As explained in the previous chapter, ParaStation MPI comes with its own versions of adapted network drivers for Intel (e1000) and Broadcom (bcm5700) NICs. If the optimized ParaStation MPI protocol p4sock is used to transfer application data across Ethernet, this adapted drivers should be used, too. To enable these drivers, the simplest way is to rename the original modules and recreate the module dependencies:

  # cd /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/net
  # mv e1000/e1000.o e1000/e1000-orig.o
  # mv bcm/bcm5700.o bcm/bcm5700-orig.o
  # depmod -a

If your system uses the e1000 driver, a subsequent modinfo command for kernel version 2.4 should report that the new ParaStation MPI version of the driver will be used:

  # modinfo e1000
  filename: /lib/modules/2.4.24/kernel/drivers/net/ps4/e1000.o
  description: "Intel(R) PRO/1000 Network Driver"
  author:      "Intel Corporation, <linux.nics@intel.com>"
  ...

The "filename" entry reports that the ParaStation MPI version of the driver will be used. The same should apply for the bcm5700 network driver.

For kernel version 2.6, use the modprobe command:

  # modprobe -l e1000
  /lib/modules/2.6.5-7.97/kernel/drivers/net/ps4/e1000.ko

To reload the new version of the network drivers, it is necessary to reboot the system.