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SmartNIC Server Preparations

• Install useful packages:

• Install MLNX_OFED with the mentioned flags below.

      Note

1. Use automatic FM update during MLNX_OFED installation ONLY if the current BlueField FW version is 18.24.1000 (GA) or above. In case its older, manually burn the FW after MLNX_OFED installation.
2. In case you plan to run DPDK on the host itself, install MLNX_OFED with "--dpdk --upstream-libs" flags
3. The "bluefield" flag is not required in some of the MLNX_OFED versions and OS releases

...

• Enable SR-IOV on FW (Optional):

• Uncomment the following line in /etc/modprobe.d/rshim.conf to set the default RShim access method to the SmartNIC:

       Note

1. When this line is commented, the first available driver will be used.
2. When the mini USB cable is not used, the driver should be rshim_pcie

...

• Create a file named ifcfg-tmfifo_net0 under /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ directory, with the following content:

• ifcfg-tmfifo_net0 is the network interface used for IP communication between the x86 host and the SmartNIC with rshim_net driver.
• Enable ip forwarding and set a NAT rule to allow the SmartNIC OS to communicate with the outer world via the host management interface:

• Disable Firewall and Network Manager services

• Reboot the server. Once server is up again, run some configuration sanity tests:
• To verify BlueField FW version:

•  To verify RShim modules are loaded:

• To identify the backend active RShim driver:

• To verify the NAT rule for SmartNIC communication with the outer world:

• Download the BlueField Quick Start bfb image:  https://mellanox.box.com/s/q44f501xq1e29yb1bjpsb9vzgqs89a76
• Place the bfb image on the host and load it on the BlueField SmartNIC using the following command:

Use one of the console access methods described in the "SmartNIC Management Methods" section below to follow the image installation process.

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Console over USB-Serial / Serial Port properties: Rate 115200, HW Flow Control OFF.

Console over USB (rshim_usb) / Serial Port properties: Rate 115200, HW Flow Control OFF

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minicom -D /dev/rshim0/console

SSH (rshim_net)

                     Note
                           SmartNIC OS is configured to obtain internet access via its hosting server.

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Issue the following command on the server:

Follow the boot process using console access:

Note

This is not a power cycle of the SmartNIC.

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Issue the following command on the server:

Follow the installation and boot process using the console access:

•  SmartNIC Modes

BlueField SmartNIC can operate in two modes:

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In order to identify the SmartNIC current mode, issue the following commands on the x86 hosting server:

Switching to EMBEDDED Mode from SEPERATED_HOST Mode

On the x86 host:

Enable EMBEDDED mode:

 Reboot.

Verify:

On the Arm:

Issue the following commands to enable ECPF parameters (applied per port):

Note
The ECPF parameters will be available for setting only after completing the previous steps.

Reboot the x86 host.

Verify configuration:

Once the procedure is completed, issue the following command on both the x86 host and the Arm:

 
On x86 host: the output should list two net devices.

 
On Arm: the output should list four representors:

Issue the following commands on the Arm to see the correlation between PCI device and its representors:

Note
The rep0-0 / rep1-0 are the representors facing the x86 host and the rep0-ffff / rep1-ffff are the representors facing the network.

...

Enable SEPERATED_HOST mode:

Reboot.

Verify:

Testing Traffic in EMBEDDED Mode using DPDK

...

DPDK application is used to forward the traffic and bypass Arm OS kernel. Follow the configuration steps below to test it.

On the Arm

Stop OVS:

Verify hugetlbfs is mounted:

if not, mount it:

Set Hugepages:

Verify hugepages were allocated (look for HugePages_Total and Free):

Identify the SmartNIC PCI device ID:

Start testPMD application  while probing the representors  (pci device is 03:00.0):

Set IPs on both x86 host and ConnectX-5 host and test connectivity with ping (it will be forwarded by the Arm DPDK)

On the ConnectX-5 external host start iperf server:

On the x86 host, start iperf client:

While the test is running, you can check traffic statistics on Arm testPMD:

• • • • Install Bare Metal Jump HostNA

      • Creating a Node Inventory FileNA

      • Creating the Settings FilesNA

      • RunningNA

  • Bare Metal Deployment GuideNA

  • Virtual Deployment Guide

    • Standard Deployment OverviewNA

    • Snapshot Deployment OverviewNA

    • Special Requirements for Virtual DeploymentsNA

    • Install Jump HostNA

    • Verifying the Setup - VMsNA

• • Upstream Deployment Guide

  • • Upstream Deployment Key FeaturesNA

    • Special Requirements for Upstream Deployments

  •            NA 

    • Scenarios and Deploy Settings for Upstream DeploymentsNA

    • Including Upstream Patches with DeploymentNA

    • RunningNA

    • Interacting with Containerized OvercloudNA

• Verifying the Setup as defined the Akraino validation feature project plus any additional testing specific to the blue printNA

• Developer Guide and Troubleshooting

• Utilization of ImagesNA

• Post-deployment ConfigurationNA

• Debugging FailuresNA

• Reporting a BugNA

• Uninstall GuideNA

• Troubleshooting

• Error Message GuideNA

• Maintenance

  • Blue Print Package Maintenance

    • Software maintenance
•                                    NA 
  • • Hardware maintenance
•                                    NA
  • Blue Print Deployment Maintenance
•                        NA

• Frequently Asked Questions

•             NA

• License

•            NA

• References

•            NA

• Definitions, acronyms and abbreviations/* End of Template */

•            NA