Advanced settings for HP NC-Series QLogic nx3 Multifunction adapters

These advanced parameters are available for HP NC-Series QLogic nx3 Multifunction Server Adapters.

Ethernet property. These adapter properties display only if the property is supported by the selected adapter. Some properties might not display if the adapter has FlexNIC enabled.

• Completion Queue Size. Determines the number of Completion Queue Entries (CQEs) that can be posted in a completion queue.
  • Default = 16384
  • Range = 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768
• Maximum Frame Size. Specifies the maximum number of bytes in a single packet. Larger frames can increase throughput and decrease CPU use by putting more data in each packet, thereby sending out fewer packets. This is equivalent to Jumbo Frames and must comply with switch limitations.
  • Default = 1514 Bytes
  • Range = 1514 Bytes; 4088 Bytes; 8014 Bytes
• Flow Control. Specifies the type of flow control that is needed.
  • Default = Rx/Tx Enable
  • Range = Disable; Tx Enable; Rx Enable; Rx/Tx Enable
• Interrupt moderation. If enabled, helps to reduce number of interrupts per packet, which reduces CPU utilization, while maintaining the same throughput. This feature is useful under heavy network traffic conditions.
  • Default = Disabled
  • Range = Disabled; Enabled
• IPv4 Checksum Offload. Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the calculation of IPv4 checksums.
  • Default = Rx/Tx Enable
  • Range = Disable; Tx Enable; Rx Enable; Rx/Tx Enable
• Large Receive Offload (LRO). Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the segmentation of large packets for large receive offload (LRO).
  • Default = Enabled
  • Range = Disabled; Enabled
• Large Send Offload Version 1 (IPv4). Enables offloading of large TCP packets. Large send offload cannot be enabled on a port that has IPMI enabled (if IPMI is supported for your adapter).
  • Default = Enabled
  • Range = Disabled; Enabled
• TCP Connection Offload IPv4. Enables the offloading of TCP connections to HP Multifunction Server Adapters.
  • Default = Disabled
  • Range = Disabled; Enabled
    • Some HP NC-Series QLogic/NetXen adapters require a TOE license. See the NCDE Release Notes for installation instructions and a list of adapters that require a TOE license.
    • TOE is disabled system wide by default in the operating system. TOE must be enabled system-wide for it to work on the adapter itself. To enable TOE in the operating system, execute the "netsh int ip set chimney enabled" command.
    • TOE will not work with the following features enabled: Windows Firewall; Internet Protocol security (IPsec); Internet Protocol Network Address Translation (IPNAT); third-party firewalls; and NDIS 5.1 intermediate drivers. Download article number KB912222 from the Microsoft website for more information.
    • TOE and RSS are incompatible on NetXen adapters. If RSS is already enabled and then you enable TOE, RSS is automatically disabled even though it may appear to be enabled. Likewise, if you enable TOE after RSS, RSS becomes disabled.
    • For systems running Windows Server 2003 (SP1) or Windows Server 2003 x64 (SP1), you must upgrade to Service Pack 2 or later.
• Receive-Side Scaling. Enables dynamic load balancing of incoming traffic across CPUs.
  • Default = Enabled
  • Range = Disabled; Enabled
    • RSS is disabled system wide by default in the operating system. RSS must be enabled system-wide for it to work on the adapter itself. To enable RSS in the operating system:
    1. Click Start > Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
    2. Locate the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
    3. Right-click EnableRSS, and then click Modify.
    4. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
    5. Exit Registry Editor, and then restart the server.
    • TOE and RSS are incompatible on NetXen adapters. If RSS is already enabled and then you enable TOE, RSS is automatically disabled even though it may appear to be enabled. Likewise, if you enable TOE after RSS, RSS becomes disabled.
    • For systems running Windows Server 2003 (SP1) or Windows Server 2003 x64 (SP1), you must upgrade to Service Pack 2 or later.
• Priority and VLAN. Enables or disables the ability to insert or remove the 802.1q tags for priority and VLAN.
  • Default = Priority & VLAN Enabled
  • Range = Priority & VLAN Disabled; Priority & VLAN Enabled; Priority Enabled; VLAN Enabled
• TCP Checksum Offload (IPv4). Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the calculation of TCP Checksum over IPv4 packets.
  • Default = Rx/Tx Enable
  • Range = Disable; Tx Enable; Rx Enable; Rx/Tx Enable
• UDP Checksum Offload (IPv4). Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the calculation of UDP checksum over IPv4 packets.
  • Default = Rx/Tx Enable
  • Range = Disable; Tx Enable; Rx Enable; Rx/Tx Enable
• Number of Tx Descriptors. Determines how many resources are allocated to transmit packets.
  • Default = 1024
  • Range = 1024; 2048
• Number of RX Descriptors. Determines how many resources are allocated to receive packets. Increasing receive descriptors can increase performance, which also increases the amount of system memory used by the driver. So, if too few receive descriptors are used, performance suffers and if too many receive descriptors are used the driver unnecessarily consumes memory resources.
  • Default = 1024
  • Range = 1024; 2048; 4096; 8192; 16384
• Number of RX Descriptors (Jumbo). Receive Descriptors determine how many resources are allocated to receive packets. This property is only applicable if Max Frame Size is greater than 1500.
  • Default = 1024
  • Range = 1024; 2048; 8192