hey guys, i posted this on STH forums too, as they’re kinda the network guys, but i’m not sure if my issue isn’t linux related. Now i’m comfortable hacking away at a terminal, but i’m an entire fantasy world away from the linux gods that hang out on this forum. So i’m going to copy paste my post from STH’s forum, and if someone can help me figure it out on either site, i will share the results on both forums…
Hey guys, long time STH fan, and i was inspired to try out 10Gbase-T… i been wanting 10G for a while but running fiber isn’t something i REALLY have the means to do… but Cat 6A is already ran. so easy peezy. i seen this article servethehome .com/silicom-pe310g2i50-t-intel-x550-10gbase-t-nic-review/ and wound up purchasing 2 X540-T2’s instead of 550’s as they were an order of magnitude cheaper, and pci-e is backwards compatible so i didn’t think anything of it. [Silicom Dual-Port 10G Ethernet Network Adapter PE210G2BPI40-T-SD-BC7A | eBay]itm/175778961812) I realize I’m giving up some hypothetical speed, but anything over gigabit is an upgrade, so I’m willing to do some testing and accept what i get.
My main pc is Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS. My home server is Ubuntu 22.04.6 LTS.
Both computers SEE the cards, but report no cable plugged in. both ports on both cards are flashing.
i crimped the cable myself and tested it with a cable tester, so i know the cable is Cat 6A and in good working order. (only maybe 30 ft long at the maximum, probly closer to 20)
If anybody has any idea what is going on and i need to do to get these up and running, would be much appreciated
The bottom 2 ethernet ports are in the off position so they will not see the connection.
The white ball in the image is a switch.
Click on the right side to turn them on.
Default settings in server distros turn them off all but the primary for security reasons leaving the option to enable them up to the admin.
If your cable passes it should work.
That being said standard cat5 and cat 6 cabling must be connected through a router or network switch.
If not they must be made as crossover cabling for direct machine to machine communication.
With the advances in technology there is a massive push towards cloud storage and ever faster wireless, but its not perfect for all scenarios of network communication.
And many of the old ways are ignored.
even if i plug my working 1Gbps cord into the 2 ports that are off… i am not able to turn them on. They dont see any cable being inserted into them… even if it’s connected to a known good working cable and a known good working router.
Have you tried connecting directly to another linux computer with just a patch cable/crossover cable rather than the cables you ran yourself? Just in case?
See if it detects there’s something on the other end of the cable at all.
@mrosebro have you tried setting up your your nics by using netplan instead of using Ubuntu"s Gui. I had to set up my Intel 350 4 port nic that way. Are you sure you terminated your cable the right way? Teminating Cat 6a isn"t as easy as Cat 6. You have to use a different procedure then Cat 6. I would go to a computer store and purchase an all ready terminated Cat cable.
X540 NICs have been EOL for many years, none sold as new are legit and most sold as used on places like ebay are also fake these days. Just avoid anything that says it is an X540 completely. If you find an X550 under $250 then it is likely fake, as MSRP of that NIC is $294 and reputable places are selling it for around that price or even higher.
Only buy from reputable suppliers who get their supply directly from Intel. This also means higher prices, but those prices are the MSRP set by Intel. When you go elsewhere and find a new one for half price, more than likely it is fake.
Auto MDIX is part of the Gigabit-Spec (and above) because all wire pairs are used for transmission in both directions at the same time (unlike Fast Ethernet).
So no, crossover cables are not required (unless the NIC or switch/hub/router) is old.
Genuine intel chips can be pulled from dead nics and put on new boards of matching or compatible specification. As long as the board doesn’t have a problem, and the heatsink and thermal pads are specced correctly(actually a real problem), they’re genuine intel NICs as much as any other.
Also, there are lots of different X540 card designs, as Intel provides the chips to partners for manufacturing, like any add-in card, and many of those have a board specific to each server line they were intended to slot into.
What, exactly, about that card looks like it’s not a x540? Because I see no significant identifying characteristics that scream “not a real intel x540”, other than those odd white smds I haven’t seen before.
Also worth mentioning, it’s very common to sell refurbs “factory recertified” as “new”, despite being an outright lie(just look at MaxDigitalData for example) and there is actually new-old-stock of a lot of these server parts that have been collecting dust in various warehouses to be used as spares if something goes wrong.
Try to bridge 2 ports of the nic with a CAT5e cable. That should bring up the ports.
I do find x540-AT2 is picky about the device on the other end, but they should be able to talk with itself at full speed (10Gb).
How many PCIe lanes does each card have in its socket? The x540 needs 8 lanes of PCIe Gen 2. If you have it installed in a PCIe Gen 3 8x physical slot that’s only wired electrically for 4 lanes that could cause problems.
Pulling NIC chips off dead cards and putting them on your own PCB is not a legit card, that is a form of counterfeit. If they happen to be matching specifications then great, but still not a legit card. Most of the time though it seems they are not matching spec, the example above for instance. You cannot do a completely different PCB design, using different components and call it an Intel X540. Their site may look really legit, but if they are saying this is a legit Intel X540 NIC when it isnt then I cant really trust anything else on their site either.
Here are pics of what a real Intel X540 looks like. Sadly it is a T1 but it still looks the same minus the 2nd RJ45 port
It’s closer to component level repair than counterfeiting. The most common problem with chinese “knockoff” network cards is often the thermal pads aren’t to spec with the heatsink/mount, providing too much mounting pressure across two mount points on a thinner PCB, leading to flexing over time. That’s something big board partners in freedomland mess up, too.
Most of the function of the PCB is a glorified hardline data cable, and the rest is power delivery and maybe some secondary function chips the main logic part ties into, like memory. Since these aren’t provided as a set of components, but as a specification of what needs to be covered, there’s nothing actually wrong with making your own board design. It’s often necessary to meet the specifications of the market and remain competitive with features anyway.
Is there a real reason to think the one in the OP is fake, besides “it looks different from mine and the more common ones”? Because that probably has more to do with it being a bypass adapter than anything, which afaik is not part of the standard baseline X540 featureset, or any network chip for that matter. Probably what the extra/different SMD choices are about too.
Could also be why it’s not working, if it’s configured to block traffic by default, but I am noop when it comes to server cards and their featuresets.
Also worth noting that the chinese knockoff designs are usually lazy copies of more common cards, so your own card actually is more likely what a knockoff would look similar to.
I’m sorry i havn’t responded sooner. So i know these cards are at least a legitament card. i have found a lot of doumentation. They are a Silicom “board partner” version if you will… like an “asus rtx 3070” for lack of a better analogy… The cards are by default in pass-through mode… There is a way to get them into standard nic mode, and i have found ALL the pdf’s and manuals and drivers and for windows even administration applications… but i have been unable to get them to recognize any kind of cable plugged into them, and i have been unsuccessful trying to get them into standard nic mode. I did try sticking a cable from one port to the other port and it still does not see a connection no matter what i do… I KNOW it’s a lack of understanding of the software side… the drivers and configuration etc, but i have had no success yet getting them to actually operate as a standard nic. and i dont believe the pci-e lanes are the issue, because if it was - why would the operating system see the card AT ALL? it recognizes the card, shows it in network connections in both ubuntu AND windows… i just can’t get the damn thing to switch over the standard nic mode (vs passthrough mode)
