Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx EN User Manual

Exported on Apr/02/2019 03:29 PM

https://docs.mellanox.com/x/pI6O

Mellanox Technologies

ConnectX-4 Lx Ethernet

Adapter Cards for OCP Spec

2.0 User Manual

Mellanox Technologies

NOTE:

THIS HARDWARE, SOFTWARE OR TEST SUITE PRODUCT (“PRODUCT(S)”) AND ITS RELATED DOCUMENTATION ARE PROVIDED BY MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES “AS-IS” WITH ALL FAULTS OF ANY

KIND AND SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF AIDING THE CUSTOMER IN TESTING APPLICATIONS THAT USE THE PRODUCTS IN DESIGNATED SOLUTIONS. THE CUSTOMER'S MANUFACTURING TEST ENVIRONMENT HAS NOT MET THE STANDARDS SET BY MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES TO FULLY QUALIFY THE PRODUCT(S) AND/OR THE SYSTEM USING IT. THEREFORE, MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES CANNOT AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THAT THE PRODUCTS WILL OPERATE WITH THE HIGHEST QUALITY. ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL MELLANOX BE LIABLE TO CUSTOMER OR ANY THIRD PARTIES FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PAYMENT FOR PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY FROM THE USE OF THE PRODUCT(S) AND RELATED DOCUMENTATION EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

Mellanox Technologies

350 Oakmead Parkway Suite 100

Sunnyvale, CA 94085, U.S.A.

www.mellanox.com

Tel: (408) 970-3400 Fax: (408) 970-3403

Mellanox® and the Mellanox logo are registered trademarks of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd.

Additional trademarks used in this document are listed under http://www.mellanox.com/page/trademarks.

All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

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Table of Contents

1 Introduction to ConnectX-4 Lx Ethernet for OCP Spec 2.0 Cards .......................................................9

1.1 Product Overview ........................................................................................................................... 9

1.2 Features and Benefits ...................................................................................................................11

1.3 Operating Systems/Distributions .................................................................................................. 13

1.4 Connectivity.................................................................................................................................. 13

2 Interfaces............................................................................................................................................14

2.1 Ethernet SFP28 and QSFP28 Interfaces ..................................................................................... 14

2.2 PCI Express Interface .................................................................................................................. 14

2.3 FRU EEPROM ............................................................................................................................. 14

2.4 LED Interface ............................................................................................................................... 14

2.5 Heat Sink Interface....................................................................................................................... 15

2.6 SMBus Interface........................................................................................................................... 15

2.7 Voltage Regulators....................................................................................................................... 15

3 Hardware Installation..........................................................................................................................16

3.1 Installation Procedure Overview................................................................................................... 17

3.2 System Requirements .................................................................................................................. 17

3.2.1 Hardware Requirements .........................................................................................................17

3.2.1.1 Airflow Requirements ........................................................................................................ 17

3.2.2 Software Requirements...........................................................................................................18

3.3 Safety Precautions ....................................................................................................................... 18

3.4 Unpacking the Package ............................................................................................................... 18

3.5 Installation Instructions................................................................................................................. 18

3.6 Cables and Modules..................................................................................................................... 19

3.7 Identifying the Card in Your System ............................................................................................. 20

3.8 Uninstalling the Card .................................................................................................................... 21

4 Driver Installation................................................................................................................................24

4.1 Linux Driver Installation ................................................................................................................ 24

4.1.1 Prerequisites ...........................................................................................................................24

4.1.2 Downloading Mellanox OFED ................................................................................................. 24

4.1.3 Installing Mellanox OFED........................................................................................................25

4.1.3.1 Installation Script ............................................................................................................... 25

4.1.3.2 Installation Procedure........................................................................................................ 26

4.1.3.3 Installation Results ............................................................................................................ 28

4.1.3.4 Installation Logs ................................................................................................................ 29

4.1.3.5 openibdScript ................................................................................................................... 29

4.1.3.6 Driver Load Upon System Boot......................................................................................... 29

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4.1.3.7 mlnxofedinstall Return Codes ........................................................................................... 30

4.1.3.8 Uninstalling MLNX_OFED................................................................................................. 30

4.1.4 Installing MLNX_OFED Using YUM ........................................................................................30

4.1.4.1 Setting up MLNX_OFED YUM Repository ........................................................................ 30

4.1.4.2 Installing MLNX_OFED Using the YUM Tool .................................................................... 32

4.1.4.3 Uninstalling MLNX_OFED Using the YUM Tool ................................................................ 33

4.1.5 Installing MLNX_OFED Using apt-get Tool .............................................................................33

4.1.5.1 Setting up MLNX_OFED apt-get Repository..................................................................... 34

4.1.5.2 Installing MLNX_OFED Using the apt-get Tool ................................................................. 34

4.1.5.3 Uninstalling MLNX_OFED Using the apt-get Tool ............................................................. 35

4.1.6 Updating Firmware After Installation ....................................................................................... 35

4.1.6.1 Updating the Device Online............................................................................................... 35

4.1.6.2 Updating the Device Manually........................................................................................... 36

4.1.6.3 Updating the Device Firmware Automatically upon System Boot ..................................... 36

4.1.7 UEFI Secure Boot ...................................................................................................................37

4.1.7.1 Enrolling Mellanox's x.509 Public Key on Your Systems................................................... 37

4.1.7.2 Removing Signature from kernel Modules ........................................................................ 37

4.1.8 Performance Tuning................................................................................................................38

4.2 Windows Driver Installation .......................................................................................................... 38

4.2.1 Software Requirements...........................................................................................................38

4.2.2 Downloading Mellanox WinOF-2 Driver .................................................................................. 39

4.2.3 InstallingMellanoxWinOF-2Driver........................................................................................39

4.2.3.1 Attended Installation.......................................................................................................... 39

4.2.3.2 Unattended Installation...................................................................................................... 44

4.2.3.3 Installation Results ............................................................................................................ 45

4.2.4 Uninstalling Mellanox WinOF-2 Driver ....................................................................................46

4.2.4.1 Attended Uninstallation ..................................................................................................... 46

4.2.4.2 Unattended Uninstallation ................................................................................................. 46

4.2.5 Extracting Files Without Running Installation ..........................................................................46

4.2.6 Firmware Upgrade................................................................................................................... 49

4.3 VMware Driver Installation ........................................................................................................... 49

4.3.1 Hardware and Software Requirements ................................................................................... 49

4.3.2 Installing Mellanox NATIVE ESXi Driver for VMware vSphere................................................ 50

4.3.3 Removing Earlier Mellanox Drivers .........................................................................................50

4.3.4 Firmware Programming...........................................................................................................50

5 Updating Adapter Firmware................................................................................................................52

6 Troubleshooting..................................................................................................................................53

6.1 GeneralTroubleshooting.............................................................................................................. 53

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6.2 LinuxTroubleshooting .................................................................................................................. 53

6.3 WindowsTroubleshooting ............................................................................................................ 54

7 Specifications .....................................................................................................................................55

7.1 MCX4421A-XCQNSpecifications ................................................................................................ 55

7.2 MCX4411A-AC[A/U]NSpecifications ........................................................................................... 55

7.3 MCX4421A-AC[A/U]N Specifications ........................................................................................... 56

7.4 MCX4411A-ACQN Specifications ................................................................................................ 57

7.5 MCX4421A-ACQN Specifications ................................................................................................ 58

7.6 MCX4431A-GCANSpecifications ................................................................................................ 59

7.7 MCX4431M-GCAN Specifications................................................................................................ 60

7.8 Board Mechanical Drawing and Dimensions................................................................................ 61

7.8.1 Mechanical Drawing of Single-port 10/25 Gb/s Adapter Cards............................................... 61

7.8.2 Mechanical Drawing of Dual-port 10/25 Gb/s Adapter Cards .................................................62

7.8.3 Mechanical Drawing of Single-port 50Gb/s Adapter Cards..................................................... 62

7.8.4 Mechanical Drawing of Multi-host Single-port 50Gb/s Adapter Cards .................................... 63

8 Finding the MAC on the Adapter Card ...............................................................................................64

8.1 MCX4421A-XCQN Board Label (Example).................................................................................. 64

8.2 MCX4411A-ACAN Board Label (Example) .................................................................................. 64

8.3 MCX4421A-ACAN Board Label (Example).................................................................................. 65

8.4 MCX4411A-ACQN Board Label (Example).................................................................................. 65

8.5 MCX4421A-ACQN Board Label (Example).................................................................................. 65

8.6 MCX4411A-ACUN Board Label (Example) .................................................................................. 66

8.7 MCX4421A-ACUN Board Label (Example).................................................................................. 66

8.8 MCX4431A-GCAN Board Label (Example).................................................................................. 67

8.9 MCX4431M-GCAN Board Label (Example)................................................................................. 67

9 Document Revision History ................................................................................................................68

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About This Manual

This User Manual describes Mellanox Technologies ConnectX®-4 Lx Ethernet adapter cards for Open Compute Project, spec 2.0. It provides details as to the interfaces of the board, specifications, required software and firmware for operating the board, and relevant documentation.

Ordering Part Numbers

The table below provides the ordering part numbers (OPN) for the available ConnectX-4 Lx Ethernet adapter cards for OCP Spec 2.0.

OPN Marketing Description OCP Spec and Type

MCX4421A-XCQN ConnectX®-4 Lx EN network interface card for OCP

with Host Management, 10GbE dual-port SFP28, PCIe3.0 x8, no bracket

MCX4411A-ACAN ConnectX®-4 Lx EN network interface card for

OCP, without host management, 25GbE single-port SFP28, PCIe3.0 x8, no bracket

MCX4421A-ACAN ConnectX®-4 Lx EN network interface card for

OCP, without host management, 25GbE dual-port SFP28, PCIe3.0 x8, no bracket

MCX4411A-ACQN ConnectX®-4 Lx EN network interface card for OCP

with Host Management, 25GbE single-port SFP28, PCIe3.0 x8, no bracket

MCX4421A-ACQN ConnectX®-4 Lx EN network interface card for OCP

with Host Management, 25GbE dual-port SFP28, PCIe3.0 x8, no bracket

MCX4411A-ACUN ConnectX®-4 Lx EN network interface card for

OCP, without host management, 25GbE single-port SFP28, PCIe3.0 x8, UEFI Enabled, no bracket

OCP Spec 2.0 Type 1 Stacking Height

MCX4421A-ACUN ConnectX®-4 Lx EN network interface card for

OCP, without host management, 25GbE dual-port SFP28, PCIe3.0 x8, UEFI Enabled, no bracket

MCX4431A-GCAN ConnectX®-4 Lx EN network interface card for

OCP, with Host Management, 50GbE single-port

OCP Spec 2.0 Type 1 Stacking Height

QSFP28, PCIe3.0 x8, no bracket

MCX4431M-GCAN ConnectX®-4 Lx EN network interface card for OCP

with Multi-Host and Host Management, 50GbE

OCP Spec 2.0 Type 2 Stacking Height

single-port QSFP28, PCIe3.0 x8, no bracket

Intended Audience This manual is intended for the installer and user of these cards. The manual assumes basic familiarity with Ethernet

network and architecture specifications.

Technical Support

Mellanox Technologies

Customers who purchased Mellanox products directly from Mellanox are invited to contact us through the following methods:

• URL: http://www.mellanox.com > Support

• E-mail: support@mellanox.com

• Tel: +1.408.916.0055

Customers who purchased Mellanox M-1 Global Support Services, please see your contract for details regarding

Technical Support. Customers who purchased Mellanox products through a Mellanox approved reseller should first seek assistance through their reseller.

1.2 Features and Benefits

This section describes hardware features and capabilities. Please refer to the relevant driver and/or firmware



release notes for feature availability.

Feature Description

PCI Express (PCIe) Uses PCIe Gen 3.0 (8GT/s) through an x8 edge connector. Gen 1.1 and

2.0 compatible.

Up to 50 Gigabit Ethernet Mellanox adapters comply with the following IEEE 802.3 standards:

• 50GbE / 40GbE / 25GbE / 10GbE / 1GbE

• IEEE 802.3by, Ethernet Consortium25, 50 Gigabit Ethernet,

supporting all FEC modes

• IEEE 802.3ba 40 Gigabit Ethernet

• IEEE 802.3by 25 Gigabit Ethernet

• IEEE 802.3ae 10 Gigabit Ethernet

• IEEE 802.3ap based auto-negotiation and KR startup

• Proprietary Ethernet protocols (20/40GBASE-R2, 50GBASE-R4)

• IEEE 802.3ad, 802.1AX Link Aggregation

• IEEE 802.1Q, 802.1P VLAN tags and priority

• IEEE 802.1Qau (QCN)

• Congestion Notification

• IEEE 802.1Qaz (ETS)

• IEEE 802.1Qbb (PFC)

• IEEE 802.1Qbg

• IEEE 1588v2

• Jumbo frame support (9.6KB)

Memory • PCI Express - stores and accesses Ethernet fabric connection

information and packet data.

• SPI - includes one 16MB SPI Flash device (W25Q128FVSIG

device by WINBOND-NUVOTON).

Overlay Networks In order to better scale their networks, data center operators often create

overlay networks that carry traffic from individual virtual machines over logical tunnels in encapsulated formats such as NVGRE and VXLAN. While this solves network scalability issues, it hides the TCP packet from the hardware offloading engines, placing higher loads on the host CPU. ConnectX-4 Lx effectively addresses this by providing advanced NVGRE and VXLAN hardware offloading engines that encapsulate and de-capsulate the overlay protocol.

RDMA and RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE)

ConnectX-4 Lx, utilizing IBTA RDMA (Remote Data Memory Access) and RoCE (RDMA over Converged Ethernet) technology, delivers lowlatency and high-performance over Band and Ethernet networks. Leveraging data center bridging (DCB) capabilities as well as ConnectX-4 Lx advanced congestion control hardware mechanisms, RoCE provides efficient low-latency RDMA services over Layer 2 and Layer 3 networks.

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Feature Description

Mellanox PeerDirect™ PeerDirect™ communication provides high efficiency RDMA access by

eliminating unnecessary internal data copies between components on the PCIe bus (for example, from GPU to CPU), and therefore significantly reduces application run time. ConnectX-4 Lx advanced acceleration technology enables higher cluster efficiency and scalability to tens of thousands of nodes.

CPU Offload Adapter functionality enabling reduced CPU overhead allowing more

available CPU for computation tasks. Open vSwitch (OVS) offload using ASAP

2(TM)

• Flexible match-action flow tables

• Tunneling encapsulation / decapsulation

Quality of Service (QoS) Support for port-based Quality of Service enabling various application

requirements for latency and SLA.

Hardware-based I/O Virtualization ConnectX-4 Lx provides dedicated adapter resources and guaranteed

isolation and protection for virtual machines within the server.

Storage Acceleration A consolidated compute and storage network achieves significant cost-

performance advantages over multi-fabric networks. Standard block and file access protocols can leverage RDMA for high-performance storage access.

• NVMe over Fabric offloads for target machine

• Erasure Coding

• T10-DIF Signature Handover

SR-IOV ConnectX-4 Lx SR-IOV technology provides dedicated adapter

resources and guaranteed isolation and protection for virtual machines (VM) within the server.

NC-SI The adapter supports a Network Controller Sideband Interface (NC-SI),

MCTP over SMBus and MCTP over PCIe - Baseboard Management Controller interface.

High-Performance Accelerations • Tag Matching and Rendezvous Offloads

• Adaptive Routing on Reliable Transport

• Burst Buffer Offloads for Background Checkpointing

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Feature Description

UEFI UEFI is a standard firmware interface designed to replace BIOS.

Mellanox UEFI Network driver allows boot over network via PXE (Preboot eXecution Environment). This network driver allows remote boot over InfiniBand or Ethernet, or Boot over iSCSI (Bo-iSCSI) in UEFI mode, and also supports the SecureBoot standard. The UEFI Network driver allows IT managers the flexibility to deploy servers with a single adapter card into InfiniBand or Ethernet networks while also enabling booting from LAN or remote storage targets. In addition to boot capabilities, Mellanox UEFI Network driver provides firmware management and diagnostic protocols compliant with the UEFI specification.

For further information, refer to the Mellanox PreBoot Drivers User

Manual.

Supported in MCX4111A-ACUT and MCX4121A-ACUT

Secure Firmware A “Secure firmware update” is the ability of a device to verify digital

signatures of new firmware binaries, in order to assure that only officially approved versions can be installed from the host, the network or a Board Management Controller (BMC). The firmware of devices with “secure firmware update” functionality (secure FW), restricts access to specific commands and registers that can be used to modify the firmware binary image on the flash, as well as commands that can jeopardize security in general.

For further information, refer to the MFT User Manual. Supported in MCX4121A-ACST.

1.3 Operating Systems/Distributions

• RHEL/CentOS

• Windows

• FreeBSD

• VMware

• OpenFabrics Enterprise Distribution (OFED)

• OpenFabrics Windows Distribution (WinOF-2)

1.4 Connectivity

• Interoperable with 1/10/25/40/50 Gb/s Ethernet switches

• Passive copper cable with ESD protection

• Powered connectors for optical and active cable support

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2 Interfaces

2.1 Ethernet SFP28 and QSFP28 Interfaces

The network ports of the ConnectX®-4 Lx adapter card for OCP Spec 2.0 are compliant with the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standards listed in Features and Benefits. Ethernet traffic is transmitted through the SFP28/QSFP28 connectors on the

adapter card.

The adapter card includes special circuits to protect from ESD shocks to the card/server when plugging copper



cables.

2.2 PCI Express Interface

The table below describes the supported PCIe interface in ConnectX-4 Lx and ConnectX-4 Lx Ex adapter cards.

Supported PCIe Interface Features

PCIe Gen 3.0 (1.1 and 2.0 compatible) through x8 edge connectors Link Rates: 2.5. 5.0 or 8.0GT/s.

Auto Negotiation to: x8, x4, x2 or x1. Support for MSI/MSI-X mechanisms.

2.3 FRU EEPROM

Applies to MCX4431M-GCAN



FRU EEPROM allows the baseboard to identify different types of Mezzanine cards. MEZZ FRU EEPROM is accessible through MEZZ_SMCLK and MEZZ_SMDATA (Connector A18 and A19). MEZZ FRU EEPROM address is 0xA2 and its capacity is 128Kb.

2.4 LED Interface

There are two, LED0 and LED1, and speed. LED0 is bi-color (yellow and green) LED and LED1 is a single color (green) LED. I/O LEDs per port to indicate link status.

Physical and Logical Link Indications (Ethernet Mode)

LED Function

LED0 - Physical link speed • A constant Green indicates a physical link with the highest rated speed.

• A constant Yellow indicates a physical link with degraded speed.

• If LED0 is off, then the physical link has not been established.

LED1 - Logical link/activity • A constant Green indicates a valid logical (data activity) link without data transfer.

• A blinking Green indicates a valid logical link with data transfer.

• If LED1 is off, then the logical link has not been established.

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2.5 Heat Sink Interface

A heatsink is attached to the ConnectX-4 Lx IC in order to dissipate the heat from the ConnectX-4 Lx IC. It is attached either by using four spring-loaded push pins that insert into four mounting holes or by screws.

ConnectX-4 Lx IC has a thermal shutdown safety mechanism which automatically shuts down the ConnectX-4 Lx card in cases of a high-temperature event, improper thermal coupling or heatsink removal.

2.6 SMBus Interface

ConnectX-4 Lx technology maintains support for manageability through a BMC. ConnectX-4 Lx PCIe stand-up adapter can be connected to a BMC using MCTP over SMBus or MCTP over PCIe protocols as if it is a standard Mellanox PCIe stand-up adapter. For configuring the adapter for the specific manageability solution in use by the server, please contact Mellanox Support.

2.7 Voltage Regulators

The voltage regulator power is derived from the PCI Express edge connector 12V supply pins. These voltage supply pins feed onboard regulators that provide the necessary power to the various components on the card.

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3 Hardware Installation

Installation and initialization of ConnectX-4 Lx adapter cards require attention to the mechanical attributes, power specification, and precautions for electronic equipment.

Safety Warnings

Safety warnings are provided here in the English language. For safety warnings in other languages, refer to the



Adapter Installation Safety Instructions document available on mellanox.com.

Please observe all safety warnings to avoid injury and prevent damage to system components. Note that not all warnings are relevant to all models.

General Installation Instructions

Read all installation instructions before connecting the equipment to the power source.

Jewelry Removal Warning

Before you install or remove equipment that is connected to power lines, remove jewelry such as bracelets, necklaces, rings, watches and so on. Metal objects heat up when connected to power and ground and can melt down, causing serious burns and/or welding the metal object to the terminals.

Over-temperature

This equipment should not be operated in an area with an ambient temperature exceeding the maximum

recommended: 55°C (131°F).

An air flow of 200LFM at this maximum ambient temperature is required.To guarantee proper airflow, allow at least 8cm (3 inches) of clearance around the ventilation openings.The line” An air flow of 200LFM at this

maximum ambient temperature is required.” is for HCA cards and NICs only!

During Lightning - Electrical Hazard

During periods of lightning activity, do not work on the equipment or connect or disconnect cables.

Copper Cable Connecting/Disconnecting

Some copper cables are heavy and not flexible, as such they should be carefully attached to or detached from the connectors. Refer to the cable manufacturer for special warnings and instructions.

Equipment Installation

This equipment should be installed, replaced, or serviced only by trained and qualified personnel.

Equipment Disposal

Disposal of this equipment should be in accordance to all national laws and regulations.

Local and National Electrical Codes

This equipment should be installed in compliance with local and national electrical codes.

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Hazardous Radiation Exposure

• Caution – Use of controls or adjustment or performance of procedures other than those specified herein

may result in hazardous radiation exposure.For products with optical ports.

• CLASS 1 LASER PRODUCT and reference to the most recent laser standards:

IEC 60 825-1:1993 + A1:1997 + A2:2001 and EN 60825-1:1994+A1:1996+ A2:20

3.1 Installation Procedure Overview

The installation procedure of ConnectX-4 Lx adapter cards involve the following steps:

Step Procedure Direct Link

1 Check the system’s hardware and software requirements. System Requirements

2 Pay attention to the airflow consideration within the host system Airflow Requirements

3 Follow the safety precautions Safety Precautions

4 Unpack the package Unpack the package

5 Follow the pre-installation checklist Pre-Installation Checklist

7 Install the ConnectX-4 Lx for OCP Spec 2.0 card in thesystem Installation Instructions

8 Connect cables or modules to the card Cables and Modules

9 Identify ConnectX-4 Lx in the system Identifying Your Card

3.2 System Requirements

3.2.1 Hardware Requirements

Unless otherwise specified, Mellanox products are designed to work in an environmentally controlled data



center with low levels of gaseous and dust (particulate) contamination. The operation environment should meet severity level G1 as per ISA 71.04 for gaseous contamination and ISO 14644-1 class 8 for cleanliness level.

A system with a PCI Express x8 FCI B2B connector is required for installing the card.

For proper operation and performance, please make sure to use a PCIe slot with a corresponding bus width and



that can supply sufficient power to your card. Refer to the Specifications section of the manual for more power requirements.

3.2.1.1 Airflow Requirements

ConnectX-4 Lx adapter cards are offered with two airflow patterns: from the heatsink to the network ports, and vice versa, as shown below.

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Please refer to the Specifications section for airflow numbers for each specific card model.

All cards in the system should be planned with the same airflow direction.



3.2.2 Software Requirements

• See Operating Systems/Distributions section under the Introduction section.

• Software Stacks - Mellanox OpenFabric software package MLNX_OFED for Linux, WinOF-2 for Windows, and VMware. See the Driver Installation section.

3.3 Safety Precautions

The adapter is being installed in a system that operates with voltages that can be lethal. Before opening the case of the system, observe the following precautions to avoid injury and prevent damage to system components.

• Remove any metallic objects from your hands and wrists.

• Make sure to use only insulated tools.

• Verify that the system is powered off and is unplugged.

• It is strongly recommended to use an ESD strap or other antistatic devices.

• Shut down your system if active; Turn off the power to the system, and disconnect the power cord. Refer to the

system documentation for instructions. Before you install the ConnectX-4 Lx card, make sure that the system is disconnected from power.

3.4 Unpacking the Package

Check the adapter for visible damage that may have occurred during shipping. Please note that the cards must be placed

on an antistatic surface.

Please note that if the card is removed hastily from the antistatic bag, the plastic ziplock may harm the EMI



fingers on the networking connector. Carefully remove the card from the antistatic bag to avoid damaging the EMI fingers.

3.5 Installation Instructions

This section provides detailed instructions on how to install your adapter card in a system.

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Please note that the following figures are for illustration purposes only.



1. Before inserting the card in a system, make sure that the system is off and the power cord is not connected to the server. Please follow proper electrical grounding procedures.

2. Locate an available PCI Express slot for the adapter card. Make sure the adapter clips or screws are open.

3. Place the adapter card on the clips without applying any pressure.

4. Applying even pressure on four corners of the card (as shown in the below picture), insert the adapter card into the PCI Express slot until firmly seated.

5. Secure the adapter with the adapter clips or screws.

6. Close the system case.

To uninstall the adapter card, see Uninstalling the Card.



3.6 Cables and Modules

To obtain the list of supported Mellanox cables for your adapter, please refer to the Cables Reference Table at http://

www.mellanox.com/products/interconnect/cables-configurator.php.

Cable Installation

1. All cables can be inserted or removed with the unit powered on.

2. To insert a cable, press the connector into the port receptacle until the connector is firmly seated.

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a. Support the weight of the cable before connecting the cable to the adapter card. Do this by using a cable

lspci |grep -i Mellanox Network controller: Mellanox Technologies MT27710 Family [ConnectX-4 Lx]

holder or tying the cable to the rack.

b. Determine the correct orientation of the connector to the card before inserting the connector. Do not try

and insert the connector upside down. This may damage the adapter card.

c. Insert the connector into the adapter card. Be careful to insert the connector straight into the cage. Do not

apply any torque, up or down, to the connector cage in the adapter card.

d. Make sure that the connector locks in place.

When installing cables make sure that the latches engage.



Always install and remove cables by pushing or pulling the cable and connector in a straight



line with the card.

3. After inserting a cable into a port, the Green LED indicator will light when the physical connection is established (that is, when the unit is powered on and a cable is plugged into the port with the other end of the

connector plugged into a functioning port). See LED Interface under the Interfaces section.

4. After plugging in a cable, lock the connector using the latching mechanism particular to the cable vendor. When

data is being transferred the Green LED will blink. See LED Interface under the Interfaces section.

5. Care should be taken as not to impede the air exhaust flow through the ventilation holes. Use cable lengths which allow for routing horizontally around to the side of the chassis before bending upward or downward in the rack.

6. To remove a cable, disengage the locks and slowly pull the connector away from the port

receptacle. LED indicator will turn off when the cable is unseated.

3.7 Identifying the Card in Your System

On Linux

Get the device location on the PCI bus by running lspci and locating lines with the string “Mellanox Technologies”:

On Windows

1. Open Device Manager on the server. Click Start => Run, and then enter devmgmt.msc.

2. Expand System Devices and locate your Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx adapter card.

3. Right click the mouse on your adapter's row and select Properties to display the adapter card properties window.

4. Click the Details tab and select Hardware Ids (Windows 2012/R2/2016) from the Property pull-down menu.

PCI Device (Example)

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5. In the Value display box, check the fields VEN and DEV (fields are separated by ‘&’). In the display example

lspci |grep -i Mellanox Network controller: Mellanox Technologies MT28908A0 Family [ConnectX-4 Lx]

above, notice the sub-string “PCI\VEN_15B3&DEV_1003”: VEN is equal to 0x15B3 – this is the Vendor ID of Mellanox Technologies, and DEV is equal to 1018 (for ConnectX-4 Lx) – this is a valid Mellanox Technologies

PCI Device ID.



On Linux

Get the device location on the PCI bus by running lspci and locating lines with the string “Mellanox Technologies”:

If the PCI device does not have a Mellanox adapter ID, return to Step 2 to check another device.

The list of Mellanox Technologies PCI Device IDs can be found in the PCI ID repository at

http://pci-ids.ucw.cz/read/PC/15b3.

3.8 Uninstalling the Card

Safety Precautions

The adapter is installed in a system that operates with voltages that can be lethal. Before uninstalling the adapter card, please observe the following precautions to avoid injury and prevent damage to system components.

1. Remove any metallic objects from your hands and wrists.

2. It is strongly recommended to use an ESD strap or other antistatic devices.

3. Turn off the system and disconnect the power cord from the server.

Card Removal

Please note that the following images are for illustration purposes only.

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1. Verify that the system is powered off and unplugged.

2. Wait 30 seconds.

+ 48 hidden pages

Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx EN User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

1.2 Features and Benefits

1 Check the system’s hardware and software requirements. System Requirements