2.5gbe network card for SCALE: Realtek or Intel drivers?

[Patrick_3000]

I have SCALE installed on an ASRock Rack x570d4u-2L2T board with a Ryzen 5 Pro 4650G CPU and 128 GB ECC memory, originally for data storage, which is still its main purpose, but recently I've been migrating various computers to VMs on SCALE.

My next project is going to be migrating my OPNsense firewall from bare metal to a SCALE-hosted VM. I realize there are pluses and minuses with this, but I believe it makes sense in my use case.

Needless to say, I'm being careful about how I set this up, since downtime of either the physical SCALE server or the VM will take down the network in my house, which among other things is used by my spouse to work from home.

So, I'm thinking carefully about what network card I'll use for the physical adapters that I will dedicate as virtual adapters in the OPNsense VM. I need it to connect at 2.5gbps to the modem, and even though I have dual on-board 10 gbps NICs, they don't support multigig and will only negotiate down to 1 gbps.

Here, then, is my main question: what's the best 2.5 gpbs network card to use with SCALE? Dual port would be fine, although quad would be even better. There's a debate regarding Realtek vs. Intel drivers. Everyone used to say Intel was better, but the power-saving features of Intel's 2.5gb drivers have sometimes caused drops that require a reboot, which would be unaccaptebale in my use case. Not only do I read this online, but it's happened to me personally on another computer. I guess Intel has tried to fix this, and maybe there is an Intel 2.5 gb card that can be trusted now, or maybe Realtek is still best. Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated.

 

[danb35]

Realtek is still best.

No, Realtek sucks. Intel 225v Gen 3, or 226, are reported to be solid, at least as much as anything 2.5 GbE is.

 

[Patrick_3000]

No, Realtek sucks. Intel 225v Gen 3, or 226, are reported to be solid, at least as much as anything 2.5 GbE is.

I'll look for those. The fact is that it just has to be able to connect at 2.5gbps, so in theory a 10gbps NIC that can reliably negotiate down to 2.5gbps would also work, but dual 10gbps would be a waste of $300, and in any case, I've had bad luck before with negotiating down to 2.5gbps, which is why I'd prefer 2.5 gbps.

 

[Patrick_3000]

I just did some searching and saw multiple review sites as well as Reddit threads suggesting there are problems with drops with the I226v chipset. It seems that maybe I225V Gen 3 could be the best Intel option for 2.5gb.

Here is what I know: On my current bare metal OPNsense system, I have a 2.5gb card with Intel chipset, and I've been plagued with problems with drops just like others report. In particular, if my Internet goes out for even a minute or two, the card loses connectivity and doesn't come back online until a reboot, after which it's fine and will run for weeks or months until there's another Internet outage, even a brief one. Fortunately in my case, I have a dual WAN setup with failover to an old Intel 1gb card, so I don't actually lose Internet, but it's still highly problematic.

In any case, it appears that power saving "features" may be getting in the way of reliability. Everything I read suggests that Realtek has really stepped up its game. I haven't made a final decision yet, but I might go with Realtek. If anyone has a SCALE-specific report, I'd appreciate hearing it.

 

[elvisimprsntr]

@Patrick_3000

So if you host DHCP/DNS on an OPNsense VM, your entire network becomes unusable during NAS reboot or upgrade.

GL in your quest, but seems like more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Davvo]

Don't go 2.5Gbps, either stay 1Gbps or make the jump to 10Gbps (available at 60 USD on ebay): it saves you much headache.

Is my Realtek ethernet really that bad?

One of the longest running issues faced here in the forums may be people who come to these forums, wanting to recycle an old PC into a NAS. In general, this is a bad idea because typical PC hardware isn't optimized towards the task. However...

www.truenas.com

If you decide to go Realtek (or anything else), please give us feedback.

 

[Etorix]

Here, then, is my main question: what's the best 2.5 gpbs network card to use with SCALE?

You've, wisely, asked about "the best" 2.5G NIC. But the deepest answer is that none of the contenders is "good".

What about using the high-quality 10 GbE NIC you have on-board with an appropriate 2.5/10 GbE switch?

 

[Patrick_3000]

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions.

The conundrum is that, increasingly, cable modems are 2.5 gbps for anyone with Internet speeds exceeding 1 gbps. There are no 10 gbps modems made, at least when I looked a few months ago. So, for those with 2.5 gpbs modems, there is a need to reliably connect from the firewall at 2.5 gbps, which means either a 2.5 gbps card or a 10 gbps card that can reliably negotiate down to 2.5 gbps rather than dropping to 1 gbps, as many do.

In light of the comments in this thread that 2.5 gbps cards are mediocre at best, which I kind of agree with, I've decided to get a 10gbps card with Intel X550-T2 chipset, which supposedly can negotate to 2.5 gbps. It appears that the dual version is available used for under $200.

 

[asap2go]

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions.

The conundrum is that, increasingly, cable modems are 2.5 gbps for anyone with Internet speeds exceeding 1 gbps. There are no 10 gbps modems made, at least when I looked a few months ago. So, for those with 2.5 gpbs modems, there is a need to reliably connect from the firewall at 2.5 gbps, which means either a 2.5 gbps card or a 10 gbps card that can reliably negotiate down to 2.5 gbps rather than dropping to 1 gbps, as many do.

In light of the comments in this thread that 2.5 gbps cards are mediocre at best, which I kind of agree with, I've decided to get a 10gbps card with Intel X550-T2 chipset, which supposedly can negotate to 2.5 gbps. It appears that the dual version is available used for under $200.

My X550-T2 worked at 2.5GbE on my Netgear MS510TXUP before I plugged it into the 10GbE ports.

Also never had issues with 2.5GbE Realtek stuff under Ubuntu or Manjaro for basic usage.
FreeBSD drivers might be a different story though. Better handpick your devices for that or prepare for something similar to the good old 2000s linux desktop experience. Where everything either just explodes randomly or plainly refuses to step into existence at all.

 

[Davvo]

basic usage.

That's the issue, server loads are not basic usage :)

 

[asap2go]

That's the issue, server loads are not basic usage :)

What advanced features would you use on a 2.5GbE WAN port that the Realtek would be missing? I seriously don't know.

Edit: I missed the virtualisation part. Never mind :D

 

[Davvo]

What advanced features would you use on a 2.5GbE WAN port that the Realtek would be missing? I seriously don't know.

A Realtek NIC that works in basic desktop conditions is different from a server's heavy, continuous loads.

 

[MrGuvernment]

What advanced features would you use on a 2.5GbE WAN port that the Realtek would be missing? I seriously don't know.

Edit: I missed the virtualisation part. Never mind :D

Its more about stability and Intels solid track record in BSD/NIX based OS's vs realtek.

While you are having issues with an intel nic, Intel's nics...just work. At least has been my experience with virtual and physical configs. I have been using PFSense for ...oh...15 years or so...from server to desktops for pfsense to run on.

 

[Etorix]

What advanced features would you use on a 2.5GbE WAN port that the Realtek would be missing?

Managing traffic and reordering packets when ZFS throws data packets for multiple clients as fast as it can…

 

[Lipsum Ipsum]

Its more about stability and Intels solid track record in BSD/NIX based OS's vs realtek.

Intel i225/226 has join the conversation.
Intel i225/226 has suddenly disconnected.

 

[Davvo]

Intel i225/226 has join the conversation.
Intel i225/226 has suddenly disconnected.

That's why 2.5Gbps is so infamious: if even Intel didn't get it right until the 3rd revision it must mean something.

 

[Lipsum Ipsum]

That's why 2.5Gbps is so infamious: if even Intel didn't get it right until the 3rd revision it must mean something.

I have several computers with i225 Rev3- or i226-based NICs in them. I'm not convinced Intel ever "got it right" as I've never successfully got them to reliably connect and stay connected at 2.5gbit. It's been a year though since I last tried.

 

[MrGuvernment]

Question would also be, what switch is it connecting into, that could also play and issue, vendors being difficult between each other, using some weird standards in their drivers or something..

 

[Lipsum Ipsum]

Question would also be, what switch is it connecting into, that could also play and issue, vendors being difficult between each other, using some weird standards in their drivers or something..

It was a nic-to-nic direct connection with multiple different commercial network cables tried. No switch involved.

 

[Patrick_3000]

I hadn't realized this thread was still active until I checked just now.

I have some follow-up information. I had a 5 gbps QNAP card lying around that can negotiate to 2.5 gbps that I didn't think would be recognized in SCALE because when I checked last year, it wasn't recognized in Linux without installing special drivers. But I tried it in SCALE 22.12.4.2, and it was recognized right away, so it must have been added to a later kernel.

It's the QNAP QXG-5G1T-111C, and it has an Aquantia chipset. It has a small form factor and heatsink so is probably efficient, and it only uses a single PCIE 3.0 lane.

It's installed and running perfectly assigned to an OPNsense VM and connected to a 2.5 gbps modem. I've tested it by cutting off Internet to the modem. SCALE shows the adapter going offline, and then when Internet is restored, it comes back online right away. So it doesn't have the problem with not coming back after an outage that has been found with some Intel 2.5 gbps adapters.

I would recommend this card, or else the dual adapter version, for anyone who needs a reliable network card in SCALE capable of negotiating to 2.5 gbps.