Minisforum MS-A2 - intel x710

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xsniper89

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Dec 5, 2025
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Hello everyone,
I’m running into a strange network performance issue on Proxmox that I haven’t been able to resolve, and I’m hoping someone here might be able to point me in the right direction.
The problem affects both the Intel X710 NIC and the Realtek NIC on my Minisforum MS-A2. For some reason, upload speeds are severely limited, both on LAN and WAN, while download is only partially affected.

Expected vs Actual Speeds​

My WAN connection is 2.5 Gbps up/down.

On Proxmox (9.1.2), I get:
  • Download: ~1.7 Gbps
  • Upload: ~200–400 Mbps
On my Unraid server (same switch, same VLAN, same router, 10 Gbps NIC), I get the full 2.5 Gbps up and down without any issues.

Current Network Topology​

ONT → UniFi Gateway Max → Unmanaged QNAP Switch (4×2.5G + 2×10G) → Proxmox (Minisforum MS-A2)

Proxmox (9.1.2) Host Specs:
  • Minisforum MS-A2
  • Ryzen 9955HX
  • 96 GB DDR5
  • 3 TB storage
  • Intel X710 + onboard Realtek NIC

What I’ve Already Tried​

  • Bypassed the switch and connected Proxmox directly to the router → same results
  • Swapped ports and cables
  • Changed SFP modules
  • Enabled/disabled flow control
  • Removed and re-created VLANs
  • Forced link negotiation
  • Checked NIC temperatures
  • Updated Intel X710 firmware and drivers
  • Verified that nothing is saturating CPU or disk
No change at all.

iPerf3 Testing​

  • When Proxmox is the client, connecting to an external iPerf3 server:
    • I previously saw many Retr (retransmissions)
    • Now I get poor results with almost no retransmits showing
  • When another machine is the client and Proxmox is the server:
    • I still see 40+ retransmits
    • Throughput is inconsistent
Even stranger:
  • WAN speedtest on Unraid: full 2.5 Gbps up/down
  • WAN speedtest on Proxmox (same switch, same VLAN):
    • ~1.7 Gbps down
    • ~200–300 Mbps up
This makes it seem specific to Proxmox or the host networking stack rather than the rest of the network.

What I’m Looking For​

At this point, I’m a bit stuck and running out of ideas. I’d really appreciate guidance on:
  • What else I should check on the Proxmox side
  • Known issues with Intel X710 on Proxmox
  • Offloading, MTU, queue settings, or kernel tuning recommendations
  • Any similar cases you’ve seen before
If there are any logs, configs, or test outputs that would help, I’m happy to provide them.


Thanks in advance for any help!
 

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Hello everyone,
I basically have the same issue as the OP, the Intel X710 NIC in the Minisforum MS-A2, does not perform well in the outgoing (upload) direction.

Current Network Topology
PC (2.5G) → Switch (zyxel XS1930 Serie) → Proxmox (Minisforum MS-A2)
No VLANs whatsoever

Proxmox (9.1.4) Host Specs:
  • Minisforum MS-A2
  • Ryzen 9955HX
  • 96 GB DDR5
  • 2 TB storage
  • Intel X710

This Machine also comes with two 2.5G RJ-45 ports, one it’s a Realtek RTL8125 the other a Intel I226-V.
I did not test the Realtek RTL8125, since last time I checked, Linux didn’t really like RTL8125 NICs

iPerf3 Speed Testing
One the Intel I226-V I get full 2.5G throughput with no problems.

One the Intel X710 I only get Asymmetric performance
  • 2.5 Gbps down
  • 1.5 Gbps up
This 1.5 Gbps up also comes with a lot of retransmits, in a normal iperf run, around 10k retransmits.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the technical stuff to check for 10Gbit, but I would assume that 2.5 Gbps should be easily doable on an 10Gbit Interface.

What I also already tried
  • Swapped ports and cables
  • Using an 10G SFP+ RJ-45 Modul instead of an DAC (Direct Attach Copper)
  • Enabled/disabled flow control
None of it changed anything
Updated Intel X710 firmware, did make the performance a bit better, but not by much. (Version 9.56)

I’m also out of ideas by now.
If anyone has any idea what the problem could be, I would be grateful for any help / tips.
 
I did some testing between 2 MS-A2's connecting 1 X710 port on each via a Mikrotik CRS309 using DAC cables. Getting ~9.4 Gbps in both directions using iperf3. I also did a test to a Windows 11 PC using an older Intel 82599 10Gb SFP+ NIC connected via fibre. Here interestingly I'm getting 4.2 Gbps if the Windows 11 pc is the iperf3 server. If the Windows 11 pc is the iperf3 client, I get 9.4 Gbps.

If you are using VLAN's, make sure to limit your number of vlan's (older work around is to disable RX vlan offload). The Proxmox default of 2-4094 created lots of these errors :

Error LIBIE_AQ_RC_ENOSPC, forcing overflow promiscuous on PF
Error LIBIE_AQ_RC_ENOSPC adding RX filters on PF, promiscuous mode forced on

See this thread for some background info
S

Thread 'Error I40E_AQ_RC_ENOSPC, forcing overflow promiscuous on PF'

Hi!

Fresh install on Supermicro X11DPi-N(T) using Proxmox v6.1.

This message is looping through the log and saturates one core:
[ 911.977646] i40e 0000:60:00.1: Error I40E_AQ_RC_ENOSPC, forcing overflow promiscuous on PF
[ 955.642636] i40e 0000:60:00.1: Error I40E_AQ_RC_ENOSPC adding RX filters on PF, promiscuous mode forced on

The interesting part is, the PCI address is one of two links in a bond. The port is not connected / down (NO-CARRIER).

After about 20 minutes the logging stopped and the load is back to normal.

This bug report relates the problem to vlans...

One issue i have noticed is that X710 does not have x8 lane width as per Intel spec, in the MS-A2 this is limited to x4. I'm still investigating this, perhaps will only be an issue if you want to utilize both ports. I'm only using 1 of the ports.

i40e 0000:05:00.0 eth0: NIC Link is Up, 10 Gbps Full Duplex, Flow Control: None
i40e 0000:05:00.0: PCI-Express: Speed 8.0GT/s Width x4
i40e 0000:05:00.0: PCI-Express bandwidth available for this device may be insufficient for optimal performance.
i40e 0000:05:00.0: Please move the device to a different PCI-e link with more lanes and/or higher transfer rate.
 
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