SUMMARY
What SFP+ Modules does the 10Gbps card support | Intel-x520 10Gbe adapter not online
ISSUE
You are trying to connect SFP or SFP+ adapter card in a Unitrends Physical appliance and the link state is not establishing.
Note, this article applies only if you have purchased the Unitrends 1x10G SFP+ card installed in a PCI slot in your Unitrends 2U appliance, which is an optional add-in card on some models.
You must have the correct SFP+ Optical Module (transceiver) installed in order to ensure the Unitrends system can communicate with the Switch hardware. This is not a GBIC, it is SFP. Unitrends does not supply or sell these transceivers. Please contact your reseller or 3rd party about how to acquire the parts noted below.
Fiber connections:
According to the Intel SFP Optics Brief, the following two Optical Transceiver Modules are acceptable. One of these 2 must be used for fiber connectivity at the Unitrends end of the connection:
- E10GSFPSR – Intel® Ethernet SFP+ SR Optic (850nm, Short Range 300m)
- E10GSFPLR – Intel® Ethernet SFP+ LR Optic (1310nm, Long Range 10km)
NOTE: the wavelength is VERY important
The SFPs above apply to all Unitrends appliance SFP ports from Gen 5 thru currently available units including both SuperMicro (Gen 5-8) and Dell (Gen 9) architectures. Though PCI cards must not be moved from one appliance to another on trade-in or warranty replacement, the SFP transceiver itself is not limited by this and can be re-used or moved to other SFP ports at will.
SFP+ Copper Cabling: Any SFP+ cable from any vendor is acceptable.
Cable commonly used for communication between SFP+ is Intel Ethernet SFP+ Twinaxial Cable XDACBL
SFP+ to RJ45 Connection: the following adapter converts SFP+ to RJ45 copper for use with standard 10G copper switch ports:
10Gtek Intel Compatible 10GBase-T SFP+ 10 Gigabit RJ45 Copper Transceiver 30-Meter
Note that an Intel brand or Intel compatible transceiver, or SFP+ cable is required on the Unitrends end of the connection, but that the SFP module used in your switch itself may (in fact likely) will differ. Please ensure you use an appropriate SFP or SFP+ module supported by your switch vendor on that end of your connection. The modules for your switch are likely not compatible with this card. If it common and expected for the module at either end to be from a different brand.
The remainder of this article discusses how to troubleshoot SFP connectivity issues for the 10G Adapter assuming you have the correct SFP adapters installed.
ISSUE
Unitrends provided 10Gbe card is not coming online or showing a link, but is seen by the RecoveryOS.
TESTING YOUR NETWORK INTERFACE
You can use the ethtool to determine if the card is identified and connected using the command
The interface value is what you would find identified using the command ifconfig.
[root@UB_BETA_91 ~]# ifconfig
eth5 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:0f:99:04:63:C9
inet addr:10.11.12.99 Bcast:0.0.0.0 Mask:255.255.255.0
Successful results will look something like this (see red items) showing the results of yes for Link Connected, and the properties of Speed, Duplex, and Port:
[root@UB_BETA_91 ~]# ethtool eth5
Settings for eth5:
Supported ports: [ TP ]
Supported link modes: 1000baseT/Full
10000baseT/Full
Supported pause frame use: No
Supports auto-negotiation: No
Advertised link modes: Not reported
Advertised pause frame use: No
Advertised auto-negotiation: No
Speed: 10000Mb/s
Duplex: Full
Port: Twisted Pair
PHYAD: 0
Transceiver: internal
Auto-negotiation: off
MDI-X: Unknown
Supports Wake-on: uag
Wake-on: d
Link detected: yes
If you are using the noted correct adapters, and you are not acquiring a link state, please contact your switch vendor directly for further support. Unitrends Staff cannot assist in switch-side diagnostics of connectivity, but will be happy to engage with you and your vendor to assist in testing our end of the connection further under their guidance. Unlike copper RJ45, most switches require specific and manual port provisioning for SFP fiber connections and they are not simply plug and play. Only your switch vendor or a certified network engineer trained in your switch vendor's OS can assist you if the connection is not properly detected by Linux on the Unitrends Appliance.
CAUSE
When using any SFP module other than the specific intel brands noted above the SFP module will not function. When installing SFP fiber modules, it is important that the SFP module on each end be specific to the switch and/or card used. It is commonly NOT expected that the same SFP module be used on both ends of the connection, in fact, typically they will be different.