Missing 10G interface on Intel 82599/X520: enabling allow_unsupported_sfp persistently on CentOS and Ubuntu

Question

A Linux server with an Intel 82599ES 10-Gigabit SFI/SFP+ controller showed no 10G interface and dmesg contained failed to load because an unsupported SFP+ or QSFP module type was detected after an untested SFP+ module was inserted. The article explains that the ixgbe driver only enables modules it has been validated with and shows how to enable others persistently on CentOS 7 and Ubuntu 16/17/18.

Hardware: Intel 82599ES / X520
Transceivers: untested third-party SFP+
Form factor: SFP+

Symptoms / messages:

failed to load because an unsupported SFP+ or QSFP module type was detected
interface missing

txeng18 · Accepted Answer

Write options ixgbe allow_unsupported_sfp=1 to /etc/modprobe.d/ixgbe.conf, regenerate the initramfs (dacut --regenerate-all --force on CentOS, update-initramfs -u -k all on Ubuntu/Debian) and reload the driver; alternatively add ixgbe.allow_unsupported_sfp=1 to the kernel command line.

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