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MP 1,1-5,1 Modify retail Intel 10GbE NICs to use Small Tree macOS Drivers

edgerider said:
so I finally made my sonnet presto work.
I had to install previous version of the driver... not the latest...
getting 500mb/s transfer, with smb off and jumbo 9000 on ... I have to test with very high quality cable because so far i have tested with a 50m cat 6 cable.
just wanted to follow up on my previous post
Click to expand...

Absolutely appreciate you coming back on your own research. I have a X550-T2 in an X299X Designare-10G which I simply couldn't seem to hex edit according to the first post. Ethtool didn't write any data, regardless of no errors in the command, and me checking against all options given in this thread. It wouldn't change the hex.

I then tried edgerider's method of using Sonnet's 10G X550 drivers for macOS, both versions (7.1 and 7.2) didn't do anything for me, with or without Smalltree installed.

In the end I found another solution on a related forum for Mojave: 3.5.0 SmallTree FakePCIID.kext and FakePCIID_Intel_GbX.kext written for the X550. This would probably work best in Clover / Hackintoshes.

It's advisable to put SmalltreeXX.kext in "10.14", and the rest in "Others", as there seems to be a kext loading sequence, and this makes sure the right order is maintained.

Code for Intel_GbX:
Code: 
    <dict>
        <key>Intel GbX</key>
        <dict>
            <key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
            <string>org.rehabman.driver.FakePCIID</string>
            <key>FakeProperties</key>
            <dict>
                <key>RM,subsystem-id</key>
                <data>
                CgAAAA==
                </data>
            </dict>
            <key>IOClass</key>
            <string>FakePCIID</string>
            <key>IOMatchCategory</key>
            <string>FakePCIID</string>
            <key>IOPCIPrimaryMatch</key>
            <string>0x10c68086 0x10c78086 0x10c88086 0x10ec8086 0x10d88086 0x10fb8086 0x10f18086 0x151c8086 0x150b8086 0x15288086 0x10fc8086 0x15608086 0x15638086</string>
            <key>IOProviderClass</key>
            <string>IOPCIDevice</string>
        </dict>
    </dict>
 
Allubz said:
Absolutely appreciate you coming back on your own research. I have a X550-T2 in an X299X Designare-10G which I simply couldn't seem to hex edit according to the first post. Ethtool didn't write any data, regardless of no errors in the command, and me checking against all options given in this thread. It wouldn't change the hex.
Click to expand...
Please do post what errors you saw and what was tried. I can't see any reason why it wouldn’t work and indeed you're the first to report an issue like this. The more info you can provide the better.
 
Last edited:
Ah yes! I said "no errors" though. I've previously fixed a X520 two port card with this method, so I know it should work. What I did was:
1) Live USB Ubuntu 19.10 > Connect WiFi -> Install net-tools / ethtool
2) Obtain information, run commands -> No error output, just a next line like:
>> sudo commands etc.
>>

So the first time I assumed it just worked after entering the four commands needed for the two ports, but after a reboot all was the same in macOS, so I retested in the live Ubuntu and yes, nothing changed. Tried again, really triple checked all the posts in here to see if I did anything silly, but no.

No errors, no messages, just a next line on the command line suggesting to me changes had been succesful.

For me there is no reason anymore to test further with this method, as the method described above really fits my need. I can understand this isn't the case for anyone who wishes to insert an AIC to a MacPro. I reckon user edgerider should be able to provide more help in this regard, because his methods didn't seem to work for my built-in X550-T2 adapter on the X299X Designare-10G.
 
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please consider the following : the actual sonnet driver only works with high sierra and to have them work with el capitan I had to ask sonnet for older drivers.
also I also noted that you can now find a lot of atto fast frame card for cheap on ebay now a day...
my recommandation would be to go with Atto fastframe because atto has always been very reliable on their support with macos driver. you can find a card for 150$ on ebay now , and they are actual 8x pcie gen2 instead of 4x pcie gen 3 that is actually a bottle neck on dual port card on a macpro.
I’m waiting to get one shipped to me to keep you guys updated!
 
I have also been trying to change SubsystemID of the GB X299X Designare 10g to no avail.. I used to swap ID's for the Asus WS SAGE 10G no probs with a X540-AT2 but ethtool is currently doing nothing under this new board.. Has anyone got a clue as of why?? @Squuiid this would solve some issues for us on a hackintosh :p
 
drenan said:
I have also been trying to change SubsystemID of the GB X299X Designare 10g to no avail.. I used to swap ID's for the Asus WS SAGE 10G no probs with a X540-AT2 but ethtool is currently doing nothing under this new board.. Has anyone got a clue as of why?? @Squuiid this would solve some issues for us on a hackintosh :p
Click to expand...
please also note that for now apple has decided to break compatibilty with all intel 10gbe nic in catalina! I just bought an atto fastframe nt12 and 4 sanlink3 t1 for no reason, because they wont be compatible with catalina no matter what... I have a very deep feeling that now that apple have put the pro lineup back on track, they are going to focus their priority on cutting on hackintosh and older hardware to force people to embrace catalina and t2 chipped machine. once they will have all their lineup with t2 chip, they will only push mac os upgrade that are instalable on t2 equipes mac...
we might see a driver for atto card in catalina, but i highly doubt that other like promise or sonnet are going to bother fighting to get their drivers validated by apple.... so i would advise evrybody who needs to update to future cersion of mac os catalina to stick with card with aquantia chipset....
unless @Squuiid find a way to flash all intel card to be seen as atto nic, i wont rely on sonnet or small tree or promise to keep the drivers up to date....
atto is in a different boat , they sold a **** load of their 1000$ addapter to very large customers and integrators so I gess they will do whatever needed to insure at least 1 or two more years of compatibility where promise seriously said « F-u » to all sanlink 3 t1 user basically saying : it is not our fault, it is apple ´s fault....
promise relies on apple to do business, apple rely on atto for 40gbe and fiberchanel so that is not the same relationship....
 
edgerider said:
please also note that for now apple has decided to break compatibilty with all intel 10gbe nic in catalina! I just bought an atto fastframe nt12 and 4 sanlink3 t1 for no reason, because they wont be compatible with catalina no matter what... I have a very deep feeling that now that apple have put the pro lineup back on track, they are going to focus their priority on cutting on hackintosh and older hardware to force people to embrace catalina and t2 chipped machine. once they will have all their lineup with t2 chip, they will only push mac os upgrade that are instalable on t2 equipes mac...
we might see a driver for atto card in catalina, but i highly doubt that other like promise or sonnet are going to bother fighting to get their drivers validated by apple.... so i would advise evrybody who needs to update to future cersion of mac os catalina to stick with card with aquantia chipset....
unless @Squuiid find a way to flash all intel card to be seen as atto nic, i wont rely on sonnet or small tree or promise to keep the drivers up to date....
atto is in a different boat , they sold a **** load of their 1000$ addapter to very large customers and integrators so I gess they will do whatever needed to insure at least 1 or two more years of compatibility where promise seriously said « F-u » to all sanlink 3 t1 user basically saying : it is not our fault, it is apple ´s fault....
promise relies on apple to do business, apple rely on atto for 40gbe and fiberchanel so that is not the same relationship....
Click to expand...
Wow, well, that is as good as it gets I suppose... Apple is just f****ng around with everyone, there seems to be no limit to their greed and will to dominate everything and everyone, amazing... kind of reminds me of the Nvidia ordeal when Mojave came up, people are still waiting for the compatible drivers 😂

Anyway, if you do have an intel chip (X520, X540 or X550) you could use the three .kext method to make your card work (that if you are on a hack tho). I agree @Squuiid could come up with some miracle workaround haha, that would make life so much easier for all of us.

Not many vendors ship their boards with an Aquantia chip built in. that would make things easier.

Let´s not lose all hope yet
 
It’s been a while since I’ve done this but I think newer ethtool versions might not work.
Make sure you use Ubuntu 16.04 LTS LiveCD as I know that works fine.
Please report back if you can.
 
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Squuiid said:
It’s been a while since I’ve done this but I think newer ethtool versions might not work.
Make sure you use Ubuntu 16.04 LTS LiveCD as I know that works fine.
Please report back if you can.
Click to expand...
If you reckon that downgrading to 16.04 might solve the issue I will try and post results in a bit
 
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drenan said:
If you reckon that downgrading to 16.04 might solve the issue I will try and post results in a bit
Click to expand...

I used CentOS 7 to do patch my X520-SR1. It uses ethtool 4.8, which worked like a charm. Mine had the BIOS already disabled so no need to disable that.

edgerider said:
please also note that for now apple has decided to break compatibilty with all intel 10gbe nic in catalina! I just bought an atto fastframe nt12 and 4 sanlink3 t1 for no reason, because they wont be compatible with catalina no matter what... I have a very deep feeling that now that apple have put the pro lineup back on track, they are going to focus their priority on cutting on hackintosh and older hardware to force people to embrace catalina and t2 chipped machine. once they will have all their lineup with t2 chip, they will only push mac os upgrade that are instalable on t2 equipes mac...
we might see a driver for atto card in catalina, but i highly doubt that other like promise or sonnet are going to bother fighting to get their drivers validated by apple.... so i would advise evrybody who needs to update to future cersion of mac os catalina to stick with card with aquantia chipset....
unless @Squuiid find a way to flash all intel card to be seen as atto nic, i wont rely on sonnet or small tree or promise to keep the drivers up to date....
atto is in a different boat , they sold a **** load of their 1000$ addapter to very large customers and integrators so I gess they will do whatever needed to insure at least 1 or two more years of compatibility where promise seriously said « F-u » to all sanlink 3 t1 user basically saying : it is not our fault, it is apple ´s fault....
promise relies on apple to do business, apple rely on atto for 40gbe and fiberchanel so that is not the same relationship....
Click to expand...

The SANLink3 T1 uses a Tehuti TN4010-chip. You can use the drivers available from their website.
 
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drenan said:
Wow, well, that is as good as it gets I suppose... Apple is just f****ng around with everyone, there seems to be no limit to their greed and will to dominate everything and everyone, amazing... kind of reminds me of the Nvidia ordeal when Mojave came up, people are still waiting for the compatible drivers 😂

Anyway, if you do have an intel chip (X520, X540 or X550) you could use the three .kext method to make your card work (that if you are on a hack tho). I agree @Squuiid could come up with some miracle workaround haha, that would make life so much easier for all of us.

Not many vendors ship their boards with an Aquantia chip built in. that would make things easier.

Let´s not lose all hope yet
Click to expand...
the issue with catalina from what i understand is that it doesn’t alow third party unsigned Kext anymore like it used to be with the “are you sure you want to instal this very bad extentions that we, Apple have not certified “ .

I might be wrong but my 7.1 is on the way and a atto n12 and a sanlink3 T1 also, so I will have three different version of the x550/540 driver : one from sonnet, and one from Atto, one from promise.


will try to instal both on the 7.1 to see if it works!

I know for a fact that so far the sanlink3 is considered as a “legacy” product and will not have firmware or driver upgrade, and that the old Kext is not “instalable” in catalina. I might be wrong . I dont know what chipset promise use on the sanlink3 T1, but it might not be aquantia.

so @Squuiid , if you need me to try or test stuff, let me know!

my two cents is that if someone is going to keep their card working it is ATTO, because all the studio in hollywood rely on their 40gb and 100gb fastframe card, not being able to connect a 7.1 to existing 40 or 100 gb network is a no-go for those firm who are the only one who will buy the 60k$ high cash machines.

sonnet or promise adapters are just cheap compare to this, and saying that a 300€ 3 year old dongle or pcie card is obsolete is not an issue for them, because that is mainly a end user product. the very big atto 40 and 100gb card are 10 times more expensive and apple need them in their own ecosystem for their own data center. so if i would make a bet I will definitely try to make everything compatible with ATTO drivers more than small tree drivers.

maybe the easiest way would be to make the driver of one brand, recognise other brands as ok !

once again this is way out of my spectre of competence so I might be wrong all down the line.
 
edgerider said:
...

I know for a fact that so far the sanlink3 is considered as a “legacy” product and will not have firmware or driver upgrade, and that the old Kext is not “instalable” in catalina. I might be wrong . I dont know what chipset promise use on the sanlink3 T1, but it might not be aquantia.

so @Squuiid , if you need me to try or test stuff, let me know!

...
Click to expand...

As I already quoted, the Sanlink 3 T1 uses a Tehuti-chip, the TN4010.

What chips do Sanlink 3 N1 and T1 use, and what is the functional difference between them?

This forum is borken - SANLink 3 doesn't have its own category yet. What ethernet chips do Sanlink 3
forum.promise.com forum.promise.com

You can use the drivers from the Tehuti website.

 
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rippiedoos said:
That s*cks...
Click to expand...
tel me about it just bought 4 of them on the french version of ebay, for cheap, but for no reason because every t3 equiped mac is by definition upgradable to catalina....
so i guess until theuti issue some catalina drivers ....
 
just to let you know that atto fastframe NT12 works way better on the CMP because it is a gen 2 x8 and not a gen 3 x4 so full bandwith on both port at the same time and compatible with catalina!
paid mine 150€ on ebay.
 
Folks, this is getting very off topic. Can we take it to a new thread?
This thread is very specifically about the method I posted and help with it.
Thanks in advance.
 
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Squuiid said:
Folks, this is getting very off topic. Can we take it to a new thread?
This thread is very specifically about the method I posted and help with it.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
of course sorry! feel free to delete what ever you need to delete!
many thanks!
 
Same probleme here: I set the values with ethtool but no change happens. I tried Ubuntu 16.4 LTS and 18.4 LTS and ArchLinux 2020 with the newest ethtool 5.4
Anybody got an idea on what to do?
 
@Allubz The Small Three Driver only works if IDs are changed like described in this thread.

@edgerider Catalina doesn't break anything. X550-AT2 in usage without any issues, same with Aquantia (native) on a Dominus Extreme.
 
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pnerd said:
Update. I found an older installer I had saved from 2017 that is working in Catalina. The filename is SmallTreeIntel8259x-3.3.15.dmg.zip. Hopefully Small-Tree will update the latest driver to install properly in Catalina.
Click to expand...
@pnerd Would you be willing to share that driver package? It doesn't seem to be listed on the small tree website anymore and I can't find it anywhere else
 
I have a MacPro 5,1, 2010.

10.14 Mojave is the end of the road for this machine.

But for its last hurrah I wanted to speed up access to my Synology DS3612xs NAS with 10G link, so after researching ended up picking up old stock new Solarflare SFN5161T Dual port 10BASE-T NIC for just under $70. I've could have gotten older card for around $30, but I decided to splurge.

I am trying to do piece 10G on an experimenting budget with mostly used server parts on eBay. The only "new" items are the switch and SFP+ to RJ45 module,

Drivers downloaded and installed without a hitch from the vendor.

Right now running on a Gigagbit network, waiting for MikroTik CRS305-1G-4S+IN to arrive.

Exciting times!
 
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