Introduction
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.Deployment Architecture
The following diagram shows the physical configuration between the BlueField SmartNIC and the ConnectX-5 NIC.
Pre-Installation Requirements
Minimum Hardware Requirements
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Comments
2 x86 servers running CentOS 7.5 - 1 ConnectX-5 NIC (FW: 16.24.0328 and up) - 1 BlueField 25GbE SmartNIC with Arm processor (FW: 18.24.1000 and up) - 1 25GB/s SFP28 networking cable - 1 QSA28 Adapter (100GB-to-25GB Adapter) - 1 UART-to-USB cable For SmartNIC USB console access 1 Mini USB Type B cable For SmartNIC USB Console Access 1 bfb image to be loaded on the BlueField SmartNIC Arm. Image contains: - CentOS 7.5 over Arm architecture
- MLNX_OFED_LINUX-4.4-2.5.11.0 (compiled with DPDK and BlueField flags)
- DPDK libraries version 18.11
- Pre-configured network settings for easy SmartNIC management
- Insert ConnectX-5 NIC into Server A
- Insert BlueField SmartNIC into Server B
- Connect the SmartNIC UART cable from SmartNIC to its hosting Server B USB port #1
- Connect Mini USB cable from SmartNIC to its hosting Server B USB port #2
- Insert QSA28 Adapter into Server B 100GB port
- Connect one of the SmartNIC ports to the ConnectX-5 using 25GB cable
- Connect both servers to a management LAN
Recommended Hardware Requirements
Hardware Requirements
Software Prerequisites
- MLNX_OFED
Note
- 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.
- In case you plan to run DPDK on the host itself, install MLNX_OFED with "--dpdk --upstream-libs" flags
- The "bluefield" flag is not required in some of the MLNX_OFED versions and OS releases
Installation High-Level Overview
SmartNIC Server Preparations
Install useful packages:
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.
tar -xzvf MLNX_OFED_LINUX-4.4-2.5.11.0-rhel7.5-x86_64.tgz
cd MLNX_OFED_LINUX-4.4-2.5.11.0-rhel7.5-x86_64
./mlnxofedinstall --with-nvmf --bluefield --without-fw-update
Note
- 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.
- In case you plan to run DPDK on the host itself, install MLNX_OFED with "--dpdk --upstream-libs" flags
- The "bluefield" flag is not required in some of the MLNX_OFED versions and OS releases
Enable SR-IOV on FW (Optional):
mlxconfig -y -d /dev/mst/mt41682_pciconf0 s SRIOV_EN=1
mlxconfig -y -d /dev/mst/mt41682_pciconf0 s NUM_OF_VFS=8
Uncomment the following line in /etc/modprobe.d/rshim.conf to set the default RShim access method to the SmartNIC:
options rshim backend_driver=rshim_usb
Note
- When this line is commented, the first available driver will be used.
- 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:
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_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:
sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
systemctl enable iptables
systemctl start iptables
iptables -F
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o <host_mgmt_interfac> -j MASQUERADE
service iptables save
Disable Firewall and Network Manager services
systemctl disable firewalld.service
systemctl disable NetworkManager
- Reboot the server. Once server is up again, run some configuration sanity tests:
To verify BlueField FW version:
mlxfwmanager --query
To verify RShim modules are loaded:
lsmod | grep -i rshim
To identify the backend active RShim driver:
cat /dev/rshim0/misc
To verify the NAT rule for SmartNIC communication with the outer world:
iptables -L -n -t nat
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:
cat /home/CentOS7.5ALT-aarch64-QuickStart.bfb > /dev/rshim0/boot
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 MethodsTo manage the SmartNIC from the hosting server, use one of the following methods.
Access Credentials: root\centosConsole over USB-Serial / Serial Port properties: Rate 115200, HW Flow Control OFF.
minicom -D /dev/ttyUSB0
Console over USB (rshim_usb) / Serial Port properties: Rate 115200, HW Flow Control OFF
minicom -D /dev/rshim0/console
SSH (rshim_net)
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:
echo "SW_RESET 1" > /dev/rshim0/misc
Follow the boot process using console access:
minicom -D /dev/ttyUSB0
Note
This is not a power cycle of the SmartNIC.
How-to load BlueField SmartNIC OS image from hosting server:
- Place bfb image on the server
Issue the following command on the server:
cat <image>.bfb > /dev/rshim0/boot
Follow the installation and boot process using the console access:
minicom -D /dev/ttyUSB0
SmartNIC Modes
BlueField 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-5 module of the SmartNIC.
- EMBEDDED
In this mode, the x86 hosting server communicates with the outer world only through the SmartNIC Arm.
Note
In order to identify the SmartNIC current mode, issue the following commands on the x86 hosting server:
x86_host#mst start
x86_host#mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41682_pciconf0 q | grep -i model
Switching to EMBEDDED Mode from SEPERATED_HOST Mode
On the x86 host:
Enable EMBEDDED mode:
x86_host #mst start
x86_host #mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41682_pciconf0 s INTERNAL_CPU_MODEL=1
- Reboot.
Verify:
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.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
- Reboot the x86 host.
- Verify configuration:
Once the procedure is completed, issue the following command on both the x86 host and the Arm:
/opt/mellanox/iproute2/sbin/rdma link
On x86 host: the output should list two net devices.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: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:
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:
x86_host #mst start
x86_host #mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41682_pciconf0 s INTERNAL_CPU_MODEL=0
- Reboot.
Verify:
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:
systemctl stop openvswitch
Verify hugetlbfs is mounted:
mount | grep -i hugetlbfs
if not, mount it:
mount -t hugetlbfs nodev /dev/hugepages
Set Hugepages:
echo 4 > /sys/kernel/mm/hugepages/hugepages-524288kB/nr_hugepages
Verify hugepages were allocated (look for HugePages_Total and Free):
cat /proc/meminfo | grep -i huge
Identify the SmartNIC PCI device ID:
lspci | grep -i mellanox
Start testPMD application while probing the representors (pci device is 03:00.0):
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:
iperf -s
On the x86 host, start iperf client:
iperf -c 172.16.0.2 -P12
While the test is running, you can check traffic statistics on Arm testPMD:
testpmd> show port stats all
Frequently Asked Questions
License
References
Definitions, acronyms and abbreviations