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Real-World Layer-2 GHOST – RealTek USB NIC is Total Junk vs Known Good Quality Replacements

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Real-World Layer-2 GHOST – RealTek USB NIC is Total Junk vs Known Good Quality Replacements

Realtek RTL8153-based USB NIC

Troubleshooting (another) tech problem that should have been simple but instead became insanely obnoxious, costing some hours, hardware swaps, etc. Details at the bottom. Just below are known working USB NICs that do not use RealTek chipset.

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StarTech USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (AX88179)

StarTech.com USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet NIC Network Adapter – 10/100/100 Mbps Network Adapter – USB to Ethernet LAN Adapter – USB to RJ45 (USB31000NDS)

  • Chipset: ASIX AX88179
  • Speed: Gigabit
  • Model: USB31000S

https://amzn.to/4ioLFZm

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StarTech USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (AX88179)

StarTech.com USB to Ethernet Adapter, USB 3.0 to 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN Adapter, USB to RJ45 Adapter, TAA Compliant

https://amzn.to/4ijGdqz

3

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Cable Matters USB to Ethernet Adapter (AX88179)

Cable Matters Plug & Play USB to Ethernet Adapter with PXE, MAC Address Clone Support (USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet, Ethernet to USB, Ethernet Adapter for Laptop) Supporting 10/100/1000Mbps

  • Chipset: ASIX AX88179
  • Speed: Gigabit
  • Model: Varies (check for AX88179 in description)

https://amzn.to/428EaRk

4

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Plugable USB 3.0 to Ethernet Adapter (AX88179)

Plugable USB to Ethernet Adapter, USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet, Supports Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 7, XP, Linux, Chrome OS

  • Chipset: ASIX AX88179 (confirmed)
  • Speed: Gigabit (USB 3.0)
  • Linux support: Native since kernel 3.9+
  • Model: USB3-E1000

https://amzn.to/3E6Cq1R

Bloody Details

RX Path Failure on USB NIC

  • eth3 could send packets (ping, arping, tcpdump shows ARP requests)
  • But it never received replies from .151 or .22
  • Even ARP replies were not received, despite clearly being emitted

This is a classic symptom of:

🔧 FaultDescription
Dead RX PHYThe USB NIC hardware literally cannot receive
USB power issueInsufficient power to sustain full duplex operation
Driver bugKernel sees interface, but NIC’s DMA never fills buffers
PHY desyncElectrical-level mismatch between NIC and switch/peer
Broken frame handlingRX checksumming silently drops frames

2. Switch could not “see” or learn the USB NIC MAC

Switch MAC table may not have been populated correctly due to:

  • Broken RX/ACK
  • No successful bidirectional exchange
  • Learning failure = dropped frames

3. Moving .87 to Intel NIC proves USB NIC was bad

Once you reassigned .87 to the Intel NIC:

  • Full Layer 2/3 functionality restored
  • Pings work
  • ARP works
  • Routing works
  • .151 ↔ .87 and .22 ↔ .87 all work

→ Zero software changes needed.

Why Intel NIC Works

Intel NICs (especially 82574, i219, i210) are:

  • Very reliable
  • Fully supported in Linux
  • Clean DMA & buffer handling
  • Excellent offload support
  • No weird USB bottlenecks or power limits

How to Avoid This in the Future

ActionBenefit
Avoid Realtek / ASIX USB NICs for core networkingEliminates 99% of weirdness
Always test bidirectional ping + arpingCatch RX-only or TX-only failure
Check tcpdump on both endsQuickly spot one-way traffic
Use ethtool -S to look for RX errors or overrunsDetect broken RX path
Try direct cable with static IPBypasses switch confusion

Bottom Line

The USB NIC (eth3) had a silent hardware or driver fault on receive.
Moving .87 to a good Intel NIC instantly restored proper function.
This validates that all your routing, ARP, and system setup were already perfect.

FAULTY VERSION

driver=r8152
driverversion=v1.12.13
firmware=rtl8153a-[3|4] v2 02/07/20

What’s the Problem with RTL8153?

Realtek RTL8153 (the chip inside both eth2 and eth3 here) is notorious for:

IssueExplanation
Broken RX path under LinuxCommon bug in r8152 driver, especially with power save
Flaky link negotiationInterface reports 1Gbps but link=no — switch may reject autoneg
USB power suspend issuesPower management disables NIC RX silently
MAC spoofing + RX combo bugCertain MAC spoofing results in dropped incoming frames
Needs driver patchesNewer kernel or backported r8152 fixes these (e.g., 2.15+)

Real-World Layer-2 GHOST - RealTek USB NIC is Total Junk vs Known Good Quality Replacements

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