I217 compatibility

[i217]

Hello,

the product letter for "WG82579" and "WGI217" states:

Overview

The Intel® Ethernet Controller I217 provides compact, integrated single-port physical layer

Layer devices connected to the Intel® C220 chipset and network. The Intel®

Ethernet Controller I217 is a gigabit copper networking component for mobile, desktop,

desktop, workstation and value server designs that have critical space and power constraints.

Now I'm wondering, will the two chips only be used in conjunction with a
a C220 provisioned PCIe or could I also take, for example, a Raspberry
pi 4?

[Caguicla_Intel]

Hello i217,

Thank you for posting in Intel Ethernet Communities. 

Can you please elaborate or share more details on your intended configuration for us to further check your query?

Looking forward to your reply.

Should there be no response from you, I’ll make sure to reach out after 3 business days.

Best regards,

Crisselle C.

Intel® Customer Support

[fjarroyovalle]

Hello,

I think, we have a similar problem than i217.

• Scenary 1:  We have developed a device with 2 ethernet connections based on phy devices I210LM full PCIe 2.1 compliant connected to PCIe[2] and PCIe[3] to the Atom E3815. This scenary is full working and detected in linux based system. 
• Scenary 2: In 2 new prototyped we decided to replace the phys because we don't found available stock for I210LM  > 20 weeks. This prototyped aren't working right now. I can view by 'dmesg' that the same driver is loaded but the new phys I228LM aren't detected.

I reviewed the I228LM datasheet and we can read the next note in the "Overview Introduction":

"The Intel Ethernet Connection I218 PCIe interface is not PCIe compliant. It operates at half the speed of the PCI Express Specification v1.1 (2.5GT/s). In this datasheet, the term PCIe-based is interchangeable with PCIe. There are no design layout differences between normal PCIe and the Intel Ethernet Connection I218's PCIe-based interface."

1. Could it be the problem, i.e., it is the PCIe-based interface of I218 needs to work at half speed, or not?
2. If so that, how can we fix it with the Atom E3815?
   We have to add an intermediate chip like the Intel C220 (PCH-LP) for the I218LM PCIe-based interface to work or we can fix it with BIOS + Linux modifications...

Best regards,

Fran Arroyo 

[Caguicla_Intel]

Hello i217,

Good day!

This is just a follow up for the information we requested so we can proceed checking your query. In case you have additional questions and clarifications, feel free to let us know.

Hoping to hear from you soon.

Should there be no response from you, I’ll make sure to reach out after 3 business days.

Best regards,

Crisselle C.

Intel® Customer Support

[Caguicla_Intel]

Hello i217,

How are you doing?

Please be informed that we will now close this request since we haven't received any response from our previous follow ups. Just feel free to post a new question if you may have any other inquiry in the future as this thread will no longer be monitored.

May you have an amazing day!

Best regards,

Crisselle C.

Intel® Customer Support