Intel® Ethernet 700 Series

Linux Performance Tuning Guide

ID Date Version Classification
334019 12/09/2024 1.1 Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents
Notices and Disclaimers Revision History ​Introduction Initial Checklist ​Baseline Performance Measurements and Tuning Methodology Tuning i40e Driver Settings Platform Tuning (i40e Non-Specific) ​Adapter Bonding Performance Troubleshooting Recommendations for Common Performance Scenarios
Notices and Disclaimers
Revision History
​Introduction
​Introduction ​Related References
​Related References
Initial Checklist
Update Driver/Firmware Versions ​ Read the README ​Check That Your PCI Express (PCIe) Slot Is x8 ​Check System Hardware Capabilities ​Ensure DDP Package is Loading Properly
Update Driver/Firmware Versions
​ Read the README
​Check That Your PCI Express (PCIe) Slot Is x8
​Check System Hardware Capabilities
​Check System Hardware Capabilities ​ Kernel Boot Parameters
​ Kernel Boot Parameters
​Ensure DDP Package is Loading Properly
​Baseline Performance Measurements and Tuning Methodology
​Network Performance Benchmarks ​Tuning Methodology
​Network Performance Benchmarks
​Network Performance Benchmarks ​iPerf2 ​iPerf3 ​netperf
​iPerf2
​iPerf3
​netperf
​Tuning Methodology
Tuning i40e Driver Settings
​IRQ Affinity ​Tx/Rx Queues ​Interrupt Moderation ​Ring Size ​Flow Control ​Jumbo Frames
​IRQ Affinity
​Tx/Rx Queues
​Interrupt Moderation
​Ring Size
​Flow Control
​Jumbo Frames
Platform Tuning (i40e Non-Specific)
​BIOS Settings ​Power Management Intel® Turbo Boost ​Firewalls ​Application Settings ​Kernel Version ​Operating System/Kernel Settings Network Device Backlog Platform-Specific Configurations and Tuning
​BIOS Settings
​Power Management
​Power Management ​C-State Control ​PCIe Power Management ​CPU Frequency Scaling Additional Power Management Guidance
​C-State Control
​PCIe Power Management
​CPU Frequency Scaling
Additional Power Management Guidance
Intel® Turbo Boost
​Firewalls
​Application Settings
​Kernel Version
​Operating System/Kernel Settings
Network Device Backlog
Platform-Specific Configurations and Tuning
Platform-Specific Configurations and Tuning 4th Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors AMD EPYC
4th Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors
AMD EPYC
​Adapter Bonding
Performance Troubleshooting
​CPU Utilization ​i40e Counters ​Network Counters ​System Logs ​Intel svr-info Tool
​CPU Utilization
​i40e Counters
​Network Counters
​System Logs
​Intel svr-info Tool
Recommendations for Common Performance Scenarios
​IP Forwarding ​Low Latency
​IP Forwarding
​Low Latency

​Check That Your PCI Express (PCIe) Slot Is x8

Some PCIe x8 slots are actually configured as x4 slots. These slots have insufficient bandwidth for full line rate with dual port and quad port devices. In addition, if you put a PCIe v3.0-capable adapter into a PCIe v2.x slot, you cannot get full bandwidth. The software device driver detects this situation and writes the following message in the system log:

PCI-Express bandwidth available for this card is not sufficient for optimal performance. For optimal performance a x8 PCI-Express slot is required.

If this error occurs, move your adapter to a true PCIe v3.0 x8 slot to resolve the issue.

​Check System Hardware Capabilities