i-226-x weird problems back after opnsense updates

[crazywolf13]

Hi,
I own a Shuttle DL30N with those intel i-226-x ethernet controllers, as we know, they kind of have a reputation of quite a lot of problems, however fortunately they were fixed by intel upstream.

Luckily in August Shuttle uploaded a new BIOS with the upstream fix from intel, which solved all my issues, but since around, guessed 1 month I experience the same behaviour again, without really modifying anything except doing opnsense updates. Sadly I cannot really recall since which exactl update the problems re-appeared.

These problems include (Interfaces going in a weird on/off stale status)

Is anyone experiencing the same?
Has anyone found a fix yet?

[meyergru]

Reportedly, those adapters do not really work nicely with ASPM. If you can disable it in your BIOS, try that.

[marvelolivia]

It's frustrating when a BIOS update initially fixes an issue, only for it to resurface after software updates. Since you haven't changed anything hardware-wise, the problem might be related to an OPNsense update affecting driver compatibility with the Intel I-226 controllers.

A few things you can try:

Check the current driver version – Run dmesg | grep -i i226 or ifconfig -a to see if the driver changed after an update.
Rollback to a previous OPNsense version – If the issue started after a recent update, rolling back might confirm if it's software-related.
Disable Power Saving Features – Some users have reported stability improvements by disabling Energy-Efficient Ethernet (EEE) in the BIOS.
Test with a Different Kernel Version – Sometimes newer kernels introduce regressions; rolling back could help.
If you're considering upgrading or adding a reliable network interface, something like the UVC-G5-Dome-Ultra might be worth checking out for stability. Have you tried booting into a Live Linux distro to see if the problem persists outside of OPNsense?

[crazywolf13]

Thanks!

dmesg doesn't really show that much.
```
XXXXXXX@OPNsense:~ $  dmesg | grep -i i226
igc0: <Intel(R) Ethernet Controller I226-LM> mem 0x80c00000-0x80cfffff,0x80d00000-0x80d03fff at device 0.0 on pci1
igc1: <Intel(R) Ethernet Controller I226-LM> mem 0x80900000-0x809fffff,0x80a00000-0x80a03fff at device 0.0 on pci2
```

The problem is, that I'm not really sure which update, it must've happened between september 2024 and january 2025 which there were quite some updates, and as far as I remember downgrading is not really possible, nor something I'd really want to do on my single only prod firewall/router.

All available energy options are set to unrestricted/off, which are, though the mentioned ones are not even available in that bare minimum BIOS.
How would I even rollback a kernel manually?

Sorry for the assumption, but your answer sounds quite ai-generated.

[crazywolf13]

Reportedly, those adapters do not really work nicely with ASPM. If you can disable it in your BIOS, try that.

I don't actually have that option in my BIOS.

[dirtyfreebooter]

you can check with

Code Select Expand

pciconf -lcv whether ASPM is even enabled for NICs. i found that in a few aliexpress type machines i have, ASPM is just straight up disabled and there is no option to enable it.

linux i226 driver works fine with ASPM. tested OpenWRT on Odroid H4 ultra and no speed issues. load OPNsense on and immediate speed issues. disabled ASPM in BIOS, thankfully Odroid is a good brand with regular BIOS updates and support, and it immediately fixed all my speed test issues i was seeing.

[crazywolf13]

you can check with

Code Select Expand

pciconf -lcv whether ASPM is even enabled for NICs. i found that in a few aliexpress type machines i have, ASPM is just straight up disabled and there is no option to enable it.

linux i226 driver works fine with ASPM. tested OpenWRT on Odroid H4 ultra and no speed issues. load OPNsense on and immediate speed issues. disabled ASPM in BIOS, thankfully Odroid is a good brand with regular BIOS updates and support, and it immediately fixed all my speed test issues i was seeing.

Thanks!

Yeah seems like ASPM is off on my NICs too:

Code Select Expand

link x1(x1) speed 5.0(5.0) ASPM disabled(L1)

Yeah shuttle is kind of such a brand too, however they seem quite okay, they are somewhat based in germany, though sell taiwan made stuff.

Honestly, it's like always, I never get a problem where it just does work/or not work I always have such weird sometimes occuring problems, everywhere in my homelab lol