Ubuntu Version:
24.04.02 LTS
6.11.0-29-generic
Problem Description:
I have an Ubuntu system with one AMD/Xilinx/Solarflare X2522-25G-Plus network card. The kernel contains drivers for older Solarflare cards but I need to use the updated, out-of-tree, driver (V6.x) available here:
https://www.xilinx.com/support/download/nic-software-and-drivers.html#linux
After making the DKMS version I can install it with:
sudo modprobe -r sfc
sudo modprobe sfc
And I can confirm it has loaded with both:
ethtool -i {interfacename}
sudo sfkey
HOWEVER, when I reboot the machine the new driver is lost and I have to modprobe it back again.
I have tried:
sudo update-initramfs -u
But this has zero effect.
I then tried:
sudo update-initramfs -u -v 2>&1 | tee initramfs.log
(Why on earth does update-initramfs send its output to stderr?)
If I look in this log file, the only lines containing references to ‘sfc’ are these:
dracut-install: mkdir '/var/tmp/mkinitramfs_sCz84W/lib/modules/6.11.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc'
dracut-install: cp '/lib/modules/6.11.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/sfc.ko.zst' '/var/tmp/mkinitramfs_sCz84W/lib/modules/6.11.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/sfc.ko.zst'
dracut-install: mkdir '/var/tmp/mkinitramfs_sCz84W/lib/modules/6.11.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/mtd'
dracut-install: cp '/lib/modules/6.11.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/mtd/mtd.ko.zst' '/var/tmp/mkinitramfs_sCz84W/lib/modules/6.11.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/mtd/mtd.ko.zst'
dracut-install: mkdir '/var/tmp/mkinitramfs_sCz84W/lib/modules/6.11.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/falcon'
dracut-install: cp '/lib/modules/6.11.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/falcon/sfc-falcon.ko.zst' '/var/tmp/mkinitramfs_sCz84W/lib/modules/6.11.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/falcon/sfc-falcon.ko.zst'
dracut-install: mkdir '/var/tmp/mkinitramfs_sCz84W/lib/modules/6.11.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/siena'
dracut-install: cp '/lib/modules/6.11.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/siena/sfc-siena.ko.zst' '/var/tmp/mkinitramfs_sCz84W/lib/modules/6.11.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/siena/sfc-siena.ko.zst'
There is no reference to the DKMS driver found here:
/var/lib/dkms/sfc/6.0.2.1000/6.11.0-29-generic/x86_64/module/sfc.ko.zst
The filenames are the same but they are different files with different sizes.
How do I make update-initramfs pick up the new, DKMS, driver?