diff --git a/drivers/net/ixgbe/ixgbe_main.c b/drivers/net/ixgbe/ixgbe_main.c
index 53f41b649f03..a417be7f8be5 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ixgbe/ixgbe_main.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ixgbe/ixgbe_main.c
@@ -2303,6 +2303,12 @@ static int __devinit ixgbe_set_interrupt_capability(struct ixgbe_adapter
 	int err = 0;
 	int vector, v_budget;
 
+	/*
+	 * Set the default interrupt throttle rate.
+	 */
+	adapter->rx_eitr = (1000000 / IXGBE_DEFAULT_ITR_RX_USECS);
+	adapter->tx_eitr = (1000000 / IXGBE_DEFAULT_ITR_TX_USECS);
+
 	/*
 	 * It's easy to be greedy for MSI-X vectors, but it really
 	 * doesn't do us much good if we have a lot more vectors