumbo Frames, increase the
+ MTU size on the interface beyond 1500.
+
+ Ethtool
+ -------
+
+ The driver utilizes the ethtool interface for driver configuration and
+ diagnostics, as well as displaying statistical information. Ethtool
+ version 1.6 or later is required for this functionality.
+
+ The latest release of ethtool can be found from
+ http://sf.net/projects/gkernel.
+
+ NOTE: Ethtool 1.6 only supports a limited set of ethtool options. Support
+ for a more complete ethtool feature set can be enabled by upgrading
+ ethtool to ethtool-1.8.1.
+
+ Enabling Wake on LAN* (WoL)
+ ---------------------------
+
+ WoL is configured through the Ethtool* utility. Ethtool is included with
+ all versions of Red Hat after Red Hat 7.2. For other Linux distributions,
+ download and install Ethtool from the following website:
+ http://sourceforge.net/projects/gkernel.
+
+ For instructions on enabling WoL with Ethtool, refer to the website listed
+ above.
+
+ WoL will be enabled on the system during the next shut down or reboot.
+ For this driver version, in order to enable WoL, the e1000 driver must be
+ loaded when shutting down or rebooting the system.
+
+ NAPI
+ ----
+
+ NAPI (Rx polling mode) is supported in the e1000 driver. NAPI is enabled
+ or disabled based on the configuration of the kernel.
+
+ See www.cyberus.ca/~hadi/usenix-paper.tgz for more information on NAPI.
+
+
+Known Issues
+============
+
+ Jumbo Frames System Requirement
+ -------------------------------
+
+ Memory allocation failures have been observed on Linux systems with 64 MB
+ of RAM or less that are running Jumbo Frames. If you are using Jumbo Frames,
+ your system may require more than the advertised minimum requirement of 64 MB
+ of system memory.
+
+
+Support
+=======
+
+For general information, go to the Intel support website at:
+
+ http://support.intel.com
+
+If an issue is identified with the released source code on the supported
+kernel with a supported adapter, email the specific information related to
+the issue to linux.nics@intel.com.
+
+
+License
+=======
+
+This software program is released under the terms of a license agreement
+between you ('Licensee') and Intel. Do not use or load this software or any
+associated materials (collectively, the 'Software') until you have carefully
+read the full terms and conditions of the LICENSE located in this software
+package. By loading or using the Software, you agree to the terms of this
+Agreement. If you do not agree with the terms of this Agreement, do not
+install or use the Software.
+
+* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.