[dpdk-dev] Unsupported SFP+ Module - Hardware Initialization Failure -19

[Alex Forster <alex@alexforster.com>]

Hi guys,

I have a problem again that I had about a year ago[1]. My Finisar FTL410QE2C (multimode QSFP) transceivers aren’t working with my Intel X520-QDA1’s. I have 7 servers, each with two X520’s and two QSFP transceivers in them, totaling 14 NICs and transceivers, and all of them fail with the same error: Unsupported SFP+ Module / Hardware Initialization Failure: -19.

This doesn’t appear to be specifically a DPDK issue, but rather an IXGBE issue, since (a) the stock Debian 8 IXGBE, (b) the latest out of tree IXGBE, and (c) DPDK’s copy of IXGBE all fail in this same way. I’m happy to take this to an IXGBE mailing list if somebody can point me to one, but just in case anyone here can help, here’s the info I’ve gathered–

* The exact function where IXGBE bails is here, annotated with the values read from the transceiver’s EEPROMs: https://www.googledrive.com/host/0B_-81lR_g8lyNDJ6QkkxS28yQzQ
* I’ve modified DPDK’s copy of IXGBE to dump the whole EEPROM of these transceivers, which are here: https://gist.github.com/alexforster/5da30cd89d49877d5d6908e9628baee8

Here’s (I think) an important part: Last time I had this problem, I only had one server, and one of the two transceivers worked. I fixed the other transceiver in that server by replacing it with an identical model. Now, suddenly, neither of those transceivers (which have worked for ~11 months) are recognized. I don’t know how I could have done something that would have affected the EEPROM output, but I suspect I may have.

Anybody able to offer any advice?

Alex Forster

[1] http://dpdk.org/ml/archives/dev/2015-October/024973.html