USB-C Ethernet unreliable

[dreikelvin]

Hey guys, been stumbling upon this thread this week while trying to set up a working ethernet bond aka link aggregation but for some reason it fails after restart and makes my mac studio reboot (Monterey 10.4)

Any ideas?

What helped me for now:

+ create a separate lan configuration WITHOUT the ethernet bond and activate it before shutting down
+ after startup: completely delete the virtual bond interface and create a new one with new name from scratch

Sometimes I need to do this several times, since one of the ethernet interfaces will have an "invalid link" status. I have to do this every morning 🤬

My adapter is a Belkin Thunderbolt™ 3 Dock Mini HD but I've also used an Anker 8-in-1 USB-C Hub with similar results (without the reboot issue).

Any chance this gets fixed with the next Monterey 10.5 update?

 

[dreikelvin]

So now the Belkin Dock has disappeared from my hardware devices and I can't get it to work anymore. It only works if I plug it into another M1 Mac. Something strange is happening here.

I reset the PRAM and now it's back.

 

[thedocbwarren]

Any thoughts on using 10GB? I'm considering an upgrade and avoiding the high CPU through ECM.

 

[rajs]

Any thoughts on using 10GB? I'm considering an upgrade and avoiding the high CPU through ECM.

Items to consider cost / benefit of 10GB interface (I assume USB-C/10GBe device).

• You have a network switch that supports 10GBe
• The extra cost of 10GBe USB-C/10GBe device VS 2.5GBe device vs 1GBe device
• 2.5 GBe NCM driver devices natively supported by MacOS Monterrey are cheaply available for under 30 bucks. I'd suggust any device that is based on the Realtek 8156B revision chipset if you want to use it for 1 gigabit level speeds. At 2.5 gigabit (if you have network switching hardware that supports that) -- I am not so sure it's the best solution. But for 1 gigabit -- it's cheap and offloads from CPU ... so why not ...

Here are some options - am sure they all are the same basically since they all use the 8156B chip. Probably recommend the one thats cheapest and with the "best" housing that disperses heat. Driver / software wise -- you don't want to have to download or use ANYTHING from any of the MFGs. You want it to work out of the box when plugged into your Mac device IMHO -- otherwise might as well return it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Some examples of items using the 8156B chip (or they claim they do). I can confirm 1st two are using as I have both of them.

Alxum - https://www.amazon.com/Alxum-Type-2-5Gbps-Ethernet-Converter/dp/B08YJ8CLMS
QGeem - https://www.amazon.com/QGeeM-Multiport-Compatible-Thunderbolt-SurfaceBook/dp/B09JSHYGN6
C&N - https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Adapter-Portable-2500Mbps-Converter/dp/B094NC8CXD
EDUP - https://www.amazon.com/EDUP-2-5Gbps-Ethernet-Adapter-Foldable/dp/B08GY17WLJ
wavlink - https://www.amazon.com/WAVLINK-Converter-Compatible-Microsoft-More-Black/dp/B09LYQQ6PD
inateck - https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Ethernet-Adapter-Type-C-Network/dp/B08VN3DGK6
D-LINK (as per @BeatCrazy ) - https://www.amazon.com/D-Link-Ethernet-Adapter-Performance-DUB-E250/dp/B08NK8SF5F


(Edits: added D-Link adaptor)

 

[BeatCrazy]

Items to consider cost / benefit of 10GB interface (I assume USB-C/10GBe device).

• You have a network switch that supports 10GBe
• The extra cost of 10GBe USB-C/10GBe device VS 2.5GBe device vs 1GBe device
• 2.5 GBe NCM driver devices natively supported by MacOS Monterrey are cheaply available for under 30 bucks. I'd suggust any device that is based on the Realtek 8156B revision chipset if you want to use it for 1 gigabit level speeds. At 2.5 gigabit (if you have network switching hardware that supports that) -- I am not so sure it's the best solution. But for 1 gigabit -- it's cheap and offloads from CPU ... so why not ...

Here are some options - am sure they all are the same basically since they all use the 8156B chip. Probably recommend the one thats cheapest and with the "best" housing that disperses heat. Driver / software wise -- you don't want to have to download or use ANYTHING from any of the MFGs. You want it to work out of the box when plugged into your Mac device IMHO -- otherwise might as well return it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Some examples of items using the 8156B chip (or they claim they do). I can confirm 1st two are using as I have both of them.

Alxum - https://www.amazon.com/Alxum-Type-2-5Gbps-Ethernet-Converter/dp/B08YJ8CLMS
QGeem - https://www.amazon.com/QGeeM-Multiport-Compatible-Thunderbolt-SurfaceBook/dp/B09JSHYGN6
C&N - https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Adapter-Portable-2500Mbps-Converter/dp/B094NC8CXD
EDUP - https://www.amazon.com/EDUP-2-5Gbps-Ethernet-Adapter-Foldable/dp/B08GY17WLJ
wavlink - https://www.amazon.com/WAVLINK-Converter-Compatible-Microsoft-More-Black/dp/B09LYQQ6PD
inateck - https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Ethernet-Adapter-Type-C-Network/dp/B08VN3DGK6

Yep, the Realtek 8156B chipset is what you want for Macs. I have it via the Dlink DUB-E250 and it's rock solid.

I have a 10GbE home network setup, with 5Gb fiber internet service from AT&T.

edit: fixed typo

 

[southerndoc]

Yep, the Realtek 8156B chipset is what you want for Macs. I have it via the Dlink DUB-250 and it's rock solid.

I have a 10GbE home network setup, with 5Gb fiber internet service from AT&T.

Do you have a brand/model that uses this chipset?

 

[BeatCrazy]

Do you have a brand/model that uses this chipset?

Yes, it's my post you quoted - the Dlink DUB-E250

 

[rajs]

Do you have a brand/model that uses this chipset?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

LoL

The post explicitly tells you the brand and model AND the prior post gives you actual links to more variations with the appropriate 8156B chipset !

Spend 1 minute of your time actually going through the thread imho PLEASE !!!

(Above is based on you asking re a NIC. Of course if you are asking about a switch then that’s different … but it isn’t clear).

 

[southerndoc]

Yes, it's my post you quoted - the Dlink DUB-E250

That's a 2.5G adapter. I thought someone was talking about a 10G adapter. I drew an incorrect conclusion.

 

[BeatCrazy]

That's a 2.5G adapter. I thought someone was talking about a 10G adapter. I drew an incorrect conclusion.

The USB protocol/adapter doesn't have the bandwidth to support 10G. You have to use Thunderbolt, or PCIe interface. Both of which are expensive.

 

[bbbc]

Any of you have any idea what chipset the Belkin INC001BK-BL has? It's product page lists the new silicon Macs as compatible - https://www.belkin.com/us/business/audio-video-adapters/usb-c-to-ethernet-charge-adapter/p/p-inc001/ . Obviously I'm hoping it has a native driver to offload work from the CPU. I've tried to search for the answer, but had no luck.

 

[BanditoB]

I couldn’t find any chipset information for the Belkin INC001BK-BL, but it is limited to 60W charging power, so if you’re going to try to pass power through it as well, it’s not suitable for the 14” and 16” M1-based MacBook Pros.

 

[NazgulRR]

Has anyone tried macOS Ventura yet? Curious if there’s perhaps a native driver for RTL8153 / ASIX chips now.

 

[mario0]

So I gust my D-Link DUB-E250 adapter but how can I check the CPU load and in comparison to the WiFi? Can I see that in activity monitor?

 

[dreikelvin]

In case anyone is interested: my Belkin Thunderbolt Mini Adapter has stopped working with the recent 12.5.1 update...after multiple restarts and PRAM resets, no device is showing up in the Thunderbolt device tree

 

[CubeApril]

If you're willing to pay $60, the StarTech US2GC30, as of revision 2, uses the RTL8156B(S)G, the third revision of the RTL8156.

It's the first ethernet adapter I've found that has given me zero issues with networking on my M1 Max. It's also cool to the touch even when pushing a ton of data. I imagine this chipset will eventually work its way down to cheaper ethernet adapters over time. I believe the Juplink also has it, according to:

Fixing performance issues with Realtek RTL8156B 2.5GbE USB dongle in Ubuntu - CNX Software

A few days ago, I reviewed a USB 3.0 to 2.5 Gbps Ethernet adapter based on Realtek RTL8156B chip in Ubuntu 20.04, and let's say the reliability and

www.cnx-software.com

Extremely glad to be done with the RTL8153. Seems to be a solid improvement over the RTL8156B as well, if maybe not worth the price difference.

 

[dreikelvin]

If you're willing to pay $60, the StarTech US2GC30, as of revision 2, uses the RTL8156B(S)G, the third revision of the RTL8156.

It's the first ethernet adapter I've found that has given me zero issues with networking on my M1 Max. It's also cool to the touch even when pushing a ton of data. I imagine this chipset will eventually work its way down to cheaper ethernet adapters over time. I believe the Juplink also has it, according to:

Fixing performance issues with Realtek RTL8156B 2.5GbE USB dongle in Ubuntu - CNX Software

A few days ago, I reviewed a USB 3.0 to 2.5 Gbps Ethernet adapter based on Realtek RTL8156B chip in Ubuntu 20.04, and let's say the reliability and

www.cnx-software.com

Extremely glad to be done with the RTL8153. Seems to be a solid improvement over the RTL8156B as well, if maybe not worth the price difference.

weren't USB-C ethernet adapters being passed-through to the M1 chip directly anyways? no matter what realtek chip might sit in your USB-C adapter, it won't be utilized thanks to a specific compatibility mode of the M1. you can only use specific chipset-driven adapters through Thunderbolt. that's why I bought the Belkin

 

[CubeApril]

That I don't know, all I can say is that I had all sorts of glitches with every single one of my RTL8153 adapters, and have had zero issues with this one. Not just CPU, but also random glitches with dropped packets, adapters suddenly not being recognized on reboot/wake, etc.

Pushing a gigabit through the adapter nudges the CPU utilization by about 10%, versus about 20% for the RTL8153? But that's just eyeballing activity monitor, nothing particularly scientific. They do use different drivers:

    USB 10/100/1G/2.5G LAN:

      Bus: USB
      Vendor Name: Realtek
      Product Name: USB 10/100/1G/2.5G LAN
      Vendor ID: 0x0bda
      Product ID: 0x8156
      Version: 31.04
      USB Link Speed: Up to 5 Gb/s
      Driver: com.apple.driver.usb.cdc.ncm
      BSD Device Name: en9
      MAC Address: 00:e0:4c:de:bc:87
      AVB Support: No
      Maximum Link Speed: 2.5 Gb/s

    USB 10/100/1000 LAN:

      Bus: USB
      Vendor Name: Realtek
      Product Name: USB 10/100/1000 LAN
      Vendor ID: 0x0bda
      Product ID: 0x8153
      Version: 30.00
      USB Link Speed: Up to 5 Gb/s
      Driver: com.apple.DriverKit.AppleUserECM
      BSD Device Name: en8
      MAC Address: 00:e0:4c:b8:09:31
      AVB Support: No

 

[dreikelvin]

That I don't know, all I can say is that I had all sorts of glitches with every single one of my RTL8153 adapters, and have had zero issues with this one. Not just CPU, but also random glitches with dropped packets, adapters suddenly not being recognized on reboot/wake, etc.

Pushing a gigabit through the adapter nudges the CPU utilization by about 10%, versus about 20% for the RTL8153? But that's just eyeballing activity monitor, nothing particularly scientific. They do use different drivers:

    USB 10/100/1G/2.5G LAN:

      Bus: USB
      Vendor Name: Realtek
      Product Name: USB 10/100/1G/2.5G LAN
      Vendor ID: 0x0bda
      Product ID: 0x8156
      Version: 31.04
      USB Link Speed: Up to 5 Gb/s
      Driver: com.apple.driver.usb.cdc.ncm
      BSD Device Name: en9
      MAC Address: 00:e0:4c:de:bc:87
      AVB Support: No
      Maximum Link Speed: 2.5 Gb/s

    USB 10/100/1000 LAN:

      Bus: USB
      Vendor Name: Realtek
      Product Name: USB 10/100/1000 LAN
      Vendor ID: 0x0bda
      Product ID: 0x8153
      Version: 30.00
      USB Link Speed: Up to 5 Gb/s
      Driver: com.apple.DriverKit.AppleUserECM
      BSD Device Name: en8
      MAC Address: 00:e0:4c:b8:09:31
      AVB Support: No

fascinating. I have no problem busting out another 60 bucks if the adapter works. have you had a chance to test how a dual bonded connection works with it in combination with the onboard ETH port? does the bonded connection still work after rebooting the machine?

 

[CubeApril]

Not sure what you mean by onboard ethernet? I could attempt to bond this with an RTL8153 but I don't have a second one of these devices to bond with unfortunately. I could create a link aggregate with just that one RTL8156 adapter and see if it works after reboot?

I did order mine through Amazon, which seems to have the latest revision (31.04, 1522020283 on the box). Probably not a lot of downside to ordering a pair and giving it a shot, you can always return them if it doesn't work.

 

[dreikelvin]

oh I thought you had a mac studio max, not a macbook m1 max my bad. the studio has an onboard ethernet port whereas the macbooks don't. I would be forever thankful if you could do some tests with whatever link aggregate you can build as I haven't been able to find any experience reports on that with M1 macs since I got my mac studio. thanks in advance!

 

[CubeApril]

Oh duh, that makes perfect sense. I'll create a single device link aggregate with it this evening after work and try it out.

What do you experience? Does it simply not bring up the link?

 

[dreikelvin]

Oh duh, that makes perfect sense. I'll create a single device link aggregate with it this evening after work and try it out.

What do you experience? Does it simply not bring up the link?

I have an aggregate with the onboard ETH port as well as with my Anker 5-in-one Ethernet hub. However, as soon as I restart, one of the ports stops having a proper link and it shows up as "invalid link" in the aggregate details. I have to delete the aggregate completely and set it up from scratch. In some cases, the whole device is not recognized and I have to do a couple of reboots to get it working again. It has been keeping me quite annoyed in the last few months

 

[0906742]

Seems like CPU offloading properly via USB gigabit ethernet isn't baked in to Monterey for Realtek

So I am most likely not going to find a USB ethernet gigabit adaptor for a single cable solution I am looking to implement.

MacBook Pro 14 <--USB C cable that came with monitor --> LG 32UN880-B Monitor with USB A ports built in <-- USB A Cable --> USB A Gigabit Ethernet Dongle or USB 3.0 Hub with USB A ports and gigabit port

note -- the monitor is providing power to the laptop via the USB C cable included.

But this way you are only getting USB 2.0 hub function in 32UN880-B? I believe it works as USB 3.0 hub only if you have USB-A to USB-C cable instead of USB-C to USB-C.

Any actually well functioning USB-C or Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter for MacBook Pro 14"? I prefer something that does not require additional drivers but uses MacOS built in drivers instead. Also adapter should not cause load to MacBook CPU.

 

[jdb8167]

That I don't know, all I can say is that I had all sorts of glitches with every single one of my RTL8153 adapters, and have had zero issues with this one. Not just CPU, but also random glitches with dropped packets, adapters suddenly not being recognized on reboot/wake, etc.

Pushing a gigabit through the adapter nudges the CPU utilization by about 10%, versus about 20% for the RTL8153? But that's just eyeballing activity monitor, nothing particularly scientific. They do use different drivers:

    USB 10/100/1G/2.5G LAN:

      Bus: USB
      Vendor Name: Realtek
      Product Name: USB 10/100/1G/2.5G LAN
      Vendor ID: 0x0bda
      Product ID: 0x8156
      Version: 31.04
      USB Link Speed: Up to 5 Gb/s
      Driver: com.apple.driver.usb.cdc.ncm
      BSD Device Name: en9
      MAC Address: 00:e0:4c:de:bc:87
      AVB Support: No
      Maximum Link Speed: 2.5 Gb/s

    USB 10/100/1000 LAN:

      Bus: USB
      Vendor Name: Realtek
      Product Name: USB 10/100/1000 LAN
      Vendor ID: 0x0bda
      Product ID: 0x8153
      Version: 30.00
      USB Link Speed: Up to 5 Gb/s
      Driver: com.apple.DriverKit.AppleUserECM
      BSD Device Name: en8
      MAC Address: 00:e0:4c:b8:09:31
      AVB Support: No

The com.apple.driver.usb.cdc.ncm is the driver that gets used with my D-Link DUBE250 2.5GbE Adapter. It doesn't have the CPU overhead that the com.apple.DriverKit.AppleUserECM driver has.