Intel 82579LM Gigabit Ethernet - UDP Packet Loss

[idata]

I have a software application that runs on a laptop running Windows 7 SP1 which receives data at around 100Mbps via a UDP stream over a 1GbE connection. I've run the software on multiple laptops successfully in the past (older network adapters - e.g. 82577LM) . Recently I installed the software on a newer model laptop which has a 82579LM network adapter. When running the software on the laptop with the 82579LM adapter. With the 82579LM adapter I'm seeing approximately one lost packet every 25K-60K packets.

1. I'm running the version 16.7 (latest) of the Intel Network Drivers

2. Windows 7 - SP1 + latest updates

3. I've observed the same behavior on multiple laptop models by different vendors which contain the 82579LM adapter.

Searching the Internet I've seen some postings of issues under Linux complaining about similar 82579LM adapter issues:

http://www.mail-archive.com/e1000-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg04765.html http://www.mail-archive.com/e1000-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg04765.html

And some more here:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/natty/+source/linux/+bug/870127 https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/natty/+source/linux/+bug/870127

Since this is running under Windows 7 SP1 we obviously have different drivers but I'm wondering if the issue is related. Any ideas for things I could try to fix the issue?

Thanks,

Ryan

[JKazu]

Mark,

I found this thread after scouring the Internet for similar issues to mine. I have Altiris Deployment Solution and I am deploying images to my many Dell Optiplex 990's. They have the 82579LM NIC.

The problem we are having is that multicast is extremely slow. The more clients that are added to the multicast, the slower it gets. We have eliminated all the other possibilities such as network hardware and design. Multicast runs fine with other model computers with different NICs. Unicast deployments are lightning fast.

The environment is a PXE boot to WinPE 2.1 (Vista) using the Vista drivers. The latest version of driver that you mention above (v.17) did significantly improve the speed, but we are still bogged down heavily when compared to the unicast session (unicast: 7 minutes, multicast: 130 minutes).

Anyway, I don't expect to get any suggestions on how to fix it here. Honestly, it seems that there is just a problem with the programming of the drivers, and that is why I am posting. I thought maybe by bringing this to your attention, maybe Intel will take a closer look at the mulicast capabilities of this NIC and its drivers.

Thanks,

Jeff

Message was edited by: jkazules (typed unicast in last paragraph instead of multicast)

[idata]

Mark,

We found same issue with dropping multicast packets on Intel 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection on a Dell Lattitude E6520 laptop. What we've observed in a network capture is that the dropped packet is just right next to an IGMP Join. We also found this issue on another PC and with BCM5764M driver. We found the programmers guide of that driver and at http://www.broadcom.com/collateral/pg/5764M-PG100-R.pdf http://www.broadcom.com/collateral/pg/5764M-PG100-R.pdf, page 64 - and the first thing the code does is clear the hash table before rebuilding it. We suspect that the mutlicast packet is dropped at the time the hash table is being rebuilt. On the PC with BCM5764M driver, when we turn on Wireshark, we don't experience any dropped packets. We suspect that it's due to Wireshark putting the driver in promiscuous mode thus bypassing any multicast filtering. On the PC with the Intel 82579LM, we still experience the packet loss even with Wireshark running. Not sure if 82579LM driver supports putting itself in promiscuous mode.

Do you think that Intel 82579LM driver has the same hash table clearing issue at IGMP Joins and/or Leave?

Thank you!

MariaA

[Mark_H_Intel]

Maria,

I do not know the answer about clearing the hash table. However, I can tell you how to put the Intel 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection into promiscuous mode. See http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/cs-005897.htm http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/cs-005897.htm. This device uses the e1c drivers, so MonitorMode is the registry key that applies. If you make any registry changes for the adapter, make sure you restart the adapter so the driver will read that registry key.

Jay,

Thanks for posting. I will pass on the information.

By the way, I still do not have an update on a newer driver to address the packet drop issues. I will post something when I know something.

Mark H

[idata]

Mark,

I tried the MonitorMode settings to 1 or 2 for Intel 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection and we still see lost multicast packets. So, we did more testing and the only time we didn't see lost packets is when we were using an USP ethernet adapter, ASIX AX88772A USB2.0 to Fast Ethernet Adapter. I hope you can help me with this issue or if you know who in Intel we can start working with.

Thanks,

Maria

[Mark_H_Intel]

Hi Maria,

I am making a guess that you have already tried the latest drivers from Intel. You might want to uninstall that software and install the package that Dell supports on your laptops. You should also check for any BIOS updates from Dell to see if any updates might apply to your network connection.

Thanks for the offer to work with Intel on resolving the issue. Your dropped packets might be related to previously reported packet drop issues that are already being worked, but I can't tell for sure. With built-in network connections the fix could be something that is custom from your OEM, which Intel would not be able to supply. If you have tried solutions from Dell and the issue still exists, your best bet will be to continue to work with Dell in finding the right fix.

You could also be running into some incompatibility with the switch or router on the other end of the cable You could experiment with disabling advanced features on the network connection to see if the packet drops go away or become less frequent. I can recall at least one instance where disabling Energy Efficient Ethernet resolved dropped packets. See the screen shot below on where to find the Energy Efficient Ethernet configuration. I don't know if changing any configuration items will help you or not, but trying is probably worthwhile.

I hope this helps. Let me know if disabling Energy Efficient Ethernet helps.

Mark H

[idata]

Mark,

I was able to reprodue the lost multicast packets on HP laptops with Intel 82579LM and 82577LM with driver version 11.12.36.0. When we upgraded the driver to 11.16.96.0 then we could not reproduce the issue anymore. I have not tried it on the DELL laptop yet (it's being used for other testing). I should be able to test on that too later this week. I'm hopefull that the new driver should resolve the issue on the DELL laptop as well.

Thanks for all your help.

-Maria-

[MSaue]

Hi Mark,

I sorry for responding to this old thread, but I'm wondering if there has been any progress on the packet loss issue on the 82579LM gigabit ethernet chip. I have a serious problem in that I have built a few hundred servers built using S1200KPR motherboards, which contain the 82579LM for ethernet 0. These servers receive multicast traffic at a high rate, and I am seeing a large amount of packet loss (as compared to other servers receiving the same multicast). The servers are running linux, and I have tried the latest linux e1000e driver, which did not help. I have also tried disabling the EEE (energy efficient ethernet) in the driver, and this also did not help. I also tried disabling interrupt moderation - this actually improved the situation a little bit, but did not remove the issue. The packet loss is not reported in ethtool, or in ifconfig, so I believe it is the issue mentioned in the http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/chipsets/6-and-c200-chipset-specification-update.html Intel® 6 Series Chipset, Intel® C200 Series Chipset: Spec Update document (errata 23)

I also had a problem with ethernet 1, which uses the 82574L, but I was able to fix the issue on that side with an EEPROM setting using ethtool that I found in this forum I believe.

The errata mentions a bios update may help, do you know if this has been written? Or even better if there is an EEPROM setting that could be applied using ethtool to prevent the chip from entering a low power state?

Thanks,

Mark

[HCust]

Hi.

Since nobody was interested in this, and i do have the same problem (dropping packets), i did investigate this, and make it work. It took me 2 days. I guess, that is to much for big corporation, is it?

Anyhow, to avoid copy/paste, look at http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=30922613 http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=30922613 for explanation, and http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=30922661 http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=30922661 for resolution.

Please try it, and report back. It does work for me (tm).

H.

[MSaue]

Hi.

I tried the patch that you suggested in the forum, and it appears to clear up the issue for me. Thank you so much for posting. I had actually tried setting that bit in the driver myself, but clearly I tried it in the wrong spot. I was not sure where to set it in the driver, but where you did it appears to do the job.

I hope this fix makes it into the next release of the e1000e driver.

---Mark

[DBian]

There is any update on this issue?

I tried to update to the latest driver and still having the same problem.

Oddly I didn't had any problem until I updated to the lastest Wifi and ethernet driver.

Thanks,

[AParm3]

Hi Intel Team,

I am looking for intel utility which can Monitor the network card buffer usage and overrun for the windows system.

Please reply if we have any such tool available for the windows system.

Thanks

[rtiko]

Hi

I'm having same problems. I have packet loss every few x10K packets.

I tried using winXP 32 SP3, win 7, most updated drivers (OCT 2013) and BIOS.

Is there any update with the Packet loss issue of 82579LM?

Best regards,

Raz