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
Brocade ICX Series (cheap & powerful 10gbE/40gbE switching)
- Thread starter fohdeesha
- Start date
Hello! Picked up two 6610 switches on eBay after finding this awesome thread. I have them setup in a stack, but I'm having a hard time activating the licenses on the second unit. I've tried directly consoling to it and running the set serial commands, but no matter what the licenses show as invalid on the second switch in the stack. The real goal is to be able to use the 10G ports on the second switch in the stack. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Check out the back forth between fodeesha and another member start around page 305 having issues getting licenses going on a stack of 6450’s to see if any of that applies to you. One those messages linked below to give you a head start.
Thanks! Although I could have sworn I was licensed before stacking --- deleting the stack, licensing the second switch, and then re-creating the stack did the trick!
Yep.. same way you can take 2 wheels off you’re car and it will become a motor bike.
sorry, could not resist.
sorry, could not resist.
I have two management interfaces, VE1, VE5
VE1 IP = 192.168.1.25 (internet access)
VE5 IP = 192.168.5.25 (No internet)
I have SNMP running & a VM locked down on VE5. I have SSH turned on - is there a way that SSH would only work on VE1, but not on VE5 so that the switch is not accessible? Before I was playing with SNMP I had no VE5 IP.
Thanks,
Rich
VE1 IP = 192.168.1.25 (internet access)
VE5 IP = 192.168.5.25 (No internet)
I have SNMP running & a VM locked down on VE5. I have SSH turned on - is there a way that SSH would only work on VE1, but not on VE5 so that the switch is not accessible? Before I was playing with SNMP I had no VE5 IP.
Thanks,
Rich
Ok, thank you.
I can't find a 6450-24 at a good price, so I guess I'll have to put up with 50w for now.
I'm in the UK, and the last time I looked there wasn't any 6450-24 available (without importing). But I'm fine really with a 6450-48. My current switch is also 50w, and doesn't have 10gbe!
Hello - first time post. Thanks for putting together this wonderful resource.
I got a new 7250 from ebay - everything looks new but seems box was opened because it was missing a few parts - like the included console cable.
Anyway, hooked everything up and followed the install guide. First off, there is no sign of life from the console port. The seller sent me a. new console cable (mini usb) after i inform him it was missing in the box. Also the install guide says:
So i am quite confused. I assumed connecting the management port to my network doesnt assign it an ip until i set in via the console? I did not connect it to the regular port on the switch - its connected to the port directly above the usb port.
Also not sure how to get the console working. completely dead. I am hoping its something I am doing wrong vs a bad switch or console cable. could use some pointers to get things up and running. Thanks.
I got a new 7250 from ebay - everything looks new but seems box was opened because it was missing a few parts - like the included console cable.
Anyway, hooked everything up and followed the install guide. First off, there is no sign of life from the console port. The seller sent me a. new console cable (mini usb) after i inform him it was missing in the box. Also the install guide says:
Connecting the management port to my network assigns the switch an ip address - I am able to see the web interface of the switch but dont know the default username and password to login . Using super and sp-admin doesnt work.
So i am quite confused. I assumed connecting the management port to my network doesnt assign it an ip until i set in via the console? I did not connect it to the regular port on the switch - its connected to the port directly above the usb port.
Also not sure how to get the console working. completely dead. I am hoping its something I am doing wrong vs a bad switch or console cable. could use some pointers to get things up and running. Thanks.
What does the physical connection look like for the console cable. Are you certain it is a serial cable and not just a normal mini USB B cable?
well - not sure i can even tell the difference between the two! I assumed the seller had sent me the correct cable. He sent me the console cable and a db9 adapter, which seems to be what comes with the new switch ? What do you mean by what the physical connection looks like? you mean how its connected? I am connected to my laptops ethernet port on one end and the mini usb on the switch.
also am I supposed to connect the management port to my network at the same time ? wont that get an ip assigned?
so you have a cable with RJ45 on one end and Mini USB B on the other? And then you have that RJ45 connected to your laptop and USB on the switch? If so that doesn't seem correct.
You need a serial interface on your laptop to connect to the mini USB B port. You might have to adapt the RJ45 to a DB9. Does your laptop have a DB9 connector or do you have a USB to Serial adapter?
It would help if you posted a picture of everything you have
I have an RJ45 /db9 adapter which came with the switch. Not a usb to serial. My laptop does not have a db9 connector. It has usb-c and usb-A, plus the usual hdmi and RJ45. ( Lenovo thinkpad x1 carbon )
So, I have the mini-usb connected to the switch and the ethernet connected to my laptop. Which is wrong ( now i know!)
So what do i need to make this work?
mini-usb from 7250 - > ethernet / db9 adapter - > ? -> laptop USB-A?
Attachments
You'll need a serial port on your laptop. You can get a USB A to Serial adapter like this:
On the subject of interfacing the Brocade ICX to 2.5gbe equipment, I tried out two gadgets, both with successful results.
First is the new Qnap QSW-2104-2S, a very new product, which I purchased new from a large online retailer. This is a fanless consumer-oriented unit, with two 10Gbe SFP+ ports (there is a separate 10GBaseT version), and four 2.5Gbe RJ45 ports. I connected the Brocade to the Qnap with a DAC.
My second solution is that magic SFP+ RJ45 module, the Aquantia AQS-107-B0C2-CX. I paid a fortune for it, second hand, via ebay. This module goes directly into one of the SFP+ ports of my Brocade ICX 7250-24. The Brocade reports the link at 10G, but the RJ45 end is connected to 2.5Gbe equipment.
I did two sorts of tests on each device. First was iperf3 testing through the device under test, between a Solaris server with an Intel x520 card and a Macos laptop with a Plugable 2.5gbe USB dongle.The second test was just running speedtest.net through the device and out to the internet through my Comcast Xfinity XB7 (2.5gbe port, 1400Mbps reported throughput on a good day (maybe not even worth the effort but here we are)).
In the iperf3 testing, I was able to get performance as solid as I ever do through the Plugable dongles. I think they are the weak link. I have two of them, and in direct dongle–dongle testing between two laptops, I see mostly 2.3Gbps, but with occasional dips of a few seconds to under 1Gbps, possibly due to thermal throttling of something, I suspect the Plugable dongle or the laptop (the laptop fans spin up when I do this test -- something that does not happen on the same laptop when iperfing through my Sonnet Solo 10G interface at much higher speeds, so that is interesting in itself). I see about the same behavior between one dongle and the x520 card, passing through either the Aquantia module or the Qnap switch. If I run bidirectional iperf3, I occasionally see > 2Gbps for a few seconds, but then it decreases, and then increases (after cooling, I suppose). Unfortunately, neither of my endpoints (Macos and Solaris) show retransmits through iperf3, so I do not have that information to report.
In the speedtest.net testing, my speeds using either the Qnap switch or the Aquantia SFP+ module were on par with the speeds when I connect the Plugable dongle directly (via Cat6) to the Xfinity XB7 router.
This post is really not supposed to be a review of these other products, especially the dongle, but about how well the Qnap switch and the Aquantia module allow us to interface between our ICX switches at 10G and the 2.5gbe world. So I apologize about the limitations of my test setup, like the overheating whatevers. I hope there remains something of value.
First is the new Qnap QSW-2104-2S, a very new product, which I purchased new from a large online retailer. This is a fanless consumer-oriented unit, with two 10Gbe SFP+ ports (there is a separate 10GBaseT version), and four 2.5Gbe RJ45 ports. I connected the Brocade to the Qnap with a DAC.
My second solution is that magic SFP+ RJ45 module, the Aquantia AQS-107-B0C2-CX. I paid a fortune for it, second hand, via ebay. This module goes directly into one of the SFP+ ports of my Brocade ICX 7250-24. The Brocade reports the link at 10G, but the RJ45 end is connected to 2.5Gbe equipment.
I did two sorts of tests on each device. First was iperf3 testing through the device under test, between a Solaris server with an Intel x520 card and a Macos laptop with a Plugable 2.5gbe USB dongle.The second test was just running speedtest.net through the device and out to the internet through my Comcast Xfinity XB7 (2.5gbe port, 1400Mbps reported throughput on a good day (maybe not even worth the effort but here we are)).
In the iperf3 testing, I was able to get performance as solid as I ever do through the Plugable dongles. I think they are the weak link. I have two of them, and in direct dongle–dongle testing between two laptops, I see mostly 2.3Gbps, but with occasional dips of a few seconds to under 1Gbps, possibly due to thermal throttling of something, I suspect the Plugable dongle or the laptop (the laptop fans spin up when I do this test -- something that does not happen on the same laptop when iperfing through my Sonnet Solo 10G interface at much higher speeds, so that is interesting in itself). I see about the same behavior between one dongle and the x520 card, passing through either the Aquantia module or the Qnap switch. If I run bidirectional iperf3, I occasionally see > 2Gbps for a few seconds, but then it decreases, and then increases (after cooling, I suppose). Unfortunately, neither of my endpoints (Macos and Solaris) show retransmits through iperf3, so I do not have that information to report.
In the speedtest.net testing, my speeds using either the Qnap switch or the Aquantia SFP+ module were on par with the speeds when I connect the Plugable dongle directly (via Cat6) to the Xfinity XB7 router.
This post is really not supposed to be a review of these other products, especially the dongle, but about how well the Qnap switch and the Aquantia module allow us to interface between our ICX switches at 10G and the 2.5gbe world. So I apologize about the limitations of my test setup, like the overheating whatevers. I hope there remains something of value.
When testing the Aquantia AQS-107-B0C2-CX SFP+ module, I noticed that
I remembered the post about the misformatted I2C EEPROM, so I thought I would read mine out of curiosity. I knew I would need to figure out the address of the slot containing my module, but I got stuck before that mattered. @fohdeesha can you teach me how this should be working on my 7250?
I tried
show media reports the slot as empty, even though it is working.
Code:
SSH@b7250#show media e 1/2/7
Port 1/2/7: Type : EMPTY
Code:
OS>i2c read 3f 0 256
Syntax error, 'read'
OS>i2c ?
reset reset i2c bus
stats statistics
recovery toggle auto recovery
debug toggle debug mode
Hexadecimal bus
OS>show version
Kernel version - 4.4.0
OS>exit
OS>Back to Application console...
b7250>show version
Copyright (c) Ruckus Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.
UNIT 1: compiled on May 17 2021 at 06:42:41 labeled as SPR08095d
(33554432 bytes) from Primary SPR08095d.bin (UFI)
SW: Version 08.0.95dT213
Compressed Primary Boot Code size = 786944, Version:10.1.19T215 (spz10119)
Compiled on Tue Feb 2 03:21:35 2021
HW: Stackable ICX7250-24i2c debug to toggle debug mode. That spams the console with some stuff and doesn't make i2c read work.@cap
Sorry but why did you have to get that specific Aquantia transceiver?
Aren't the Brocade switches not picky at all and actually will run most transceivers?
I bought the HiFiber Transceiver listed in the above article and it worked fine.
Sorry but why did you have to get that specific Aquantia transceiver?
Aren't the Brocade switches not picky at all and actually will run most transceivers?
I bought the HiFiber Transceiver listed in the above article and it worked fine.