e1000: update README for e1000

Signed-off-by: NAuke Kok <auke-jan.h.kok@intel.com>

Documentation/networking/e1000.txt

 Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/1000 Family of Adapters
 ===============================================================
 
-November 15, 2005
+September 26, 2006
 
 
 Contents
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ Contents
 
 - In This Release
 - Identifying Your Adapter
+- Building and Installation
 - Command Line Parameters
 - Speed and Duplex Configuration
 - Additional Configurations
@@ -41,6 +42,9 @@ or later), lspci, and ifconfig to obtain the same information.
 Instructions on updating ethtool can be found in the section "Additional
 Configurations" later in this document.
 
+NOTE: The Intel(R) 82562v 10/100 Network Connection only provides 10/100
+support.
+
 
 Identifying Your Adapter
 ========================
@@ -57,22 +61,21 @@ networking link on the left to search for your adapter:
     http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df/support_intel.asp
 
 
-Command Line Parameters =======================
+Command Line Parameters
+=======================
 
 If the driver is built as a module, the  following optional parameters
-are used by entering them on the command line with the modprobe or insmod
-command using this syntax:
+are used by entering them on the command line with the modprobe command
+using this syntax:
 
      modprobe e1000 [<option>=<VAL1>,<VAL2>,...]
 
-     insmod e1000 [<option>=<VAL1>,<VAL2>,...]
-
 For example, with two PRO/1000 PCI adapters, entering:
 
-     insmod e1000 TxDescriptors=80,128
+     modprobe e1000 TxDescriptors=80,128
 
-loads the e1000 driver with 80 TX descriptors for the first adapter and 128
-TX descriptors for the second adapter.
+loads the e1000 driver with 80 TX descriptors for the first adapter and
+128 TX descriptors for the second adapter.
 
 The default value for each parameter is generally the recommended setting,
 unless otherwise noted.
@@ -96,9 +99,9 @@ AutoNeg
 Valid Range:   0x01-0x0F, 0x20-0x2F
 Default Value: 0x2F
 
-This parameter is a bit mask that specifies which speed and duplex
-settings the board advertises. When this parameter is used, the Speed
-and Duplex parameters must not be specified.
+This parameter is a bit-mask that specifies the speed and duplex settings
+advertised by the adapter.  When this parameter is used, the Speed and
+Duplex parameters must not be specified.
 
 NOTE:  Refer to the Speed and Duplex section of this readme for more
        information on the AutoNeg parameter.
@@ -110,14 +113,15 @@ Duplex
 Valid Range:   0-2 (0=auto-negotiate, 1=half, 2=full)
 Default Value: 0
 
-Defines the direction in which data is allowed to flow. Can be either
-one or two-directional. If both Duplex and the link partner are set to
-auto-negotiate, the board auto-detects the correct duplex. If the link
-partner is forced (either full or half), Duplex defaults to half-duplex.
+This defines the direction in which data is allowed to flow.  Can be
+either one or two-directional.  If both Duplex and the link partner are
+set to auto-negotiate, the board auto-detects the correct duplex.  If the
+link partner is forced (either full or half), Duplex defaults to half-
+duplex.
 
 
 FlowControl
-----------
+-----------
 Valid Range:   0-3 (0=none, 1=Rx only, 2=Tx only, 3=Rx&Tx)
 Default Value: Reads flow control settings from the EEPROM
 
@@ -127,14 +131,55 @@ to Ethernet PAUSE frames.
 
 InterruptThrottleRate
 ---------------------
-(not supported on Intel 82542, 82543 or 82544-based adapters)
-Valid Range:   100-100000 (0=off, 1=dynamic)
-Default Value: 8000
-
-This value represents the maximum number of interrupts per second the
-controller generates. InterruptThrottleRate is another setting used in
-interrupt moderation. Dynamic mode uses a heuristic algorithm to adjust
-InterruptThrottleRate based on the current traffic load.
+(not supported on Intel(R) 82542, 82543 or 82544-based adapters)
+Valid Range:   0,1,3,100-100000 (0=off, 1=dynamic, 3=dynamic conservative)
+Default Value: 3
+
+The driver can limit the amount of interrupts per second that the adapter
+will generate for incoming packets. It does this by writing a value to the 
+adapter that is based on the maximum amount of interrupts that the adapter 
+will generate per second.
+
+Setting InterruptThrottleRate to a value greater or equal to 100
+will program the adapter to send out a maximum of that many interrupts
+per second, even if more packets have come in. This reduces interrupt
+load on the system and can lower CPU utilization under heavy load,
+but will increase latency as packets are not processed as quickly.
+
+The default behaviour of the driver previously assumed a static 
+InterruptThrottleRate value of 8000, providing a good fallback value for 
+all traffic types,but lacking in small packet performance and latency. 
+The hardware can handle many more small packets per second however, and 
+for this reason an adaptive interrupt moderation algorithm was implemented.
+
+Since 7.3.x, the driver has two adaptive modes (setting 1 or 3) in which
+it dynamically adjusts the InterruptThrottleRate value based on the traffic 
+that it receives. After determining the type of incoming traffic in the last
+timeframe, it will adjust the InterruptThrottleRate to an appropriate value 
+for that traffic.
+
+The algorithm classifies the incoming traffic every interval into
+classes.  Once the class is determined, the InterruptThrottleRate value is 
+adjusted to suit that traffic type the best. There are three classes defined: 
+"Bulk traffic", for large amounts of packets of normal size; "Low latency",
+for small amounts of traffic and/or a significant percentage of small
+packets; and "Lowest latency", for almost completely small packets or 
+minimal traffic.
+
+In dynamic conservative mode, the InterruptThrottleRate value is set to 4000 
+for traffic that falls in class "Bulk traffic". If traffic falls in the "Low 
+latency" or "Lowest latency" class, the InterruptThrottleRate is increased 
+stepwise to 20000. This default mode is suitable for most applications.
+
+For situations where low latency is vital such as cluster or
+grid computing, the algorithm can reduce latency even more when
+InterruptThrottleRate is set to mode 1. In this mode, which operates
+the same as mode 3, the InterruptThrottleRate will be increased stepwise to 
+70000 for traffic in class "Lowest latency".
+
+Setting InterruptThrottleRate to 0 turns off any interrupt moderation
+and may improve small packet latency, but is generally not suitable
+for bulk throughput traffic.
 
 NOTE:  InterruptThrottleRate takes precedence over the TxAbsIntDelay and
        RxAbsIntDelay parameters.  In other words, minimizing the receive
@@ -142,7 +187,7 @@ NOTE:  InterruptThrottleRate takes precedence over the TxAbsIntDelay and
        generate more interrupts than what the Interrupt Throttle Rate
        allows.
 
-CAUTION:  If you are using the Intel PRO/1000 CT Network Connection
+CAUTION:  If you are using the Intel(R) PRO/1000 CT Network Connection
           (controller 82547), setting InterruptThrottleRate to a value
           greater than 75,000, may hang (stop transmitting) adapters
           under certain network conditions.  If this occurs a NETDEV
@@ -158,7 +203,7 @@ NOTE:  When e1000 is loaded with default settings and multiple adapters
        the overall throughput, we recommend that you load the driver as
        follows:
 
-           insmod e1000.o InterruptThrottleRate=3000,3000,3000
+           modprobe e1000 InterruptThrottleRate=3000,3000,3000
 
        This sets the InterruptThrottleRate to 3000 interrupts/sec for
        the first, second, and third instances of the driver.  The range
@@ -168,16 +213,25 @@ NOTE:  When e1000 is loaded with default settings and multiple adapters
        RX_POLLING (NAPI) and default driver settings.
 
 
+
 RxDescriptors
 -------------
 Valid Range:   80-256 for 82542 and 82543-based adapters
                80-4096 for all other supported adapters
 Default Value: 256
 
-This value specifies the number of receive descriptors allocated by the
-driver. Increasing this value allows the driver to buffer more incoming
-packets.  Each descriptor is 16 bytes.  A receive buffer is also
-allocated for each descriptor and is 2048.
+This value specifies the number of receive buffer descriptors allocated
+by the driver.  Increasing this value allows the driver to buffer more
+incoming packets, at the expense of increased system memory utilization.
+
+Each descriptor is 16 bytes.  A receive buffer is also allocated for each
+descriptor and can be either 2048, 4096, 8192, or 16384 bytes, depending 
+on the MTU setting. The maximum MTU size is 16110.
+
+NOTE:  MTU designates the frame size.  It only needs to be set for Jumbo 
+       Frames.  Depending on the available system resources, the request 
+       for a higher number of receive descriptors may be denied.  In this 
+       case, use a lower number.
 
 
 RxIntDelay
@@ -304,7 +358,7 @@ auto-negotiation process.  It should be used when you wish to control which
 speed and duplex combinations are advertised during the auto-negotiation
 process.
 
-The parameter may be specified as either a decimal or hexidecimal value as
+The parameter may be specified as either a decimal or hexadecimal value as
 determined by the bitmap below.
 
 Bit position   7      6      5       4       3      2      1       0
@@ -337,7 +391,6 @@ Additional Configurations
 
   Configuring the Driver on Different Distributions
   -------------------------------------------------
-
   Configuring a network driver to load properly when the system is started
   is distribution dependent.  Typically, the configuration process involves
   adding an alias line to /etc/modules.conf or /etc/modprobe.conf as well
@@ -346,11 +399,11 @@ Additional Configurations
   To learn the proper way to configure a network device for your system,
   refer to your distribution documentation.  If during this process you are
   asked for the driver or module name, the name for the Linux Base Driver
-  for the Intel PRO/1000 Family of Adapters is e1000.
+  for the Intel(R) PRO/1000 Family of Adapters is e1000.
 
   As an example, if you install the e1000 driver for two PRO/1000 adapters
   (eth0 and eth1) and set the speed and duplex to 10full and 100half, add
-  the following to modules.conf or modprobe.conf:
+  the following to modules.conf or or modprobe.conf:
 
        alias eth0 e1000
        alias eth1 e1000
@@ -358,7 +411,6 @@ Additional Configurations
 
   Viewing Link Messages
   ---------------------
-
   Link messages will not be displayed to the console if the distribution is
   restricting system messages.  In order to see network driver link messages
   on your console, set dmesg to eight by entering the following:
@@ -369,11 +421,9 @@ Additional Configurations
 
   Jumbo Frames
   ------------
-
-  The driver supports Jumbo Frames for all adapters except 82542 and
-  82573-based adapters. Jumbo Frames support is enabled by changing the
-  MTU to a value larger than the default of 1500. Use the ifconfig command
-  to increase the MTU size. For example:
+  Jumbo Frames support is enabled by changing the MTU to a value larger than
+  the default of 1500.  Use the ifconfig command to increase the MTU size.
+  For example:
 
        ifconfig eth<x> mtu 9000 up
 
@@ -390,26 +440,49 @@ Additional Configurations
 
   - To enable Jumbo Frames, increase the MTU size on the interface beyond
     1500.
+
   - The maximum MTU setting for Jumbo Frames is 16110.  This value coincides
     with the maximum Jumbo Frames size of 16128.
+
   - Using Jumbo Frames at 10 or 100 Mbps may result in poor performance or
     loss of link.
+
   - Some Intel gigabit adapters that support Jumbo Frames have a frame size
     limit of 9238 bytes, with a corresponding MTU size limit of 9216 bytes.
-    The adapters with this limitation are based on the Intel 82571EB and
-    82572EI controllers, which correspond to these product names:
-     Intel® PRO/1000 PT Dual Port Server Adapter
-     Intel® PRO/1000 PF Dual Port Server Adapter
-     Intel® PRO/1000 PT Server Adapter
-     Intel® PRO/1000 PT Desktop Adapter
-     Intel® PRO/1000 PF Server Adapter
-
-  - The Intel PRO/1000 PM Network Connection does not support jumbo frames.
+    The adapters with this limitation are based on the Intel(R) 82571EB,
+    82572EI, 82573L and 80003ES2LAN controller.  These correspond to the
+    following product names:
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 PT Server Adapter
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 PT Desktop Adapter
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 PT Network Connection
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 PT Dual Port Server Adapter
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 PT Dual Port Network Connection
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 PF Server Adapter
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 PF Network Connection
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 PF Dual Port Server Adapter
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 PB Server Connection
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 PL Network Connection
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 EB Network Connection with I/O Acceleration
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 EB Backplane Connection with I/O Acceleration
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 PT Quad Port Server Adapter
+
+  - Adapters based on the Intel(R) 82542 and 82573V/E controller do not
+    support Jumbo Frames. These correspond to the following product names:
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 Gigabit Server Adapter
+     Intel(R) PRO/1000 PM Network Connection
+
+  - The following adapters do not support Jumbo Frames:
+     Intel(R) 82562V 10/100 Network Connection
+     Intel(R) 82566DM Gigabit Network Connection
+     Intel(R) 82566DC Gigabit Network Connection
+     Intel(R) 82566MM Gigabit Network Connection
+     Intel(R) 82566MC Gigabit Network Connection
+     Intel(R) 82562GT 10/100 Network Connection
+     Intel(R) 82562G 10/100 Network Connection
 
 
   Ethtool
   -------
-
   The driver utilizes the ethtool interface for driver configuration and
   diagnostics, as well as displaying statistical information.  Ethtool
   version 1.6 or later is required for this functionality.
@@ -423,7 +496,6 @@ Additional Configurations
 
   Enabling Wake on LAN* (WoL)
   ---------------------------
-
   WoL is configured through the Ethtool* utility.  Ethtool is included with
   all versions of Red Hat after Red Hat 7.2.  For other Linux distributions,
   download and install Ethtool from the following website:
@@ -436,9 +508,15 @@ Additional Configurations
   For this driver version, in order to enable WoL, the e1000 driver must be
   loaded when shutting down or rebooting the system.
 
+  Wake On LAN is only supported on port A for the following devices:
+  Intel(R) PRO/1000 PT Dual Port Network Connection
+  Intel(R) PRO/1000 PT Dual Port Server Connection
+  Intel(R) PRO/1000 PT Dual Port Server Adapter
+  Intel(R) PRO/1000 PF Dual Port Server Adapter
+  Intel(R) PRO/1000 PT Quad Port Server Adapter 
+
   NAPI
   ----
-
   NAPI (Rx polling mode) is supported in the e1000 driver.  NAPI is enabled
   or disabled based on the configuration of the kernel.  To override
   the default, use the following compile-time flags.
@@ -457,89 +535,106 @@ Additional Configurations
 Known Issues
 ============
 
-  Jumbo Frames System Requirement
-  -------------------------------
-
-  Memory allocation failures have been observed on Linux systems with 64 MB
-  of RAM or less that are running Jumbo Frames. If you are using Jumbo
-  Frames, your system may require more than the advertised minimum
-  requirement of 64 MB of system memory.
-
-  Performance Degradation with Jumbo Frames
-  -----------------------------------------
-
-  Degradation in throughput performance may be observed in some Jumbo frames
-  environments. If this is observed, increasing the application's socket
-  buffer size and/or increasing the /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_*mem entry values
-  may help. See the specific application manual and
-  /usr/src/linux*/Documentation/
-  networking/ip-sysctl.txt for more details.
-
-  Jumbo frames on Foundry BigIron 8000 switch
-  -------------------------------------------
-  There is a known issue using Jumbo frames when connected to a Foundry
-  BigIron 8000 switch. This is a 3rd party limitation. If you experience
-  loss of packets, lower the MTU size.
-
-  Multiple Interfaces on Same Ethernet Broadcast Network
-  ------------------------------------------------------
-
-  Due to the default ARP behavior on Linux, it is not possible to have
-  one system on two IP networks in the same Ethernet broadcast domain
-  (non-partitioned switch) behave as expected. All Ethernet interfaces
-  will respond to IP traffic for any IP address assigned to the system.
-  This results in unbalanced receive traffic.
-
-  If you have multiple interfaces in a server, either turn on ARP
-  filtering by entering:
+Dropped Receive Packets on Half-duplex 10/100 Networks
+------------------------------------------------------
+If you have an Intel PCI Express adapter running at 10mbps or 100mbps, half-
+duplex, you may observe occasional dropped receive packets.  There are no
+workarounds for this problem in this network configuration.  The network must
+be updated to operate in full-duplex, and/or 1000mbps only.
+
+Jumbo Frames System Requirement
+-------------------------------
+Memory allocation failures have been observed on Linux systems with 64 MB
+of RAM or less that are running Jumbo Frames.  If you are using Jumbo
+Frames, your system may require more than the advertised minimum
+requirement of 64 MB of system memory.
+
+Performance Degradation with Jumbo Frames
+-----------------------------------------
+Degradation in throughput performance may be observed in some Jumbo frames
+environments.  If this is observed, increasing the application's socket
+buffer size and/or increasing the /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_*mem entry values
+may help.  See the specific application manual and
+/usr/src/linux*/Documentation/
+networking/ip-sysctl.txt for more details.
+
+Jumbo Frames on Foundry BigIron 8000 switch
+-------------------------------------------
+There is a known issue using Jumbo frames when connected to a Foundry
+BigIron 8000 switch.  This is a 3rd party limitation.  If you experience
+loss of packets, lower the MTU size.
+
+Allocating Rx Buffers when Using Jumbo Frames 
+---------------------------------------------
+Allocating Rx buffers when using Jumbo Frames on 2.6.x kernels may fail if 
+the available memory is heavily fragmented. This issue may be seen with PCI-X 
+adapters or with packet split disabled. This can be reduced or eliminated 
+by changing the amount of available memory for receive buffer allocation, by
+increasing /proc/sys/vm/min_free_kbytes. 
+
+Multiple Interfaces on Same Ethernet Broadcast Network
+------------------------------------------------------
+Due to the default ARP behavior on Linux, it is not possible to have
+one system on two IP networks in the same Ethernet broadcast domain
+(non-partitioned switch) behave as expected.  All Ethernet interfaces
+will respond to IP traffic for any IP address assigned to the system.
+This results in unbalanced receive traffic.
+
+If you have multiple interfaces in a server, either turn on ARP
+filtering by entering:
 
     echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/all/arp_filter
-  (this only works if your kernel's version is higher than 2.4.5),
+(this only works if your kernel's version is higher than 2.4.5),
 
-  NOTE: This setting is not saved across reboots. The configuration
-  change can be made permanent by adding the line:
+NOTE: This setting is not saved across reboots.  The configuration
+change can be made permanent by adding the line:
     net.ipv4.conf.all.arp_filter = 1
-  to the file /etc/sysctl.conf
+to the file /etc/sysctl.conf
 
       or,
 
-  install the interfaces in separate broadcast domains (either in
-  different switches or in a switch partitioned to VLANs).
-
-  82541/82547 can't link or are slow to link with some link partners
-  -----------------------------------------------------------------
+install the interfaces in separate broadcast domains (either in
+different switches or in a switch partitioned to VLANs).
 
-  There is a known compatibility issue with 82541/82547 and some
-  low-end switches where the link will not be established, or will
-  be slow to establish.  In particular, these switches are known to
-  be incompatible with 82541/82547:
+82541/82547 can't link or are slow to link with some link partners
+-----------------------------------------------------------------
+There is a known compatibility issue with 82541/82547 and some
+low-end switches where the link will not be established, or will
+be slow to establish.  In particular, these switches are known to
+be incompatible with 82541/82547:
 
     Planex FXG-08TE
     I-O Data ETG-SH8
 
-  To workaround this issue, the driver can be compiled with an override
-  of the PHY's master/slave setting.  Forcing master or forcing slave
-  mode will improve time-to-link.
+To workaround this issue, the driver can be compiled with an override
+of the PHY's master/slave setting.  Forcing master or forcing slave
+mode will improve time-to-link.
 
-      # make EXTRA_CFLAGS=-DE1000_MASTER_SLAVE=<n>
+    # make CFLAGS_EXTRA=-DE1000_MASTER_SLAVE=<n>
 
-  Where <n> is:
+Where <n> is:
 
     0 = Hardware default
     1 = Master mode
     2 = Slave mode
     3 = Auto master/slave
 
-  Disable rx flow control with ethtool
-  ------------------------------------
+Disable rx flow control with ethtool
+------------------------------------
+In order to disable receive flow control using ethtool, you must turn
+off auto-negotiation on the same command line.
 
-  In order to disable receive flow control using ethtool, you must turn
-  off auto-negotiation on the same command line.
-
-  For example:
+For example:
 
    ethtool -A eth? autoneg off rx off
 
+Unplugging network cable while ethtool -p is running
+----------------------------------------------------
+In kernel versions 2.5.50 and later (including 2.6 kernel), unplugging
+the network cable while ethtool -p is running will cause the system to
+become unresponsive to keyboard commands, except for control-alt-delete.
+Restarting the system appears to be the only remedy.
+
 
 Support
 =======
@@ -548,24 +643,10 @@ For general information, go to the Intel support website at:
 
     http://support.intel.com
 
-    or the Intel Wired Networking project hosted by Sourceforge at:
+or the Intel Wired Networking project hosted by Sourceforge at:
 
     http://sourceforge.net/projects/e1000
 
 If an issue is identified with the released source code on the supported
 kernel with a supported adapter, email the specific information related
-to the issue to e1000-devel@lists.sourceforge.net
-
-
-License
-=======
-
-This software program is released under the terms of a license agreement
-between you ('Licensee') and Intel. Do not use or load this software or any
-associated materials (collectively, the 'Software') until you have carefully
-read the full terms and conditions of the file COPYING located in this software
-package. By loading or using the Software, you agree to the terms of this
-Agreement. If you do not agree with the terms of this Agreement, do not
-install or use the Software.
-
-* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
+to the issue to e1000-devel@lists.sf.net