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

[fohdeesha]

updated the guide, changed the ICX7xxx upgrade instructions slightly so a new/known uboot version is flashed first - this avoids the cases where switches coming with ancient 8030 bootloaders would error with "Wrong image format for bootm command" when trying to flash 8090m

also changed the "reset" instruction when coming out of uboot to "boot_primary" instead - even though a factory reset/default has been issued, configs don't get wiped until the OS fully boots. So if a user gets a switch where the previous owner had set/configured the switch to boot from the secondary OS slot, when following the guide and issuing factory set default and all the updates, then issued "reset", it would boot into the old #2 OS slot running god knows what. specifically requesting a "boot_primary" out of u-boot avoids that. thanks foot-gloves on github for the pull request

 

[tinfoil3d]

Hey guys!
Can I go wrong with 7150-24? I don't need POE but need as many SFP+ as possible with passive cooling. From specs this seems like the right choice. I would love 8 10g ports ideally but that likely means lot of noise. This is for use right in my office/home, 2 m away from me, facing front. I hate 1U units but they are so space-efficient. Yeah mikrotik 305 is extremely space-efficient but they are not as reliable as I would love them to be so looking to replace those with some proper switches. 308 failed me. Now I need a quiet replacement.

 

[fohdeesha]

Hey guys!
Can I go wrong with 7150-24? I don't need POE but need as many SFP+ as possible with passive cooling. From specs this seems like the right choice. I would love 8 10g ports ideally but that likely means lot of noise. This is for use right in my office/home, 2 m away from me, facing front. I hate 1U units but they are so space-efficient. Yeah mikrotik 305 is extremely space-efficient but they are not as reliable as I would love them to be so looking to replace those with some proper switches. 308 failed me. Now I need a quiet replacement.

They're good switches for the use case, the downside is finding one for a sane price. I think they still go for like 500 bucks on eBay which to me is crazy for four ports of 10gbe, but I suppose the silence can be priceless for some people

 

[tinfoil3d]

Thank you sir!

 

[richtj99]

if someone breaks into your network and guesses your community strng ("public" is default typically and probably most people's first guess) they'd be able to query your switch for interface stats/usage, chassis temperature, IPs/arp table contents etc. meh. if you want you can pick a more secure community string like:

enable
conf t
no snmp-server community public ro
snmp-server community XxsuperSecretXx ro
write mem

then when adding to librenms you'll obviously have t put whatever pass you came up with in the community box instead of "public"

Thanks - I didnt realize that 'public' was the password vs the name of the community.

snmp-server community XxsuperSecretXx ro

So for future reference to SNMP novices like me -

snmp-server -community = enables the SNMP process
XxsuperSecretXx = the password for SNMP
ro = read only

can a packet sniffer on the network sniff the password of the snmp?

Could a potential hacker do anything with the snmp info that could be helpful in access? Might be overthinking due to past issues on my network.

 

[itronin]

can a packet sniffer on the network sniff the password of the snmp?

snmp v1, and v2 : yes.
snmp v3 : no.

Could a potential hacker do anything with the snmp info that could be helpful in access? Might be overthinking due to past issues on my network.

yes even for just snmp read. basically anything exposed via the device's MIB (std. and mfg specific) can be pulled. think about whether having your network's topology (from the snmp device's perspective) would be useful! Not just switches and routers, also think access points, WLC's etc. etc.

 

[RoachedCoach]

my 7250-24 power consumption on idle 46-50W , don't know 48 port

My 7250-48P pulls around 55W with a few PoE cams attached.

I'm still convinced the 7250 is THE best L3-10G switch for homelab use - considering low power draw, fairly low noise (moddable even moreso) and switching power, plus it's a fairly recent/supported design.

 

[dswartz]

My 7250-48P pulls around 55W with a few PoE cams attached.

I'm still convinced the 7250 is THE best L3-10G switch for homelab use - considering low power draw, fairly low noise (moddable even moreso) and switching power, plus it's a fairly recent/supported design.

I have 2 stacked 7250-24 (not poe since I have no need for that.) But I agree, low power draw, and super-quiet!

 

[noduck]

I'm looking to replace a 7150-c12p; I need more ports, both 1G and 10G.

For my needs, 6450-24p seems to match. Should I be concerned that firmware is limited to 8.0.30 while 7x50 is 8.0.90 and up? 8.0.30 revisions have still been released since EOL.

• I already have a 7250-24p, and it is generally nice (mostly quiet after fan mod), but a bit higher power draw and heat than I would like (48W idle).
• 7150-24p would be ideal, but (as mentioned above) there are none available for a reasonable price (one sold for $335 recently, which would have been okay; but most are $500 and up; idle power 32W).
• 6450-24p has and idle power comparable to 7150-c12p (21W).

 

[LodeRunner]

I'm looking to replace a 7150-c12p; I need more ports, both 1G and 10G.

For my needs, 6450-24p seems to match. Should I be concerned that firmware is limited to 8.0.30 while 7x50 is 8.0.90 and up? 8.0.30 revisions have still been released since EOL.

• I already have a 7250-24p, and it is generally nice (mostly quiet after fan mod), but a bit higher power draw and heat than I would like (48W idle).
• 7150-24p would be ideal, but (as mentioned above) there are none available for a reasonable price (one sold for $335 recently, which would have been okay; but most are $500 and up; idle power 32W).
• 6450-24p has and idle power comparable to 7150-c12p (21W).

Edit: I remembered wrongly, per post below.
I may be remembering wrongly, but the 7250 may also have a command for a silent mode which restricts the PoE max output and turns off the fans?

If you think you might go beyond 4x10G, then the 7250 is the correct answer.

 

[Freebsd1976]

I may be remembering wrongly, but the 7250 may also have a command for a silent mode which restricts the PoE max output and turns off the fans? If you think you might go beyond 4x10G, then the 7250 is the correct answer.

that is 7150

 

[LodeRunner]

that is 7150

Thanks for the correction.

 

[DavidB]

anyone else has a 7250 (non-POE) that idles around 80 degrees? trying to figure out if this is normal for a 7250, I got it unused NIB but even with fan running the temps seem a bit toasty

 

[dswartz]

Mine both run ~75 or so...

 

[cap]

So much thanks to @nlj for the awesome post contributing to the fan swap knowledge base for the Brocade switches. My new 7250-24 got the Sanyo Denki 109P0412B3013 on the chassis and the Sunon MF60101V1-1000U-G99 on the ASIC. I added both fans at the same time so I don't have information about their separate effects. The sound is significantly quieter now, and there was an impressive drop in temperature. Here's a picture via LibreNMS. Before and after.

 

[JoshDi]

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

This should work. Ive used these before for a different use case. you may need to get ones that match the fake rpms of the stock fans. Yes you will need to switch around the pins

 

[dragonian]

Anyone need a "few" switches? Lot of Brocade ICX 6450-48p

 

[RoachedCoach]

Anyone need a "few" switches? Lot of Brocade ICX 6450-48p

To go with the supercomputer they're selling. Mentor Graphics Veloce2 Quattro "System on Chip" SoC RTL Emulator Supercomputer | eBay

That's a lot of switches, lol.

 

[tinfoil3d]

That's too few. Barely takes 2 full racks. Meh.

 

[atb]

This should work. Ive used these before for a different use case. you may need to get ones that match the fake rpms of the stock fans. Yes you will need to switch around the pins

The first of two distinct ones I ordered off eBay should arrive this week so I'll report back. I do need to find some jumpers though if it needs a re-pin