Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx operation manual
Exported on Oct/23/2020 12:54 PM
https://docs.mellanox.com/x/GNAKAg
Mellanox Technologies
NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx PCIe
HHHL Ethernet SmartNIC User
Manual
2
Mellanox Technologies
Notice
This document is provided for information purposes only and shall not be regarded as a warranty of a certain functionality,
condition, or quality of a product. Neither NVIDIA Corporation nor any of its direct or indirect subsidiaries (collectively: “NVIDIA”)
make any representations or warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in
this document and assumes no responsibility for any errors contained herein. NVIDIA shall have no liability for the consequences or
use of such information or for any infringement of patents or other rights of third parties that may result from its use. This
document is not a commitment to develop, release, or deliver any Material (defined below), code, or functionality.
NVIDIA reserves the right to make corrections, modifications, enhancements, improvements, and any other changes to this
document, at any time without notice.
Customer should obtain the latest relevant information before placing orders and should verify that such information is current and
complete.
NVIDIA products are sold subject to the NVIDIA standard terms and conditions of sale supplied at the time of order
acknowledgement, unless otherwise agreed in an individual sales agreement signed by authorized representatives of NVIDIA and
customer (“Terms of Sale”). NVIDIA hereby expressly objects to applying any customer general terms and conditions with regards to
the purchase of the NVIDIA product referenced in this document. No contractual obligations are formed either directly or indirectly
by this document.
NVIDIA products are not designed, authorized, or warranted to be suitable for use in medical, military, aircraft, space, or life support
equipment, nor in applications where failure or malfunction of the NVIDIA product can reasonably be expected to result in personal
injury, death, or property or environmental damage. NVIDIA accepts no liability for inclusion and/or use of NVIDIA products in such
equipment or applications and therefore such inclusion and/or use is at customer’s own risk.
NVIDIA makes no representation or warranty that products based on this document will be suitable for any specified use. Testing of
all parameters of each product is not necessarily performed by NVIDIA. It is customer’s sole responsibility to evaluate and determine
the applicability of any information contained in this document, ensure the product is suitable and fit for the application planned by
customer, and perform the necessary testing for the application in order to avoid a default of the application or the product.
Weaknesses in customer’s product designs may affect the quality and reliability of the NVIDIA product and may result in additional
or different conditions and/or requirements beyond those contained in this document. NVIDIA accepts no liability related to any
default, damage, costs, or problem which may be based on or attributable to: (i) the use of the NVIDIA product in any manner that is
contrary to this document or (ii) customer product designs.
No license, either expressed or implied, is granted under any NVIDIA patent right, copyright, or other NVIDIA intellectual property
right under this document. Information published by NVIDIA regarding third-party products or services does not constitute a license
from NVIDIA to use such products or services or a warranty or endorsement thereof. Use of such information may require a license
from a third party under the patents or other intellectual property rights of the third party, or a license from NVIDIA under the
patents or other intellectual property rights of NVIDIA.
Reproduction of information in this document is permissible only if approved in advance by NVIDIA in writing, reproduced without
alteration and in full compliance with all applicable export laws and regulations, and accompanied by all associated conditions,
limitations, and notices.
THIS DOCUMENT AND ALL NVIDIA DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS, REFERENCE BOARDS, FILES, DRAWINGS, DIAGNOSTICS, LISTS, AND
OTHER DOCUMENTS (TOGETHER AND SEPARATELY, “MATERIALS”) ARE BEING PROVIDED “AS IS.” NVIDIA MAKES NO WARRANTIES,
EXPRESSED, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE WITH RESPECT TO THE MATERIALS, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. TO THE EXTENT NOT
PROHIBITED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL NVIDIA BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY DIRECT,
INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, HOWEVER CAUSED AND REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY
OF LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF ANY USE OF THIS DOCUMENT, EVEN IF NVIDIA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGES. Notwithstanding any damages that customer might incur for any reason whatsoever, NVIDIA’s aggregate and cumulative
liability towards customer for the products described herein shall be limited in accordance with the Terms of Sale for the product.
Trademarks
NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, and Mellanox are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Mellanox Technologies Ltd. and/or NVIDIA
Corporation in the U.S. and in other countries. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies
with which they are associated.
For the complete and most updated list of Mellanox trademarks, visit http://www.mellanox.com/page/trademarks
Copyright
© 2020 Mellanox Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.
3
Mellanox Technologies
Table of Contents
1 Introduction................................................................................................................................................................ 8
1.1 Product Overview .................................................................................................................................................8
1.2 Features and Benefits .......................................................................................................................................... 9
1.3 Operating Systems/Distributions ........................................................................................................................ 11
1.4 Connectivity........................................................................................................................................................11
1.5 Manageability ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
2 Interfaces................................................................................................................................................................. 12
2.1 ConnectX-6 Lx IC Interface ...............................................................................................................................13
2.1.1 Encryption .................................................................................................................................................... 13
2.2 PCI Express Interface ........................................................................................................................................13
2.3 Networking Ports LEDs Interface ....................................................................................................................... 13
2.4 Voltage Regulators.............................................................................................................................................14
2.5 Heatsink .............................................................................................................................................................14
3 Hardware Installation............................................................................................................................................... 15
3.1 Safety Warnings .................................................................................................................................................15
3.2 Installation Procedure Overview.........................................................................................................................15
3.3 System Requirements ........................................................................................................................................15
3.3.1 Hardware Requirements .............................................................................................................................. 15
3.3.1.1 Airflow Requirements .............................................................................................................................. 16
3.3.2 Software Requirements................................................................................................................................ 16
3.4 Safety Precautions ............................................................................................................................................. 16
3.5 Unpacking the Package .....................................................................................................................................16
3.6 Pre-Installation Checklist....................................................................................................................................16
3.7 Bracket Replacement Instructions......................................................................................................................17
3.8 Installation Instructions.......................................................................................................................................17
3.9 Uninstalling the Card ..........................................................................................................................................18
3.10 Cables and Modules...........................................................................................................................................18
3.11 Identifying the Card in Your System ...................................................................................................................19
3.12 Uninstalling the Card ..........................................................................................................................................20
4 Driver Installation..................................................................................................................................................... 21
4.1 Linux Driver Installation ......................................................................................................................................21
4.1.1 Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................................ 21
4.1.2 Downloading Mellanox OFED ...................................................................................................................... 21
4.1.3 Installing Mellanox OFED............................................................................................................................. 22
4.1.3.1 Installation Script ..................................................................................................................................... 22
4
Mellanox Technologies
4.1.3.2 Installation Procedure.............................................................................................................................. 23
4.1.3.3 Installation Results .................................................................................................................................. 25
4.1.3.4 Installation Logs ......................................................................................................................................26
4.1.3.5 openibd Script .........................................................................................................................................26
4.1.3.6 Driver Load Upon System Boot............................................................................................................... 26
4.1.3.7 mlnxofedinstall Return Codes .................................................................................................................27
4.1.3.8 Uninstalling MLNX_OFED....................................................................................................................... 27
4.1.4 Installing MLNX_OFED Using YUM ............................................................................................................. 27
4.1.4.1 Setting up MLNX_OFED YUM Repository .............................................................................................. 27
4.1.4.2 Installing MLNX_OFED Using the YUM Tool .......................................................................................... 28
4.1.4.3 Uninstalling MLNX_OFED Using the YUM Tool ...................................................................................... 30
4.1.5 Installing MLNX_OFED Using apt-get Tool .................................................................................................. 30
4.1.5.1 Setting up MLNX_OFED apt-get Repository........................................................................................... 30
4.1.5.2 Installing MLNX_OFED Using the apt-get Tool .......................................................................................31
4.1.5.3 Uninstalling MLNX_OFED Using the apt-get Tool ................................................................................... 31
4.1.6 Updating Firmware After Installation ............................................................................................................ 31
4.1.6.1 Updating the Device Online..................................................................................................................... 31
4.1.6.2 Updating the Device Manually................................................................................................................. 32
4.1.6.3 Updating the Device Firmware Automatically upon System Boot ........................................................... 32
4.1.7 UEFI Secure Boot ........................................................................................................................................ 33
4.1.7.1 Enrolling Mellanox's x.509 Public Key on Your Systems......................................................................... 33
4.1.7.2 Removing Signature from kernel Modules .............................................................................................. 33
4.1.8 Performance Tuning..................................................................................................................................... 34
4.2 Windows Driver Installation ................................................................................................................................34
4.2.1 Software Requirements ............................................................................................................................... 34
4.2.2 Downloading Mellanox WinOF-2 Driver ....................................................................................................... 35
4.2.3 Installing Mellanox WinOF-2 Driver ............................................................................................................. 35
4.2.3.1 Attended Installation................................................................................................................................ 35
4.2.3.2 Unattended Installation............................................................................................................................ 40
4.2.3.3 Installation Results .................................................................................................................................. 41
4.2.4 Uninstalling Mellanox WinOF-2 Driver ......................................................................................................... 41
4.2.4.1 Attended Uninstallation ...........................................................................................................................41
4.2.4.2 Unattended Uninstallation ....................................................................................................................... 41
4.2.5 Extracting Files Without Running Installation ............................................................................................... 42
4.2.6 Firmware Upgrade........................................................................................................................................ 44
4.3 VMware Driver Installation .................................................................................................................................44
4.3.1 Hardware and Software Requirements ........................................................................................................ 44
4.3.2 Installing Mellanox NATIVE ESXi Driver for VMware vSphere..................................................................... 45
5
Mellanox Technologies
4.3.3 Removing Earlier Mellanox Drivers .............................................................................................................. 45
4.3.4 Firmware Programming................................................................................................................................ 45
5 Updating Adapter Firmware..................................................................................................................................... 47
6 Troubleshooting....................................................................................................................................................... 48
6.1 General Troubleshooting....................................................................................................................................48
6.2 Linux Troubleshooting ........................................................................................................................................48
6.3 Windows Troubleshooting .................................................................................................................................. 49
7 Specifications .......................................................................................................................................................... 50
7.1 MCX631102A[N/E/C]-ADAT Specifications........................................................................................................50
7.2 MCX631105A[N/E/C]-GDAT Specifications........................................................................................................51
7.2.1 Dual-Port SFP28 x8 Adapter Cards Mechanical Drawing ........................................................................... 52
7.2.2 Single-Port QSFP28 x8 Adapter Cards Mechanical Drawing ..................................................................... 53
7.3 Bracket Mechanical Drawing..............................................................................................................................53
7.3.1 Dual-Port SFP28 Adapter Card.................................................................................................................... 53
7.3.1.1 Short Bracket........................................................................................................................................... 53
7.3.1.2 Tall Bracket .............................................................................................................................................. 54
7.3.2 Single-Port QSF28 Adapter Card................................................................................................................. 54
7.3.2.1 Short Bracket........................................................................................................................................... 54
7.3.2.2 Tall Bracket .............................................................................................................................................. 54
8 Finding the MAC on the Adapter Card .................................................................................................................... 55
9 Document Revision History ..................................................................................................................................... 56
6
Mellanox Technologies
About This Manual
This User Manual describes NVIDIA® Mellanox® ConnectX®-6 Lx Ethernet SmartNICs. 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-6 Dx Ethernet adapter cards.
OPN Marketing Description
MCX631102AN-ADAT ConnectX®-6 Lx EN adapter card, 25GbE, Dual-port SFP28, PCIe 4.0 x8, No Crypto, Tall Bracket
MCX631102AE-ADAT ConnectX®-6 Lx EN adapter card, 25GbE, Dual-port SFP28, PCIe 4.0 x8, Crypto Enabled, No Secure
Boot, Tall Bracket
MCX631102AC-ADAT ConnectX®-6 Lx EN adapter card, 25GbE, Dual-port SFP28, PCIe 4.0 x8, Crypto and Secure Boot, Tall
Bracket
MCX631105AN-GDAT ConnectX®-6 Lx EN adapter card, 50GbE, Single-port QSFP28, PCIe 4.0 x8, No Crypto, Tall Bracket
MCX631105AE-GDAT ConnectX®-6 Lx EN adapter card, 50GbE, Single-port QSFP28, PCIe 4.0 x8, Crypto Enabled, No Secure
Boot, Tall Bracket
MCX631105AC-GDAT ConnectX®-6 Lx EN adapter card, 50GbE, Single-port QSFP28, PCIe 4.0 x8, Crypto and Secure Boot, Tall
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
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.
Related Documentation
Mellanox OFED for Linux User
Manual and Release Notes
WinOF-2 for Windows User
Manual and Release Notes
Mellanox VMware for
Ethernet User Manual and
Release Notes
Mellanox Firmware Utility
(mlxup) User Manual and
Release Notes
User Manual describing OFED features, performance, band diagnostic, tools content and
configuration. See Mellanox OFED for Linux Documentation.
User Manual describing WinOF-2 features, performance, Ethernet diagnostic, tools content and
configuration. See WinOF-2 for Windows Documentation.
User Manual describing the various components of the Mellanox ConnectX® NATIVE ESXi stack.
See http://www.mellanox.com Products > Software > Ethernet Drivers > VMware Driver
Mellanox firmware update and query utility used to update the firmware. See http://
www.mellanox.com > Products > Software > Firmware Tools >mlxup Firmware Utility
Mellanox Firmware Tools
(MFT) User Manual
User Manual describing the set of MFT firmware management tools for a single node. See MFT
User Manual.
7
Mellanox Technologies
IEEE Std 802.3 Specification IEEE Ethernet specification at http://standards.ieee.org/
PCI Express Specifications Industry Standard PCI Express Base and Card Electromechanical Specifications at https://
pcisig.com/specifications
Mellanox LinkX Interconnect
Solutions
Mellanox LinkX Ethernet cables and transceivers are designed to maximize the performance of
High-Performance Computing networks, requiring high-bandwidth, low-latency connections
between compute nodes and switch nodes. Mellanox offers one of the industry’s broadest
portfolio 25Gb/s, 50Gb/s cables, including Direct Attach Copper cables (DACs), copper splitter
cables, Active Optical Cables (AOCs) and transceivers in a wide range of lengths from 0.5m to
10km. Mellanox tests every product in an end-to-end environment ensuring a Bit Error Rate of
less than 1E-15. Read more at https://www.mellanox.com/products/interconnect/ethernet-
overview
Document Conventions
When discussing memory sizes, MB and MBytes are used in this document to mean size in mega Bytes. The use of Mb or Mbits
(small b) indicates size in mega bits. In this document PCIe is used to mean PCI Express.
Revision History
A list of the changes made to this document are provided in Document Revision History.
8
Mellanox Technologies
1 Introduction
1.1 Product Overview
This is the
Providing up to two ports of 25GbE or a single-port of 50GbE connectivity, and PCIe Gen 3.0/4.0 x8 host connectivity, ConnectX-6 Lx
is a member of Mellanox’s world-class, award-winning, ConnectX family of network adapters. Continuing Mellanox’s consistent
innovation in networking, ConnectX-6 Lx provides agility and efficiency at every scale. ConnectX-6 Lx delivers cutting edge 25GbE
performance and security for uncompromising data centers.
ConnectX-6 Lx SmartNICs are available in several form factors including low-profile PCIe and OCP 3.0 cards with SFP28 connectors for
10/25GbE applications, or QSFP28 for 50GbE applications. Low-profile PCIe cards are available with tall and short brackets.
Please refer to Feature and Benefits for more details.
Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx PCIe HHHL SmartNICs – 25GbE Cards
Form Factor/Dimensions Size: 3.79in. x 2.71in (96.30mm x 68.90mm)
Data Transmission Rate Ethernet: 1/10/25 Gb/s
Network Connector Type Dual-port SFP28
PCIe Interface PCIe Gen 4.0 SERDES @ 16.0GT/s x8
Crypto (IPsec Offload) - √ √
User Manual
Part Number MCX631102AN-ADAT MCX631102AE-ADAT MCX631102AC-ADAT
for NVIDIA Mellanox Ethernet adapter cards based on the ConnectX®-6 Lx integrated circuit device.
Secure Boot - - √
Adapter IC Part Number MT28942A0-YCCF-AE MT28942A0-YCCF-AE MT28942A0-YCCF-AE
RoHS RoHS Compliant
Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx PCIe HHHL SmartNICs – 50GbE Cards
Part Number MCX631105AN-GDAT MCX631105AE-GDAT MCX631105AC-GDAT
Form Factor/Dimensions Size: 3.79in. x 2.71in (96.30mm x 68.90mm)
Data Transmission Rate Ethernet: 1/10/25/50 Gb/s
Network Connector Type Single-port QSFP28
PCIe Interface PCIe Gen 4.0 SERDES @ 8.0GT/s x8
Crypto (IPsec Offload) - √ √
9
Mellanox Technologies
Part Number MCX631105AN-GDAT MCX631105AE-GDAT MCX631105AC-GDAT
Secure Boot - - √
Adapter IC Part Number MT28942A0-YCCF-AE MT28942A0-YCCF-AE MT28942A0-YCCF-AE
RoHS RoHS Compliant
For more detailed information see Specifications.
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)
Up to 50Gb/
s Ethernet
Memory
PCIe Gen 4.0 SERDES@16.0GT/s through x8 Edge Connector
Mellanox adapters comply with the following IEEE 802.3 standards:
50GbE / 25GbE / 10GbE / 1GbE
– IEEE 802.3by, Ethernet Consortium25, 50 Gigabit Ethernet, supporting all FEC modes
– IEEE 802.3by 25 Gigabit Ethernet
– IEEE 802.3ae 10 Gigabit Ethernet
– IEEE 802.3ap based auto-negotiation and KR startup
– 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)
•
PCI Express - stores and accesses Ethernet fabric connection information and packet data.
•
SPI Quad - includes 256Mbit SPI Quad Flash device (MX25L25645GXDI-08G device by Macronix)
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. Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx effectively addresses this by providing advanced NVGRE
and VXLAN hardware offloading engines that encapsulate and de-capsulate the overlay protocol.
10
Mellanox Technologies
Feature Description
RDMA
over Conver
ged
Ethernet
Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx, utilizing RoCE (RDMA over Converged Ethernet) technology, delivers low-latency and
high-performance over Band and Ethernet networks. Leveraging data center bridging (DCB) capabilities, as well
as Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx, advanced congestion control hardware mechanisms, RoCE provides efficient lowlatency RDMA services over Layer 2 and Layer 3 networks.
(RoCE)
Mellanox
PeerDirect®
Mellanox 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. Mellanox ConnectX-6 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 ASAP2 - Accelerated Switch and Packet
• Flexible match-action flow tables
• Tunnelingencapsulation / decapsulation
Quality of
Support for port-based Quality of Service enabling various application requirements for latency and SLA.
Service
(QoS)
Hardwarebased I/
Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx provides dedicated adapter resources and guaranteed isolation and protection for
virtual machines within the server.
O Virtualizat
ion
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
SR-IOV Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx SR-IOV technology provides dedicated adapter resources and guaranteed isolation and
protection for virtual machines (VM) within the server.
HighPerformanc
e Accelerati
• Tag Matching and Rendezvous Offloads
• Adaptive Routing on Reliable Transport
• Burst Buffer Offloads for Background Checkpointing
ons
Connection
ConnecX-6 Lx ASAP² connection-tracking hardware offload accelerates L4 firewall performance.
tracking
IPSec
Offload (in
selected
OPNs)
Secure Boot
(Hardware
Root Of
Trust)
ConnectX-6 Lx adapters offer a range of advanced built-in capabilities that bring infrastructure security down to
every endpoint with unprecedented performance and scalability. ConnectX-6 Lx offers IPsec inline encryption/
decryption acceleration to offload the CPU and run the entire data path encryption or decryption in the NIC
hardware while maintaining line rate.
ConnectX-6 Lx delivers supply chain protection with hardware Root-of-Trust (RoT) for Secure Boot as well as
Secure Firmware Update using RSA cryptography and cloning protection,
via a device-unique key, to guarantee firmware authenticity
11
Mellanox Technologies
1.3 Operating Systems/Distributions
•
RHEL/CentOS
•
Windows
•
FreeBSD
•
VMware
•
OpenFabrics Enterprise Distribution (OFED)
•
OpenFabrics Windows Distribution (WinOF-2)
1.4 Connectivity
•
Interoperable with 1/10/25/50 Gb/s Ethernet switches
•
Passive copper cable with ESD protection
•
Powered connectors for optical and active cable support
1.5 Manageability
Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx technology maintains support for manageability through a BMC. Mellanox ConnectX-6 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 standup adapter. For configuring the adapter for the specific manageability solution in use by the server, please contact Mellanox Support.
12
Mellanox Technologies
2 Interfaces
he below figure show the component side of the Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx adapter card. Each numbered interface that is referenced
in the figures is described in the following table with a link to detailed information.
The below figures are for illustration purposes only and might not reflect the current revision of the adapter card.
Callout Item Description
1 “ConnectX-6 Lx IC” Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx IC on the board.
2 “PCI Express Interface" PCIe Gen 3.0/4.0 through an x8 edge connector.
3 “Ethernet SFP28/QSFP28 Interface” Ethernet traffic is transmitted through the adapter's SFP28/
QSFP28 connectors. The networking connectors allow for the
use of modules, optical and passive cable interconnect
solutions.
4 “Networking Ports LEDs Interface” There are two I/O LEDs per port to indicate speed and link
status.
“SMBus Interface” Allows BMC connectivity using MCTP over SMBus or MCTP
over PCIe protocols.
“Voltage Regulators” Voltage supply pins that feed onboard regulators.
13
Mellanox Technologies
2.1 ConnectX-6 Lx IC Interface
The ConnectX®-6 Dx EN family of adapter IC devices delivers two ports of 10/25 or a single-port of 50Gb/s Ethernet connectivity
paired with best-in-class hardware capabilities that accelerate and secure cloud and data-center workloads.
2.1.1 Encryption
Applies to Crypto OPNs only.
ConnectX-6 Lx brings security to every end-point, including:
•
Purpose-built inline acceleration engines that offload IPsec and TLS data-in-motion and XTS-AES data-at-rest
cryptographic operations.
•
Stateful firewall solution acceleration, powered by Open vSwitch connection tracking and Mellanox’s ASAP2
technology.
•
Embedded hardware root-of-trust and support for RSA-based secure firmware update and secure boot, providing
guaranteed integrity of the network adapter.
Ethernet SFP28 / QSFP28 Interfaces
The network ports of the ConnectX-6 Lx adapter card are compliant with the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standards listed in Features and
Benefits. Ethernet traffic is transmitted through the SFP28 / QSFP28 connector 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
ConnectX-6 Lx adapter cards support PCI Express Gen 3.0/4.0 (1.1 and 2.0 compatible) through x8 edge connectors. The device can
be either a master initiating the PCI Express bus operations, or a slave responding to PCI bus operations.
The following lists PCIe interface features:
•
PCIe Gen 4.0 and 3.0 compliant, 2.0 and 1.1 compatible
•
2.5, 5.0, 8.0, or 16.0 GT/s link rate x8 lanes
•
Auto-negotiates to x8, x4, x2, or x1
•
Support for MSI/MSI-X mechanisms
2.3 Networking Ports LEDs Interface
There is one bicolor (Yellow and Green) I/O LED per port to indicate speed and link status.
Physical and Logical Link Indications
State Bi-color LED (Yellow/Green)
Physical link speed
Beacon command for locating the adapter card 1Hz blinking Yellow
Error 4Hz blinking Yellow indicates a problem with the link
14
Mellanox Technologies
State Bi-color LED (Yellow/Green)
Physical link speed
Physical Activity • A constant Green indicates a physical link with the maximum
networking speed.
• A constant Yellow indicates a physical link with less than the less
than the maximum networking speed.
Link Up • A constant Green indicates a physical link with the maximum
networking speed.
• A constant Yellow indicates a physical link with less than the
maximum networking speed.
SMBus Interface
ConnectX-6 Lx technology maintains support for manageability through a BMC. ConnectX-6 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.
2.4 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.
2.5 Heatsink
The heatsink is attached to the ConnectX-6 Lx IC in order to dissipate the heat. It is attached either by using four spring-loaded push
pins that insert into four mounting holes, or by screws. ConnectX-6 Lx IC has a thermal shutdown safety mechanism that
automatically shuts down the ConnectX-6 Lx card in cases of high-temperature event, improper thermal coupling or heatsink
removal.
15
Mellanox Technologies
3 Hardware Installation
Installation and initialization of ConnectX-6 Lx adapter cards require attention to the mechanical attributes, power specification, and
precautions for electronic equipment.
3.1 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.
Unable to render include or excerpt-include. Could not retrieve page.
3.2 Installation Procedure Overview
The installation procedure of ConnectX-6 Lx adapter cards involves the following steps:
Step Procedure Direct Link
1 Check the system’s hardware and software requirements. Refer to System Requirements
2 Pay attention to the airflow consideration within the host
system
3 Follow the safety precautions Refer to Safety Precautions
4 Unpack the package Refer to Unpack the package
5 Follow the pre-installation checklist Refer to Pre-Installation Checklist
6 (Optional) Replace the full-height mounting bracket with
the supplied short bracket
7 Install the ConnectX-6 Lx and PCIe Auxiliary connection
cards in the system
8 Connect cables or modules to the card Refer to Cables and Modules
9 Identify ConnectX-6 Lx in the system Refer to Identifying Your Card
Refer to Airflow Requirements
Refer to Bracket Replacement Instructions
Refer to Installation Instructions
3.3 System Requirements
3.3.1 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.
16
Mellanox Technologies
A system with a PCI Express slot of corresponding bus width 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.
3.3.1.1 Airflow Requirements
ConnectX-6 Lx adapter cards are offered with two airflow patterns: from the heatsink to the network ports.
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.
3.3.2 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.
3.4 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.
3.5 Unpacking the Package
Check against the package contents list that all the parts have been sent. Check the parts for visible damage that may have occurred
during shipping. Please note that the cards must be placed on an antistatic surface.
Category Qty. Item
Cards 1 ConnectX-6 Lx adapter card
Accessories 1 Adapter card short bracket
1 Adapter card tall bracket (shipped assembled on the card)
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.
3.6 Pre-Installation Checklist
1.
Verify that your system meets the hardware and software requirements stated above.
17
Mellanox Technologies
2.
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-6 Lx card, make sure that the system is disconnected from power.
3.
(Optional) Check the mounting bracket on the card.
If required for your system, replace the full-height mounting bracket that is shipped mounted on the card with the supplied
low-profile bracket. Refer to Bracket Replacement Instructions.
3.7 Bracket Replacement Instructions
The ConnectX-6 Lx card is usually shipped with an assembled high-profile bracket. If this form factor is suitable for your
requirements, you can skip the remainder of this section and move to Installation Instructions. If you need to replace the high-profile
bracket with the short bracket that is included in the shipping box, please follow the instructions in this section.
Due to risk of damaging the EMI gasket, it is not recommended to replace the bracket more than three times.
To replace the bracket you will need the following parts:
•
The new brackets of the proper height
•
The 2 screws saved from the removal of the bracket
Removing the Existing Bracket
1.
Using a torque driver, remove the two screws holding the bracket in place.
2.
Separate the bracket from the ConnectX-6 Lx card.
Be careful not to put stress on the LEDs on the adapter card.
3.
Save the two screws.
Installing the New Bracket
1.
Place the bracket onto the card until the screw holes line up.
Do not force the bracket onto the adapter card.
2.
Screw on the bracket using the screws saved from the bracket removal procedure above.
Use a torque driver to apply up to 2 lbs-in torque on the screws.
3.8 Installation Instructions
This section provides detailed instructions on how to install your adapter card in a system.
Please note that the following figures are for illustration purposes only.
Connect the adapter Card in an available PCI Express x16 slot in the chassis.
Step 1: Locate an available PCI Express x16 slot and insert the adapter card to the chassis.
Step 2: Applying even pressure at both corners of the card, insert the adapter card in a PCI Express slot until firmly seated.
Do not use excessive force when seating the card, as this may damage the chassis.
Secure the adapter card to the chassis.
Loading...