IO CREST10 Gigabit M.2 M Key Ethernet Network Expansion Card

[UPDATE 7-6-2020]This card does indeed work as advertised in Linux. I was able to easily get 290MB/s throughput between two Linux computers via the Zyxel XGS1210-12 managed switch that has two 2.5gb ports. One computer has this PCIe card and the other is a laptop with a USB3.0 to 2.5gb ethernet adapter (Cable Creation) based on the Realtek chips.[/UPDATE]I am waiting on a Zyxel XGS1210-12 switch to arrive which has 2.5 gigabit ports to test the max speed of this card, but until then I can confirm this card works at least up to a gigabit throughput in Linux. BUT, the trick is you have to install a driver and, while easy if you know the steps, it is not something that was easy for me to *find* a up to date tutorial on as someone who's never compiled a driver before.There are a lot of outdated driver tutorials. I found one that works and am sharing it here.Saying that, please note these steps are ONLY for Linux Mint 19.3 which is based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS which is based on Debian. So these steps may not be required in future releases. Both Ubuntu and Linux Mint are now at version 20 with kernel 5.4. I have not had a chance yet to test this card with those. But I will. I'm evaluating Linux Mint 20 in a virtual machine and will upgrade at a later date. Linux Mint says they will have an updater from 19.3 soon.If you are NOT using a Debian based Linux these specific steps will NOT work, but should be adaptable to other distros such as RedHat, Fedora, CentOS, Manjaro, OpenSuse, etc. with a little tweaking. It is my experience that a recompile of the entire kernel from source is not necessary. Only compile the driver and then add it. The Realtek script download does this. But there are some things you have to install first. (see steps below)If you are using FreeBSD you're going to have a difficult time because there are no drivers provided by Realtek for that operating system (at least from what I can see.) BUT, you may want to look into using the Windows driver in FreeBSD by using ndisgen or ndiswrapper. I know NOTHING about using those, but have read this is a workaround when no drivers are provided for a Unix-like OS such as FreeBSD. At least now you have a starting point for Google search.Steps to compile and install the driver for this card and others based on the Realtek r8125 chip:1. Download the r8125 driver for PCIe cards (not USB) from Realtek's website and unzip it. Make note of where you unzip it. Most browsers save to the Downloads folder of your home path.2. From a command line prompt (aka terminal) do the following:2a. cd {path to unzipped driver download}2b. sudo apt install linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential2c. sudo ./autorun.shThe autorun.sh file is included with the Realtek driver, in case you're curious. It's not part of Linux.After the autorun.sh file finishes the driver will be installed. Be patient. After it's done installing then the card may take a few seconds or a minute to get an IP address. In my experience a reboot of the computer was not required. It just started working on its own.The DOWN side to this is that the driver is only installed for the current kernel, so when an update to a newer kernel happens you'll have to do these steps again. (Unless the driver is in the new kernel.)There is a way to automatically compile and install the driver whenever the kernel is updated and that is called DKMS. I'm not familiar enough with it to provide notes on its use. But if you want to investigate on your own I encourage it. Gotta try to learn, right?I also have found a way to test speed of Ethernet ports using two computers. It is preferred, but not required, to connect both computers to a switch for the test, but it is possible to direct connect between two computers, assign IP address to each card, and test that way.SPEED TESTSpeed test (both computers running Linux. Probably any version of Linux or even FreeBSD as nc and dd are usually already present)We will presume the first computer's IP address is 192.168.1.100.Step 1: If using a firewall open a port to test with. I use 12345 in these steps. Use what you prefer. Open a port on both computers (presuming firewall is on both) because you may want to test in both directions. This test only tests one way at a time. Sometimes I get different speeds (on other adapters, specifically USB Ethernet) so it is good to test both ways.Step 2: On first computer that will be the "server" type this at the command line nc -vvnlp 12345 >/dev/nullAfter pressing enter the computer will sit patiently waiting for something on that port.Step 3: On the second computer that will be the "client" type this at the command line dd if=/dev/zero bs=1M count=1K | nc -vvn 192.168.1.100 12345The test will begin but you will not see a status until the test is done and it will report the speed.Be patient.This tests throughput of a 1 gigabyte data stream. If you want more change the count to a higher number like 2K or 3K or less like 250, 500, 750. Doing a longer or shorter stream has not, in my experience, resulted in any better or worse speeds than a gigabyte of data.Once the test is done and the speed is shown (1 gigabit is usually about 118MB/s) you will need to press Ctrl-C to break out of the command and it will return the terminal prompt on both computers.To do the test the other direction, just run the server command on the other computer and vise versa. Note, you'll need to know the IP address of the other computer and use that instead of 192.168.1.100.After I get a 2.5Gb switch I'll test with that and show results here.

No issues and no problems works perfectly it’s a miracle

Edit: as of XigmaNAS 13.1.0.5.9725 this adapter is now recognized and works as-expected! Thanks to ms49434 and zoon01 for applying a kernel patch to accept the PHY that is present. Original review follows.The adapter arrived in a small, cardboard box. The heatsink is attached securely. A hardware check indicates that the chip is revision 03.Under Windows 10/11, the adapter is usable with no additional effort or configuration on the user's side.Under Linux/FreeBSD, the adapter may or may not work depending on the version of the driver used to attempt init. Under FreeBSD specifically, support for the I225 was added in 13.1 via 𝚒𝚐𝚌, however the driver performs an unnecessary PHY vendor ID check, which may fail if the adapter reports an ID that isn't listed in an internal table.The fix (recommended by Intel themselves) is to no longer perform this check and instead assume a PHY for all I225 adapters. This fix is available in FreeBSD 13.2 and/or 14, and would need to be backported if using anything earlier.Examples; TrueNAS Scale 22.12.0 supports this adapter, while XigmaNAS 13.1.0.5.9687 (latest as of this review) includes 𝚒𝚐𝚌, but fails to init with the adapter I received.

ESXi-7.0U2d reports the I225-V as revision 3 and getting the full 2500Mbps speed.I also tested with PCI passthrough in ESXI and had no problems, the VM had full access to the network card.Using the Community Networking Driver for ESXi Native Drivers.I have 3 vms assigned to this physical network card and will continue to monitor for a couple of days to check the stability. So far no problems. Happy with purchase!Vendor Name: Intel Corporation Device Name: Ethernet Controller I225-V Vendor ID: 0x8086 Device ID: 0x15f3 SubVendor ID: 0x8086 SubDevice ID: 0x0000 Device Class: 0x0200 Device Class Name: Ethernet controller Revision ID: 0x03

I eventually got it to work after hacking the driver inf file and forcing unsigned driver signature in a special boot mode in order to get this to work.There is very little good easy information out there on how to do this.It is Intel's fault and BS.Once hacked the driver works fine.These are obviously not for any production server, but work fine in my lab/test/home environment.I bought it to get a 2.5Gbps link to my Internet provider.Is working after hacking the driver on Windows Server 2022.Paid a bit much for what it is and what had to be done to make it work.Same chipset cards can be had for less if you are willing to wait for slow shipping.Steve at MichiganBroadband

I installed this card in a PCIE x1 2.0 slot of an Asus Prime-B450 Plus mainboard (AMD 2700x CPU), and run FreeBSD 13.2. Using a 10GBASE-T Netgear switch, I can easily achieve the full 2.5Gbits per second speed to other directly connected ethernet hosts. FreeBSD recognized the I225-V controller without any customization. Recommended.

Ubuntu 20.04 Server mainline kernel was not able to use this card. modprobe shows: Intel(R) 2.5G Ethernet Linux Driver - version 0.0.1-k Copyright(c) 2018 Intel Corporation. igc: probe of 0000:01:00.0 failed with error -2Had to upgrade systems to Ubuntu 22.04 to get updated kernel that supports this card. Works perfectly once upgraded. So minus 1 star because the manual says Ubuntu 19.04 or higher is supported.

Works with Windows! But will NOT WORK WITH ESXi 7 and pfSense.

Upgraded it on my pc and works perfectly. No driver issues or hardware issues.

Pluged right into my pcie slot without issue although the backplate does not fit with standard bavk Io shroud. Holds in place with the pcie slot but won't be able to secure it into place.

Very Happy with this. I get 1715 Mbps (1.71 Gbps) Download and 1045.00 Upload. I pay for 1.5 Gbps service down and 1 Gbps UP. The most important thing is to plug the ethernet cable to the modem in the correct port. I made the mistake of using a 1 Gbps port initially and that is what I got. It is now plugged into a 10 Gbps port which fixed the issue. My service is Bell Fibe via Optical Fiber Cable direct from the street to my modem.

当時のFreeBSDのバグで2022/09時点で最新のXigmaNASではI225-Vが動作しないようです。dmesgではI225-Vとして認識されているようでしたが、次の行で『Setup of Shared code failed, error -2』と出ていました。現状最新版のFreeBSDでは改善されているようですが、XigmaNASの対応後に追記したいと思います。

This is working great in Unraid. Showed up as an interface as soon as I installed it. I have 1.5Gbps internet service and speed test is showing 1.6Gbps from Unraid server. Price was great for an Intel card and was shipped in 1 day.