SLES11 XEN Bridge bonding with bnx2x very slow

This document (7007658) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Environment

OS:                  SLES11 SP1 XEN Host

Kernel:            kernel-xen-2.6.32.27-0.2.2

 

Driverinfo:

filename:       /lib/modules/2.6.32.27-0.2-xen/kernel/drivers/net/bnx2x.ko

firmware:       bnx2x-e1h-5.2.13.0.fw

firmware:       bnx2x-e1-5.2.13.0.fw

version:        1.52.1-7

license:        GPL

description:    Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM57710/57711/57711E Driver


Situation

Installing xen virtual guests on a SLES11 SP1 XEN Host with bnx2x driver in bonding configuration
Bonding device is configured as a XEN Bridge used for Installation of virtual machines.
When installing the virtual guests using this bridge the data is being transfered very slowly.
On the XEN Host (DOM0) you find the following error in /var/log /messages:

Jan 25 09:13:19 l5027022 kernel: [  442.436200] bond0: received packets cannot be forwarded while LRO is enabled
Jan 25 09:13:19 l5027022 kernel: [  442.536928] bond0: received packets cannot be forwarded while LRO is enabled
 
 

Resolution

It seems that the bond interface can not forward the incoming traffic to the XEN Bridge.
 
The solution is to switch off the tpx option of the interface
 
Stop networking
rcnetwork stop
vi /etc/modprobe.conf.local
add: options bnx2x disable_tpa=1
save
reload the  bnx2x module:
modprobe -r bnx2x
lsmod | grep bnx2x  -> should not deliver any answer
modprobe bnx2x
rcnetwork start
 

Additional Information

LRO (Large Receive Offload) is a technique to reduce CPU load in high bandwidth networks.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_receive_offload).
 
 

Disclaimer

This Support Knowledgebase provides a valuable tool for SUSE customers and parties interested in our products and solutions to acquire information, ideas and learn from one another. Materials are provided for informational, personal or non-commercial use within your organization and are presented "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.

  • Document ID:7007658
  • Creation Date: 25-Jan-2011
  • Modified Date:10-Mar-2021
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

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