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

[fohdeesha]

How much for a 6610? I am enjoying my 6450, but the temptation is there to go with 10GB, lol.

prolly around whatever ebay prices are currently minus ~20% - can you do indy pickup?

 

[Blue)(Fusion]

I also have a 6610-48-PE dual PSU available a few hours east of fohdeesha.

 

[custom90gt]

prolly around whatever ebay prices are currently minus ~20% - can you do indy pickup?

Ahh bummer, didn't see the local pickup piece.

 

[tjk]

Any recommendations for alternatives to the ICX7750-48F's? I am using these as TOR's, but they are now very hard to find on the used market.

Not sure what Arista model would be the equiv that can still run latest code?

Don't need any layer3 features, all layer2 use case, trunking, vlans, etc.

Thanks!

 

[deeceesth]

I have a couple 7250s that came with the L2 only SPS firmware. Initially I ran them as is since the FW was new enough and I was just dipping my toes into the brocade world.

Since then I've flashed them up to 80.0.90 with the L3 SPR firmware. I don't use/need L3 stuff and the guides say it should work fine for L2 only if you don't configure any L3 features.

I have been experiencing strange network issues (can't access anything on my local network or through my firewall for a few minutes at a time) and I suspect it could be the switch with SPR/L3 firmware since they started around the time I did the upgrade. I don't have any evidence other than the timing. Another strange issue is that I can no longer SSH or access the webui (i dont use the webui but it was working in L2 mode) of the switch after flashing the SPR variant. I followed the parts of the guide (as of nov 5) that talk about enabling SSH and the webui and it still doesn't work. I also noticed that the switch doesn't always grab a DHCP lease from my pfsense firewall DHCP server.

Before I go and reflash to L2 fw for diagnostic purposes I thought I'd ask here if anyone has similar experiences or just general knowledge about using these switches in L3 vs L2 mode.
Is there any way that using the L3 firmware could cause issues if I'm trying to use it for L2 only? Is there anything in the guide that could cause some L3 features to be turned on?

 

[LodeRunner]

I'd start by setting a static IP on your management interface. DHCP reservations are usually fine, but I would avoid DHCP for infrastructure. If that doesn't sort it out, backup the config and factory default it.

 

[xzy]

I purchased a Brocade ICX 6450-48 and updated the config as well as setting it up via the docs provided on the first page of the forum.

Due to me finding the stock fans too loud I modified the switch and changed them for the Delta EFB0412VHD-F00 which were advised by another person in this forum.It is a little bit quiter than the stock ones but it's still loud.

I have another fan of the same model.Is it worth using another fan as well or is this expected?

 

[deeceesth]

I'd start by setting a static IP on your management interface. DHCP reservations are usually fine, but I would avoid DHCP for infrastructure. If that doesn't sort it out, backup the config and factory default it.

Yea good point, I have been meaning to do that. I'll try that out before resorting to flashing.

 

[deeceesth]

Update on my network interruption issue.

I set all my infrastructure to static IPs instead of DHCP reservations (7250 48P, 2xR710, and 1xR610). I was still getting the interruptions.
I flashed a 7150 with SPS fw and swapped out the 7250. It appears to be more stable now no interruptions yet. It's very noticeable so I'll know in a day or two if it for sure fixes the issue.

In the mean time I reset the 7250 to factory (still on spr) and manually set it up again. going to swap that back in if the 7150 with sps reproduces the issue.

 

[nieros]

Hello!

I recently acquired one of these neat little 6450 12 port boxes - and followed @fohdeesha 's awesome guide. The only thing that's tweaking me out a bit is the licensing:

ICX6450-C12PD-Router#show license
Index    Lic Mode        Lic Name               Lid/Serial No  Lic Type    Status     Lic Period    Lic Capacity    
Stack unit 1:
1        Node Lock       ICX6450-PREM-LIC-SW    H4CKTH3PLN8    Normal      Active     Unlimited         1
2        Node Lock       ICX6450-10G-LIC-POD    H4CKTH3PLN8    Normal      Invalid    Unlimited         2

The premium license sticks just fine, but the 10gig doesn't. I redid things from scratch a couple of times, thinking maybe I'd missed something in the process, (and maybe I still am?) I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

 

[Scarlet]

The ICX6450-C12PD is 1G only, with SFP slots instead of SFP+ on the larger ones (24 + 4 SFP+ / 48 + 4 SFP+). For reference, check the datasheet linked in Post #1 of this thread.

That's probably why the 10G license is invalid, it does not need it having not 10G ports.

 

[nieros]

The ICX6450-C12PD is 1G only, with SFP slots instead of SFP+ on the larger ones (24 + 4 SFP+ / 48 + 4 SFP+). For reference, check the datasheet linked in Post #1 of this thread.

That's probably why the 10G license is invalid, it does not need it having not 10G ports.

Well that's where I went wrong. Step 1 *reading the documentation*. For some reason I thought the SFP ports were 10gig. Oh well. Thanks for setting me straight!

 

[63z5mgng]

I just got ICX 7250. Following fohdeesha's guide works perfectly except the SPR08090mc.bin from download page can NOT be flashed to primary. Downloaded 8080f and works fine. In case anyone having the same issue.

Instead doing:

#IP of your TFTP server:
setenv serverip 192.168.1.8
setenv image_name ICX7xxx/SPR08090mc.bin
setenv uboot ICX7xxx/spz10118.bin

I did

#IP of your TFTP server:
setenv serverip 192.168.1.8
setenv image_name ICX7xxx/SPR08080f.bin
setenv uboot ICX7xxx/spz10114.bin

 

[fohdeesha]

I just got ICX 7250. Following fohdeesha's guide works perfectly except the SPR08090mc.bin from download page can NOT be flashed to primary. Downloaded 8080f and works fine. In case anyone having the same issue.

Instead doing:

#IP of your TFTP server:
setenv serverip 192.168.1.8
setenv image_name ICX7xxx/SPR08090mc.bin
setenv uboot ICX7xxx/spz10118.bin

I did

#IP of your TFTP server:
setenv serverip 192.168.1.8
setenv image_name ICX7xxx/SPR08080f.bin
setenv uboot ICX7xxx/spz10114.bin

did you first flash the newer bootloader, then reset, *then* flash 8090mc? It will work fine if you do so (as the guide says)

 

[63z5mgng]

Thanks foheesha as always.

I did followed your guide step by step. I did Page Brocade Overview ---> Brocade Setup --> ICX7250 / ICX7450. And the first step on the page is the command I put in my post. I am not sure about "flash newer bootloader". But I just double checked there is no other step before. But if I am not using 8090 instead 8080 it works and I could boot into primary after then flash the latest 8095.

Preparation
If you haven't already, visit the Brocade Overview page to download the latest guide package and get it ready to be served via TFTP - this unified package includes all the latest firmware, licenses, and documentation.

Connect to the serial/console port using a program like Putty (9600 8N1), then connect the management ethernet port to your network (do NOT use any of the regular switch ports yet). The management port is the one above the full size USB port.

Power on the switch while watching your serial terminal - start smashing the b key until you're dropped into the bootloader prompt, which looks like ICX7xxx-Boot> . If you missed the prompt and it boots the OS instead, pull power and try again.

Now at the boot prompt, give the bootloader a temporary IP on your network, as well as supply the IP of your TFTP server where it can find your files. Replace the example IPs with your own. This IP is only going to be used temporarily by the bootloader. We'll also tell it the filename & path of the firmware images:

#Temp IP address of the switch: setenv ipaddr 192.168.1.50 setenv netmask 255.255.255.0 #IP of your TFTP server: setenv serverip 192.168.1.8 setenv image_name ICX7xxx/SPR08090mc.bin setenv uboot ICX7xxx/spz10118.bin

 

[fohdeesha]

Thanks foheesha as always.

I did followed your guide step by step. I did Page Brocade Overview ---> Brocade Setup --> ICX7250 / ICX7450. And the first step on the page is the command I put in my post. I am not sure about "flash newer bootloader". But I just double checked there is no other step before. But if I am not using 8090 instead 8080 it works and I could boot into primary after then flash the latest 8095.

Those are just the setenv commands that saves the name of the images, so the bootloader knows what image names to use later when you run the actual update commands. They don't do anything themselves. After that, there's the update_uboot command, then a reset command so the new bootloader takes effect: (excuse the mobile screenshot)

 

[63z5mgng]

Yes, I did all those steps as well. But it failed when I used 8090. So instead doing 8090 ---> 8095, I did 8080 --> 8095. I follow the guide by using 8090 2 times all failed. So I decided to try 8080.

 

[fohdeesha]

How did it fail? what was the error message, did it spew one right after you ran "update_primary"?

 

[AllenB]

I also just got an ICX7250-48p and ran into a little glitch after following the upgrade instructions. Mine failed to boot the SPR08090mc.bin primary image and instead failed back to the secondary with 08030.

Turns out this was because the second reset reverted back to the original uboot image. It seems there are two uboot partitions as well. I was updating the second one. The first "reset" brought it up as expected, but the second reset (after the update_primary) was reverting back to the other uboot image.

Cure for this, found in the "Ruckus FastIron 08.0.80 Software Upgrade Guide" page 29, is to repeat the "update_uboot" command after the first reset or powercycle. Sure enough, that one will report "Loading image to Uboot Partition 1".

After that I was able to proceed into the 08090mc image, log in with default credentials, observe the PoE firmware update, and so forth.

@fohdeesha, this is probably worth a quick tweak to the setup process. And of course, thanks a million for putting together so much great info!

Allen

 

[63z5mgng]

How did it fail? what was the error message, did it spew one right after you ran "update_primary"?

If I recall correctly that was after "update_primary".