illumos gate

A feature of Intel 82599 and X550/X552 adapters is they require the use of replaceable SFP or QSFP modules, in the form of single- or dual-speed (10Gb, 1Gb) optical modules or DA (Direct Attached) twinax-based modules.

When events related to the status of these modules occur, these adapters emit a interrupt. Insertion or removal of a module is one such example. When these interrupts occur, the driver currently addresses them in a very basic way, leaving the PHY potentially misconfigured if the SFP type changed (eg, removing a optical multispeed module and replacing it with a twinax one.) There are additional gaps in tracking SFP disposition, such as if a SFP is added or changed at some point between driver attach and the starting of the interface.

Therefore, the ixgbe driver needs to be improved in the following ways:
1) Be cognizant of SFP changes at all stages of driver operation
2) Properly configure SFPs when they are plugged in
3) Properly address multispeed (10Gb + 1Gb) SFPs and allow their speeds to be manipulated via GLD, as well as enable Intel SmartSpeed on them.

Additionally, it would be helpful to the system operator if some basic information regarding the SFP were made available through kstat, such as its type and the physical layer it implements.