NC522 / NX3031 / QLE3242 HP QLogic Netwrk 10GBe SFP+ card

M

matute8

Hi all, first time poster so please don't hit me hard if I do something wrong / incomplete / etc. I'm a (happy) FreeNas user, on the 11.1 FreeBSD version right now. I'm having a (really) hard time trying to install that card. The card is a HP NC522SFP+ card which should be a rebranded QLogic 3242.
I've been reading all I could find on FN forums, FBsd forums, reddit, etc. to no avail.
pciconf -l -v
Code: 
none1@pci0:5:0:0:    class=0x020000 card=0x705b103c chip=0x01004040 rev=0x42 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'NetXen Incorporated'
    device     = 'NX3031 Multifunction 1/10-Gigabit Server Adapter'
    class      = network
    subclass   = ethernet
none2@pci0:5:0:1:    class=0x020000 card=0x705b103c chip=0x01004040 rev=0x42 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'NetXen Incorporated'
    device     = 'NX3031 Multifunction 1/10-Gigabit Server Adapter'
    class      = network
    subclass   = ethernet
I copied if_qlxgb.ko (as well as qlxgbe and qlxge) edited boot/loader.conf, edited rc.conf but FreeBSD won't see it (rather won't use the qlx driver to get it running) There are posts of people saying that it's working for them, but nobody gives a hint, people stating that you should flash the card with a plain qlogic firmware rather than HP's (again nobody claiming they could manage to) etc.
I'm rather lost at this point.
I'm no expert in FreeBSD, I've been using it for a long time (pfSense, FreeNas and even some standalone servers long time ago) but I'm no expert. I am much fluent in linux.
Thanks in advance and let me know if there's any info I can (or should) add.
 
My suggestion: Get a USB stick with the install image of an up-to-date FreeBSD (not FreeNAS, those tend to be behind). Do a boot from memory stick (that's not trivial, but doable, search for it). You can do a boot from memory stick without destroying your existing installation; for safety you might want to disconnect your disks during that period.

See whether the newer version makes your card work. If yes, upgrade your machine (no idea how to do that in FreeNAS). Or even better, upgrade your machine to a FreeBSD version.

If no ... then things get harder. In that case, I see three options (there may be more). First, check whether you can change the firmware on the card itself. You say that it is made by QLogic, but rebranded and firmware-flashed by HP. Try loading native QLogic firmware onto it. That might be hard; the HP version might refuse to load non-HP firmware, or you might brick the card. Second, there might be support for this card in some Linux distribution. If that's true, you could run Linux in a small virtual machine inside your FreeBSD (or FreeNAS) box, using a tiny Linux installation just as a network bridge. People here on the forum have reported doing it, but that seems painful. Third, use a different and supported card.
 
Ok, thanks for the guidance. Just to save someone else who drops by a lot of time, NC522 is a NX3031 or QLE3142, NOT SUPPORTED AFAIK in FreeBSD, save yourself lots of time and buy an Intel or similar card and everything flows seamlessly.
 
ralphbsz thanks! yes I went the third path. Easiest, quickest and even cheapest if you care about your time. Also just in case it's useful for anybody else, you can't (at least easily) flash a qlogic firmware in this card, or at least not using QLogic utility, it won't detect the card.
 
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