IXGBE(4) Device and Network Interfaces IXGBE(4)
ixgbe - Intel 10Gb PCI Express NIC Driver
/dev/ixgbe* /dev/net/ixgbe*
The ixgbe 10 Gigabit Ethernet driver is a GLDV3 NIC driver for various
Intel PCIe Controllers including:
+o Intel 82598EB Ethernet Controller Family
+o Intel 82599EB (X520) Ethernet Controller Family
+o Intel X540 Ethernet Controller Family
+o Intel X550 Ethernet Controller Family
+o Intel E610 Ethernet Controller Family
The ixgbe driver functions include controller initialization, frame
transmit and receive, multiple transmit and receive groups with receive
side scaling (RSS), promiscuous and multicast support, transceiver
management, LED control, UFM management, and error recovery and
reporting.
The supported speeds vary based on the controller. The 82598 and 82599
generally interface with optical transceivers. The X540 supports 1 and
10GBASE-T, while the X550 and the E610 support 1, 2.5, 5, and 10GBASE-
T. The specific supported speeds vary based on the controller.
The cloning character-special device, /dev/ixgbe, is used to access all
ixgbe based devices installed within the system.
The ixgbe driver is managed by the dladm(8) command line utility, which
allows VLANs to be defined on top of ixgbe instances and for ixgbe
instances to be aggregated. See dladm(8) for more details.
You must send an explicit DL_ATTACH_REQ message to associate the opened
stream with a particular device (PPA). The PPA ID is interpreted as an
unsigned integer data type and indicates the corresponding device
instance (unit) number. The driver returns an error (DL_ERROR_ACK) if
the PPA field value does not correspond to a valid device instance
number for the system. The device is initialized on first attach and
de-initialized (stopped) at last detach.
The values returned by the driver in the DL_INFO_ACK primitive in
response to the DL_INFO_REQ are:
+o Maximum SDU for Intel 82598EB is 16366.
+o Maximum SDU for Intel 82599EB, X540 and X550 is 15500.
+o Maximum SDU for Intel E610 is 9710.
+o Minimum SDU is 0.
+o DLSAP address length is 8.
+o MAC type is DL_ETHER.
+o SAP (Service Access Point) length value is -2, meaning the
physical address component is followed immediately by a
2-byte SAP component within the DLSAP address.
+o Broadcast address value is the Ethernet/IEEE broadcast
address (FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF).
Once in the DL_ATTACHED state, you must send a DL_BIND_REQ to
associate a particular SAP with the stream.
By default, the ixgbe driver performs auto-negotiation to select the
link speed and mode. Link speed and mode can only be 10000 Mbps full-
duplex for fiber. For copper, supported speeds may include 100, 1000,
2500, 5000, and 10000 Mbps full-duplex. See the IEEE802.3 standard for
more information.
/dev/ixgbe*, /dev/net/ixgbe* Special character device.
/kernel/drv/amd64/ixgbe Device driver (x86)
/kernel/drv/ixgbe.conf Driver configuration file
streamio(4I), dlpi(4P), driver.conf(5), attributes(7), dladm(8),
netstat(8)
Writing Device Drivers, https://www.illumos.org/books/wdd/.
illumos January 18, 2026 illumos
NAME
ixgbe - Intel 10Gb PCI Express NIC Driver
SYNOPSIS
/dev/ixgbe* /dev/net/ixgbe*
DESCRIPTION
The ixgbe 10 Gigabit Ethernet driver is a GLDV3 NIC driver for various
Intel PCIe Controllers including:
+o Intel 82598EB Ethernet Controller Family
+o Intel 82599EB (X520) Ethernet Controller Family
+o Intel X540 Ethernet Controller Family
+o Intel X550 Ethernet Controller Family
+o Intel E610 Ethernet Controller Family
The ixgbe driver functions include controller initialization, frame
transmit and receive, multiple transmit and receive groups with receive
side scaling (RSS), promiscuous and multicast support, transceiver
management, LED control, UFM management, and error recovery and
reporting.
The supported speeds vary based on the controller. The 82598 and 82599
generally interface with optical transceivers. The X540 supports 1 and
10GBASE-T, while the X550 and the E610 support 1, 2.5, 5, and 10GBASE-
T. The specific supported speeds vary based on the controller.
APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE
The cloning character-special device, /dev/ixgbe, is used to access all
ixgbe based devices installed within the system.
The ixgbe driver is managed by the dladm(8) command line utility, which
allows VLANs to be defined on top of ixgbe instances and for ixgbe
instances to be aggregated. See dladm(8) for more details.
You must send an explicit DL_ATTACH_REQ message to associate the opened
stream with a particular device (PPA). The PPA ID is interpreted as an
unsigned integer data type and indicates the corresponding device
instance (unit) number. The driver returns an error (DL_ERROR_ACK) if
the PPA field value does not correspond to a valid device instance
number for the system. The device is initialized on first attach and
de-initialized (stopped) at last detach.
The values returned by the driver in the DL_INFO_ACK primitive in
response to the DL_INFO_REQ are:
+o Maximum SDU for Intel 82598EB is 16366.
+o Maximum SDU for Intel 82599EB, X540 and X550 is 15500.
+o Maximum SDU for Intel E610 is 9710.
+o Minimum SDU is 0.
+o DLSAP address length is 8.
+o MAC type is DL_ETHER.
+o SAP (Service Access Point) length value is -2, meaning the
physical address component is followed immediately by a
2-byte SAP component within the DLSAP address.
+o Broadcast address value is the Ethernet/IEEE broadcast
address (FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF).
Once in the DL_ATTACHED state, you must send a DL_BIND_REQ to
associate a particular SAP with the stream.
CONFIGURATION
By default, the ixgbe driver performs auto-negotiation to select the
link speed and mode. Link speed and mode can only be 10000 Mbps full-
duplex for fiber. For copper, supported speeds may include 100, 1000,
2500, 5000, and 10000 Mbps full-duplex. See the IEEE802.3 standard for
more information.
FILES
/dev/ixgbe*, /dev/net/ixgbe* Special character device.
/kernel/drv/amd64/ixgbe Device driver (x86)
/kernel/drv/ixgbe.conf Driver configuration file
SEE ALSO
streamio(4I), dlpi(4P), driver.conf(5), attributes(7), dladm(8),
netstat(8)
Writing Device Drivers, https://www.illumos.org/books/wdd/.
illumos January 18, 2026 illumos