<Linux device driver for Realtek Ethernet controllers>
This is the Linux device driver released for RealTek RTL8169S/8110S, RTL8169SB/8110SB, and RTL8110SC.
<Requirements>
- kernel source tree (supported Linux kernel 2.6.x/2.4.20 and latter)
- compiler/binutils for kernel compilation
<Quick install with proper kernel settings>
Check whether the built-in driver, r8169.ko(or r8169.o for linux kernel 2.4.x), is installed.
# lsmod | grep r8169
If it is installed, please remove it.
# rmmod r8169
note: If the built-in driver cannot removed by rmmod, please edit /etc/modprobe.conf and comment 'alias eth0 r8169'. Then, remove it again or reboot your computer.
Unpack the tarball :
# tar vjxf r8169-6.aaa.bb.tar.bz2
Change to the directory:
# cd r8169-6.aaa.bb
If you are running the target kernel, then you should be able to do :
# make clean modules (as root or with sudo)
# make install
# depmod -a
# modprobe r8169
You can check whether the driver is loaded by using following commands.
# lsmod | grep r8169
# ifconfig -a
If there is a device name, ethX, shown on the monitor, the linux
driver is loaded. Then, you can use the following command to activate
the ethX.
# ifconfig ethX up
, where X=0,1,2,...
<Set the network related information>
1. Set manually
a. Set the IP address of your machine.
# ifconfig ethX "the IP address of your machine"
b. Set the IP address of DNS.
Insert the following configuration in /etc/resolv.conf.
nameserver "the IP address of DNS"
c. Set the IP address of gateway.
# route add default gw "the IP address of gateway"
2. Set by doing configurations in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts
/ifcfg-ethX for Redhat and Fedora, or /etc/sysconfig/network
/ifcfg-ethX for SuSE. There are two examples to set network
configurations.
a. Fix IP address:
DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=static
ONBOOT=yes
TYPE=ethernet
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
IPADDR=192.168.1.1
GATEWAY=192.168.1.254
BROADCAST=192.168.1.255
b. DHCP:
DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=dhcp
ONBOOT=yes
<Change the MAC address>
There are two ways to modify the MAC address of the NIC.
1. Use ifconfig:
# ifconfig ethX hw ether YY:YY:YY:YY:YY:YY
, where X is the device number assigned by Linux kernel, and
YY:YY:YY:YY:YY:YY is the MAC address assigned by the user.
2. Use ip:
# ip link set ethX address YY:YY:YY:YY:YY:YY
, where X is the device number assigned by Linux kernel, and
YY:YY:YY:YY:YY:YY is the MAC address assigned by the user.
<Force Link Status>
1. Force the link status when insert the driver.
If the user is in the path ~/r8169, the link status can be forced
to one of the 5 modes as following command.
# insmod ./src/r8169.ko speed=SPEED_MODE duplex=DUPLEX_MODE autoneg=NWAY_OPTION
, where
SPEED_MODE = 1000 for 1000Mbps
= 100 for 100Mbps
= 10 for 10Mbps
DUPLEX_MODE = 0 for half-duplex
= 1 for full-duplex
NWAY_OPTION = 0 for auto-negotiation off (true force)
= 1 for auto-negotiation on (nway force)
For example:
# insmod ./src/r8169.ko speed=100 duplex=0 autoneg=0
will force PHY to operate in 100Mpbs Half-duplex(nway force).
2. Force the link status by using ethtool.
a. Insert the driver first.
b. Make sure that ethtool exists in /sbin.
c. Force the link status as the following command.
# ethtool -s ethX speed SPEED_MODE duplex DUPLEX_MODE autoneg NWAY_OPTION
, where
SPEED_MODE = 1000 for 1000Mbps
= 100 for 100Mbps
= 10 for 10Mbps
DUPLEX_MODE = half for half-duplex
= full for full-duplex
NWAY_OPTION = off for auto-negotiation off (true force)
= on for auto-negotiation on (nway force)
For example:
# ethtool -s eth0 speed 100 duplex full autoneg on
will force PHY to operate in 100Mpbs Full-duplex(nway force).
<Jumbo Frame>
Transmitting Jumbo Frames, whose packet size is bigger than 1500 bytes, please change mtu by the following command.
# ifconfig ethX mtu MTU
, where X=0,1,2,..., and MTU is configured by user. RTL8110S/SB/SC supports Jumbo Frame size (MTU) up to 7 kBytes.
For example, to configure jumbo frame as 7 kBytes, use the following command:
# ethtool eth0 mtu 7168
If there is another computer inatalled RTL8169S/SB/SC and its jumbo size is also configured to be 7 kBytes, the Linux can ping it by using following command.
# ping IP_ADDRESS -s 7126 -M do