Intel E810 fails to link on WAN after 26.1 → 26.7 upgrade due to DDP

[homelabber]

Long time lurker, first time caller.

After upgrading from 26.1.x to 26.7, my WAN interface (ice0, Intel E810-XXV for SFP, 25GBase-LR to my ISP) stopped establishing a link entirely. It appears that link-negotiation fails when the ice driver loads its DDP package. On 26.7 there is no fallback when that negotiation fails, unlike on 26.1. Forcing "Safe Mode" (DDP package not loaded, 1 queue; ice_ddp_load="YES" forced via /boot/loader.conf.local) gives a reliable link on both branches. Updating to 26.7.3_8 gave me multiple retry/re-attach cycles instead of giving up after one but did not fully fix it. Without DDP, no 25Gbit fun :(

Components involved:

• NIC: Intel Ethernet Controller E810-XXV for SFP, genuine Intel reference card (not an OEM-customized part)
• Driver: iflib ice, driver_version 1.43.3-k (identical across all OPNsense versions tested)
• Firmware: fw 7.8.2, api 1.7, nvm 4.80 (identical across all tests)
• DDP: ICE OS Default Package version 1.3.41.0, track id 0xc0000001

I am wondering if...

• anyone else has seen E810 fail to negotiate link in full-DDP mode specifically after upgrading to 26.7, where Safe Mode links fine?
• the queue-reconfiguration-triggered link flap on the DDP-loaded attach is a known iflib/ice interaction, or worth its own upstream report?
• anyone has any recommendation on forcing requested_fec at boot to test the theory above?

Happy to pull more diagnostics.

[pfry]

No link with Intel E810 on Opnsense 26.7 / FreeBSD 15 when DDP loaded

Bug is not assigned... The issue is not completely characterized (it's a bit of a hassle to test multiple optics and DAC cables). I wonder if a plugin driver (a la old Realtek) would be worthwhile.