Specific models of Intel LAN controller found on some Haswell systems and some older driver versions may intermittently cause excessive network broadcast traffic whilst the system is in sleep mode.
Affected products include:
This problem does not appear on Haswell systems using a Realtek LAN Controller.
These include:
The symptoms are similar to those experienced when a network loop has been introduced, however the problems above cannot be resolved by turning on spanning tree protocol (STP). The network may appear to be suffering a denial of service attack.
The root cause is a bug in the Intel i217-LM network driver, which can cause IPv6 multicast traffic to be sent when the system is in a sleep state.
Driver package versions 18.x including 18.7.28.0 are affected by this issue. The actual driver dates are January 2014 and older, and include driver version 12.10.30.0.
An example of the problematic driver is shown below.
Install driver package 19.0 or later. As of writing, driver package 19.1 is available. This contains the Intel i217-LM driver version 12.11.96.1 dated 14/3/2014. Up to date drivers can be downloaded from the Stone Driver Finder.
Additional Download Links
If you are affected by this issue but not able to update the driver, a workaround is to remove the binding to IPv6 on the network adapter. This will remove the facility to use IPv6 services.
To do this:
A further alternative, for example if you need to maintain the use of IPv6 services and cannot upgrade the driver, is to disable the system's ability to go into sleep state. If you require assistance with this, please contact Stone support.
Applies to: