Dear Unraid Community,

I'm incredibly frustrated and hoping for some guidance here. I've been struggling to get my new 2.5G PCIe NIC working properly with a static IP on Unraid (version 6.12.10). Apologies if this has been asked many times before, but I'm truly at my wits' end.

My Goal: To replace my old onboard LAN with a new 2.5G PCIe NIC and have Unraid use a static IP address (specifically 192.168.1.111) for all services, just like my previous setup.

My Setup & What I've Tried So Far:

1. Hardware:

   • Unraid Version: 7.1.4

   • New NIC: PCIe 2.5G TP-Link TX201

   • Mainboard: Has 2 onboard LAN ports.

   • Router IP (Gateway): 192.168.1.1

   • Router Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

   • Router DHCP IP Pool Range: 192.168.1.33 - 192.168.1.254

   • Desired Static IP for Unraid: 192.168.1.111

2. Initial Problem: New 2.5G NIC detected as eth2:

   • When I first installed the 2.5G NIC, Unraid detected it as eth2 (likely because my mainboard has two onboard LAN ports: eth0 and eth1).

3. Solution for eth0:

   • To make the new 2.5G NIC eth0, I went into my mainboard's BIOS and disabled all onboard LAN ports.

   • After disabling onboard LAN in BIOS and rebooting, the new 2.5G NIC was successfully recognized as eth0. This part works when Unraid uses DHCP.

4. Current Problem: Static IP & Networking Issues:

   • Once I have WebUI access (via DHCP with the 2.5G NIC as eth0), I try to apply my desired network settings (like setting eth0 to Static IP 192.168.1.111).

   • I also tried to disable "Bonding" in the Unraid network settings (as I don't need it for a single NIC).

   • However, every time I "Apply" these settings (Static IP, disable bonding, etc.), after the server reboots:

     • The LAN status light on the 2.5G NIC goes completely out.

     • I lose all network access to Unraid (cannot access WebUI, server does not appear in router's client list).

   • The only way to regain access is to connect a monitor/keyboard directly, stop the array, rm /boot/config/network.cfg, and reboot. This forces Unraid back to DHCP, and I can access the WebUI again.

What I Don't Understand / Need Help With: It seems like any attempt to apply manual network configurations (static IP, disabling bonding) causes the network to completely fail. I suspect it's related to:

• IP Conflict: My desired static IP (192.168.1.111) falls within my router's DHCP IP Pool Range (192.168.1.33 - 192.168.1.254). Could this be causing the NIC to go offline completely?

• A misunderstanding of Unraid's network configuration process: Am I missing a crucial step or setting that needs to be done before applying static IP? For example, is there a specific order for disabling bonding vs. setting static IP?

Any guidance on how to properly configure my 2.5G NIC with my desired static IP without losing all network access would be greatly appreciated. I'm really pulling my hair out here trying to get this working.

Thank you so much in advance for your help!

(my english it's not great . so i've use what i ask ai to sum thing up)

2 hours ago, brutalmethod said:

Router DHCP IP Pool Range: 192.168.1.33 - 192.168.1.254

This is a major error! You should never use a "static" address within an existing DHCP range.

The DHCP Server may give the address to somebody else and if UNRAID comes up, it tests and notices that it is already in use.

UNRAID may therefore give up and end with no network

Lower the range in your router, reboot everything and it should work.

2 hours ago, brutalmethod said:

To make the new 2.5G NIC eth0, I went into my mainboard's BIOS and disabled all onboard LAN ports.

the correct way to do is is to let all the cards "live" in BIOS, go to UNRAID's networking settings and edit "network rules". Here you can define which card (MAC address) is "eth0" and so on.

This setting will be applied on every reboot (your BIOS maybe reset after an update and the cards may become active again then)

2 hours ago, brutalmethod said:

Am I missing a crucial step or setting that needs to be done before applying static IP

no

Be aware that not many 2.5Gbe cards are available in UNRAID. For some of them you need to load an extra driver.

(Some are recognized but do not work correctly) Check this out.

Edited July 25, 2025Jul 25 by MAM59

these days its generally better to use DHCP reservation in the router than setting static IPs in most cases, especially static within DHCP which leads to conflicts depending on the router.

thanks all

but in network setting i couldn't find network rules (i'm on 7.1.4). do i have to disable docker and vm to see it?

appreciated

You man need more than one active card to make the tab appear...

bzw

Edited July 25, 2025Jul 25 by MAM59

ok i better get home then re-enabler that onboard lan again.

appreciated

22 minutes ago, MAM59 said:

This is a major error! You should never use a "static" address within an existing DHCP range.

The DHCP Server may give the address to somebody else and if UNRAID comes up, it tests and notices that it is already in use.

UNRAID may therefore give up and end with no network

Lower the range in your router, reboot everything and it should work.

the correct way to do is is to let all the cards "live" in BIOS, go to UNRAID's networking settings and edit "network rules". Here you can define which card (MAC address) is "eth0" and so on.

This setting will be applied on every reboot (your BIOS maybe reset after an update and the cards may become active again then)

no

Be aware that not many 2.5Gbe cards are available in UNRAID. For some of them you need to load an extra driver.

(Some are recognized but do not work correctly) Check this out.

the last part .about extra driver where to find and check that's work properly mine is TP-Link TX201 Realtek RTL812

7 minutes ago, brutalmethod said:

the last part .about extra driver where to find

in the app page you can find realtek drivers. look out for your special chipset (812 is too short, should be 4 numbers)

Cannot find any details, so look into your logs for the used chip (or post diagnostics here).

22 minutes ago, MAM59 said:

in the app page you can find realtek drivers. look out for your special chipset (812 is too short, should be 4 numbers)

Cannot find any details, so look into your logs for the used chip (or post diagnostics here).

it's 8125 i've found it on ca apps . thanks alot

12 hours ago, brutalmethod said:

The LAN status light on the 2.5G NIC goes completely out.

I think you shouldn't focus on setting, it likely the 2.5g NIC not compatible/solid with the router/switch, when I first apply 2.5g to my network, there also many strange issue, my switch are 10g SFP+ ( also have 10G Ethernet, but it wouldn't support multi giga ), so SFP+ to 2.5g converter need, I try 3 different type multi giga converter then found only one work perfectly, and this involves many troubleshooting hrs.

Rencetly, I upgrade existing router to a new one, it also have some strange issue, but to be true all nothing relate to Unraid, anyway this is my experience only.

My Unraid 2.5g NIC are realtek 8125(B?), I haven't install realtek driver plugin, it rock stable.

Edited July 25, 2025Jul 25 by Vr2Io

34 minutes ago, Vr2Io said:

so SFP+ to 2.5g converter need

Note that not all 10G SFP+ modules with RJ45 are capable of running 2,5G or 5G too.

Look into the specs of the things you have bought!

(older ones only know about 10G because the other speeds were not invented then. They also use the 10G protocol, but "with pauses" (5G has 2 Pauses within one cycle, 2,5G has even 3).

so watch out what you are ordering!

There are no "converters", there are native modules that can (or cannot) run those speeds.

44 minutes ago, MAM59 said:

Note that not all 10G SFP+ modules with RJ45 are capable of running 2,5G or 5G too.

Look into the specs of the things you have bought!

(older ones only know about 10G because the other speeds were not invented then. They also use the 10G protocol, but "with pauses" (5G has 2 Pauses within one cycle, 2,5G has even 3).

so watch out what you are ordering!

There are no "converters", there are native modules that can (or cannot) run those speeds.

I have same conversation with you in previous post about those converter. Even you buy those converter with correct spec. but end up how they perform with your existing equipment is another story.

I buy three different converter, two are max at 2.5g and one is 10g in spec. The one which work perfectly with 2.5g also not the 10g one. It haven't pause frame generate.

When you say those converter actually work in 10g in SFP+ side this also incorrect. The 10g converter were 3x expensive then those 2.5g converter. At the end, I also use the 10g one working in 10g but not 2.5g.

I use Mikrotik and Unifi switch, there SFP+ port are natively suppprt 2.5g and 10g but no 5g.

Edited July 25, 2025Jul 25 by Vr2Io