Dennis HilkLinux diagnosticsDE

Ethernet & networking

Mellanox ConnectX-4 family

ConnectX-4 belongs to mlx5_core rather than the older mlx4 family. Keep physical-function identification, Ethernet interface creation and optional RDMA operation as separate checks.

Editorial source review: Share public profileOpen in the identification tool
On this page
  1. Overview & identity
  2. Driver & binding
  3. Firmware
  4. Read-only diagnostics
  5. Limitations & related issues
  6. References

Overview & identity

1013 is the ConnectX-4 physical-function constant. The table separately identifies 1014 as a virtual function and 1015 as ConnectX-4 LX; this profile does not combine them into one exact product.

Curated identifiers
pci 15b3:1013

A numeric match establishes a candidate family within the reviewed evidence. Marketing names, board variants, subsystem conditions and successful operation remain separate questions.

Driver & binding

The mlx5_core PCI table includes ConnectX-4. Runtime firmware initialization and the network personality must still complete before ethtool can report a usable Ethernet interface.

  • mlx5_core — kernel driver/module candidate

Detected, bound, operational: learn the difference

Firmware

Device/revision dependent

The core driver communicates with firmware on the adapter. This profile establishes no universally required file under /lib/firmware; adapter/OEM identity is required before discussing firmware updates.

Inspect firmware packaging on your distribution

Read-only diagnostics

Run one displayed command at a time. Replace uppercase placeholders with the affected device, interface or module from your own output. Commands are never executed here. Read-only output can still contain private identifiers.

Check the PCI function and bound driver

lspci -nnk -s BDF

Replace BDF with the domain:bus:device.function address. Look for [15b3:1013] and Kernel driver in use. mlx5_core in Kernel modules is only a candidate, not proof of binding.

Identify the network interface driver

ethtool -i INTERFACE

Replace INTERFACE with the real interface name. Driver and bus-info connect this interface to its device. A displayed firmware-version is adapter information; it does not prove a file was loaded. Candidate: mlx5_core.

Compare supported modes with the current link

ethtool INTERFACE

Supported/advertised link modes describe capability or negotiation offers. Speed, Duplex and Link detected describe the current link, not measured throughput. An unsupported query is a limitation of the interface/driver.

Separate PCIe transport from Ethernet speed

sudo lspci -vv -s BDF

Elevated access may be needed. Root can expose the full PCI configuration. If PCIe capabilities exist, compare LnkCap with LnkSta: maximum and negotiated PCIe speed/width are different from Ethernet speed. Legacy PCI or virtual functions may omit these fields.

Limitations & related issues

A PCI ID does not fix port count, Ethernet/InfiniBand mode or a particular maximum speed for every board. A core probe failure and a media-side link failure require different evidence.

These guides are linked for relevant observations, not as known defects of every device in this family.

Choose a hardware diagnostic workflow · Inspect a log excerpt in Fix Lab

References

Source review records a checked implementation or document, not a reproduced hardware test. Version-specific tables do not establish a minimum kernel or guaranteed operation.