Programming i210

[Arno70]

Hello,

We have designed a PCB comprising an i210 network chip. Using linux, the igb driver reports the device as "unprogrammed".

From the documentation (file:///home/astro/Downloads/ethernet-controller-i210-i211-faq-1.pdf 2.14 and 2.15) I would guess, that the device's eeprom needs to be programmed with the appropriate firmware. To perform this, access to the Intel Business Link document 513655 (firmware) and 348742 (flash utility) seems required.

How can we get access to these resources?
I have already asked Intel Customer support and they redirected me here - hope that somebody can help me.

Thanks in advance!

[CarlosAM_INTEL]

Hello,  @Arno70:

Thank you for contacting Intel Embedded Community

We need to address the following consultation to understand the situation:

What is the place of purchase of the Intel i210 Ethernet Controller related to your request?

We are waiting for your reply.

Best regards,

@CarlosAM_INTEL.

[Arno70]

Hello ,

sorry for the late reply - I did not recieve a notification.

As I found out, our purchasing department has ordered the devices for our prototype boards via Mouser.
If this is a problem we can always use our default distributor for Intel devices, which is Arrow Europe.

Best regards,
Arno

[CarlosAM_INTEL]

Hello,  @Arno70:

Thanks for your reply.

We suggest contacting the place of purchase of the devices related to your consultations to help you with your requests.

They will be more than glad to help you.

Best regards,

@CarlosAM_INTEL.

[Arno70]

Hello @CarlosAM_INTEL ,

after several weeks and many emails to the above-mentioned supplier we still do not have any satisfactory solution to the described problem (although they claim that they have 'opened a case with Intel').

Could you maybe give them a hint - I doubt that they are able to help me without proper help from Intel.

My case number with mouser in Munich is 184260.

Best regards,

@Arno70 

[CarlosAM_INTEL]

Hello, @Arno70:

Thanks for your reply.

You should fill out the form stated in the following website to report the situation stated in your last communication:

https://plan.seek.intel.com/marketplaceStoreFront?sourceUrl=https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/partner/showcase/storefront/a5S3b00000051taEAA/mouser-electronics.html&leadFormSubmitDate=18/03/2024%2011:36:55%20AM&sFDCPartnerName1=Mouser%20Electronics&sFDCPartnerMDAID1=MPID-0034454

Best regards,

@CarlosAM_INTEL.

[Arno70]

Hello @CarlosAM_INTEL ,

I have filled out the above mentioned form, but unfortunately I did not receive any response.

The latest response from the distributor was: "We will need to create a Premier dev account to get the firmware for customer. Intel is working on it to see the issue."

Still no progress after almost 8 weeks - any ideas how I should proceed now?

Best regards,

@Arno70 

[CarlosAM_INTEL]

Hello, @Arno70:

Thanks for your update.

We suggest a reference filling out the form stated in the following website:

https://eu.mouser.com/contact/escalateproblem?category=customerservice&type=escalateproblem&keepthis=true&tb_iframe=true&height=323&width=530 

Best regards,

@CarlosAM_INTEL.

[Arno70]

Thank you, I filed the escalation request and will keep you posted.

BR

[Arno70]

Hello @CarlosAM_INTEL ,

I still have not received any response concerning my escalation request.
My distributor did not send anything.

We have opened a new Case #06211284 with Intel, hoping that this might help...

Now 11 weeks have passed since my first post, and still no solution available - do you have any other means to support us?

Best regards,

@Arno70 

[Arno70]

Hello @CarlosAM_INTEL ,

today, we received the following response from our distributor:

We have been advised by the supplier, that this request is usually done directly by the supplier and that you can also try to reach them directly in order to solve this.

Here are the instructions:

You can try to make an account from your end.

Please note that you will have to get an NDA to make an account (premier account as they are trying to get customer firmware).

RDC link :
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/resources-documentation/developer.html#gs.5k1ay6

How to apply for an Intel resource and Documentation Center (RDC) and/or Intel Developer Zone (Intel DevZone) Account:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000058073/programs-documentation-center.html

It seems, that we have completed the full circle and are finally back where we started.

Could you please advise us how to proceed? If an NDA is required (as noted), please let me know how to establish it.

Best regards,

@Arno70 

[Diego_INTEL]

Hello @Arno70,

Thank you very much for the update. I've been checking the communications of this forum, you are correct with the documents that you need, but you will need an NDA to get access to them, this link is correct, you can submit a request to get a Premier account to get access to them.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000058073/programs-documentation-center.html

Best regards,

@Diego_INTEL 

[Arno70]

Hello @Diego_INTEL ,

thank you for your reply.

I have already tried to register Premier support, but my registration request was declined. I have complained, opened a support request and finally I was directed to this forum.

When opening the registration page now, the following message is shown:

Your request for Intel® Premier Support Program access is rejected

If a CNDA is needed - how can our complany establish it?

Best regards,

@Arno70 

[Diego_INTEL]

Hello @Arno70,

Oh, I understand. I think it may be best to try to contact one of the Intel Sales Representatives near your zone to get better help with the CNDA, you can check this link:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/partner/showcase/partner-directory/distributor.html#sort=relevancy

Also, this article, but is getting reference to what I'm sharing.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000088282/programs/intel-partner-alliance.html

I hope this may be of help. My apologies for all the trouble that you are getting.

Best regards,

@Diego_INTEL 

[Arno70]

Hello @Diego_INTEL ,

thank you for your reply.

As advised in the very beginning, I am already in contact with my Sales Representative from which we purchased the devices. They can also be found on your list (Mouser Europe).

But as I stated before, they seem not to receive the necessary support from Intel and always state that they are waiting for a response. As a consequence, the request makes no progress at all for many weeks now.

What do you recommend - should I try a different distributor?

Best regards,

@Arno70 

[CarlosAM_INTEL]

Hello, @Arno70 :

Thanks for your replies.

The information that may help you is accessible when your account is an Intel Developer Zone Premier account. Due to this, you should follow the procedure stated on the following website to update your account:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000058073/programs/resource-and-documentation-center.html

Your business email address is needed to avoid any inconvenience. The free email provider's address (such as the one provided by Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, or others) is not the proper one for this process.

Best regards,

@CarlosAM_INTEL.

[Arno70]

We are repeating ourselves - you metioned this before and I already stated above:

I have already tried to register Premier support, but my registration request was declined. I have complained, opened a support request and finally I was directed to this forum.

When opening the registration page now, the following message is shown:

Your request for Intel® Premier Support Program access is rejected

[Arno70]

The only option I see now is not to use the Intel device at all and thus start a resdesign of the board.

[CarlosAM_INTEL · Accepted solution]

Hello, @Arno70:

Thanks for your updates.

We suggest filling out the following form stated on the following website to help you with your request to update your account to Intel Developer Zone Premier:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/forms/support/my-intel-sign-on-support.html

Best regards,

@CarlosAM_INTEL.

[Arno70]

Hi everybody,

the support request finally helped to get access to both required documents.

The support team pointed out, that my previously rejected registration request was regarding "Intel Premier Support (IPS) for FPGA", but for the required documents I need access to Developer Zone Premier (DZP)!

The next problem was, that the link I received to register DZP (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/developer/programs/overview.html) did not show the registration form in my Firefox-Browser. This might be due to some privacy settings or me not accepting non-essential cookies. I used a fresh Chromium-Browser instead and finally was able to fill a registration request for DZP.

Two days later, I received an email - which I almost overlooked becaused it was filtered to my Junk-Folder, which is only visible when accessing the email account via webgui - confirming my DZP registration.

Now, when entering the document IDs 513655 and 348742 into the search field on https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/resources-documentation/developer.html , I can download the required resources.

I hope this helps anybody else who has a similar problem.

Thank you and best regards,
Arno

[Pcdwarf]

Hello Arno70,

Since Intel has barely politely rejected my request without giving any justification, I have also given up on the tedious process of obtaining the programming tools, but I've found a dirty workaround.

I purchased a network board that utilizes the i210 chip in the same manner I intend to use it (SFP/fiber) and that has its configuration stored on an external NOR flash.

I desoldered the flash and mounted it on my protoboard.

It works perfectly.

I wasn't able to modify the macaddr since there is a checksum somewere. So, I will just clone the chip and solve the duplicate macaddr problem by configuring locally administered MAC addresses in software.

Maybe you find this method helpful.