On-board LAN Controller (Intel® Ethernet Connection X722) of Intel® Server Board S2600STBR will not Initialize

Problem occurs from first install using base install media. 

Three of these boards shows Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) 3.31 and all three have the same network issue. The only difference is on line 3, the NVM is different. 3.04 on the working board and 3.31 on the failing board. Tried the latest driver from the support website as well as the latest driver from sourceforge.

Kernel messages from working board purchased November 2019:
Apr  7 20:08:14 localhost kernel: i40e: Intel(R) Ethernet Connection XL710 Network Driver - version 2.8.20-k
Apr  7 20:08:14 localhost kernel: i40e: Copyright (c) 2013 - 2014 Intel Corporation.
Apr  7 20:08:14 localhost kernel: i40e 0000:19:00.0: fw 3.1.55727 api 1.5 nvm 3.04 0x800008c9 1.1767.0 [8086:37d2] [8086:35d5]
Apr  7 20:08:14 localhost kernel: i40e 0000:19:00.0: MAC address: a4:bf:01:6c:a7:aa
Apr  7 20:08:14 localhost kernel: i40e 0000:19:00.0 eth0: NIC Link is Up, 1000 Mbps Full Duplex, Flow Control: None

Kernel messages from failing board purchased April 2020:
Apr 14 22:25:29 localhost kernel: i40e: Intel(R) Ethernet Connection XL710 Network Driver - version 2.8.20-k
Apr 14 22:25:29 localhost kernel: i40e: Copyright (c) 2013 - 2014 Intel Corporation.
Apr 14 22:25:29 localhost kernel: i40e 0000:19:00.0: fw 3.1.55727 api 1.5 nvm 3.31 0x80000d32 1.1767.0 [8086:37d2] [8086:35d5]
Apr 14 22:25:29 localhost kernel: i40e 0000:19:00.0: eeprom check failed (-2), Tx/Rx traffic disabled
Apr 14 22:25:29 localhost kernel: i40e 0000:19:00.0: MAC address: a4:bf:01:6e:a6:4c

Follow the steps below to update the NVM (firmware) of the on-board LAN controller to the latest:

1. Download and unzip the latest NVM package.

   Note	Updating to an interim version may be required. For example, NVM version 3.51 is required before upating to version 4.10.

2. Choose the following folder depending on the hardware configuration and desired environment (EFI, Windows*, or Linux*). The 2 Port config in EFI is used as an example:

   • With LAN Riser Card: 4 Port or Enable SFP

   • Without LAN Riser Card: 2 Port or Disable SFP

3. Copy the STP_2P_v4.10_X722_NVMUpdate_EFIx64 folder to a USB drive (must be FAT32 formatted).

4. Reboot the system into EFI shell.

5. Navigate to the NVM folder on the USB drive.

6. Run nvmupdate64e.efi and follow the guidance.

7. Reboot the system after update is complete.