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• Hardware Requirements

3*arm64 server:

ARM Server satisfies the Arm Server Ready certified.

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N/A

Software Prerequisites

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Note

1. Use automatic FM update during MLNX_OFED installation ONLY if the current BlueField2 FW version is 24.29.1016 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

OVS-DPDK

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Database Prerequisites

N/A

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Execution Requirements (Bare Metal Only)

N/A

Installation High-Level Overview      

SmartNIC Server Preparations

• Install useful packages:

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yum install -y screen minicom net-tools tcpdump usbutils net-utils sshpass iptables-services fio epel-release iperf wget git unzip perl pciutils lsof tcl libxml2-python tk unbound gtk2 atk cairo gcc-gfortran tcsh nvme-cli

• Install MLNX_OFED with the mentioned flags below.

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tar -xzvf MLNX_OFED_LINUX-5.2-1.0.4.0-rhel7.6-x86_64.tgz
cd MLNX_OFED_LINUX-5.2-1.0.4.0-rhel7.6-x86_64
./mlnxofedinstall --add-kernel-support

      Note

1. Use an automatic FM update during MLNX_OFED installation ONLY if the current BlueField2 FW version is 24.29.1016 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

• Enable SR-IOV on FW (Optional):

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mlxconfig -y -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 s SRIOV_EN=1
mlxconfig -y -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 s NUM_OF_VFS=8

• Download and install RShim driver to communicate with BlueField2 SmartNIC, including packages required.

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yum install pciutils-devel libusbx-devel fuse-devel

rpm -Uvh rshim-<version-number>.x86_64.rpm -force

       Note: Before start the driver, guarantee that old version of kernel modules are unloaded if there has.

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rmmod rshim_net
rmmod rshim_pcie
rmmod rshim_usb
rmmod rshim

systemctl start rshim

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

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NAME="tmfifo_net0"
HWADDR="00:1a:ca:ff:ff:02"
ONBOOT=yes
NETBOOT=yes
IPV6INIT=yes
BOOTPROTO=static
TYPE=Ethernet
IPADDR=192.168.100.1
NETMASK=255.255.255.0

• ifcfg-tmfifo_net0 is the network interface used for IP communication between the x86 host and the SmartNIC with rshim driver.
• The oob_net0 interface on BlueField2 ARM can be used for management interface and a connection to outside. The configuration for it can be as below:

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NAME="oob_net0"
DEVICE="oob_net0"
NM_CONTROLLED="yes"
PEERDNS="yes"
ONBOOT="yes"
BOOTPROTO="dhcp"
TYPE=Ethernet

• Disable Firewall and Network Manager services

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systemctl disable firewalld.service
systemctl disable NetworkManager

• Reboot the server. Once the server is up again, run some configuration sanity tests:
• To verify BlueField2 FW version:

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mlxfwmanager --query

•  To verify RShim driver is working:

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systemctl status rshim

• To identify the backend active RShim driver:

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 cat /dev/rshim0/misc

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

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iptables -L -n -t nat

• Download the BlueField2 Quick Start bfb image:  http://www.mellanox.com/downloads/BlueField/BlueField-3.5.0.11563/BlueField-3.5.0.11563_install.bfb
• Place the bfb image on the host and load it on the BlueField2 SmartNIC using the following command:

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cat /home/CentOS7.6-5.4.60-mlnx.51.ge913ebd-MLNX_OFED-5.2-1.0.4.0-1-aarch64.bfb > /dev/rshim0/boot

  Note: CentOS based bfb is not officially supported.

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

When bfb image installation process is completed, connect to the SmartNIC with the console or SSH, as described below, and test connectivity from the SmarNIC OS to the outer world.

• SmartNIC Management Methods 

           To manage the SmartNIC from the hosting server, use one of the following methods 

Image Removed
Access Credentials: root\centos

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

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minicom -D /dev/ttyUSB0

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)

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ssh root@192.168.100.2

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

Basic SmartNIC Management Operations

How-to soft reset the SmartNIC via host server:

Issue the following command on the server:

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echo "SW_RESET 1" > /dev/rshim0/misc

Follow the boot process using console access:

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minicom -D /dev/ttyUSB0

Note: This is not a power cycle of the SmartNIC.

 How-to load BlueField2 SmartNIC OS image from the hosting server:

Place bfb image on the server

Issue the following command on the server:

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cat <image>.bfb > /dev/rshim0/boot

Follow the installation and boot process using the console access:

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minicom -D /dev/ttyUSB0

SmartNIC Modes

BlueField2 SmartNIC can operate in two modes:

SEPERATED_HOST (default mode)

In this mode, both the x86 hosting server and the SmartNIC Arm OS act as separated entities; Both can use and communicate with each other or the network via the ConnectX-6 Dx module of the SmartNIC.

EMBEDDED

In this mode, the x86 hosting server communicates with the outer world only through the SmartNIC Arm. 

Image Removed

Note

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

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x86_host#mst start
x86_host#mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 q | grep -i model

Switching to EMBEDDED Mode from SEPERATED_HOST Mode

On the x86 host:

Enable EMBEDDED mode:

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x86_host #mst start
x86_host #mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 s INTERNAL_CPU_MODEL=1

Reboot.

Verify:

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x86_host#mst start
x86_host#mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 q | grep -i model

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.

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Snic#mst start
Snic#mst status -v
Snic#mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 s ECPF_ESWITCH_MANAGER=1 ECPF_PAGE_SUPPLIER=1
Snic#mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0.1 s ECPF_ESWITCH_MANAGER=1 ECPF_PAGE_SUPPLIER=1

Reboot the x86 host.

Verify configuration:

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

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/opt/mellanox/iproute2/sbin/rdma link

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

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link mlx5_0/1: state ACTIVE physical_state LINK_UP netdev ens1f0
link mlx5_1/1: state DOWN physical_state DISABLED netdev ens1f1

 
On Arm: following devices should be listed:

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mst start
mst status -v
 
 
PCI devices:
------------
DEVICE_TYPE MST PCI RDMA NET NUMA
BlueField2(rev:0) NA 03:00.1 mlx5_1 net-p1 -1
BlueField2(rev:0) NA 03:00.0 mlx5_0 net-p0 -1

Note: The pf0hpf / pf1hpf are the PF representors facing the x86 host.

Switching to SEPERATED_HOST Mode from EMBEDDED Mode

On the x86 host:

Enable SEPERATED_HOST mode:

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x86_host #mst start
x86_host #mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 s INTERNAL_CPU_MODEL=0

Reboot.

Verify:

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x86_host#mst start
x86_host#mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 q | grep -i model

Testing Traffic in EMBEDDED Mode

In Embedded mode, traffic from the x86 server hosting the SmartNIC to the remote x86 server hosting the ConnectX-6 Dx is going via the SmartNIC Arm.

Follow the configuration steps below to test it.

On the Arm

Stop OVS:

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systemctl stop openvswitch

Verify hugetlbfs is mounted:

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mount | grep -i hugetlbfs

if not, mount it:

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mount -t hugetlbfs nodev /dev/hugepages

Set Hugepages:

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echo 4 > /sys/kernel/mm/hugepages/hugepages-1048576kB/nr_hugepages

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

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cat /proc/meminfo | grep -i huge

Identify the SmartNIC PCI device ID:

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lspci | grep -i mellanox

Configure OVS-DPDK:

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ovs-vsctl --no-wait set Open_vSwitch . other_config:dpdk-init=true

ovs-vsctl --no-wait set Open_vSwitch . other_config:dpdk-socket-mem=4096

ovs-vsctl --no-wait set Open_vSwitch . other_config:dpdk-extra="-w 03:00.0,representor=[0,65535]"

ovs-vsctl add-br dpdkbr0 -- set bridge dpdkbr0 datapath_type=netdev 

-- set bridge dpdkbr0 fail-mode=standalone

ovs-vsctl add-port dpdkbr0 p0 -- set Interface p0 type=dpdk options:dpdk-devargs=0000:03:00.0

ovs-vsctl add-port dpdkbr0 pf0hpf -- set Interface pf0hpf type=dpdk options:dpdk-devargs="0000:03:00.0,representor=[65535]"

systemctl restart openvswitch

Set IPs on both x86 host and ConnectX-6 Dx host and test connectivity with ping (it will be forwarded by the Arm DPDK)

On the ConnectX-6 Dx external host start iperf server:

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iperf -s

On the x86 host, start iperf client:

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iperf -c 172.16.0.2 -P12

Bare Metal Deployment Guide

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Uninstall Guide

not applicable

Troubleshooting

Error Message Guide

Server Unable to Find the SmartNIC

• Ensure that the SmartNIC is placed correctly
• Make sure the SmartNIC slot and the SmartNIC are compatible
• Install the SmartNIC in a different PCI Express slot
• Use the drivers that came with the SmartNIC or download the latest
• Make sure your motherboard has the latest BIOS
• Try to reboot the server

The SmartNIC no Longer Works

• Reseat the SmartNIC in its slot or a different slot, if necessary
• Try using another cable
• Reinstall the drivers for the network driver files may be damaged or deleted
• Reboot the server

SmartNIC Stopped Working After Installing Another

• Try removing and re-installing all SmartNICs
• Check that cables are connected properly
• Make sure your motherboard has the latest BIOS

Link Indicator Light is Off

• Try another port on the switch
• Make sure the cable is securely attached
• Check you are using the proper cables that do not exceed the recommended lengths
• Verify that your switch and SmartNIC port are compatible

Link Light is On but No Communication is Established

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Maintenance

BluePrint Package Maintenance

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