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Understanding the NIC configuration using Intel(R) QSFP+ Configuration Utility (qcu64e)

lgsit
Beginner
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We have installed (built in) a Intel(R) Ethernet Converged Network Adapter XL710 in a new Linux server.

 

On port 1 we have attached a 40GE QSFP to 4x 10GE SFP+ splitter cable and connected one of the SFP+ cables to a switch and another one to a network storage device. This works as expected.

 

To make this work, we configured the port using the Intel(R) QSFP+ Configuration Utility (qcu64e) as follows:

# ./qcu64e /nic=1 /info Intel(R) QSFP+ Configuration Utility   QCU version: v2.34.12.00 Copyright(C) 2014 - 2019 by Intel Corporation. Software released under Intel Proprietary License.   Adapter supports QSFP+ Configuration modification. Current Configuration: 4x10   Supported Configurations: 1x40 1x40 LOM 2x40 2x40 LOM 4x10 4x10LOM 2x2x10A 2x2x10B 2x2x10LOM #

However, I noticed, that there only are 4 network config files total (see below), actually there should be 8 due to 2x 4x10 or am I wrong? I mean, the 4x10 option should apply to each interface, due to the fact, that I can only select a NIC itself rather than a port on the NIC.

# ls -la /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ | grep "enp" -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 82 15. Okt 10:05 ifcfg-enp129s0f0 -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 58 6. Nov 14:02 ifcfg-enp129s0f1 -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 109 6. Nov 13:57 ifcfg-enp129s0f2 -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 58 6. Nov 14:02 ifcfg-enp129s0f3 #

Did I miss something?

 

Thanks in advance!

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28 Replies
Caguicla_Intel
Moderator
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Hello lgsit,

 

Thank you for posting in Intel Ethernet Communities. 

 

Please provide the exact model of your adapter. This will help us in checking your query. You may also provide the markings so we can double check on it. Kindly refer to the link below on where to find the PBA of the adapter. It is a 6-digit number located at the last part of the serial number.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000007022/network-and-io/ethernet-products.html

 

Looking forward to your response.

 

Best regards,

Crisselle C

Intel Customer Support

A Contingent Worker at Intel

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lgsit
Beginner
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Hello Crisselle,

 

unfortunately, I can't get the PBA number by checking the label as the server already is in productive use and I can't shut it down. I tried to get further information via lshw and dmidecode, but there is no serial number.

 

Is there another way to get the information?

 

Thanks in advance!

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Caguicla_Intel
Moderator
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Hello lgsit,

 

Thank you for the quick response. 

 

You may provide the System Support Utility log of your system. Kindly refer to the steps below.

a- https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/26735/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-the-Linux-Operating-System?product=91600

b- Open SSU.exe

c- Mark the box "Everything" and then click "Scan".

d- When finished scanning, click "Next".

e- Click on "Save" and attach the file to a post.

 

Please refer to the link below for the valid configuration of Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapters XL710

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/network/adapter/qsfp-configuration-utility-quick-usage-guide.pdf

page 6

• Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapters XL710-QDA2(8086-1583): 2x40, 2x2x10, 4x10

• Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapters XL710-QDA1(8086-1584): 1x40, 4x10 

 

Looking forward to hear from you.

 

Best regards,

Crisselle C

Intel Customer Support

A Contingent Worker at Intel

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lgsit
Beginner
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Hello Chrisselle,

 

I've downloaded the System Support Utility to gather the requested information.

 

Due to the fact, that the utility gathers a lot of information, I had to discuss with my supervisor which information I can post here in the public forum. He gave me the permission for the NIC related information, see attachment. I hope this contains the information required.

 

As you can see in my first post, the NIC we use supports 2x40, 2x2x10 as well as 4x10 (and also 1x40), so if I get it right it seems to be an Intel Ethernet Converged Network Adapter XL710-QDA2 (8086-1583).

 

Thanks in advance!

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Caguicla_Intel
Moderator
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Hello lgsit,

 

Thank you for the response.

 

Unfortunately, the PBA is not captured on the SSU log. But that should be okay as we are requesting for the PBA number to confirm if you are using a Retail or OEM version of Intel Ethernet adapter.

 

To answer your query, as mentioned on our previous post, Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapters XL710-QDA2 only support 2x40, 2x2x10, 4x10.

2X40 - dual ports that support 40GbE

2x2x10 - dual ports that support 2x10GbE (equivalent to 4)

4x10 - one of the ports that support 4x10GbE

 

Even though if you have 2 splitter cable (equivalent to 8), the adapter can only support up to 40GbE. 4x10 is not supported on both ports at the same time. 

 

We hope that this answers your query. Let us know if you still have questions and clarifications on this matter. 

 

Looking forward to your response.

 

Best regards,

Crisselle C

Intel Customer Support

A Contingent Worker at Intel

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lgsit
Beginner
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Hello Crisselle,

 

thanks for your detailed answer!

 

You said that with 4x10 only one of the ports supports 4x10GbE. What about the second port when using this configuration? Is it disabled then?

 

Furthermore, if I get it right the whole adapter supports 40GbE total, which can either be splitted into the two ports (depending on the available modes) or merged into one port. Is this correct?

 

Thanks in advance!

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Caguicla_Intel
Moderator
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Hello lgsit,

 

You are welcome.

 

Yes, you are exactly right. The adapter supports 40GbE in total.

 

For your first question, please allow me to further check the status of the second port when a dual port adapter is configured as 4x10. We will get back to you within 1-3 business days.

 

Hoping for your patience.

 

Best regards,

Crisselle C

Intel Customer Support

A Contingent Worker at Intel

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lgsit
Beginner
3,376 Views

Hello Crisselle,

 

thanks a lot for your efforts!

 

Looking forward hearing from you.

 

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Caguicla_Intel
Moderator
3,376 Views

Hello lgsit,

 

Apologies for the delay.

 

Please be informed that we are still checking your inquiry. Rest assured that we will provide an update as soon as possible but not later than 3 business days.

 

Best regards,

Crisselle C

Intel Customer Support

A Contingent Worker at Intel

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lgsit
Beginner
3,376 Views

Hello Crisselle,

 

no problem, looking forward to hear (or read) from you.

 

Thanks in advance!

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Caguicla_Intel
Moderator
3,376 Views

Hello lgsit,

 

Apologies for the delay.

 

Please share the output for ethtool -i command for us to check the firmware and driver loaded on your adapter.

 

Awaiting to your reply.

 

Best regards,

Crisselle C

Intel Customer Support

A Contingent Worker at Intel

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lgsit
Beginner
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Hello Crisselle,

 

here is the requested information:

driver: i40e version: 2.3.2-k firmware-version: 6.01 0x800035da 1.1747.0 expansion-rom-version: bus-info: 0000:81:00.1 supports-statistics: yes supports-test: yes supports-eeprom-access: yes supports-register-dump: yes supports-priv-flags: yes

Thanks in advance!

 

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Caguicla_Intel
Moderator
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Hello lgsit,

 

Thank you for the prompt reply.

 

We will continue to check on this and give you an update as soon as possible but not later than 3 business days.

 

Hoping for your patience.

 

Best regards,

Crisselle C

Intel Customer Support

A Contingent Worker at Intel

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Caguicla_Intel
Moderator
3,376 Views

Hello lgsit,

 

I hope you are doing great!

 

We sincerely apologize for the delay on this matter as we are thoroughly checking on this. Please give us more time to look into this. Rest assured that we will update you as soon as there is any findings but not later than 3 business days.

 

Best regards,

Crisselle C

Intel Customer Support

A Contingent Worker at Intel

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lgsit
Beginner
3,376 Views

Hello Crisselle,

 

I'm fine. I hope you are, too.

 

Thank you for reporting in! No need to apologize, take your time.

 

Best wishes and looking forward to hearing from you.

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Caguicla_Intel
Moderator
3,376 Views

Hello lgsit,

 

We appreciate your kind understanding on this matter.

 

After further checking, we have confirmed that the second port of Intel Ethernet Converged Network Adapter XL710-QDA2 is disabled when it is configured as 4x10.

 

Let us know if you have additional questions and clarifications on this matter.

 

Looking forward to your reply.

 

Best regards,

Crisselle C

Intel Customer Support

A Contingent Worker at Intel

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lgsit
Beginner
3,376 Views

Hello Crisselle,

 

thank you for your efforts and answer.

 

I see. However, the information for this network adapter (also on the Intel website) about the data transfer rate is misleading as it says:

 

"Data Rate Per Port: 40/10GbE"

 

Before contacting you, we also asked various vendors who also told us that the adapter would provide 40 GbE per port without one getting disabled. I guess that they also misunderstood or misinterpreted the above information. Perhaps you should mention this explicitly to prevent some people from seeing it as a deception.

 

Anyway, can you tell me if there is such an Intel Ethernet Adapter (and if yes which) with two 40GbE ports working parallely and which also provides the modes 1x40GbE and 4x10GbE?

 

Thanks in advance!

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Caguicla_Intel
Moderator
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Hello lgsit,

 

You are welcome.

 

Yes, the adapter is capable of 40GbE per port if it is configured as 2x40. But for other configuration, there are limitation as the adapter supports 40GbE in total. 

 

We will also try to check with our engineers the "Data Rate Per Port: 40/10GbE" information to avoid misinterpretations in the future.

 

When you mentioned working parallelly, does it mean that both ports of the adapter are capable of 40GbE each (not in total) regardless of the configuration? Or are you looking for dual port adapter where each port can be configured as 4x10GbE and use at the same time?

 

Looking forward to your response.

 

Best regards,

Crisselle C

Intel Customer Support

A Contingent Worker at Intel

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lgsit
Beginner
3,376 Views

Hello Crisselle,

 

I've created a simple graphic:

 

example.png

It would be great if we could use both ports of the ethernet adapter at the same time (what I meant with "parallely"). Like on the graphic, port 1 with a direct 40 Gbit/s connection to a switch with a non-breakout cable and port 2 with a breakout cable to connect it to four devices via 10 Gbit/s.

 

So, in this case we would need an ethernet adapter which provides 80 Gbit/s in total which is split 50:50 on both ports to get 2x 40 Gbit/s with the above constellation.

 

Thanks in advance and have a nice weekend!

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Caguicla_Intel
Moderator
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Hello lgsit,

 

Thank you for the reply and for the additional details provided.

 

We will try to double check if there's an Intel Ethernet adapter that meets your requirements. We will get back to you within 1-3 business days.

 

Hoping for your patience. 

 

Best regards,

Crisselle C

Intel Customer Support

A Contingent Worker at Intel

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