Beware of EMC switches sold as Mellanox SX6XXX on eBay

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nbritton

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Nov 19, 2016
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I've read through the first 17 pages and didn't see any useful information at all. My short term goal is of course to get MLNX-OS installed, but my long term goal is to create a custom Linux distribution similar to Cumulus, et. al. just for these PPC based SwitchX-2 switches. I have some outstanding questions:

What is the password for Mellanox’s U-Boot menu?

Where is the password stored in memory, has anyone tried to crack it?

How to reset or change the password for Mellanox's U-Boot if it is unknown? I found a post on how to change the MLNX-OS U-Boot password, boot the switch into MLNX-OS and then from the admin console run the following:

Code: 
enable
configure terminal
boot bootmgr password 7 ""
write memory

# to confirm password reset, run the command: show bootvar
# then reboot switch and press Ctrl-B in the serial console at the appropriate time.
If there is no way to get into U-Boot, is there any other way to get root within MLNX-OS? JTAG? Jailbreak via HTTPS, Telnet, Console, SSH exploit?

How were the memory locations derived in the conversion guide that mpogr created? I really appreciate the effort that he put into the guide, but I don't think anywhere in his guide he explains how he arrived at these exact steps. I don't just want to know what commands to type in, I want to know his thought process too.

How to dump the contents of the NAND flash, using U-Boot, Internal I2C 3-pin header, and/or 10-pin JTAG header?

Where is a dump of the default printenv output from the U-Boot EMC version and also the Mellanox version for the SX6012 or SX6018? I have attached the output of printenv from both my genuine Mellanox SX6018F (SwitchX-2) (running MLNX-OS 3.6.8012) and stock EMC SX6012F (SwitchX-2) to this post.

Once MLNX-OS is installed, can the standard upgrade process for MLNX-OS be followed?

Does upgrading to newer versions of MLNX-OS require sequence stepping to the correct versions?

How do you find out what firmware version your EMC switch is at before starting the MLNX-OS conversion, so that you can start at the correct version (MLNX-OS is suppose to upgrade the SwitchX-2 firmware automatically when you update using the correct version stepping procedure).

Is there any unique EMC specific data stored on the EEPROM chips, and if so, how do you change it to the correct Mellanox strings for MLNX-OS.

When I transfer the PPC460EX management SBC from one of my real Mellanox SX6018 to my EMC SX6012, it boots up just fine (I didn’t see any errors at all on the console) with MLNX-OS version 3.6.8012, however, it won’t let me login to the web GUI or SSH… it tries to configure services and then fails (I suspect it’s trying to configure ports that are missing, i.e. 18 vs 12 ports. Is there any way to get around this? I would really love to just dump the NAND flash from my genuine Mellanox SX switch and copy it over to the EMC using the JTAG header.

Anyone know the pinout of the JTAG header, has anyone probed it using OpenOCD?

###########################

Here is what I have to offer:

SHA256 checksums, size, and date of all the images I have:

7d3a4fa91ce8a5cfb953e49cdb26d3750798a02aa7578c43c1f8a9cd72aca796 image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.3.3000.img
389fdaad58057e0006d51f379004827ad615331f6c978f09f4a9c0b9537e2f12 image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.3.4100.img
e6ccaef26e65fac8717de5b973b992ee21bd01e19d869a92dc5489c1c4b4f743 image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.3.4304.img
02e8549828377686670da8be89eb5ec7e0947b115440fa526e4b3122c0faa8a2 image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.3.4402.img
5c3b3afdc4cb2bea5e62625c7ea4f402a89b787ceca39c4c41f34e52a5fb4517 image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.3.5006.img
7574b1150ab8257a336e800afa1c75cfc19978db0de51acba09d195cc02898d6 image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.4.0008.img
4dceed193832be0115d5cb9ac2a99734a4bfeb5b274ab77c70556a5595f5630b image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.4.0012.img
ea3d3889b06facfb50c7782807a98afd94879e560855caec4bb3e4674ac58ca6 image-PPC_M460EX-3.4.2008.img
9af90747e0fbcf96d3828c7c07c279fe2175c5c4f2bfc40f1297fdafc43d3c54 image-PPC_M460EX-3.4.3002.img
73d19abda7a33b4bc7f780f95e524050b5bd3230f029e4619bb729112ba5d1b8 image-PPC_M460EX-3.5.1006.img
83420bc196fccf116d3737bfae17c57d24b3ba2933321ff5178ef3f3c5f715b6 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.1002.img
25b8bdd8a39ce41e5d6488ca42989edb1ffee31975b544ab953bfda7aecb09ee image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.2002.img
0c5e1c99cd33398c8f603715c5706e152b637d855444fa5b45605c1132ad21b8 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.3004.img
a29341cbd9eddc91e5cc027405b51788a0fe381c255a7950a63697806c8cb350 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.4006.img
aa992f5cf1dfd2c1ffa5d888572cc7efb0a71fbefb5d657971b4112b3d0ceca9 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.5000.img
636abdd2ac5d94c1deed28dbb2b4fa717c34f42d4066dd10fee83888da490cbc image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.6003.img
ad4fd14022855286c708ccaa7f5767f9e7bb933e12da8b9a04bc82d6c493db33 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.6106.img
fc1f4bd5dae6eaf8c9a4e79ccc712899fb826680022aed40f629a3a25ee66fc5 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.8008.img
093b3fc0f74ce371e135fd18cfdb2633a1f6de597b56d3f1d36eb390d32b0ce4 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.8010.img
2692b068021056a47e5cdb48e490b403aac63cf7a2faff9f4f85a00b7cb204b8 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.8012.img

232353033 Feb 26 2013 image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.3.3000.img
270903435 Sep 16 2013 image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.3.4100.img
259475579 Jan 14 2014 image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.3.4304.img
212697817 Feb 28 2014 image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.3.4402.img
234767036 May 20 2014 image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.3.5006.img
250912345 Nov 10 2014 image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.4.0008.img
251416987 Dec 16 2014 image-PPC_M460EX-SX_3.4.0012.img
289107141 Jun 12 2015 image-PPC_M460EX-3.4.2008.img
298732816 Jul 30 2015 image-PPC_M460EX-3.4.3002.img
310782003 Mar 9 2016 image-PPC_M460EX-3.5.1006.img
341715672 Jul 20 2016 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.1002.img
341090206 Sep 29 2016 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.2002.img
379993254 Feb 5 2017 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.3004.img
364107558 Jul 26 2017 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.4006.img
361006234 Nov 11 2017 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.5000.img
361845888 May 2 2018 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.6003.img
368718905 Apr 16 2018 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.6106.img
380646781 Sep 7 2018 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.8008.img
385185429 Aug 21 2018 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.8010.img
374404735 Jan 10 2020 image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.8012.img

MLNX-OS version upgrade sequence:

Target Version: {Verified Version(s) From Which to Upgrade.}
3.6.8010: {3.6.8008, 3.6.6106, 3.6.6000, 3.6.5000}
3.6.8008: {3.6.6106, 3.6.6000, 3.6.5000}
3.6.6106: {3.6.6102, 3.6.6003, 3.6.6000, 3.6.5011, 3.6.5009, 3.6.5002, 3.6.5000}
3.6.6102: {3.6.6003, 3.6.6000, 3.6.5011, 3.6.5009, 3.6.5002, 3.6.5000}
3.6.6003: {3.6.6000, 3.6.5011, 3.6.5009, 3.6.5002, 3.6.5000}
3.6.6000: {3.6.5011, 3.6.5009, 3.6.5002, 3.6.5000}
3.6.5011: {3.6.5009, 3.6.5002, 3.6.5000}
3.6.5009: {3.6.5002, 3.6.5000}
3.6.5002: {3.6.5000}
3.6.5000: {3.6.4122, 3.6.4112, 3.6.4008}
3.6.4112: {3.6.4014, 3.6.4006, 3.6.2002, 3.6.2102, 3.6.3004, 3.6.3130, 3.6.3200, 3.6.3508, 3.6.3550, 3.6.3552, 3.6.3640, 3.6.4006}
3.6.4014: {3.6.4006, 3.6.2002, 3.6.2102, 3.6.3004, 3.6.3130, 3.6.3200, 3.6.3508, 3.6.3550, 3.6.3552, 3.6.3640, {3.6.4006}
3.6.4006: {3.6.3640, 3.6.3552, 3.6.3550, 3.6.3508, 3.6.3200, 3.6.3130, 3.6.3004, 3.6.2102, 3.6.2002}
3.6.3640: {3.6.3004, 3.6.3130, 3.6.3200, 3.6.3508, 3.6.3550, 3.6.3552}
3.6.3552: {3.6.3004, 3.6.3130, 3.6.3200, 3.6.3508, 3.6.3550}
3.6.3550: {3.6.3004, 3.6.3130, 3.6.3200, 3.6.3508}
3.6.3520: {3.6.2102, 3.6.3004, 3.6.3130, 3.6.3200, 3.6.3506}
3.6.3508: {3.6.3506, 3.6.2102, 3.6.3004, 3.6.3130, 3.6.3200}
3.6.3506: {3.6.2102, 3.6.3004, 3.6.3130, 3.6.3200}
3.6.3232: {3.6.3004, 3.6.3130}
3.6.3130: {3.6.3004, 3.6.2102, 3.6.1130}
3.6.3004: {3.6.2102, 3.6.2002, 3.6.1002, 3.5.1006}
3.6.2102: {3.6.2002, 3.6.1002}
3.6.2002: {3.6.1002, 3.5.1016, 3.5.1012, 3.5.1006, 3.5.1002, 3.5.1000}
3.6.1102: {3.6.1002, 3.5.1016, 3.5.1012, 3.5.1006, 3.5.1002, 3.5.1000, 3.4.3206, 3.4.3002}
3.6.1002: {3.5.1016, 3.5.1012, 3.5.1006, 3.5.1002, 3.5.1000, 3.4.3206, 3.4.3002}
3.5.1016: {3.5.1012, 3.5.1006, 3.5.1002, 3.5.1000, 3.4.3002, 3.4.2008}
3.5.1012: {3.5.1006, 3.5.1002, 3.5.1000, 3.4.3206, 3.4.3002, 3.4.2008}
3.5.1006: {3.5.1002, 3.5.1000, 3.4.3206, 3.4.3002, 3.4.2008}
3.5.1002: {3.5.1000, 3.4.3206, 3.4.3002, 3.4.2008}
3.5.1000: {3.4.3206, 3.4.3002, 3.4.2008}
3.4.3206: {3.4.3002, 3.4.2008, 3.4.1120}
3.4.3002: {3.4.2008, 3.4.1120}
3.4.2008: {3.4.1950, 3.4.1120, 3.4.0012}
3.4.1120: {3.4.1110, 3.4.0012}
3.4.1110: {3.4.0012}
3.4.0012: {3.3.5006, 3.3.4402}
3.3.5006: {3.3.4402, 3.3.4304}
3.3.4402: {3.3.4304, 3.3.4100}
3.3.4304: {3.3.4100, 3.3.3500}
3.3.4100: {3.3.3500, 3.3.3000}


Block diagrams and other various low level hardware information can be found in the following Open Computer Project guide for the MSX1710-OCP. The management SBC is an Intel chip in this switch, but the SwitchX-2 board appears to be mostly the same as those in the SX10xx and SX60xx switches, in particular how the switching board interfaces with the management SBC:

https://www.opencompute.org/documents/mellanox-msx1710ocp-switchx-2-36x40gb-qsfp-leafspine-switch

Disassembly of a genuine Mellanox SX6018F-2SFS SwitchX-2:

http://imgur.com/a/R3uNQEt

Disassembly of an EMC branded Mellanox SX6012F (100-886-236-04) SwitchX-2:

http://imgur.com/a/WoTjeS5

PPC460EX Datasheet:

https://datasheet.octopart.com/PPC460EX-NUB800T-AMCC-datasheet-11553412.pdf
 

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S

SGS

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These scripts might come in handy later on ;)
Bash: 
emc_to_6012() {
   dd if=/dev/zero bs=16 count=256 of="$2" 2> /dev/null

   dd if="$1" bs=16 count=12 of="$2" conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null
   dd if="$1" bs=16 count=5 of="$2" skip=12 seek=14 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null

   printf "\x20" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=1 count=1 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null
   printf "\x00" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=5 count=1 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null

   printf "\x05\x0E\x02\x14\x06\x16\x07" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=15 count=7 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null

   printf "\x00\x1A\x00\x03\x05\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=192 count=32 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null
   printf "\x00\x12\x00\x01\x06\x00\x00\x00\x00\x01\x00\x00\x02\x88\x04\x04\x02\x02\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x0A\x00\x01\x07\x00\x00\x00\x00\x02\x10\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=320 count=48 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null

   printf "\x4D\x53\x58\x36\x30\x31\x32\x46\x2D\x32\x42\x46\x53\x00" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=64 count=14 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null
}

6012_to_1012() {
   if [ "$1" != "$2" ]; then
      dd if="$1" bs=16 count=256 of="$2" 2> /dev/null
   fi
   printf "\x4D\x53\x58\x31\x30\x31\x32\x42\x2D\x32\x42\x46\x53\x00" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=64 count=14 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null
   printf "\x03\xF4" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=162 count=2 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null
   printf "\x31" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=166 count=1 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null
   printf "\x06" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=329 count=1 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null
}

1012_to_6012() {
   if [ "$1" != "$2" ]; then
      dd if="$1" bs=16 count=256 of="$2" 2> /dev/null
   fi
   printf "\x4D\x53\x58\x36\x30\x31\x32\x46\x2D\x32\x42\x46\x53\x00" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=64 count=14 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null
   printf "\x17\x7C" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=162 count=2 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null
   printf "\x36" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=166 count=1 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null
   printf "\x01" | dd of="$2" bs=1 seek=329 count=1 conv=notrunc 2> /dev/null
}
 
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R

Renat

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There is no external soft. MLNX-OS is made by Mellanox.
But package contain all firmwares for all switches.

So last hp 8010 version added some specific setting for HP switches.
And IBM 8012 version also added own IBM settings, and also contain HP firmwares.
 
N

nbritton

New Member
Nov 19, 2016
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SGS said:
This mlnxos package is much more interesting than most:

HPE Support Center

support.hpe.com support.hpe.com

It's almost twice the size of the next minor revision:

HPE Support Center

support.hpe.com support.hpe.com

The readme.txt in mfgusb-SX_PPC_M460EX-ppc-m460ex-20120306-222353.zip is quite informative
Click to expand...
Good eye! That mfgusb-SX_PPC_M460EX-ppc-m460ex-20120306-222353.zip file is really important... you don't need an OTG USB cable, you can unzip the contents to ./mlnx460ex on your tftp server... but you have to change the ramdisk size though first...

mlnx_mfg_screenshot.pngmlnx_mfg_screenshot2.png
 
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N

nbritton

New Member
Nov 19, 2016
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I'm not entirely sure what to try next, I've tried using the /sbin/manufacture.sh script, it sorta works, but I don't know what storage device to input into the configuration menus... screenshots below.

mft-rpm-extract-screenshot.pngmlnx-block-devices-screenshot.pngwrite-fail-mtdblock6-screenshot.pngwrite-fail-mtd7-screenshot.pngkernel-mods-screenshot.pngrootfs-extract-screenshot.png
 
Last edited:
S

szix96

New Member
Aug 12, 2020
3
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Hi all,

I bought one of these converted EMC to MLNX switches which supposed to be a SX6018 but in the sh mod I see SX6012 is there a way to install the SX6018 firmware to it?
I see all the 18 ports and I can use them also but I want to run M-LAG on 2 of the SX6018 switches but now I am curious if I need to buy a second SX6012 or a SX6018?
SX6018 [standalone: master] # sh inv
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Module Part Number Serial Number Asic Rev. HW Rev.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHASSIS MSX6012F-2BFS N/A 05
MGMT 100-886-230-02 1 05
FAN 045-000-224 N/A 02
PS2 071-000-588 N/A 03
SX6018 [standalone: master] # sh vers
Product name: MLNX-OS
Product release: 3.6.1002
Build ID: #1-dev
Build date: 2016-06-09 20:24:26
Target arch: ppc
Target hw: m460ex
Built by: jenkins@fit-build-95
Version summary: PPC_M460EX 3.6.1002 2016-06-09 20:24:26 ppc

Product model: ppc
Product hw: m460ex
Host ID: MT1311X02003

Uptime: 14m 9.540s
CPU load averages: 1.08 / 1.55 / 1.26
Number of CPUs: 1
System memory: 809 MB used / 1218 MB free / 2027 MB total
Swap: 0 MB used / 0 MB free / 0 MB total
Thank you very much for you guys work done in this thread.
BR, szix96
 
R

Rand__

Well-Known Member
Mar 6, 2014
6,643
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szix96 said:
Hi all,

I bought one of these converted EMC to MLNX switches which supposed to be a SX6018 but in the sh mod I see SX6012 is there a way to install the SX6018 firmware to it?
I see all the 18 ports and I can use them also but I want to run M-LAG on 2 of the SX6018 switches but now I am curious if I need to buy a second SX6012 or a SX6018?
SX6018 [standalone: master] # sh inv
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Module Part Number Serial Number Asic Rev. HW Rev.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHASSIS MSX6012F-2BFS N/A 05
MGMT 100-886-230-02 1 05
FAN 045-000-224 N/A 02
PS2 071-000-588 N/A 03
SX6018 [standalone: master] # sh vers
Product name: MLNX-OS
Product release: 3.6.1002
Build ID: #1-dev
Build date: 2016-06-09 20:24:26
Target arch: ppc
Target hw: m460ex
Built by: jenkins@fit-build-95
Version summary: PPC_M460EX 3.6.1002 2016-06-09 20:24:26 ppc

Product model: ppc
Product hw: m460ex
Host ID: MT1311X02003

Uptime: 14m 9.540s
CPU load averages: 1.08 / 1.55 / 1.26
Number of CPUs: 1
System memory: 809 MB used / 1218 MB free / 2027 MB total
Swap: 0 MB used / 0 MB free / 0 MB total
Thank you very much for you guys work done in this thread.
BR, szix96
Click to expand...
The firmware is the same, but its possible someone used the wrong extracted image files. You could try replaceing those with the actual '18 files to see if that helps
 
T

tRens

New Member
Jan 2, 2021
9
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Rand__ said:
I dont think there is anything to flash on a -5 as thats an umanaged switch
Click to expand...
yeah, i realized that after i posted that.. dammit. i made a huge mistake .. i obviously got too excited.

I suppose they will still work as intended.

So I bought an Aruba S2500-24P so that would allow me to aggregate my nas's 2 or maybe 4 of its 1g ports into the aruba and then connect that to the sx6005. Then my server to the sx6005 and my main computer to the sx6005 for 40-56gb connections. I believe I may have lost my mind buying all of this stuff. When I found this thread and other threads about cheap enterprise hardware I was like a deer in headlights.

I bought two MCX354A-FCBT for my main workstation and the server. With that all purchased I also bought a few DACs, transceivers, fiber cables, but I am not sure if any of it will work. I guess I should have just stuck with the Aruba and 10Gb, but I saw 40Gb and 56Gb --- head exploded.

I am a noob.

So I just took another step in the 'wife is going to be ANGRY' direction and bought a Mellanox MSX6018-2BFS off ebay for 150. Probably overpaid .. I cannot control myself around this stuff as I've always wanted to work in a datacenter. Bahh, these sx6005 can't be returned so I guess I'll be trying to get rid of them or donate them to my work or something.
 
Last edited:
R

Rand__

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Mar 6, 2014
6,643
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Well they are IB switches, not sure if they can be coaxed to ETH unless they are managed by a MLX switch, never saw any mention.
You might be able to use them with the 6018, but how many ports do you actually need? Usually the 18 is plenty;)

And dont read the Great deals section if you're susceptible for Enterprise HW opportunities.

Re the 5's, I am sure there are ppl happy to take them (if cheap enough) ;)
 
T

tRens

New Member
Jan 2, 2021
9
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Rand__ said:
Well they are IB switches, not sure if they can be coaxed to ETH unless they are managed by a MLX switch, never saw any mention.
You might be able to use them with the 6018, but how many ports do you actually need? Usually the 18 is plenty;)

And dont read the Great deals section if you're susceptible for Enterprise HW opportunities.

Re the 5's, I am sure there are ppl happy to take them (if cheap enough) ;)
Click to expand...
So I couldn't take the sx6018 and breakout one of its ports to the aruba sfp 10gb ports? then run my rj45 to everything else?
 
R

Rand__

Well-Known Member
Mar 6, 2014
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on the 6018 it will work if its ETH enabled (generated license or EMC conversion), but I am not sure on the -5's
 
M

mmx01

Member
Jan 17, 2020
38
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18
Hi

For SX6012 EMC conversion looking at 8012 guide, there are two parts: image and firmware.

Can I go straight to 8012 for both?

These would come from 8012 image in step 1
/boot/vmlinuz-uni the kernel
/boot/fdt-uni the FDT

Copy 8012 tar in step 3, don't touch ibd

In step 6.2.b I would use MT_1270110020.bin firmware

I am a bit puzzled by another firmware called MSX6012.bin which I assume would be older 1002?

Thanks in advance!
 
T

tRens

New Member
Jan 2, 2021
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Want to say thank you to everyone in this thread and special thanks to OP.

My question is it bad to have rw saved via saveenv after following all of the steps?

setenv jffs2_args 'setenv bootargs root=${rootdev} rootfstype=jffs2 rw reset_button=${reset_button} ${image_kernel_args} ${extra_args}'

And just to clarify if I wanted to use a firmware that is newer than the one I currently have.
1. download mlxOS version
2. extract vmlinuz-uni and fdt-uni (tftp them and flash them) from mlxOS image
3. extract switch firmware from mfa file inside mlxOS image (either hex or handy python script) for my switch
4. follow directions in guide.

Also I cannot seem to find mlxOS 3.6.1002 and I have read all 42 pages. So that probably speaks to my reading comprehension :(

So I believe my 6018 is almost setup correctly, nearly, but probably not. I did not fix the symlink between passwd -> /var... or shadow -> /var... when I finished all of the steps to complete the firstboot. It did boot and asked me to do the initial setup, but after that I received the 'fatal error' and after reboot that time I was not able to log in as admin. I went back and booted into block6 moved both block7's symlinked etc/passwd and etc/shadow to $.old, then copied over block9's /var/opt/tms/output passwd / shadow file back to block7's /etc/. I was still unable to login, but the system did not crash or hang. I went back in and removed the password requirement for admin and I was able to log in.

So I am currently running mlxos from block7 using the included firmware, ibd, hwd, chad from SwitchX2-Conversion.tar and either image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.8008 or .8012 as I confused myself and/or can't remember.

Found the version I used in /var/log/systemlog:
2021/01/17 20:03:26 localhost firstboot.sh: booting new image: PPC_M460EX 3.6.8008 2018-07-03 20:32:10 ppc

So the version in the SwitchX2-Conversion.tar is for 8012?

uname -a
Linux meldog 3.10.94-MELLANOXuni-m460ex PPC_M460EX jenkins #1 2019-02-13 12:36:41 ppc GNU/Linux

So if I don't remove the password requirement for admin I am not able to login even with the shadow file there. I am sure skipping the symlink passwd/shadow step and then completing the firstboot got me here. I'd rather not redo the whole process due to encountering a few bad blocks and want to limit any wear on the 1g nand. ohh, is there a way to replace that nand drive with a new one? (probably way to hard or impossible)

Just a note on the process.. it took a bit to realize how the block6-7 worked and it is nifty to have block6 there. This whole process reminds me of installing Gentoo as a kid from a stage1 over and over again until I got it right.

Again thank you and this sth community is pretty awesome. one way you know sth is great is they do not want discord (highly agree) and have an official IRC on freenode woot. (weechat best!)

Also, yes laugh at me, but since most of these are EMC switches where are people downloading mlxOS from? I've googled it and I have failed as a human. please forgive.

------

Well, It seems to have worked this time. I am in with 3.6.1002, thank you everyone. sx6018.

lots of errors showing up about missing files. must search thread.
 
Last edited:
T

tRens

New Member
Jan 2, 2021
9
4
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mmx01 said:
Hi

For SX6012 EMC conversion looking at 8012 guide, there are two parts: image and firmware.

Can I go straight to 8012 for both?

These would come from 8012 image in step 1
/boot/vmlinuz-uni the kernel
/boot/fdt-uni the FDT

Copy 8012 tar in step 3, don't touch ibd

In step 6.2.b I would use MT_1270110020.bin firmware

I am a bit puzzled by another firmware called MSX6012.bin which I assume would be older 1002?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

So, from my recent experience of getting the 6018 flashed and working.

The files in in files-needed-for-conversion.zip are for 3.6.1002 -> MLNX-SwitchX2 directory is in the archive.

Step.1: I believe you're correct and those two files where extracted from the MLNX-OS 3.6.8012 .tgz /boot/

Step.3: I believe it is the .tgz: image-PPC_M460EX-ppc-m460ex-20190222-075342.tgz -- from All-STH-MLNX-Files.tar.gz\All-STH-MLNX-Files.tar\.\image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.8012.tar\image-PPC_M460EX-3.6.8012.img\image-PPC_M460EX-ppc-m460ex-20190222-075342.tgz -- or wherever you get the MLNX-OS 3.6.8012 -- just extract the .tgz and use it.

Step.6.2.b: I believe you're correct if that .bin is from 8012's mfa file and I believe MT_1270110020.bin is 6012 3.6.8012, while MSX6012.bin is from 3.6.1002.
Files below are from 3.6.8012.tar which was in the archive I downloaded via link in this thread: All-STH-MLNX-Files.tar.gz
d570a52114f97ed6bc6d228188efe7f7 MT_1270110020.bin
b7e34889a3e839f0515f218e96fc867e chad
5d73c7b494b660eb224c13946c7575ff hwd
b2b7a84cb975811aeec7d12189a90f72 instructions.3.6.8012.txt

I hope this helps you mmx01

---

I suppose that if 6012 works by only updating hwd/chad and leaving ibd alone that 6018 might work as well with 8012 via the same process? Of course you have to extract the firmware from the .mfa from the MLNX-OS .tgz

I remember from reading in the thread that .1002 is a hard wall for the 6018 or a soft wall which requires hex editing chad, hwd, and ibd to work with 6018.

ibd file provided in archives linked in this thread.
ibd.1002 55ca2838e036872830bd35987e1cb1d3

original ibd from the MLNX-OS archive for 3.6.1002 from hpe.
ibd.1002 9ce52cf216f6dea3b7005030c9011824

original ibd from the MLNX-OS archive for 3.6.8012 from hpe.
ibd.8012 87fe3958039e92b897e98d4bf54d6c06
 
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