Default Flow Control off on NICs & provide a GUI switch to turn it back on

[dlandon]

Flow control defaults on for NICs and it really has limited use in modern networks.  It is causing problems with network flow, throughput, and dropped packets.  This can cause choppy video and audio in media streaming and gaming applications.  The easiest way to turn off flow control is to disable it at the network switch, but consumer grade switches do not have that level of control.  Most users do not have managed switches.

 

Provide an option on the networking page to re-enable it if the user requires flow control.

 

Turn off flow control:

ethtool -A ethX autoneg off rx off tx off

 

Turn on flow control:

ethtool -A ethX autoneg on rx on tx on

 

This would of course have to apply to all NICs.

 

 

[dlandon]

I've developed a plugin that will permit users to work with this feature on their NIC(s).

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=49233.0