Installation Guide for Intel E610 10GbE Network Interface Card on Linux/Proxmox (english)

Introduction

This guide outlines the steps to get the Intel E610 10GbE Network Interface Card working on a Linux server (e.g., Proxmox). Since the necessary drivers are not available by default, you need to update the firmware and manually install the appropriate drivers. Follow the steps below to correctly install this network card.

Requirements:

• A USB network adapter (to temporarily support networking during installation).
• An Intel E610 10GbE Network Interface Card.
• A working Linux installation (e.g., Debian or Proxmox).

Step 1: Use a USB Network Adapter for Installation

1. Connect a USB network adapter to your server to ensure network connectivity during the installation process.
2. Start the Linux installation (e.g., Proxmox) using the USB network adapter. This will allow you to have network access while performing the installation.

Step 2: Update the Firmware of the Intel E610 NIC

1. Download the firmware update from Intel's website:
   • Intel E610 NVM Update v1.21 (Linux)
2. Extract the downloaded file:
3. tar -xvzf E610_NVMUpdatePackage_v1_21_Linux.tar.gz cd E610_NVMUpdatePackage_v1_21_Linux/Linux_x64
4. Run the update script:
5. sudo ./nvmupdate64e
6. Reboot the server to apply the firmware updates:
7. sudo reboot

Step 3: Install Required Build Packages

1. Install the necessary packages to build the driver:
2. sudo apt update
3. sudo apt install build-essential pve-headers

Step 4: Download and Install the Intel Driver

1. Download the appropriate driver for Intel E610:
   • Intel ixgbe Driver
2. Extract the file and go to the source directory:
3. unzip ixgbe-*.zip cd ixgbe-*/
5. Build and install the driver:
6. make sudo make install
7. Check the module to verify it's correctly installed:
8. modinfo ixgbe
9. Load the network driver into the system:
10. sudo modprobe ixgbe

Step 5: Verify the Installation

1. Check if the network interface is visible with the following command:
2. ifconfig -a
3. Reboot your server to test if everything is working correctly:
4. sudo reboot
5. Note: After a kernel update, you may need to repeat the last steps (make and make install) to reload the driver.

Conclusion

After following these steps, your Intel E610 10GbE Network Interface Card should be fully operational on your Linux server. This process may be required after every kernel update, so keep that in mind when upgrading your system. Hopefully, Intel will soon include the driver in Debian's default kernel to simplify this process in the future.

Additional Notes:

• If you run into any issues, check if you are using the latest firmware and drivers.
• After a new kernel update, you might need to reload the module or reinstall the driver.