Resolving Issues with Energy-Efficient Ethernet (EEE) or Green Ethernet

Table of Contents 

1. Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) Low Power Idle (LPI) Modes
2. EEE LPI vs System Idle Power Saving (SIPS)
3. Troubleshooting
4. Supporting Enterprise Environments

Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) Low Power Idle (LPI) Modes

Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) Low Power Idle (LPI) mode defined in IEEE 802.3az optionally allows power saving by switching off part of the integrated LAN controller and (in this example) the Intel 82579 functionalities when no data must be transmitted or received.

Decision on whether the 82579 transmit path should enter Low-Power Idle mode or exit Low-Power Idle mode is done on the integrated LAN controller level and communicated to the 82579 to allow power saving in the transmit circuitry.

Information on whether Link Partner has entered Low-Power Idle mode is detected by the 82579 and communicated to the integrated LAN controller to allow for power saving in the receive circuitry.

EEE LPI vs System Idle Power Saving (SIPS)

SIPS is a software-based power-saving feature. This feature is only supported in the S0 state and can be enabled or disabled using the advanced tab of the Windows driver or through DMiX. The power savings from this feature depends the link speed of the 82579. SIPS is NOT enabled when in LPI mode.

SIPS is designed to save power in the 82579 by negotiating to the lowest possible link speed when both the network is idle and the monitor is turned off due to inactivity. The SIPS feature is activated based on both of the following conditions:

• The Windows NDIS driver receives notification from the operating system when the monitor is turned off due to nonactivity.
• The LAN driver monitors the current network activity and determines that the network is idle.

Steps To Troubleshoot and Configure EEE and LPI Modes

1. It is recommended that a minimum CAT-5e or CAT-6 cable be used, if possible.
2. Verify that the latest version of BIOS has been installed on the system.
3. Verify that the most recent Intel 825xx Gigabit Platform LAN Network Device Driver has been installed (download link below).

• Per Intel, the following five power-saving features may cause complications and should not be enabled while EEE is enabled:
  • Intel Auto Connect Battery Saver (ACBS)
  • Automatic Link Downshift
  • Link Speed Battery Saver
  • System Idle Power Saver (SIPS)
  • Low Power Link Up (LPLU)

• If possible, test the network by disabling EEE by using the "Advanced" tab of the driver properties (see screenshot below).
  1. Go to the Device Manager
  2. Open the category of "Network adapters"
  3. Right click on the icon for the "Intel(R) 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection" and choose "Properties"
     • Network adapter is listed by brand (Intel/Realtek/Killer) and sometimes chipset (Ex: 82579/I-217/I-219)
  4. Click on the "Advanced" tab and set the Property of "Energy-Efficient Ethernet" to "Disabled"
  5. Click on the "OK" button to save changes and then close all open windows

Figure 1 - Intel Example

Figure 2 - Realtek Example

If possible, test the network after disabling the EEE or Green Ethernet at the network switch.
 

Supporting Enterprise Environments

On most models EEE LPI is enabled by default, but older systems may have shipped with EEE disabled as it was a new technology. Enterprise customers can use the Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty PowerShell command to list all network adapter settings on a system and poll their environment for systems with the feature on or off. Customers can add additional options to filter out the additional virtual Windows adapters example: Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -interfacedescription *[irk][nie][tal]*.

Figure 3 - PowerShell