10Gbps NIC not up to speed.

Want2Fly_77 · 2025-07-26 02:42

So, in a Dell PowerEdge 710 that I use as a backup server, I need higher data transfer speeds as these backups can approach 40TB of data. Both this server and my primary server (a homebuilt i7-8700K based machine) had been running Windows before the change to Q4OS. Under Windows, data transfer speeds were about 5.7Gbps, which is what I would expect from a 6Gbps RAID controller. After the OS change, those speeds with no other changes went to about 640Mbps. For the amount of data that gets moved, this just isn't good...and it's obviously a problem as it relates to what the hardware can do.

I changed the NIC in the Dell PE710 today to an Intel X540. This one is not a fibre interconnect, but regular ethernet. I've got Cat6 in a run of all of six feet. Between the Dell PE710 and the i7-8700K, transfer rates did not increase. To test if an OS or hardware problem, I put the original SolarFlare 10Gb NIC in a different machine (an i7-6700K based machine) and transferred some data. This machine never ran anything under Windows, so I can not vouch for the Windows performance, but considering that card was fine in the Dell PE710 before, it stands to reason that it would not be a problem. Transfer speeds are up a little bit in this case...around 1.7Gbps.

One thing that I notice is that in the system settings, it doesn't matter what I change the connection speed to. Even at 100Mbps all the wya up to 10Gbps, it transfers at that same 640Mbps (Dell PE710) or 1.7Gbps (i7-6700K) which I find a little bit interesting. The OS defaults to "Ignore" for the speed.

Any thoughts on what I'm missing here? Based on Windows OS performance, it seems a lot like an OS concern. I'm not super experienced in Linux, and finding this OS has been quite nice. I test drove it on a daily driver laptop for a couple months first, and it has served me well there. I dislike Windows. I'd like to make this work, and I'm sure I'm missing something simple, but need some help.

Thank you, y'all.

Want2Fly_77 · 2025-07-28 18:01

Anyone have any input on this? I'm not coming up with anything.

nathanjhill · 2025-07-31 06:54

Hey, I think I recommended you ask here when I saw your post on Reddit, but yeah, maybe your question is an edge case. I think a lot of folks running Q4OS are using older hardware, so we may not need high speed ethernet connections.

What is interesting is that this card shows up in other discussions on the internet with compatibility issues while running Linux, even in like Ubuntu. That has me curious - and whether or not the PCIe slot it goes in allows it to operate full speed or not. No idea.

q4osteam · 2025-07-31 08:45

@Want2Fly_77
Unfortunately, we can't help much with this specific hardware. We can only recommend that you look for a more general Debian solution. If you find a solution for Debian, it will work for Q4OS as well.

Want2Fly_77 · 2025-08-17 22:37

So, I am reading up on this a lot more, and it seems like Debian defaults to the SSH protocol for file transfers. For a 1Gb connection, this is fine. With rsync, there is a speed transfer limit of 145MBps. Even this is weird, since I can only get just past half of that. What I'm reading is that enabling the FTP protocol takes care of this. Trouble is, I'm not seeing HOW. I knew this wasn't a hardware problem, rather a software.

So now the question is, how to enable FTP file transfers for internal file transfers?

hchiper · 2025-08-18 10:56

On Windows, probably you didn't use rsync, so you compare the performance not only of different OSes, but also of different applications with different features and settings.

I admit that 10 times slower is really a very big difference. Isn't there a confusion in the values you specify between Mbits/s (Mbps) and Mbytes/s (MBps), which can account for a ratio around 8-10 (you give speeds in Mbps in your original post and MBps in your last post)? Is the transfer time really 10 times longer?

If you use rsync, it could (depends of the type of files) make the transfer (a little) faster with the `--no-compress` option, since you are working on a fast local network. Keep also in mind that rsync is also slower at transferring 40 TB of many small files than at transferring 40 TB of a few big files.

You could also check if you are using the appropriate driver for your network card: look at the output on `$ inxi -Nxxx` on both servers.

Sorry if you are already aware of all that.

Want2Fly_77 · 2025-10-06 23:54

I'm back with the same problems. So, I had missed this last post...I'm sorry. So, the file sizes for these transfers range from 4GB to 90GB. As posted on Reddit, here's that post:

So, I have been playing with switching another couple computers over to Debian based Free10 OS. It runs GREAT on a Dell G3 3500 with a 10th gen i7 and a 1660Ti. Only trouble I have with it is that the backlit keyboard no longer works. But, I digress.

I had this issue with a home built i7-6700K with a GTX1080. The problem is LAN connection speeds. With the integrated NIC on the Asus Prime Z270-A will only connect at 100Mb. If I disable that and use a Broadcom BCM7509 2x 1Gb card, the lights indicate a 1Gbps connection, meaning the wiring is OK and the switch it is connected to is allowing 1Gb. But, the status in the OS indicates 100Mb, and it transfers data as such. If I use a SolarFlare 2x 10Gb NIC, the OS status indicates it is connected at 10Gb, but it transfers at 90MBps. It's not making sense. SSH has been disabled, all the connections are as they should be, there's no reason (that is obvious) why it won't connect at the appropriate speeds.

I had read through some tutorials, and nothing works. All the hardware in the i7-6700K machine has been in Windows10/11 machines and connects as it should, so it's not a hardware problem. I have to be missing something relatively simple. None of the hardware I'm using is cutting edge...much of it 10+ years old...so pretty established. One of the things that I can't figure out is how to get a driver for the Broadcom card. I've got an Intel 4x 1Gbps NIC that I may try...but I don't have hope for that, unfortunately. Any thoughts?

Q4OS Forum

#1 2025-07-26 02:42

10Gbps NIC not up to speed.

#2 2025-07-28 18:01

Re: 10Gbps NIC not up to speed.

#3 2025-07-31 06:54

Re: 10Gbps NIC not up to speed.

#4 2025-07-31 08:45

Re: 10Gbps NIC not up to speed.

#5 2025-08-17 22:37

Re: 10Gbps NIC not up to speed.

#6 2025-08-18 10:56

Re: 10Gbps NIC not up to speed.

#7 2025-10-06 23:54

Re: 10Gbps NIC not up to speed.

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