ethtool -m fails on FS.com XXV710 NIC: "Module EEPROM memory read not supported" and NVM not updatable
On Ubuntu 18.04 (kernel 5.4.0, ethtool 5.3, i40e 2.8.20-k) the poster used 25G XXV710-based NICs bought from FS.com (FS part XXV710AM2-F2, Intel XXV710 chipset). Link and error-free wire-speed traffic worked, but reading a transceiver's DMI data with sudo ethtool -m enp4s0f0 failed with "Cannot get module EEPROM information: Invalid argument", and dmesg logged "i40e 0000:04:00.0 enp4s0f0: Module EEPROM memory read not supported. Please update the NVM image." Running Intel's nvmupdate64e (NVMUpdate 1.34.17.7) updated a genuine Intel X710 (DevId 1572) to 7.16(7.10), but listed the XXV710 (DevId 158B) at NVM 5.81(5.51) as "Update not available". Because ethtool -m works on the X710 with the same driver, the poster asked whether EEPROM reads are supported on the XXV710 at all and what the latest NVM version for it is.
- Hardware: FS.com XXV710AM2-F2 (Intel XXV710 chipset), Intel Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X710-2
- Transceivers: unspecified 25G SFP28 transceivers
- Form factor: SFP28
Symptoms / messages:
Cannot get module EEPROM information: Invalid argument
Module EEPROM memory read not supported. Please update the NVM image.
nvmupdate64e reports "Update not available" for XXV710 at NVM 5.81(5.51)
link and throughput normal, only DDM/EEPROM readout fails
Comments 3
Intel support asked for the markings on the adapter's 4-in-1 label and the ethtool -i output to identify the card.
The poster clarified the card is FS.com-branded, not Intel. FS told them that XXV710 cards shipped with NVM 5.81(5.51) cannot be flashed to newer firmware and agreed to an RMA exchange for units shipping with NVM 6.01, which can be updated to 7.1 and do support transceiver EEPROM readout; the poster complained that FS never disclosed these differing hardware revisions.
The poster also asked Intel to name XXV710-based NIC models that accept any MSA-compatible third-party transceiver and report EEPROM details correctly; the remainder of the thread was not captured.