[SOLVED]
OVERVIEW:
-----------------
I have a Startech PCIe ethernet card 1-port 2.5 GBASE-T Part#: ST2GPEX, installed on my ASUS Prime X670-P wifi
mobo. It works fine at 1 Gbps with the Realtek r8169 driver loaded, and no other issues with this driver.
I don't use wifi nor bluetooth; those controllers on the mobo are disabled in my BIOS (ver 3208).
So, I'm strictly using a wired connection to my cable router, with new CAT 8 cables installed.
I'm deplouing Debian 12.9, fully up to date, with LTS kernel 6.1.0-31-amd64, as of this writing.
THE ISSUE:
-----------------
I wanted to find out if I could run this card (RTK 8125) at it's potential 2.5 Gbps speed on my tiny LAN, and in
order to do so, I require the Realtek r8125 driver instead of the r8169 driver.
I've installed the latest r8125 driver source from: git clone https://github.com/awesometic/realtek-r8125-dkms.git
and compiled the source, to get the object module r8125.ko, successfully.
I believe the Rtek 8125 card hax the latest firmware installed.
FIRMWARE & DRIVER LOADING:
-----------------------------------------------
mikey@mikey:~$ apt list -i firmware-realtek
Listing... Done
firmware-realtek/stable,now 20230210-5 all [installed]
mikey@mikey:~$ lspci -knn | grep -i -A 3 net
09:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8125 2.5GbE Controller [10ec:8125] (rev 04)
Subsystem: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8125 2.5GbE Controller [10ec:0123]
Kernel driver in use: r8169
Kernel modules: r8169, r8125
QUESTION:
-----------------
So after rebooting, I find that the r8169 driver continues to be the active one.
How do I modify my configuation to enable the kernel to boot with the r8125 driver, instead of the r8169 driver?
mikey@mikey:~$ nmcli device status
DEVICE TYPE STATE CONNECTION
enp9s0 ethernet connected Wired connection 1
lo loopback connected (externally) lo
OR ---
Is this an out-of-tree issue with kernel ver 6.1.0.31-amd64 potentially being tainted by the r8125 driver?
And if so, which LTS kernel do I need to install, to be able to use the r8125 driver without any danger of tainting the kernel?
OR---
Has the r8169 driver superceded the r8125 driver, so far as Debian 12 (Bookworm) long term support distribution, is concerned?
I have spent the last 2 days reading dozens of articles about the Realtek r8125 driver and it's associated (earlier) foibles, and I find that the
issue with getting it to work on a current version of Linux, is quite confusing.
And IMO, the Startech Realtek 8125 support page for Linux is out of date, so I've been relying on the git repository for more up to date information and code downloads.
I'm about to go nuts, but as far as I am concerned, some of this is the hardware vendor's issue, for generally poor Linux support (and not just with this component).
Thank you.
OVERVIEW:
-----------------
I have a Startech PCIe ethernet card 1-port 2.5 GBASE-T Part#: ST2GPEX, installed on my ASUS Prime X670-P wifi
mobo. It works fine at 1 Gbps with the Realtek r8169 driver loaded, and no other issues with this driver.
I don't use wifi nor bluetooth; those controllers on the mobo are disabled in my BIOS (ver 3208).
So, I'm strictly using a wired connection to my cable router, with new CAT 8 cables installed.
I'm deplouing Debian 12.9, fully up to date, with LTS kernel 6.1.0-31-amd64, as of this writing.
THE ISSUE:
-----------------
I wanted to find out if I could run this card (RTK 8125) at it's potential 2.5 Gbps speed on my tiny LAN, and in
order to do so, I require the Realtek r8125 driver instead of the r8169 driver.
I've installed the latest r8125 driver source from: git clone https://github.com/awesometic/realtek-r8125-dkms.git
and compiled the source, to get the object module r8125.ko, successfully.
I believe the Rtek 8125 card hax the latest firmware installed.
FIRMWARE & DRIVER LOADING:
-----------------------------------------------
mikey@mikey:~$ apt list -i firmware-realtek
Listing... Done
firmware-realtek/stable,now 20230210-5 all [installed]
mikey@mikey:~$ lspci -knn | grep -i -A 3 net
09:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8125 2.5GbE Controller [10ec:8125] (rev 04)
Subsystem: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8125 2.5GbE Controller [10ec:0123]
Kernel driver in use: r8169
Kernel modules: r8169, r8125
QUESTION:
-----------------
So after rebooting, I find that the r8169 driver continues to be the active one.
How do I modify my configuation to enable the kernel to boot with the r8125 driver, instead of the r8169 driver?
mikey@mikey:~$ nmcli device status
DEVICE TYPE STATE CONNECTION
enp9s0 ethernet connected Wired connection 1
lo loopback connected (externally) lo
OR ---
Is this an out-of-tree issue with kernel ver 6.1.0.31-amd64 potentially being tainted by the r8125 driver?
And if so, which LTS kernel do I need to install, to be able to use the r8125 driver without any danger of tainting the kernel?
OR---
Has the r8169 driver superceded the r8125 driver, so far as Debian 12 (Bookworm) long term support distribution, is concerned?
I have spent the last 2 days reading dozens of articles about the Realtek r8125 driver and it's associated (earlier) foibles, and I find that the
issue with getting it to work on a current version of Linux, is quite confusing.
And IMO, the Startech Realtek 8125 support page for Linux is out of date, so I've been relying on the git repository for more up to date information and code downloads.
I'm about to go nuts, but as far as I am concerned, some of this is the hardware vendor's issue, for generally poor Linux support (and not just with this component).
Thank you.
Statistics: Posted by flatroncom — 2025-02-28 03:38 — Replies 2 — Views 132