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BlueField's Ethernet SmartNIC solutions combine Arm® processing power with advanced network offloads to accelerate a multitude of security, networking and storage applications.
Based on the BlueField system-on-chip (SoC) programmable network engine, BlueField SmartNICs integrate Mellanox ConnectX®-5 network controller with Arm multicore processors and cryptology options to deliver an innovative and high-performance programmable platform. Through this article, you will be able to quickly set up a simple test lab which will allow you to experiment and explore BlueField SmartNIC capabilities. The setup includes a bare metal server hosting BlueField 25GbE SmartNIC connected back-to-back to another bare metal server with ConnectX-5 NIC.

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How to use this document

N/Athis document is used to guide how to install the OVS-DPDK into SmartNIC and integrate with the server

Deployment Architecture

The following diagram shows the physical configuration between the BlueField SmartNIC and the ConnectX-5 NIC. 

Pre-Installation Requirements

Hardware Requirements

Minimum Hardware Requirements

1. Insert ConnectX-5 NIC into Server A
2. Insert BlueField SmartNIC into Server B
3. Connect the SmartNIC UART cable from SmartNIC to its hosting Server B USB port #1
4. Connect Mini USB cable from SmartNIC to its hosting Server B USB port #2
5. Insert QSA28 Adapter into Server B 100GB port
6. Connect one of the SmartNIC ports to the ConnectX-5 using 25GB cable
7. Connect both servers to a management LAN

Recommended Hardware Requirements

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Schema scripts

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Jump Host Requirements

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Network Requirements

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Bare Metal Node Requirements

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Execution Requirements (Bare Metal Only)

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Hardware Requirements

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Software Prerequisites

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Note

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Software Prerequisites

MLNX_OFED

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 "

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1. BlueField" flag is not required in some of the MLNX_OFED versions and OS releases

Database Prerequisites

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Other Installation Requirements

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Installation High-Level Overview      

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OVS-DPDK

1. We've open-sourced a fork of DPDK based Open vSwitch, which supports the VXLAN decap/encap full offload: https://github.com/bytedance/ovs-dpdk
2. The code is fully compatible with upstream Open vSwitch, you can follow the same procedures to build them from the source. See the link: http://docs.openvswitch.org/en/latest/intro/install/
3. Or you can use the ansible scripts in the Akaino Gerrit to install both BlueField Card and OVS-DPDK. Currently, the scripts are not available, as the scripts work by relying on many company's internal services. We are refactoring the code that you can use it in your own SmartNIC setups.

Database Prerequisites

N/A

Schema scripts

N/A

Other Installation Requirements

N/A

Jump Host Requirements

N/A

Network Requirements

N/A

Bare Metal Node Requirements

N/A

Execution Requirements (Bare Metal Only)

N/A

Installation High-Level Overview      

SmartNIC Server Preparations

• Install useful packages:

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      Note

1. Use an 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 "bluefieldBlueField" flag is not required in some of the MLNX_OFED versions and OS releases

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

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

Place bfb image on the server

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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-5 module of the SmartNIC.

EMBEDDED

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

Image AddedEMBEDDED

Note

In this order to identify the SmartNIC current mode, issue the x86 hosting server communicates with the outer world only through the SmartNIC Arm.

Image Removed

Note

following commands on the x86 hosting server:

Switching to EMBEDDED Mode from SEPERATED_HOST Mode

On the x86 host:

Enable EMBEDDED mode:

 Reboot.

VerifyIn 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:

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 Reboot.

Verify :

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x86_host#mst start
x86_host#mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41682_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/mt41682_pciconf0 s ECPF_ESWITCH_MANAGER=1 ECPF_PAGE_SUPPLIER=1
Snic#mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41682_pciconf0.1 s ECPF_ESWITCH_MANAGER=1 ECPF_PAGE_SUPPLIER=1

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 network devices.

 
On Arm: the output should list four representors:

Issue the following commands on the Arm to see the correlation between the 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.

Switching to SEPERATED_HOST Mode from EMBEDDED Mode

On the x86 host:

Enable SEPERATED_HOST mode:

Reboot.

Verify:

Testing Traffic in EMBEDDED Mode using DPDK

In Embedded mode, traffic from the x86 server hosting the SmartNIC to the remote x86 server hosting the ConnectX-5 is going via the SmartNIC Arm.

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:

Bare Metal Deployment Guide

Install Bare Metal Jump Host

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Creating a Node Inventory File

N/A

Creating the Settings Files

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Running

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Virtual Deployment Guide

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Standard Deployment Overview

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Snapshot Deployment Overview

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Special Requirements for Virtual Deployments

N/A

Install Jump Host

N/A

Verifying the Setup - VMs

N/A

Upstream Deployment Guide

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Upstream Deployment Key Features

N/A

Special Requirements for Upstream Deployments

N/A 

Scenarios and Deploy Settings for Upstream Deployments

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Including Upstream Patches with Deployment

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Running

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Interacting with Containerized Overcloud

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

N/A

Developer Guide and Troubleshooting

Utilization of Images

N/A

Post-deployment Configuration

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Debugging Failures

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Reporting a Bug

N/A

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

• Check that the latest driver is loaded
• Check that both the SmartNIC and its link are set to the same speed and duplex settings

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 net devices.

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1/1: mlx5_0/1: state ACTIVE physical_state LINK_UP netdev ens1f0
2/1: mlx5_1/1: state DOWN physical_state DISABLED netdev ens1f1

 
On Arm: the output should list four representors:

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1/1: mlx5_0/1: state ACTIVE physical_state LINK_UP netdev rep0-ffff
2/1: mlx5_1/1: state ACTIVE physical_state LINK_UP netdev rep0-0
3/1: mlx5_2/1: state DOWN physical_state DISABLED netdev rep1-ffff
4/1: mlx5_3/1: state DOWN physical_state DISABLED netdev rep1-0

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

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mst start
mst status -v
 
 
PCI devices:
------------
DEVICE_TYPE MST PCI RDMA NET NUMA
BlueField(rev:0) NA 03:00.1 mlx5_3,mlx5_2 net-eth2,net-rep1-ffff -1
BlueField(rev:0) NA 03:00.0 mlx5_1,mlx5_0 net-rep0-ffff,net-eth1 -1

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.

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/mt41682_pciconf0 s INTERNAL_CPU_MODEL=0

Reboot.

Verify:

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x86_host#mst start
x86_host#mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41682_pciconf0 q | grep -i model

Testing Traffic in EMBEDDED Mode using DPDK

In Embedded mode, traffic from the x86 server hosting the SmartNIC to the remote x86 server hosting the ConnectX-5 is going via the SmartNIC Arm.

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:

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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-524288kB/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

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

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cd /usr/bin/
./testpmd -w 03:00.0,representor=[0,65535] – -i
testpmd> start

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:

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iperf -s

On the x86 host, start iperf client:

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iperf -c 172.16.0.2 -P12

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

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testpmd> show port stats all

Install Bare Metal Jump Host

N/A

Creating a Node Inventory File

N/A

Creating the Settings Files

N/A

Running

N/A

Bare Metal Deployment Guide

N/A

Virtual Deployment Guide

N/A

Standard Deployment Overview

N/A

Snapshot Deployment Overview

N/A

Special Requirements for Virtual Deployments

N/A

Install Jump Host

N/A

Verifying the Setup - VMs

N/A

Upstream Deployment Guide

N/A

Upstream Deployment Key Features

N/A

Special Requirements for Upstream Deployments

N/A 

Scenarios and Deploy Settings for Upstream Deployments

N/A

Including Upstream Patches with Deployment

N/A

Running

N/A

Interacting with Containerized Overcloud

N/A

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

N/A

Developer Guide and Troubleshooting

Utilization of Images

N/A

Post-deployment Configuration

N/A

Debugging Failures

N/A

Reporting a Bug

N/A

Uninstall Guide

N/A

Troubleshooting

Error Message Guide

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Maintenance

Blue Print Package Maintenance

Software maintenance

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Hardware maintenance

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Blueprint Deployment Maintenance

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Frequently Asked Questions

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License

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References

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Definitions, acronyms and abbreviations

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OVS : Open Virtual-Switch

DPDK: Data Plane Development KitN/A