5. Detailed Installation and Configuration
NetXen, Inc.
Intelligent NIC Installation and Tuning Guide
29
5.3.2
Linux NIC Driver Options
Step 1 above uses the
insmod
command. The following optional parameters can be
passed to the driver with the modprobe or insmod commands:
insmod nx_nic <parameter>
or
modprobe nx_nic <parameter>
The optional parameters are listed below.
5.3.3
Configuring the NIC on Linux
Assign an IP address to the interface from the command line. For example:
1
Identify the Ethernet interface (eth1, eth2, etc.) and the
nx_nic
driver:
cat /proc/net/nx_nic/dev0 | grep eth
or
ifconfig -eth[n] -a
After running ifconfig look for the interface with a MAC address (HWaddr)
prefix of 00:0E:1E:XX:XX:XX
2
Assign an IP Address and activate the interface:
ifconfig eth[n] down
ifconfig eth[n] <IP Address> netmask <Netmask Value> up
3
Verify network services are running, and ping:
service network restart
ping <IP address>
Table 9 insmod and modprobe Command Optional Parameters
Parameter
Description
Default
Range
tx_desc
1
1.Example usage:
modprobe nx_nic tx_desc=1024
or
insmod nx_nic tx_desc=1024
Sets the size of the command descriptor rings (Tx).
1024
256 - 4096
(must be power or two)
jumbo_desc
2
2.Example usage:
modprobe nx_nic jumbo_desc=1024
or
insmod nx_nic jumbo_desc=1024
Sets the size of the receive ring for jumbo frames.
1024
64 - 4096
(must be power or two)
rdesc_1g
3
3.Example usage:
modprobe nx_nic rdesc_1g=8192
or
insmod nx_nic rdesc_1g=8192
Sets the size of the receive ring for normal packets (1
GbE ports).
8192
64 - 32,768
rdesc_10g
4
4.Example usage:
modprobe nx_nic rdesc_10g=32768
or
insmod nx_nic rdesc_10g=32768
Sets the size of the receive ring for normal packets (10
GbE port).
32,768
64 - 32,768