FreeNAS drops it's connection at the port on the switch

[CMDR Sweeper]

Hello, my FreeNAS box has for a while now been dropping it's connection on my Netgear GS724T 24 port switch.
It usually happens after 3-4 days where the FreeNAS disappears from the network, and the switch goes dark as if you had yanked the cable, but it is still connected.
If I change the port to one other of the 24 ports it will work again, but that port remains dead until I give the switch a reboot command.

This issue however is ONLY experienced with the FreeNAS box, the other devices, both Windows and Linux connected to the switch works fine with no issues.
I have had the same motherboard that is now used in the FreeNAS in a desktop before, hooked up to the same switch and it didn't exhibit the same symptoms under either Windows or Linux.
I have also tried updating the firmware on the switch to the latest, and it didn't change anything.

Only thing I haven't done is updating my FreeNAS box from 9.2.0 just yet due to the Active Directory problems that seems to be present, as I got that working on 9.2.0 at the moment.
In the Netgear Switch I get a "No energy detected" on that port so I would guess there is something related to shutting down the network interface to save power or something, can this feature be disabled?

The motherboard that FreeNAS uses with onboard networking is an ABIT IP35 Pro that has a Realtek card.

 

[ser_rhaegar]

Disable this on your switch port for the FreeNAS box:

Auto Power-Down Mode
. Use the menu to select the port’s Green Ethernet mode,
which can be one of the following:
•
Enable: Specifies that if no link partner is present, the port can go down for short
periods of time to reduce overall power consumption. The port wakes up
periodically to check for link pulses.
Disable: The port does not participate in Green Ethernet mode and provides full
power to the port even if there is no link partner.

http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GS716T_GS724T_SWA_15Feb12.pdf

 

[CMDR Sweeper]

Well that was one of suspected culprits actually, and I have had that disabled for that port, but it still died after 3-4 days of 24/7 operation.
The built in cable test says there is a breakage at 2 meters, which is the correct length of the Cat-5 cable I use, which means it points to the FreeNAS side of things again.

 

[ser_rhaegar]

Get an Intel GbE card for the FreeNAS box then. That is the most recommended type of NIC for FreeNAS.

 

[CMDR Sweeper]

Well for the future that will take up some PCI-E slots that I do not have that many of, so I was hoping there was a fix for the Realtek I already got.
At present swapping the board isn't an option though as I would need new RAM, new CPU and a new board to top it off.

 

[ser_rhaegar]

Unfortunately the general response you're likely to get is that the Realtek card is a poor choice for FreeNAS and to read the stickies/buy Intel PCI-E card.

 

[CMDR Sweeper]

Well the sadest thing is all of these problems started when I upgraded from FreeNAS 8.3.0 so I will probably then just downgrade it and stick with that then sadly.
A shame when newer updates tends to cause more problems, even if I miss out on features, I have learned that the Samba project tends to release a bit of software that behaves wonky so you got to keep on your tippy toes.

 

[CMDR Sweeper]

Update:
I have now tracked the issue to FreeNAS, when it happens the FreeNAS shuts down the NIC, as if the power wasn't even applied, so clearly there is something in the driver for powersaving that causes the issue.
Is there any easy "Keep alive" system I can try to apply to see if it is determined by network activity to prevent the powerdown of the NIC?
I guess I could try to rig up a ping script and just have it spam pings to my other server and see if it goes down.

 

[cyberjock]

Gee.. you are using a Realtek.

Color me shocked that you'd have problems. I'd have NEVER expected that in a million years.

Yes, I was being sarcastic. /smh

 

[CMDR Sweeper]

Yep, I am using what I got availible and what worked before, but I'll keep investigating and drop the bug report on the tracker so possibly it can be patched.
I seriously doubt I am the only one who has this issue.

 

[cyberjock]

No.. and you know what we tell everyone else? Go get an Intel NIC and stop trying to make crap hardware with a crap driver work.

Realtek is NOT FreeBSD friendly. The driver was basically hacked together. So unless you actually have code to provide, the chances of it actually getting fixed for your NIC are approximately zero.

 

[CMDR Sweeper]

Well then the past hack for 8.3.0 worked flawlessly, meaning that reverting to that would be a fix for it.
As for getting an Intel NIC, unless you buy and ship one to me that won't happen, only Intel NIC I can buy over here STARTS at 150 up to 200 dollars per NIC, and I do not have that much money to fork out on a NIC.
So I got what ABIT soldered on the board to work with at the moment.

 

[cyberjock]

Sorry. Guess you'll have this problem for a long time to come. You really aren't understanding the problem, and that's okay. I just wish you'd understand that even assuming a Realtek will work is just.... not how it usually works out. If you had read my noobie guide you'd have seen this:

lease recognize that your Windows hardware knowledge may provide some small insight for selecting hardware but is not equivalent to expertly choosing hardware for a FreeBSD based system. For example, ECC RAM in a desktop isn’t too useful. But for ZFS it can be the difference between saving your data and a complete loss of the zpool with no chance for recovery. Realtek NICs are common in the Windows world, but perform extremely poorly(or not at all!) in FreeBSD.

I put that in there because more often than not Realteks just don't perform and aren't reliable. Take it or leave it. If you are expecting a rapid turnaround and fix for your driver via a ticket you are going to be disappointed. If you read through our stickies(or search this forum for realtek) you'd find that realteks are just absolutely horrible choices for a server.

Sorry that an Intel is so expensive where you live, but that's about the only option I see for you that has a chance of success. But feel free to put the ticket in. I'm sure you'll give up on FreeNAS long before you get a fix for Realtek's shitastic hardware.

Not to pour salt in your wounds, but your hardware isn't exactly recommended for FreeNAS either. No ECC RAM support, etc etc. Honestly, if you had done more homework and bought more appropriate components you might not be having the problem you are having. But just based on your motherboard design, this is a disaster in the making.

Good luck!

 

[CMDR Sweeper]

Yes I am not running ECC, that is a cost issue as well, but my math on the regard was very very simple, something your post should reflect.
Is it more safe for the data to live on a EXT4 mdadm / NTFS Softraid / fakeRAID vs on a ZFS system without ECC?
From what I have heard and seen, the ZFS is a better upgrade compared to that setup while ECC would be ideal.
My main goal here isn't just to solve the problem, with the traffic the FreeNAS has at the moment it isn't vital as it is the 3rd tier backup anyway, but I do try to leave threads with a solution if someone finds this post 4-5 years down the road on a Google search.

Which is why I am going to try workarounds, first let my Smokeping server try keeping it alive if it is powersaving that is the problem, as it doesn't see much traffic otherwise.
ANY workaround I come up with may be useful for others in the same situation, wether that be downgrading to FreeNAS 8.3.0 (I lose the data on it, but that is fine, I can get that from the 2nd tier) and sticking with that, I also got some spare Socket 775 boards, but I suspect they are Realtek as well.
But all my components are graveyard hardware in a sense as I presently can't find the funds past the rent to justify buying new hardware, you just gotta do what you gotta do.

 

[cyberjock]

To be honest, considering the learning curve for learning FreeNAS, the possibility for user-error, and the fact that you aren't using ECC RAM, I'd consider using EXT4 to probably be safer(assuming linux is your OS of choice). There's times when your native OS is best, and there's times when it's necessary to take all of the risks of user error, hardware problems, etc and accept them because you know your tradeoff is better. But you've got no guarantee that you are actually gaining anything, but plenty of ways you could be worse off.

 

[joeschmuck]

Update:
I have now tracked the issue to FreeNAS, when it happens the FreeNAS shuts down the NIC, as if the power wasn't even applied, so clearly there is something in the driver for powersaving that causes the issue.
Is there any easy "Keep alive" system I can try to apply to see if it is determined by network activity to prevent the powerdown of the NIC?
I guess I could try to rig up a ping script and just have it spam pings to my other server and see if it goes down.

I didn't see it here but I would assume that you do not have the Power Saving Daemon turned on? I just want to ensure the obvious was covered. And the BIOS settings have been checked for you MB.