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.

[HenrikS]

Same problem with no link on 25GbE, running both E810 and E823 and DDP after upgrading to 26.7
Without loading DDP we get link and about 1Gbps throughput on each NIC :/

E810-XXV fw 7.6.2 api 1.7 nvm 4.60
E823-C fw 7.1.6 api 1.7 nvm 3.26
ICE OS Default Package version 1.3.41.0