Re: Intel X540-AT2 and Debian: intermittent connection
On Tue, 2022-11-15 at 16:42 -0800, David Christensen wrote:
> On 11/15/22 07:15, hw wrote:
> > On Tue, 2022-11-15 at 12:38 +0100, hw wrote:
> > > On Mon, 2022-11-14 at 13:21 +0100, hw wrote:
> > > > On Mon, 2022-11-14 at 12:28 +0100, stefano gozzi wrote:
> > > > > Please loot at this:
> > > > > https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-networking-3/intel-x540-t2-network-card-installed-but-only-at-100mbit-cant-change-or-improve-4175686736/
> > > > >
> > > > > It seems that you need a 8x pcie slot to work fine
> > > >
> > > > Thanks, the card is in an 8x slot and has been working fine with
> > > > Fedora. I
> > > > didn't change anything but using Debian instead of Fedora.
> > >
> > > Ok I pulled the server from the rack and put another fan to blow directly
> > > on
> > > the
> > > card in case it might overheat.
> > >
> > > And I have to correct myself. The card is in an 8x slot and according to
> > > the
> > > manual of the mainboard it's supposed to be 8x and not 4x. I pulled it
> > > and
> > > put
> > > it back in.
> > >
> > > However, lspci says "LnkSta: Speed 5GT/s (ok), Width x4 (downgraded)".
> > >
> > > Usually cards in PCI slots with 4 instead of 8 lanes still work fine, and
> > > the
> > > card did work in that slot with Fedora.
> > >
> > > I found that I had to unplug the network cable and to plug it back in
> > > before I
> > > could send/receive pings. I already tried a different network cable and
> > > it
> > > didn't make a difference.
> > >
> > > I suspect that Debian might be doing something differently or not doing
> > > that
> > > Fedora does which causes the intermittent connections.
> > >
> > > Any ideas? Backups over an 1GB link are excruciatingly slow ...
> > >
> >
> > Update: I booted a Fedora live system and the connection is also
> > intermittent.
> > So it's not a Debian issue. It's still an issue, though ...
>
>
> What is the cable type? Length? Factory or home made?
I got a new cable today which is rated as cat 8.1. It's only 1.5 meters long.
I have tried 3 different cables now, two of them about 1.5 and another 10 meters
long. Before I got the new cable, I tried the other port on the nic, and it
made no difference.
Even with the new cable, the connection is intermittent :(
> What is connected to the other end of the cable? If it is a NIC in
> another server, what happens if you swap the two NIC's?
It's connected to a Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM57810 in another server. The other
server has an identical mainboard and CPU in it, and the other port on the
Broadcom is connected to a client with the same card, and that connection works
fine. So I'm assuming that the Broadcom card is ok.
I'm about to move the client into a new case in a couple days and then I might
swap the Broadcom from the client into the backup server.
Maybe I can reseat the heat sink on the card with new thermal paste.
Overheating might explain why the connection is intermittent.
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