linux-kernel - Linux kernel driver "r8169" for Realtek PCIE Gigabit network card is very unstable

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Date:   Sat, 13 Jan 2018 14:20:22 +0800
From:   Turritopsis Dohrnii Teo En Ming <teo.en.ming@...il.com>
To:     linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Cc:     Teo En Ming <teo.en.ming@...il.com>
Subject: Linux kernel driver "r8169" for Realtek PCIE Gigabit network card is
 very unstable

Dear Linux kernel developers,

Previously I have installed ipfire firewall appliance.

The Linux kernel driver "e1000e" for Intel onboard Gigabit Network
Card is very stable. I get consistently high download and high upload
speeds. I used the onboard Intel Gigabit NIC for the WAN (RED)
connection.

I am using Realtek PCI Express Gigabit Network Card which is based on
the Realtek chipset. The Realtek chip is used for the LAN (GREEN)
connection. Both my desktop and laptop experience unstable network
connections when connected through a Gigabit Network Switch. To prove
that the Gigabit Switch is not the cause of the unstable network
connection, I bypassed the Gigabit switch and connected my desktop and
laptop directly to the LAN (GREEN) interface, and also used different
LAN cables for testing as well. Results show that connections to the
Realtek Gigabit network card is very very unstable. In particular, the
upload speeds were very slow, always less than 20 Mbps. I could not
upload any photos and videos to Facebook, Flickr, and Youtube at all.

This morning, 13 January 2018 Saturday, I switched to pfSense firewall
appliance which is based on FreeBSD UNIX Variant. Connections to the
Realtek PCIE Gigabit network card is very stable, with upload speeds
nearing 1000 Mbps. This proves that the Linux kernel driver for
Realtek PCIE Gigabit network card "r8169" is very unstable. Not
wanting to download Realtek proprietary drivers for Linux and
compiling and installing the drivers myself, I made the convenient
switch to pfSense firewall. The FreeBSD UNIX driver for Realtek
Gigabit network cards is very stable.

I have also turned on Snort Intrusion Prevention System in my pfSense
firewall appliance.

REFERENCES
============

(1) Linux kernel driver "r8169" is very unstable

Link: https://forum.ipfire.org/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=20166

(2) Is my ipfire box powerful enough to handle 1 Gbps fiber broadband?

Link: https://forum.ipfire.org/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=20131

(3) Hand Super Tired Clicking Few Thousand Snort IDS Rules

Link: https://forum.ipfire.org/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=20139

Regards,

Mr. Turritopsis Dohrnii Teo En Ming
Singapore Citizen
13th January 2018 Saturday 2:19 PM Singapore Time