Intel l211 NIC + Windows 10 Pro 1803 = Broken TCP Checksum Offload?

[DComi]

Hello everyone,

My desktop motherboard uses an Intel l211 network adapter and on Windows Pro 1803 (with the latest 23.2 driver, but also with 23.1) I've noticed that TCP Checksum Offload cannot be enabled at all via Device Manager -> Advanced Adapter Settings or Windows PowerShell.

On Advanced Adapter Settings, the options seem to be set to Disabled by default, but once I set them to something else and apply the settings, the window is closed, connection is lost for a few seconds, and once I open the Settings page once again, the options are back to Disabled.

Then, I tried using Enable-NetAdapterChecksumOffload on Windows Powershell, but when I try reading the new values with Get-NetAdapterChecksumOffload, I see everything set to Disabled.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[idata]

Hi Dcominottim,

Thank you for posting in Wired Communities and bringing this matter to our attention. Just to double check what is the brand and model of your motherboard (with the i211 onboard NIC), have you tried using the driver from the board vendor and encountering the same issue? We will further check on this from our end. Thank you.

Thanks,

Sharon T

[idata]

Hi Dcominottim,

Can you help confirm if you encounter the same issue if using driver from the board vendor? Looking forward to your reply. Regards,Sharon TIntel Customer SupportAgent under contract to Intel

[DComi]

Hello, Sharon!

Thanks for replying. Yes, I face the same issue when using the driver provided by Gigabyte (Network Connections 22.1). I'm using an X470 Gaming 7 motherboard. Here is some useful info:

Windows 10 Build 10.0.17134

Intel PRO/1000 EFI Driver 6.6.04

Intel Network Connections Driver 23.1 or 22.1 (this is the one provided by Gigabyte on the motherboard's page)

Please let me know if you need any more info.

Thank you a lot for your support!

Danilo

[idata]

Hi Dcominottim,

Thank you for providing additional information. We will further investigate on this. Regards,Sharon TIntel Customer SupportAgent under contract to Intel

[idata]

Hi Dcominottim,

We did not encounter the said issue when checksum offload settings were enabled in Windows 10 RS4 using PROSet version 23.2. Have you tried checking if the same issue will occur on other Windows operating system? Since this is an onboard NIC on Gigabyte board and the offloading options were disabled by default. please try get in touch with Gigabyte to check at their end in case they have customized some changes on the setting.

Please feel free to update us.

Regards,

Sharon TIntel Customer SupportAgent under contract to Intel

[DComi]

Thank you a lot for your reply, Sharon!

Please note that you have to click on the OK button 2 times after changing the settings, the first time for the "Offloading Options" window and the second time for the "Intel(R) l211 Gigabit Network Connection Properties" window. After that, having only the Device Manager window open, if you right-click the NIC on Device Manager and go to the "Offloading Options" window again, you'll see all of the options have been reverted to Disabled. I think I may have not been clear about this, because if you only close the "Offloading Options" window and open it again, it seems that the settings have been persisted, but actually they haven't been applied yet at that point and then the issue can't be seen unless you also click the OK button from the "Intel(R) l211 Gigabit Network Connection Properties" window.

[idata]

Hi Dcominottim,

Thank you for the clarification. Let me check on this.Regards,Sharon TIntel Customer SupportAgent under contract to Intel

[idata]

Hi Dcominottim, We encountered no issue by testing the steps you mentioned, by clicking OK twice to ensure the changes were take affect. Please double check with Gigabyte the board vendor also. Regards,Sharon TIntel Customer SupportAgent under contract to Intel

[DComi]

Thanks a lot once again.

I have made a second test, though. I've installed Ubuntu 18.04 in a secondary drive and used the ethtool command line tool to confirm whether there was a BIOS/firmware/hardware problem.

Please see the attached screenshot and note the following values under "tx-checksumming: on":

tx-checksum-ipv4

tx-checksum-ipv6

They have their values/strings set to "off [fixed]". That usually means the feature/value is locked in the driver/firmware/hardware.

Just to be sure, in case I run the following command to try to manually enable a feature that is set to "off [fixed]", such as

sudo ethtool --offload enp7s0 tx-checksum-ipv4 on

Then it gives the output

"Could not change any device features"

In my opinion, this proves it's either a firmware/BIOS bug or a defective NIC in my motherboard. I have shared this info with Gigabyte and they've suggested it could indeed be a faulty NIC. Do you think that could be the case? Is there any kind of firmware update tool for this NIC that could possibly unlock those settings?

[idata]

Hi Dcominottim,

Thank you for the update and I am sorry to hear the issue persist.. There is the possibility so better check with Gigabyte support as they are in better position to check on the hardware aspect. We don't have firmware available for I211 NIC but drivers available on our website. Since this is an onboard NIC, it would be best to work with the board vendor ( in case there is firmware, this will also be supplied by the board vendor as this can be customized to adapt to the changes made on the onboard NIC). Hope the above clarifies.Regards,Sharon TIntel Customer SupportAgent under contract to Intel

[idata]

Hi Dcominottim,

Please feel free to update me if you have contacted Gigabyte support to check on the onboard NIC and firmware update. Regards,Sharon TIntel Customer SupportAgent under contract to Intel