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Configuring 2x2x10 on Intel XL710-QDA2

mattg10
Beginner
3,774 Views

Hello,

I am having trouble configuring the ports on an Intel XL710-QDA2 for my intended application.

After reading the configuration utility guide, the following is listed as an available configuration option:

2x2x10 for using dual QSFP+ ports with breakout cables (connection to two 10 Gb/s SFP+ link
partners for each QSFP+ port).

When running the EPCT utility, I am presented with the following options:

Intel(R) Ethernet Port Configuration Tool
EPCT version: v1.35.49.00
Copyright(C) 2020 Intel Corporation.

Available Port Options:
======================================
Active Port
Option Option (Gbps)
======== =============================
1x40
2x40
4x10
X 2x2x10A
2x2x10B

When using the 2x2x10A configuration, I can only get one port to work as 2x10. When using the 2x2x10B configuration, neither of the ports work. However, four adapters are still listed when running ifconfig.

I am running the latest NVM firmware (8.15) and driver version (i40e 2.13.10) on a CentOS 7.8.2003 machine.

$ ethtool -i enp73s0f0
driver: i40e
version: 2.13.10
firmware-version: 8.15 0x80009621 1.2829.0
expansion-rom-version:
bus-info: 0000:49:00.0
supports-statistics: yes
supports-test: yes
supports-eeprom-access: yes
supports-register-dump: yes
supports-priv-flags: yes

I am looking to be able to use both ports in a 2x10 configuration. Is this configuration possible as the guide seems to state?

Please let me know if you need any additional information or if something is wrong with my configuration.

Thanks,

Matt

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24 Replies
AlfredoS_Intel
Moderator
3,114 Views

Hi Mattg10,

Thank you for posting in our Intel® Ethernet Communities Page.

We are sorry to hear about the issue that you are experiencing with your network adapter.

So we would have a better understanding of your issue, please provide the following information:

1. Please download and try to run our Intel® System Support Utility from this page, https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/26735/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-the-Linux-Operating-System#:~:text=Intel%20SSU%20for%20the%20Linux,and%20shared%20by%20the%20user. After running it, you will be given an option to save the logs to a text file, please do so and attach the file on your reply.

We look forward to hearing from you. If we do not get your reply, we will follow up after 3 business days.



Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support


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mattg10
Beginner
3,105 Views

Please find the scan attached.

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AlfredoS_Intel
Moderator
3,082 Views

Hi Mattg10,

Thank you providing those information.

Please allow us some time to check on this. 

We will get back to you no later than 3 business days from now.



Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support 


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AlfredoS_Intel
Moderator
3,075 Views

Hi Mattg10,

Thank you for waiting for our update.

We already started the initial phases of our investigation of your issue and we find it unusual that your card is not accepting the mode that you selected.

Due to this reason, we need to confirm if the card that you have is a genuine Intel retail product. We would like to ask your cooperation to please provide pictures of the front and back of the card, plus the pictures focusing on the stickers of the card.

We look forward to your reply. Should we not get your reply, we will follow up after three business days.



Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support


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mattg10
Beginner
3,069 Views

The NIC is in a closed off lab so taking pictures will not be possible. I can confirm that it was purchased from a reputable seller.

Do you have any information on what the difference between the 2x2x10A and 2x2x10B configuration is? I can't seem to find any documentation detailing it. The documentation only lists a 2x2x10 configuration without an A or B specifier. I have heard from someone else that they have only been able to get one port to work in this configuration as well. Are you able to confirm if this configuration should theoretically work where both ports are active as 2x10? Four interfaces display in ifconfig which is the expected resulted, but I am unable to get a link light when connecting to the second port.

Please let me know about any additional software troubleshooting steps. 

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AlfredoS_Intel
Moderator
3,064 Views

Hi Mattg10,

Thank you for providing that information.

We will continue checking this and the information that provided is invaluable to us. We will also consider the new question that you have raised.

Please allow us some time to check on this. We hope for your understanding regarding this

We will get back to you no later than 3 business days from now.



Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support


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AlfredoS_Intel
Moderator
3,060 Views

Hi Mattg10,

Thank you for waiting for our update.

Since we already crossed out the possibility of a non-genuine Intel adapter causing the issue, we would like to ask what is the brand and model of the QSFP+ cables that you are using.

We would like to get more detailed information on the status of every port when you set it to the desired speed.

Please run this command epct -nic=x -get with x being the slot the NIC is in. It will display a table, please provide the results of the table.

We look forward to your reply. Should we not get your reply, we will follow up after three business days.



Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support


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mattg10
Beginner
3,056 Views

I don't have the exact model of the cable available but it's a QSFP+ Direct Attach Copper cable. The cable works in one port but not the other so I don't believe it is an issue with the cable.

Here's the output of the configuration tool:

Intel(R) Ethernet Port Configuration Tool
EPCT version: v1.35.49.00
Copyright(C) 2020 Intel Corporation.

Available Port Options:
======================================
Active           Port
Option         Option (Gbps)
======== =============================
                      1x40
                      2x40
                      4x10
      X              2x2x10A
                      2x2x10B

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Caguicla_Intel
Moderator
3,027 Views

Hi Mattg10,


Thank you for the reply.


Please allow us to continue the investigation. We will get back to you as soon as there is any findings but no later than 2-3 business days.


Best Regards,

Crisselle C.

Intel® Customer Support


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AlfredoS_Intel
Moderator
2,986 Views

Hi Mattg10,

Thank you for your patience in waiting for an update.

We would like to ask for your understanding to allow us more time to check on your concern. We need more time to check due to the complexity of the issue. We are humbly sorry for any inconvenience that this additional time will cause you.

We will try to get back to you with an answer no later than 3 business days from now; although, we will reach out to you in case we need more information or if we already have developments regarding your concern.



Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support


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AlfredoS_Intel
Moderator
2,986 Views

Hi Mattg10,

Thank you for your patience in waiting for an update.

We would like to ask for your understanding to allow us more time to check on your concern. We need more time to check due to the complexity of the issue. We are humbly sorry for any inconvenience that this additional time will cause you.

We will try to get back to you with an answer no later than 3 business days from now; although, we will reach out to you in case we need more information or if we already have developments regarding your concern.



Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support


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AlfredoS_Intel
Moderator
2,961 Views

Hi Mattg10,

Thank you for waiting for our update.

While we were closely checking your concern, please allow us to confirm about one of the information that you have posted.

You mentioned on previous posts that when you use 2x2x10A you can only get one port to work, however, when you use 2x2x10B none of the ports work. We were just overly concerned that one of the ports of your card is not working hardware wise, so we would like to ask if you have tested the other port on other configurations like 2x40 or 1x40 were you able to confirm that the other port works.

As an additional question, is there no link at all on the other port when you set it to 2x2x10A?


We look forward to your reply. Should we not get your reply, we will follow up after three business days.



Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support


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mattg10
Beginner
2,935 Views

Hello,

Yes, I have verified that both ports on the NIC work in the 2x40 configuration. I actually have 2 of the same NIC now and they both exhibit the same behavior when set to 2x2x10A. When I set both NICs to the 2x40 configuration and connect them together using the bottom port, I get a link light on both and they show as connected. 

Once they are set to the 2x2x10A configuration, the link light disappears and the connection is gone. I have been unable to get any link at all on the second port when it is set to either 2x2x10A or 2x2x10B. As mentioned above, the bottom port works when set to another configuration and both NICs exhibit the same behavior.

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AlfredoS_Intel
Moderator
2,932 Views

Hi Mattg10,

Thank you for your response and providing more details regarding the issue,

We will continue checking this and the information that provided is invaluable to us.

Please allow us some time to check on this. We hope for your understanding regarding this

We will get back to you no later than 3 business days from now.



Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support


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AlfredoS_Intel
Moderator
2,918 Views

Hi Mattg10,

Thank you for waiting for our update.

Please see the recommendations of our engineers after thoroughly checking on your concern. They provided the cable configurations when setting the card to different modes:

Setting 4x10 uses only the primary port and all four legs of the breakout cable are used.


Setting 2x2x10A on a dual-port device uses the first two cables on the primary port breakout and the second two cables on the secondary port breakout.


Setting 2x2x10B switches that and uses the second 2 cables on the primary and the first 2 on the secondary.

Please let us know of your thoughts and results of your testing if you tried our recommendations.

We look forward to your reply. Should we not get your reply, we will follow up after three business days.



Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support


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mattg10
Beginner
2,905 Views

I am not using breakout cables for the connection. Rather, it is a direct QSFP+ to QSFP+ link. On the receiving end, only 2 lanes are required by the device which is why the NIC must be set to 2x2x10.

Based off of your description, this might be why the top port works just fine, but the bottom one doesn't. 

I will do some more testing this week and reply if I discover anything new.

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AlfredoS_Intel
Moderator
2,900 Views

Hi Mattg10,

Thank you for giving us an assessment of your answers and your consideration to carry out more testing.

To give you ample time to test, we would wait for an update after 5 business days from now.

Should we not hear from you, we will just follow up after 6 business days.


Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support


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mattg10
Beginner
2,882 Views

Upon further testing, I have confirmed that the bottom ports of the NIC do work in 2x2x10A, but only when they are connected to each other. I am still unable to get the bottom port to work when connecting it to a device using a QSFP+ to QSFP+ cable.

I have attached an image of the configuration that poses the problem. At this point, I am just trying to determine whether or not this should theoretically work or if it is a limitation of the NIC/cable configuration.

Any further insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

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AlfredoS_Intel
Moderator
2,875 Views

Hi Mattg10,

Thank you for your response and providing more details regarding the issue.

Just to confirm, have you tried the suggestions by our engineers like connecting the device to the second two cables on the secondary port breakout cables when using 2x2x10A or the first 2 two cables of the secondary port breakout cable when using 2x2x10B? If yes, did both of them did not work?

Thank you for sharing a picture of the things that you have tested so far. On the last working configuration, on 2x2x10A what cables did you use on the secondary port breakout cable to connect it to another ethernet port?

We look forward to hearing from you. If we do not get your reply, we will follow up after 3 business days.

 

Best Regards,

Alfred S

Intel® Customer Support

 

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mattg10
Beginner
2,732 Views

As stated in my previous post, I am not using breakout cables. Every configuration in the image I posted was a direct QSFP+ to QSFP+ link.

Using breakout cables is not possible in this scenario due to the configuration of the device and its available ports. 

The top port of the NIC works just fine using a QSFP+ to QSFP+ cable in 2x2x10A. Based on your description, it seems like the bottom port is not supported in this configuration without using breakout cables.

I will likely need to find another solution in that scenario. 

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