How to upgrade the host NIC driver

Solution

1. The following procedure uses kernel version 3.10.0-957.27.2.el7.x86_64 as an example:

2. Log in to the host and check the current NIC driver version.

   [root@localhost ~]# modinfo ixgbe |grep -v alias

3. Download the updated NIC driver from the official source.

4. Back up the existing driver:

   [root@localhost ~]# cp /lib/modules/3.10.0-957.27.2.el7.x86_64/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ixgbe/ixgbe.ko.xz /root/ixgbe.ko.xz_lod

5. Replace the existing driver:

   [root@localhost ~]# cp /root/ixgbe.ko.xz /lib/modules/3.10.0-957.27.2.el7.x86_64/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ixgbe/ixgbe.ko.xz

6. Check dependencies:

   [root@localhost ~]# depmod -a

7. Back up the initramfs file:

   [root@localhost ~]# mv /boot/initramfs-3.10.0-957.27.2.el7.x86_64.img /boot/initramfs-3.10.0-957.27.2.el7.x86_64.img_bak

8. Rebuild the initramfs file:

   [root@localhost ~]# cp /root/ixgbe.ko.xz /lib/modules/3.10.0-957.27.2.el7.x86_64/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ixgbe/ixgbe.ko.xz

9. Restart the host:

   [root@localhost ~]# sync && sync && shutdown -r now