Intel® Ethernet 700/800 Series

Windows Performance Tuning Guide

ID Date Version Classification
784543 02/06/2024 1.1 Public
Document Table of Contents

​Interrupt Moderation Rate

The Interrupt Moderation Rate sets the Interrupt Throttle Rate (ITR), and the ITR moderates the rate at which Transmit and Receive interrupts are generated. When an event occurs, such as receiving a packet (RX), the adapter generates an interrupt. The interrupt interrupts the CPU and any applications running at that time, and calls on the driver to handle the packet.

At greater link speeds, more interrupts are created, and the CPU rates also increase, resulting in poor system performance. When you use a higher ITR setting, the interrupt rate is lower, resulting in better CPU performance.

Note:​A higher ITR rate also means that the driver has more latency in handling packets. If the adapter is handling many small packets, it is better to lower the ITR so that the driver can be more responsive to incoming and outgoing packets.

To manage the Interrupt Moderation Rate:

  1. ​List the current value: Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name <Adapter Name> -DisplayName "Interrupt Moderation Rate"
  2. ​Set the Interrupt Moderation Rate: Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name <Adapter Name> -DisplayName "Interrupt Moderation Rate" -DisplayValue "Adaptive" Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name <Adapter Name> -DisplayName "Interrupt Moderation Rate" -DisplayValue "High" Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name <Adapter Name> -DisplayName "Interrupt Moderation Rate" -DisplayValue "Low"