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Brocade ICX Series (cheap & powerful 10gbE/40gbE switching)

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dswartz

Active Member
Jul 14, 2011
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for what it's worth all the DHCP server issues we had were in the 8030 firmware (icx6xxx series), I've heard (and seen in a lot of release notes) that the DHCP server functionality has been greatly improved in 8080, 8090, and 8095, and I believe you said you have a 7250 so it can run these. worth a try. To potentially save yourself a lot of troubleshooting time, just remember in the back of your head if some random IOT devices/rokus/chromecasts suddenly don't get a DHCP lease, it's not your wifi, it's the switch's DHCP serv
I'm running 08.0.92bT211 - is that good also?

EDIT: I'm running L2 only - no L3 on the 2 stacked switches.
 

JoshDi

Active Member
Jun 13, 2019
246
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Don’t know about Mikrotik, but Ubiquity does sell 802.3af adapters to handle their wonky legacy devices (like my just-barely-missed-the-PoE-cutoff AC-Lite):

Thanks. Im aware of those...the problem is the 0.5a max current. I run my mikrotik Omni via poe on a pole on my roof and the omni then powers an ubiquiti lbe ac gen2, lbe-lr and a mikrotik sxt. Unfortunately if I used one of those adapters,it wouldn't have enough power to run the whole setup.
 

nlj

New Member
Sep 8, 2021
6
21
3
ICX7250-24 Fan/Temp info!

Hi folks, I've spent some time testing out different 40x40mm fans in my ICX7250-24, with the hopes of finding something quieter than stock but that still keeps the ASIC cool.

The contenders

Mfr/model​
Size​
Air flow​
Static Pressure​
Noise​
Fan speed​
Price​
Delta FFB0412VHN-F0040mm x 28mm D15.8 cfm0.509 in H2O45 dBA9500 rpm$14.31
Sanyo Denki 109P0412G301340mm x 28mm D14.8 cfm0.719 in H2O42 dBA11500 rpm$10.51
Sanyo Denki 109P0412B301340mm x 28mm D13.4 cfm0.574 in H2O40 dBA10300 rpm$10.24
Delta EFB0412VHD-F0040mm x 20mm D10.1 cfm0.416 in H2O32.5 dBA9000 rpm$12.57
Foxconn PIA040H12P [STOCK]40mm x 28mm D23 cfm (?)

The testbench
A Brocade ICX7250-24 running FastIron 09.0.00 with a minimal config and no ports connected (except management). A Zabbix VM polls the switch every 15 seconds for chassis temp information (OID 1.3.6.1.4.1.1991.1.1.1.1.18.0, multiplied by 0.5). I let the switch idle until the temperature stabilized, then took the raw data and wrangled it into Excel. Between changing out fans, I let the ASIC cool down to approximately 50-55ºC. For these tests, the switch was laying on a desk, and the room temperature was approximately 21.5ºC. No additional "ASIC heatsink fan" was used.

The results
ICX7250-24 Temps.png
Clearly the stock Foxconn fan does a fantastic job of keeping the chassis cool (peak 64ºC), albeit at the expense of being noisy. The two Sanyo Denki fans provided adequate cooling; the B3013 (peak 79ºC) was slightly quieter than the G3013 (peak 76ºC), but was hotter by about 3ºC. The Delta FFB (peak 86.5ºC) was quieter yet, but was about 7ºC hotter than the B3013. Finally, the Delta EFB was the quietest of the bunch, but comes in last place at a peak temp of 94.5ºC.

Analysis
If you're looking for a good, middle-of-the-ground replacement fan, the Sanyo Denki fans will suit your needs. There is a slight noise, but they're significantly quieter than the stock fan. I would recommend the B3013 as it is a bit quieter than the G3013.

If noise is your primary concern, the Delta FFB will be slightly audible over room noise or home HVAC, but the switch will run hotter. Under heavy workloads, the FFB may alternate between Speed 1 and 2.

Avoid the Delta EFB, as it does not keep the switch cool enough (in my opinion) to justify the slight reduction in noise over the FFB. It will also very likely alternate between Speed 1 and 2.

Please note that I did not have any ethernet or SFP+ modules connected, so the switch truly was idle during these tests. Your results may vary depending on configuration and interface utilization. This post is informational only - modify your hardware at your own risk!

To connect the fans to the system board, I purchased a 3-pin fan extender cable, cut and stripped it, and connected the leads to each fan as appropriate (fan red to board red, fan black to board yellow, fan blue/yellow to board black). This allows me to fully reverse the fan modification easily by simply unplugging and swapping out the modded fan for the original.

Closing
I hope all of this info helps - please let me know if you have any questions. I will try my best to answer! In a day or two, I will probably select a fan (likely the B3013 or FFB) and rack the switch, so I won't easily be able to perform any further tests or comparisons.

Cheers!
 

nerdalertdk

Fleet Admiral
Mar 9, 2017
228
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::1

So found out the wires


  • Blue is PWM
  • White or yellow is TACH
  • Black is ground
  • Red is 12v
Fan:

Brand: Nidec
Manufacturer: Nidec Corporation
Fan model: W40S12BS4A5-57
Size: 40 * 40 * 28mm
Voltage: 12V
Working voltage: 4.5V-13.8V
Rated current: 0.73A
Air volume: 24CFM
Noise: 52.1db
Speed measurement: support (4-wire) support PWM automatic speed regulation function
Bearing: double ball bearing
 
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atb

New Member
Sep 7, 2021
7
7
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So found out the wires


Blue is PWM

White or yellow is TACH

Black is ground

Red is 12v
Has anyone tried one of those 4-pin "fan simulators" from ebay, even if you had to jumper the pins to match this? They are cheap enough that I might try one and run 3x Noctuas off the remaining 2 headers
 

LodeRunner

Active Member
Apr 27, 2019
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Thank you - is there such thing as 'stacking guide' ? I have 6450-24 (currently running) and 6450-48 (racked but off) and realize I now need more than 4 SFP+ devices connected. is this as simple as running fiber cable between ports of 6450-24 and 6450-48 or should i instead look at something like 7250 ?
I have no direct experience with the 6000 series. On my 7450 stack I made sure the units all had the same firmware, did my basic config on the unit I designated as the master, then issued "stack enable". It did the rest automatically.
 
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Vesalius

Active Member
Nov 25, 2019
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@nlj

How do you like the new 9.0.00 firmware? have you looked around the new web interface at all? any thoughts?
The web interface is shinier and newer, but a lot more limited in what you can do than the old web interface. I have it loaded on a 7150

Per a ruckus employee last month: they do not recommend anyone use 9.0.0.0 unless it has a feature you absolutely need or you use a new icx7850. There are no planned updates/fixes to 9.0.0.0 (a,b,c) and they are going straight to 9.0.1.0. Also configs setup on 9.* will not work 8.0.95* if you downgrade.

 

USER189364

Member
Jul 17, 2020
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The web interface is shinier and newer, but a lot more limited in what you can do than the old web interface. I have it loaded on a 7150

Per a ruckus employee last month: they do not recommend anyone use 9.0.0.0 unless it has a feature you absolutely need or you use a new icx7850. There are no planned updates/fixes to 9.0.0.0 (a,b,c) and they are going straight to 9.0.1.0. Also configs setup on 9.* will not work 8.0.95* if you downgrade.

This was critical to know, thank you. Backwards compatibility is one of the gotcha's that has bit me in the past.
 
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nlj

New Member
Sep 8, 2021
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@nlj

How do you like the new 9.0.00 firmware? have you looked around the new web interface at all? any thoughts?
I haven't gotten deep into switch configuration or performance, but it seems to be working okay. I know that @fohdeesha mentioned that the 9.0.x train was quite buggy in his experience, but I can't say that I've encountered anything with my very basic config.

Here are some photos of the web UI. You'll notice that there are significantly less configuration options - a lot of the "mess" of 8.9x (and previous) firmwares was a big config tree that allowed you to change almost any config item. I don't know if Ruckus is planning on reintroducing some of these config options later in the 9.0.x train. However, from a "I'd like to look at a status dashboard" perspective, it does seem much nicer and cleaner. However, in an enterprise scenario I would expect you'd use an NMS so individual switch status pages may not be super useful.

Anyways, here are some screencaps of the UI:
Ruckus-ICX7250-dashboard.png Ruckus-ICX7250-Ports.png Ruckus-ICX7250-vlan-advanced.png Ruckus-ICX7250-vlan-basic.png Ruckus-ICX7250-sz.png Ruckus-ICX7250-firmware.png
 

Mithril

Active Member
Sep 13, 2019
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Hello there,

I've had a chance to acquire a Brocade 6450-48 and the EPS 1500 for a bargain (40€ shipping included... Yeah, a french file-sharing company is dumping some stuff). I'm really happy, it's my first entreprise grade switch, and there are two SFP included (1G, no idea what model). Maybe I'll use it as L3 later, but for now my Ubiquiti ERLite 3 is okay for that (and my ISP, Orange, needs unusual setup...).

I updated it to 08.0.30tT311 without difficulties (it was 07 something). The stock fan was a scream, so I replaced it by a Noctua A4X20 FLX, at its lowest speed (3700 rpm). The switch is litteraly silent, it's impressive. I have the "fan failed" error, but I don't mind.

Temperature is okay, sensor B 48°, sensor A is 60°.
Talking about sensors, I have a question : what corresponds sensor A and sensor B ?
Do I have to worry about the sensor A, as it displays warning and shutdown levels, but not sensor B ?

Thank you !

PS : crazy forum here, my IP is banned since I failed my registration a few days ago, no answer from contact form, I have to use a VPN... :(
Hey, I know this is from years ago: Did you end up getting the EPS 1500 as well? I'm looking at direct DC power backup and need the pinout, the connector itself on the switch side is physically ATX 20 pin which is nice.
 

Vesalius

Active Member
Nov 25, 2019
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The thread there states one needs to flash to a non-UFI image then upgrade. Is this true or is that a typo and one needs to flash to UFI?
Must be a typo, you can upgrade from the UFI firmwares to 9, same as going to 8.0.95. I went directly from 8.0.95 to 9.

I think the issue for this poster was that you have to jump in with both feet on 9.0*, both primary and secondary boot need to be 9.0* can't keep 8.0.9* on the secondary.
 
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LodeRunner

Active Member
Apr 27, 2019
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Must be a typo, you can upgrade from the UFI firmwares to 9, same as going to 8.0.95. I went directly from 8.0.95 to 9.

I think the issue for this poster was that you have to jump in with both feet on 9.0*, both primary and secondary boot need to be 9.0* can't keep 8.0.9* on the secondary.
Looking at the show flash output they were trying to keep an 8.0.30 image which is not UFI and had boot loader 10.1.14. Not doing going to work at all. I suspect if they had updated to 8.0.92/95 and UFI on the primary, then loading 9.0 into secondary might work? Or copy pri to sec then put 9.0 on pri.

I think I'll test that on a spare 7150 this weekend; worst case I have to flash it from uBoot to an older loader and non UFI image to recover.

From the linked post:
Code:
SW_ICX7450#sh flash
Stack unit 1:
  Compressed Pri Code size = 28713156, Version:08.0.30hT211 (SPS08030h.bin)
  Compressed Sec Code size = 33554432, Version:09.0.00T213 (SPR09000.bin)
  Compressed Boot-Monitor Image size = 786944, Version:10.1.14T215
  Code Flash Free Space = 1650638848
 

Vesalius

Active Member
Nov 25, 2019
252
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Looking at the show flash output they were trying to keep an 8.0.30 image which is not UFI and had boot loader 10.1.14. Not doing going to work at all. I suspect if they had updated to 8.0.92/95 and UFI on the primary, then loading 9.0 into secondary might work? Or copy pri to sec then put 9.0 on pri.

I think I'll test that on a spare 7150 this weekend; worst case I have to flash it from uBoot to an older loader and non UFI image to recover.

From the linked post:
Code:
SW_ICX7450#sh flash
Stack unit 1:
  Compressed Pri Code size = 28713156, Version:08.0.30hT211 (SPS08030h.bin)
  Compressed Sec Code size = 33554432, Version:09.0.00T213 (SPR09000.bin)
  Compressed Boot-Monitor Image size = 786944, Version:10.1.14T215
  Code Flash Free Space = 1650638848
You are likely right, I obviously did not parse the original question all that well. Although if the configs are not backward compatible between 8.0.9* and 9.*, do both the primary and and secondary keep separate startup configs to account for this? Could be an issue there, but i'm not sure.
 

LodeRunner

Active Member
Apr 27, 2019
540
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Yeah if you wanted to roll back to v8 you might have to halt it in uBoot and do a factory reset, or just delete the start file from v9 before rebooting back to 8.
 

richtj99

Member
Jul 8, 2017
70
1
8
50
Sorry to ask a possible obvious question but... I upgraded my 6450 to a 7250. I have two esxi servers 720 & 730 -

730 has two SFP+ ports, plugged into the 7250 & the 7250 says both units are 10gb but ESXI 7.0 shows both links down. One is a DAC & one is the Brocade 57-0000075-01.

The 720 has the same setup but ESXI 6.7 - 1 dac, 1 Brocade 57-0000075-01 - Esxi 6.7 shows 1 10gb up & 1 10gb down.

Code:
1/2/5      Up      Forward Full 10G   None  Yes 1
1/2/6      Up      Forward Full 10G   None  Yes 1
1/2/7      Up      Forward Full 10G   None  Yes 1
1/2/8      Up      Forward Full 10G   None  Yes 1

The switch shows everything is up? Am I missing something or is this a ESXI "Feature"?

Sorry if I am late to the party.