[f-nsp] NI-MLX-10Gx4 shown as "Invalid Module" maybe due to very old code on lp whlile chassis is on 5.3

[Wilbur Smith]

Gunther,
Usually when this happens to me, I can still force the LP to boot into "interactive mode" with the command I mentioned  and then manually powering on and off the LP ( power-off lp 4 , power-on lp 4). Since the MP's access to the LP uses a separate  out-of-band link, the MP should still be able to upgrade the LP if it is in interactive mode.

The MP uses a separate FPGA image to allow it to talk to the chassis backplane; we call this the MBRIDGE image. I would make sure that the MBRIDGE image is the recommended release for your version of code and update if needed. The required version is listed in the release notes for the specific release of code (just search for mbridge). In rare cases, a patch release may need a newer FPGA or MBRIDGE image to fix a problem, so make sure you check the release notes for the exact release (5.3.0 vs. 5.3.0C).

The error you are seeing when you tried to push the fpga code to the LP is triggered because that LP is stuck in reboot. The MP can't communicate with that LP to see if it needs the newer version; we need to stop the reboot loop before we can update the LP. I connected to one of my MLX routers in a lab and double-checked the command you will need. Make sure you are using this command to reboot a module in slot 4:

SSH at EA_CORE-1#lp boot system interactive 4

Let me know if this helps with your issue.

Wilbur

From: foundry-nsp [mailto:foundry-nsp-bounces at puck.nether.net] On Behalf Of Gunther Stammwitz
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 11:46 AM
To: foundry-nsp at puck.nether.net
Subject: [f-nsp] NI-MLX-10Gx4 shown as "Invalid Module" maybe due to very old code on lp whlile chassis is on 5.3

Hello colleagues,

I have more or less a similar problem. I have pushed a NI-MLX-10gX4 into  a chassis running 5300e and it didn't work: The module in slot 4 is not even being recognized: it is an "invalid module".

Most probably this is due to very old code on the lp while the chassis runs a newer code.

#show mod
        Module                             Status      Ports  Starting MAC
M1 (left): NI-MLX-MR Management Module     Active
M2 (right):
F1: NI-X-SF  Switch Fabric Module         Active
F2: NI-X-SF  Switch Fabric Module         Active
F3:
S4: Invalid Module  CARD_STATE_REBOOT   0        xxx
(S4: Configured as NI-MLX-10Gx4 4-port 10GbE Module)

I can neither access it with "rconsole 4" nor does "boot lp boot system interactive 4" help.
Power-off and power-on didn't help.

Wilbur wrote that MP and LP cannot communicate and that the FPGA needs to be upgraded. I tried to do so, but "copy tftp lp 1.2.3.4 lpfpga05300e.bin fpga-all 4" didn't work.
Copying FPGA images to the applicable slot(s), this may take several minutes... --> No FPGA image to be copied. :(

Using copy tftp lp with individual-fpga-images doesn't work either, the system always claims that the fpga doesn't match.


Any idea how to get a LP with very old code working in a chassis running 5.3-code?

You help is being appreciated.

Kind regards
Gunther



Von: foundry-nsp [mailto:foundry-nsp-bounces at puck.nether.net] Im Auftrag von Wilbur Smith
Gesendet: Freitag, 5. Juli 2013 00:53
An: Jeroen Wunnink | Atrato IP Networks; foundry-nsp at puck.nether.net<mailto:foundry-nsp at puck.nether.net>
Betreff: Re: [f-nsp] NI-MLX-10Gx8-D falls to CARD_STATE_INTERACTIVE mode

Hello Folks,
Using auto lp-syc is a good improvement over the previous methods of upgrading a line card, but there are times it may not do the trick. Because the management modules also use an FPGA (the mbridge) to communicate with the backplane, you can run into a situation where the older module's FPGA image cannot talk to the management module. The LP and management modules have their own separate out-of-band network that bypasses the backplane, so auto-lp will attempt to stop the reboot cycle and use this connection to push the correct code to a misbehaving LP. Unfortunately, this may not work in every situation, so you may need to manually upgrade the code.

If you have a linecard constantly rebooting, you should use "boot lp 3 interactive" from Enable mode to force the card to start in interactive mode (this will stop the reboot loop). You can then push the correct software and fpga image to the card. I tend to use the older "copy tftp image" method because it will automatically copy the correct IronWare LP code and you can target a specific LP with it vs. the whole chassis. I also use "copy tftp lp .... Fpga-all lp 3" to automatically sync the correct FPGA code to a specific module.

Alternately, you can use the new "copy tftp system" method to automatically up grade all code and fpga images on an LP. The command should only push to a module that needs to be upgraded, but I would make sure you have an outage window if you do this on a live system.

There is some good guides on doing this at the Brocade Communities site and the software upgrade guide for each version of IronWare has details notes on how to use the methods I mentioned and how to fix common problems when things go wrong. Check my.brocade.com for more info.

Wilbur


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