Mellanox Firmware Tools (MFT) Release Notes for Linux

Transcription

1 Release Notes Mellanox Firmware Tools (MFT) Release Notes for Linux

2 2 Copyright 2008., Inc. All Rights Reserved. Mellanox Firmware Update Tools (MFT) for Linux Release Notes, Inc Stender Way Santa Clara, CA U.S.A. Tel: (408) Fax: (408) Ltd PO Box 586 Hermon Building Yokneam Israel Tel: Fax:

3 Mellanox Firmware Tools (MFT) Release Notes for Linux 3 1 Overview These are the release notes for of the Mellanox Firmware Tools (MFT) package for Linux. The release notes include: This Overview section which includes the subsections: - Package Tools on page 3 - Software Dependencies on page 4 - Supported Operating Systems and Platforms on page 4 Changes and New Features on page 5 - Deprecated Features on page 5 Known Issues on page 6 Bug Fixes on page Package Tools The following is a list of the available tools in the package, together with a brief description of what each tool performs. The tools apply to single Switch Systems or adapter cards, but not to clusters. mlxburn This tool provides the following functions: Generation of a standard or customized Mellanox firmware image for burning in.bin (binary) or.img format Burning an image to the Flash/EEPROM attached to a Mellanox HCA or switch device Querying the firmware version loaded on an HCA board Displaying the VPD (Vital Product Data) of an HCA board flint spark ibspark Debug utilities This tool burns a firmware binary image to the Flash(es) attached to an HCA board. It includes query functions to the burnt firmware image and to the binary image file. This tool burns a firmware binary image to the EEPROM(s) attached to a switch device. It includes query functions to the burnt firmware image and to the binary image file. The tool accesses the EEPROM and/or switch device via an I2C-compatible interface or via vendor-specific MADs over the InfiniBand fabric (In-Band tool). This tool burns a firmware binary image to the EEPROM(s) attached to a switch device. It includes query functions to the burnt firmware image and to the binary image file. The tool accesses the switch device and the EEPROM via vendor-specific MADs over the InfiniBand fabric (In-Band tool). A set of debug utilities (e.g., itrace, mstdump, isw, and i2c) Detailed installation instructions along with complete descriptions of the various tools in the package can be found in the Mellanox Firmware Tools User s Manual, Document no. 2329, Rev 1.0 or later.

4 4 1.2 Software Dependencies Table 1 - MFT Software Dependencies on Linux Software Package Perl Expat zlib Kernel sources OFED 1, 2 Required Version 5.6 or later 1.95 or later or later Machine s kernel version 1.1 or later 1. OFED can be downloaded from Note that installing OFED is not required if you wish to install MFT without In-Band capabilities. 2. For the mst ib add command to run, the OFED ibutils package must be installed and ibdiagnet should be in the default path. (For details on OFED installation, visit and under OFED.) 1.3 Supported Operating Systems and Platforms MFT is supported on the following platforms: x86, x86_64, ppc64, Itanium (ia64). Note: The Itanium platform was partially tested. Table 2 - Linux Operating Systems and Platforms RedHat EL4 Operating System Kernels ELsmp (RHEL4 UP5) ELsmp (RHEL4 UP6) ELsmp (RHEL4 UP7) 1 RedHat EL el5 (RHEL5) el5 (RHEL5 UP1) el5 (RHEL5 UP2) CentOS el5 1 SLES smp smp (SLES10 SP1) smp (SLES10 SP1 UP1) smp (SLES10 SP2) OpenSuSE Partially tested.

5 Mellanox Firmware Tools (MFT) Release Notes for Linux 5 2 Changes and New Features Table 3 - Changes and New Features Component / Tool MFT installation change All Description By default, MFT is installed with In-Band capabilities (which require OFED to be preinstalled). If OFED is not installed, you can use the --disable-inband flag to install without In- Band capabilities. Added Mellanox InfiniScale IV switch support. NOTE: Use the mlxburn / flint tool to burn InfiniScale IV switches. This is unlike the earlier generations switches (InfiniScale and InfiniScale III) that are burnt using the spark tool. The difference stems from the fact that the InfiniScale IV uses a Flash device to store the firmware image (which is handled by flint or mlxburn), whereas the older switch devices use an EEPROM for the firmware image (which is handled by spark or mlxburn). flint/mlxburn Added the quick query (-qq) option. When this flag is specified, a quick query that does not run full image integrity checks is run. This flag affects burn and query operations. It is advised to use this flag when burning via an MTUSB-1 mst device to reduce burning time. The performance of firmware burning over the I2C interface has improved by 40%. Added the "swreset" command that performs a SW reset on a target InfiniScale IV device. This command is supported by the In-Band access method only. For ConnectX devices: In the previous MFT version, both -mac(s) and -guid(s) flags had to be specified to update one of the two. In this version, the -mac(s) and -guid(s) flags are independent. If only the -mac(s) flag is specified, only the new MACs are applied (without change to the GUIDs on the Flash). Similarly, if only the -guid(s) flag is specified, only the new GUIDs are applied (without change to the MACs on the Flash). mst Debug tools Added the command "mst ib add" which lists the connected InfiniBand device names. This list can be used by the MFT tools for In-Band accesses to the devices. Note: This command requires the ibdiagnet utility to be in the PATH. Added the mlxi2c tool which manages the I2C-compatible network of InfiniScale IV based switches 2.1 Deprecated Features Figure 4, Deprecated Features lists tools and/or flags that will not be supported starting on the next MFT release. Table 4 - Deprecated Features flint/mlxburn ibspark Component / Tool Description The following flags are deprecated: -psid, -vsd1, and -vsd2. These flags will not be supported in the next release. The ibspark tool has been replaced by the spark tool. ibspark will be removed from the next MFT release. Use the spark -d lid-<lid> cmd command instead of the ibspark -d <lid> cmd command to achieve the same result.

6 6 Bug Fixes 3 Bug Fixes Table 5 lists the bugs fixed in this release. Table 5 - Fixed Bugs List Component / Tool Issue Description 1. flint/mlxburn Bad firmware version detection When burning a new image, flint/mlxburn may issue a false-warning that the new image is older than current 2. In-Band access Can access only the subnet connected to the first active port on the first active HCA 3. spark Does not support In-Band devices Fixed Fixed. The tools can now send MAD packets for burning through any active HCA port by specifying the source device name and port number. 4 Known Issues Table provides a list of known bugs and limitations in regards to this release of the Mellanox Firmware Tools. Table 6 - Known Bugs and Limitations Tool Issue Description Workaround To be Fixed on 1. flint / mlxburn Burning / querying via an MTUSB-1 takes a long time When running mlxburn via an MTUSB-1 device, a burn/query command may take up to five minutes to complete without any messages displayed. This is mainly due to an extensive firmware image query that runs by default. Use the -qq flag to perform a quick query N/A 2. Locked HCA Flash semaphore when IB driver is down When burning firmware while the Infini- Band driver is down, the following error message may be displayed: *** ERROR *** Can not open /dev/mst/ mt25418_pci_cr0: Can not obtain Flash semaphore (63). You can run "flint - clear_semaphore -d <device>" to force semaphore unlock. See help for details. 1. Burn fw while the IB driver is up 2. Run: flint \ -clear_semaphore \ -d <device> to unlock the Flash semaphore, and reburn 3. ibspark / mlxburn -inband Parallel tool runs with an HCA or with a non-existing LID(s) may hang the driver and the tool 4. itrace No support for host memory access on MemFree adapter cards with Red Hat OS Parallel tool runs which target multiple Reboot the machine and rerun devices and mistakenly include non-infiniscale III LIDs may hang the ibspark and the with correct LIDs driver For Mellanox HCA cards without on-board Use the --nomap flag for Memmemory (MemFree) with a Red Hat OS Free cards with Red Hat OS running, attempts to access the trace messages area in host memory may fail. Consequently, the application may crash or no trace messages will be printed without any error message

7 Mellanox Firmware Tools (MFT) Release Notes for Linux 7 Table 6 - Known Bugs and Limitations Tool Issue Description Workaround To be Fixed on 5. install --skip_mst install option should not be used when installing over previous MFT versions The mst driver interface has changed and is not compatible with older versions of MFT. Therefore, the mst driver installation cannot be skipped. Do not use the --skip_mst option NA 6. The installation fails if the OFED driver is not installed under /usr or /usr/local If OFED is not installed under /usr or /usr/local, the installation process accesses the mtcr.h include file from the OFED include directory instead of the MFT installation directory. This leads to failure in the installation. Choose one of the following three workarounds: 1. If you do not need In-Band capabilities, install MFT using the --disable-inband install flag. 2. (a) Install MFT specifying the OFED prefix using the --ib-prefix flag, and allow it to fail. (b) After the install fails, reinstall with the --skip_mst option (also specifying the OFED prefix). After this step, the MFT installation is complete. 3. (a) Temporarily rename the mtcr.h file under the directory <ofed_prefix>/include. (b) Install MFT specifying the OFED prefix using the --ib-prefix flag. (c) Restore the original name of the OFED mtcr.h file. Next release 7. mlxburn bad exit status on successful query operation When running mlxburn with a -query flag, it may return an exit value of 1 for a successful operation. Next release

8 8 Known Issues