Overview
The Ethernet Port Configuration Tool (EPCT) is a command line utility that allows users to change the link type of a device. The supported types are defined within the adapter’s NVM. This utility displays only the devices that potentially support reconfiguration.
Supported Operating Systems
Microsoft Windows Server*
Linux* Kernel
Red Hat* Enterprise Linux*
SUSE* Linux Enterprise Server
openEuler* for AArch64 (only on Intel® Ethernet E810 Series)
UEFI
VMware* ESXi*
FreeBSD*
Note:
On systems running Linux, FreeBSD, or ESXi, the base driver must be present for EPCT to function correctly.
Installation
See Installing and Uninstalling Intel® Network Connection Tools for installation instructions.
Running the Utility
Use the following syntax to run EPCT:
epct [options]
Using the /? option will display a list of supported command line options.
See Options below for this tool’s supported parameters.
Note:If the tool displays the error: “Unable to load the driver. Please close all other applications and try again”, you have a mix of old and new versions of the utility tool on your system. Quit all open applications and retry your operation. If the issue persists:
Download the latest version of the utility tools.
Run the uninstall script to remove the old version of the tool driver.
Run the install script from the downloaded tools package.
Retry your operation.
You may also need to download and install the latest Intel Ethernet driver or Intel® PROSet package for your device.
Basic Usage Examples
The following show some basic usage examples for EPCT:
epct -devices epct -devices branding epct -nic=1 -get epct -nic=1 -set 2x1x50 epct -help
See Detailed Usage Examples below for additional examples.
Options
The Ethernet Port Configuration Tool can be run with any of the following command line options.
Note:
You can use the slash / character in place of the dash – character.
All options are case-sensitive.
- -h, -help, -?
Displays help for the command or the parameter.
You can also use the following to display help for the specified parameter:
-h <parameter name> -help <parameter name> -? <parameter name>
- -devices [branding] <option>
Displays supported devices present in the system. If branding is specified, then the branding view is displayed. If an option is specified, the value for that setting is also displayed.
Possible values for <option> are:
- tx_balancing:
Displays the device’s transmit balancing setting.
- -get <option>
Displays the configuration for the specified option on the device specified by -nic.
If an option is not specified, -get displays the port configuration for the specified device.
Active indicates the currently used configuration.
Pending indicates the configuration the device will use after the system reboots.
Possible values for <option> are:
- tx_balancing:
Displays the device’s transmit balancing setting.
- max_pwr:
Displays the maximum power options of the QSFP/SFP cages.
See -get Examples below for example usage of this option.
- -location <SS:BBB>
Specify a device for this instance of the tool to update, where <SS:BB> means:
- SS:
The PCI segment of the desired device.
- BBB:
The PCI bus of the desired device.
Do not specify -nic in the same command as -location.
- -nic=<device_index>
Selects the device at the specified index. Do not specify -location in the same command as -nic.
- -set <option>
Configures the selected device with the specified option. Valid values for <option> are:
- tx_balancing enable|disable:
Enables or disables the transmit balancing feature, to improve transmit performance.
- max_pwr X:
Sets the maximum allowed power to X for the QSFP/SFP cage.
- <port configuration string>:
Specifies the configuration to set for the desired quad, port, or speed.
A port configuration string is defined as:
QxPxS – if all port speeds are the same across both quads and all lines, or
P1xS1-P2xS2 – if each quad has a specific speed, or
P11xS11+<…>+P1nxS1n-P21xS21+<…>+P2mxS2m
- Where:
- Q:
The desired quad number.
- P:
The desired port number.
- S:
The desired port speed.
- n:
The desired port/speed combination for quad 0.
- m:
The desired port/speed combination for quad 1.
For example:
epct -nic=1 -set 2x25+2x10-2x10
See -set Examples below for example usage of these options.
Note:A reboot is required after changing the port settings.
Detailed Usage Examples
Note:
Some configurations shown in the examples below may not apply to all adapters.
The following examples show the tool’s -devices option, the -get option, and the -set option.
-devices Examples
Typing the following at the prompt:
epct -devices
Will display:
NIC Seg:Bus:Fun Ven-Dev Connector Ports Speed Quads Lanes per PF
=== ============= ========= ========= ===== ======== ====== ============
1) 000:012 8086-1583 QSFP 2 50 Gbps Single 1
2) 000:015 8086-1584 QSFP 4 25 Gbps Single 1
3) 000:017 8086-1589 SFP 4 25 Gbps Single 1
4) 000:030:00-01 8086-1588 QSFP 2 25 Gbps Single 1
000:030:02-05 8086-1587 QSFP 4 10 Gbps Single 1
The following shows how to use the branding option:
epct -devices branding
NIC Seg:Bus Ven-Dev Mode Adapter Name
=== ======= ========= =========== =============================================
1) 000:012 8086-1583 N/A Intel(R) Ethernet Converged Network Adapter
XL710
2) 000:029 8086-1583 4x10 Intel(R) Ethernet Converged Network Adapter
XL710
3) 000:129 8086-1599 2x25,2x10- Intel(R) Ethernet Controller E810-XXV for
2x10 backplane
4) 000:132 8086-159A 2x50 Intel(R) Ethernet Controller E810-XXV for
QSFP
-get Examples
Typing the following at the prompt:
epct -nic=1 -get
Will display:
Available Port Options:
==========================================================================
Port Quad 0 Quad 1
Option Option (Gbps) L0 L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7
======= ============================= ================ ================
4x25 -> 25 25 25 25 - - - -
2x1x100 -> 100 - - - 100 - - -
Active 2x2x25 -> 25 25 - - 25 25 - -
2x50 -> 50 - 50 - - - - -
Pending 2x1x50 -> 50 - - - 50 - - -
2x4x10 -> 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
2x25+2x10-2x10 -> 25 25 10 10 10 10 - -
1x10+1x25+1x10+1x25-2x10 -> 10 25 10 25 10 10 - -
To display the current setting for the transmit balancing feature on a specific device:
epct -nic=1 -get tx_balancing
To display the minimum and maximum power allowed for the QSFP/SFP cage on a specific device:
epct -nic=1 -get max_pwr
For example, the above will display:
Seg:Bus:Fun Ven-Dev MIN PWR ALLOWED MAX PWR ALLOWED MAX PWR SET =========== ======= =============== =============== =========== 000:012 8086-1583 1 5.5 3.5
-set Examples
To set two ports to 50Gbps (first port starts with lane L0 in quad 0 and second with lane L4 in quad 1):
epct -nic=1 -set 2x1x50
To set the first and second ports to 25Gbps (respectively lanes L0 and L1 in quad 0), the third and fourth port to 10Gbps (respectively lanes L2 and L3 in quad 0), and the fifth and sixth port to 10Gbps (respectively lanes L4 and L5 in quad 1):
epct -nic=1 -set 2x25+2x10-2x10
To enable the transmit balancing feature on a specific device:
epct -nic=1 -set 'tx_balancing enable'
To set the maximum allowed power for a QSFP cage:
epct -nic=1 -cage=2 -set 'max_pwr 2.5'
A reboot is required after changing the port settings.
In Windows, you must use double quotation marks instead of single quotation marks. For example:
epct -nic=1 -set "tx_balancing enable" epct -nic=1 -cage=2 -set "max_pwr 2.5"
Exit Codes
Upon exit, when possible, the EPCT reports an overall status code to indicate the results of the operation. In general, a non-zero return code indicates an error occurred during processing.
Value | Description |
|---|---|
0 | Success |
1 | No supported adapter found |
2 | Insufficient privileges to run the tool |
3 | No driver available |
4 | Unsupported base driver version |
5 | Bad command line parameter |
6 | Invalid adapter selected |
7 | Unsupported ports configuration selected |
8 | Adapter does not support ports configuration |
9 | Memory allocation error |
10 | Adapter access error |
13 | Cannot set new port option. Pending reboot detected |
14 | The device is in recovery mode |
15 | The requested feature is not supported on this device. You may get this error if your system/device/operating system combination does not support the option you tried to set. |
25 | Setting value is out of range |
Note:
EFI versions of this tool may report an incorrect error code when no adapter is installed. This is due to a known limitation in the UDK2015 UEFI Development Kit (UDK) build environment.
Troubleshooting
Issues with breakout cables
Use of the 4×25 quad breakout or 1×100 port option will only work on Port 2 of Intel® Ethernet Network Adapter E810-C-Q2 products.
Unexpected PF mapping
Physical Function (PF) to physical lane mapping is dependent upon the hardware and may change across different MAC port options. This may be most noticeable when using a breakout cable, in which case the labeling on the cable may not align with the device port assignment.
For example, inserting a 4-port breakout cable into either QSFP cage and configuring the device in 2x2x25 mode may result in the two active PFs being assigned to the third and fourth cables of the breakout connector.
Possible misconfiguration of the Ethernet port
You may see an informational message stating that a potential misconfiguration of the Ethernet port was detected. This is to alert you that your device is being underutilized. If this was intentional, you may ignore this message. For example, setting your Intel® Ethernet Network Adapter E810-C-Q2 to 2x2x25 is valid, but it does not use the full capabilities of the device. If you see this message, and the configuration was not intentional, you may use EPCT to correct the configuration.
From intel website，
https://edc.intel.com/content/www/us/en/design/products/ethernet/adapters-and-devices-user-guide/intel-ethernet-flash-firmware-utility/