[cml750]

With any ethernet cards, especially the 10 gbps ones, you need to make sure they are compatible with the PCI-E slots you have available in your computer. Most computers have at least one PCI-E X16 lanes slot for a graphics card but most other slots are X4 lanes or less. You also need to be aware of the PCI-E version of your motherboard compared to the card design.

[cml750]

I found some single port 8127 cards on Aliexpress for about $33. I ordered a couple of them to test.

Edit: Unfortunately these two are both PCI-e 4.0 X1 cards and my router computer has PCI-e 3.0 so I will not get full 10 gbps but the 7 gbps I should get is pretty fast. I have almost 20 computers that I have purchased for crypto mining over the years and all but one have PCI-e 3.0. The one that has PCI-e 4.0 is too big to fit in the spot where my router goes plus it is my best Monero (XMR) miner with a Ryzen 9 5900X (12 core processor). Hopefully they will release the 8127 cards that work on PCI-e 3.0 X2 soon.

[cml750]

One thing to add to this discussion is I found they are starting to make 8127 cards that plug into an M2 slot with a cable to a RJ45 port you put somewhere on your computer. This could help someone to add it ieven if they are running short on PCI-e slots.

https://auvidea.eu/product/m20e-m-2-10gbe/

[cml750]

I have had some extended family illnesses to deal with so I have not had any time to mess with anything network related lately but have done some more research on the subject. There is another 10 g (and all speeds on down) chip from Marvel, the AQC113. I have ordered one of these that plugs into the NVME slot. I ordered two 8127 cards a while back that I have now received although I have not had time to test them. Unfortunately they are designed for PCI-e 4 and the computers I have that can be used as routers are PCI-3 so the max I can get is ~ 7 Gbps but that is still good speed and I should get maximum speed for the lower tier speeds the chip is capable of. I am also going to get either an X550-T2 or X720-T4L depending on Christmas time price drops. I am going to switch my X86 router computer to an HP Z240 SFF workstation I have with an i7-7700X processor. It has 4 PCI-e (3.0) slots opposed to only 2 in the Dell Optiplex I am currently using. I will have the AQC113 based NVME 10 gb port, an x550 or x710-T4L with 2 or 4 ports respectively, two 8127 cards, and a 4 port 8125 card in it. That will be three or five fully backwards compatible 10 Gbps ports, two 7 Gbps fully backward compatible ports, plus four 2.5 Gbps ports. That setup should be future proof for the next several years plus speed up my network connections with my home server. All of those cards are already supported in Openwrt. I may have to use that until I can get BS to get them all set up in DDWRT.

[ho1Aetoo]

I have no idea if you even read what others write...

[cml750]

[ho1Aetoo]

I use openwrt on the gateway because there is no dd-wrt firmware for this router model.
I was unable to organize a development sample for dd-wrt.

And since I don't have €600 to give away, there probably won't be a DD-WRT firmware for the router.

However, the Aquantia NICs are supported.
The Asus RT-AX89X also has an Aquantia chip and is supported by dd-wrt...

https://forum.openwrt.org/t/add-support-for-asus-rt-ax89x-ax6000/

https://forum.openwrt.org/uploads/default/original/3X/c/a/ca576ba676aac5ffa6ab217f823d8c9e31b3401f.jpeg

https://www.marvell.com/content/dam/marvell/en/public-collateral/transceivers/marvell-phys-transceivers-aqrate-gen4-product-brief.pdf

https://www.marvell.com/content/dam/marvell/en/public-collateral/ethernet-adaptersandcontrollers/marvell-fastLinq-edge-product-brief.pdf

Please note that the “R” variant is used in the routers; these are only PHYs connected via a “media-independent interface.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media-independent_interface

The “C” variant is for clients; these are complete Ethernet controllers that are connected via PCIE.

AQR113
AQC113


https://cateee.net/lkddb/web-lkddb/AQTION.html

https://svn.dd-wrt.com/browser/src/linux/universal/linux-6.6/.config_x64#L2380

https://svn.dd-wrt.com/browser/src/linux/universal/linux-6.12/.config_x64#L2424

[cml750]

So I received the AQC113 M2 (NVME Slot) drive the other day and finally got around to installing it. I had to modify the back of the cases to mount the RJ45 port that attaches to the card via a cable. It came with PCI-e brackets but using those would defeat the purpose of getting that installs in the M2 slot. I found a blank spot in the backing, made a hole big enough for the RJ45 port to have good access, and screwed it to the back. I installed it in in 2 different computers. I could not get it to work on the Dell Optiplex 7060 but it works perfectly fine in the HP Z240 workstation. I am not sure why it will not work in the Optiplex 7060???? The NVME slot is enabled in the Bios. I did another custom compile of OpenWRT 24.10.4. The Z240 has 4 PCI-e slots. In the X16 slot, I have a 2 port Intel X540 in the X15 slot that I plan to replace with an X550 2 port or X710-T4L 4 port card in the next month or so. In the X4 slot, I have one of my 4 port RLTK 8125B cards. In the 2 X2 slots I have RLTK 8127 single port cards (although they will not get full speeds due to being PCI-E 3.0). Everything is working perfectly so far.

[ho1Aetoo]

The Optiplex 7060 has two M.2 slots, so perhaps you selected the incorrect one.

Furthermore, such slots often need to be configured, either in SATA or PCIe mode.

[cml750]

[cml750]

One thing I did not mention before, I purchased an AQC107, the precursor to the AQC113, that I now have in my home server. It is working flawlessly. From my research, the AQC107 uses slightly more power than the AQC113 but nowhere near the power hungry Intel X540. I have an X540 in my router but now that I have the NVME slot AQC113, I do not have anything plugged into it.

[ho1Aetoo]

Yes, the 107 is the previous generation.

AQC107 = 5 speeds
AQC113 = 6 speeds

The AQC113 is manufactured using a newer, smaller lithography process and consumes less power.

The AQC107 is also known for running very hot and can throttle. (at 10Gbit and with ongoing throughput and stability testing).

In case you haven't seen it yet, Aquantia network chips also have integrated temperature sensors.

For the R variant, Marvell specifies -40-108°C / 0-108°C.

You can usually display the “in-chip” temperatures with “sensors” if the lm-sensors package is installed.

[cml750]

I finally purchased an X710-T4L and on first try it will not connect at 2.5 Gbps only 1 & 10. This is using the latest OpenWRT 25.12 (self compiled). I have the correct KMOD installed for the X710. The part number on the card is for the T4L version and not the plain T4 version so I have no idea why it only works in those two modes??? Perhaps there is no driver for the T4L in OpenWRT and the package with the driver only covers the X710-T4 card. The package is kmod-i40e for which the description says "Kernel modules for Intel(R) Ethernet Controller XL710 Family 40 Gigabit Ethernet adapters". I cannot find any packages saying they are specifically for the T4L version.


I installed the X710-T4L and one of my 4 port Realtek 8125 cards in my Dell Optiplex 7060. I was also able to get the AQC 113 M2 card to work in the Optiplex by resetting the Bios. I have a Realtek 8126 5 Gbps card ordered that should work in the small M2 slot for the WIFI that I will test when it comes in.

[ho1Aetoo]

https://www.intel.de/content/www/de/de/download/18026/intel-network-adapter-driver-for-pcie-40-gigabit-ethernet-network-connections-under-linux.html

[cml750]

I will do that this evening when I get home from work. I have been doing a little research and found that there is a firmware update for the T4L that is supposed to address the issue. It is firmware for the actual card and not a PC driver. I will have to pull it out and put it in a Windows computer to do that. I just need to do it when my wife will be gone for a few hours so I do not go without internet for too long.