I'm experiencing a strange problem with ECS 48 switches where ports 1-32 have noticeably lower download and RX throughput for devices using Intel I219-V and I219-LM. Meanwhile, ports 33-48 function normally. This issue is affecting about 50 units across different customer networks, not just isolated to one site, and we've confirmed it on various Intel devices like laptops and desktops. Although the switch and Windows show a 1 Gbps link, the actual performance is poor. When I run iperf3, I see around 300 Mbit/s on the bad ports but nearly 900 Mbit/s on good ones. I've tried switching cables and endpoints, and disabling various settings without success. Interestingly, using a USB 1G NIC instead gets full throughput. Has anyone else faced this issue? Is there a known firmware problem with these switches or any workarounds?
3 Answers
When you used a dock or USB 1G NIC, could you share which model it was? It's interesting that anything except the Intel I219 seems to work without a hitch.
The switch's internal architecture might be an issue. It could have three separate 16-port MAC/PHY chips. You might want to check the temperatures of those components if possible. Power cycling the switch overnight might help too. Have you looked into whether Intel NICs have known firmware issues, especially with offloading?
That ASIC theory makes sense. If ports 1-32 are tied to a different switching ASIC than 33-48, that could explain the discrepancy. I’d also suggest checking for firmware updates for the switch and forcing the link speed on the affected ports to 1G.
I tested a spare switch and left it to discharge overnight, but it behaved the same way in the morning. I also confirmed that other NIC models work perfectly fine.
This does sound odd! Have you updated the NIC driver from Intel's website? Sometimes that can help with strange throughput issues.
Yeah, I made sure I'm running the latest driver, but unfortunately, that didn't solve the problem.
The specific model doesn't matter too much as long as it’s **not** an Intel I219. We’ve tested a variety of 1G NICs and they all work just fine.