Drag to reposition cover

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

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.

OptimusPrime

Member
Apr 21, 2020
44
6
8
@AiC Thanks you for the prompt response. The cable I’m using is a USB to RJ45 FTDI serial cable. Is a standard Cisco cable USB to RJ45? Or DB9 to RJ45?
 

Wolfstar

Active Member
Nov 28, 2015
159
83
28
48
Not AiC, but the "standard" cable is DB9 to RJ45, which you would combine with a USB to Serial adapter. The one you're talking about just has the adapter built into the cable so it should work just fine with Putty or whatever terminal program you're using. Make sure you're using the right COM port though; it's usually COM5 or something similar to that and not COM1 - Device Manager can tell you.
 

OptimusPrime

Member
Apr 21, 2020
44
6
8
When I plug the USB to RJ45 in to my desktop, it identifies as COM4. When I plug it into my other machine, it identifies as COM5. So the computer sees it. It is really being a hassle. I wish there was another way to test the cable and the console port.

Someone mentioned the serial connection could have been disabled. I cannot find a way to factory reset. Pressing the reset button while turning on the power doesn’t seem to work for the 6450.

Thank you all for your responses. If you have other suggestions, please keep them coming. If I cannot get to the CLI by Monday, I will assume the console port is bad and return it to the seller, but I’d rather not.
 

Wolfstar

Active Member
Nov 28, 2015
159
83
28
48
Yep, and if you move it to another USB port, the COM# will change, so you either need to use the same USB port every time or you need to look it up every time.

I thought that holding reset and plugging in the power worked on the 6450s, but I haven't needed to do it in a long time, if ever, and I can't take my core switch down right now to test.
 

OptimusPrime

Member
Apr 21, 2020
44
6
8
How long do you think I’d need to hold the reset button? I did so for at least 30 seconds, but saw no change in behavior with the status LEDs from a normal boot up.
 

Wolfstar

Active Member
Nov 28, 2015
159
83
28
48
I would expect 30 seconds to be long enough, yes. It was hold down reset, THEN plug in and keep holding, yes?
 

Wolfstar

Active Member
Nov 28, 2015
159
83
28
48
That's what I figured, but always start with the simplest fixes before you get carried away.

I think this might need @fohdeesha's knowledge, or one of the other 6450 owners with a spare to step forward and test on their end and see if they get the same thing. I suspect though that you're going to have to contact the seller about a bad console port.

Any other network gear lying around you can connect to in order to test the adapter? Highly unlikely it's failed, but not impossible.
 

fohdeesha

Kaini Industries
Nov 20, 2016
2,729
3,083
113
33
fohdeesha.com
When I plug the USB to RJ45 in to my desktop, it identifies as COM4. When I plug it into my other machine, it identifies as COM5. So the computer sees it. It is really being a hassle. I wish there was another way to test the cable and the console port.

Someone mentioned the serial connection could have been disabled. I cannot find a way to factory reset. Pressing the reset button while turning on the power doesn’t seem to work for the 6450.

Thank you all for your responses. If you have other suggestions, please keep them coming. If I cannot get to the CLI by Monday, I will assume the console port is bad and return it to the seller, but I’d rather not.

there's no way to "disable" the serial port to where it doesn't have any output. You should *always* see the bootloader (u-boot) output as soon as the switch is powered on. You either have a bricked switch, a fried serial port, or the previous owner changed the serial port baudrate via u-boot args (rare, but I've seen it, and factory resetting will not revert this).

To narrow it down, do the fans eventually spin down and get quiet if you let it boot long enough? This indicates the fastiron binary is being succesfully loaded and the switch isn't bricked. If that's the case, you have a fried serial port, or a custom baud rate. To rule out the baudrate, try the other common speeds (I'm assuming you've already been using the correct speed, 9600). That would be 19200, 38400, 57600 and 115200. restart putty trying each one and hit enter a bunch and see if you get anything back. I would also try and verify the serial cable works on something else if you can
 

klui

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2019
824
453
63
I did some testing with noise levels, temperatures, and PSUs on my ICX6610-48P.

PSU 1 (right viewed from rear) = Exhaust Rev C
PSU 2 (left viewed from rear) = Exhaust Rev B

Noise levels
PSU 1 only
~790 Hz, ~53.5 dB​
PSU 2 only
~790 Hz, ~55 dB​
PSU 1 and 2
~670 Hz, ~50 dB​

I used a dB meter on my phone and it was closer to PSU 2, which was why it was louder than PSU 1. My brain was not hearing things and with 2 PSUs powered up it was noticeably quieter as the dBs and actual frequency showed. I have both fans installed.​

Temperatures
I let the switch idle w/ no ports used and took chassis readings until temperatures stabilized.

PSU 1 only
Fan 1 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2
Fan 2 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2

Fan controlled temperature: 53.0 deg-C

Fan speed switching temperature thresholds:
Speed 1: NM<----->84 deg-C
Speed 2: 79<-----> 87 deg-C (shutdown)

Fan 1 Air Flow Direction: Front to Back
Fan 2 Air Flow Direction: Front to Back
MAC 1 Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 35.0 deg-C
MAC 2 Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 40.0 deg-C
CPU Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 53.5 deg-C
sensor A Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 31.0 deg-C
sensor B Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 41.0 deg-C
sensor C Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 29.0 deg-C
stacking card Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 46.0 deg-C
Warning level.......: 77.0 deg-C
Shutdown level......: 87.0 deg-C
PSU 2 only
Fan 1 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2
Fan 2 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2

Fan controlled temperature: 46.0 deg-C

Fan speed switching temperature thresholds:
Speed 1: NM<----->84 deg-C
Speed 2: 79<-----> 87 deg-C (shutdown)

Fan 1 Air Flow Direction: Front to Back
Fan 2 Air Flow Direction: Front to Back
MAC 1 Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 31.0 deg-C
MAC 2 Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 41.0 deg-C
CPU Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 46.0 deg-C
sensor A Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 30.0 deg-C
sensor B Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 34.5 deg-C
sensor C Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 31.5 deg-C
stacking card Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 44.5 deg-C
Warning level.......: 84.0 deg-C
Shutdown level......: 87.0 deg-C
PSU 1 and 2
Fan 1 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2
Fan 2 ok, speed (auto): [[1]]<->2

Fan controlled temperature: 65.0 deg-C

Fan speed switching temperature thresholds:
Speed 1: NM<----->76 deg-C
Speed 2: 71<-----> 80 deg-C (shutdown)

Fan 1 Air Flow Direction: Front to Back
Fan 2 Air Flow Direction: Front to Back
MAC 1 Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 39.5 deg-C
MAC 2 Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 52.0 deg-C
CPU Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 65.0 deg-C
sensor A Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 32.0 deg-C
sensor B Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 49.0 deg-C
sensor C Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 37.0 deg-C
stacking card Temperature Readings:
Current temperature : 50.5 deg-C
Warning level.......: 77.0 deg-C
Shutdown level......: 80.0 deg-C
For comparison, my network closet registers at roughly 50 dB but frequency dances around 390 Hz.
 

i386

Well-Known Member
Mar 18, 2016
4,221
1,540
113
34
Germany
When I plug the USB to RJ45 in to my desktop, it identifies as COM4. When I plug it into my other machine, it identifies as COM5. So the computer sees it. It is really being a hassle. I wish there was another way to test the cable and the console port.
Do you have a known working device which you could use to test the adapter?
The first two adapter I bought from amazon were fake ones, they showed up in device manager as com ports with "FTDI" chipsets
 
  • Like
Reactions: fohdeesha

Freebsd1976

Active Member
Feb 23, 2018
387
73
28
Today Buy a icx7250-24p with 120$ include shipping in china, seller post picture of switch seems everything is ok (power light is green ), he sold as is , so I take the risk.
now need buy rs232 to miniusb cable , will zte rs232 to miniusb cable same as Brocade?
 

Wolfstar

Active Member
Nov 28, 2015
159
83
28
48
Today Buy a icx7250-24p with 120$ include shipping in china, seller post picture of switch seems everything is ok (power light is green ), he sold as is , so I take the risk.
now need buy rs232 to miniusb cable , will zte rs232 to miniusb cable same as Brocade?
Very truly highly unlikely. Go buy a legit cable or follow the instructions in this thread to make your own, but don't expect anything but one of those options to work. Brocade insisted on being special flowers here and that's all you can do.
 
  • Like
Reactions: fohdeesha

blinkenlights

Active Member
May 24, 2019
157
65
28
why do you want a 7450? same sound level as the 6610 with half the highspeed ports and twice as expensive
Yeah, I know all about your hate for the 7450 ;-) Truth be told, any current or recently EOL Brocade product with the right number of ports and interface speed(s) will blow the doors off SoHo gear. Packet cut-through and intelligent QoS options are a standard feature in switches at this level.

My decision process for the 7450-48 was straightforward:
* 7-series over 6-series due to ongoing software updates (most recent codetrain for the 6610 was updated over a year ago)
* 7450 over 7250 due to modularity that extends service life - spare Rev C PSU and fan module for the win!
* 7450 over 7250 for more interface types - copper 1/10, fiber 1/10, DAC, or any mix thereof for access

I know the 7450 could go EOL at any time, but it still gets me 1+ year ahead of the 6610 on bug/security fixes. Now, if someone rolled out custom firmware for those 6610's based on a current kernel + userland......
 
  • Like
Reactions: fohdeesha

Wolfstar

Active Member
Nov 28, 2015
159
83
28
48
I know the 7450 could go EOL at any time, but it still gets me 1+ year ahead of the 6610 on bug/security fixes.
Given who one of Brocade/Ruckus/Commscope's customers is for the 7450 and how widely they've deployed them, it is very unlikely they will EOL the 7450 any time soon. The organization I work for has literally thousands of them deployed - I believe last count I saw was over 5,000 hostnames, with a fair chunk of them being stacks (so more than that for total chassis).

That should generally apply to any 7xxx Brocade at this point though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blinkenlights

fohdeesha

Kaini Industries
Nov 20, 2016
2,729
3,083
113
33
fohdeesha.com
hey everyone, I'm dealing with some medical issues irl so I may be out of commission/MIA for a while. I will try to get to licensing PMs when I can, if it takes a couple days don't worry, there's still some left. I'm sure members like wolfstar and infomatt will still be around to help
 

blinkenlights

Active Member
May 24, 2019
157
65
28
Given who one of Brocade/Ruckus/Commscope's customers is for the 7450 and how widely they've deployed them, it is very unlikely they will EOL the 7450 any time soon. The organization I work for has literally thousands of them deployed - I believe last count I saw was over 5,000 hostnames, with a fair chunk of them being stacks (so more than that for total chassis).

That should generally apply to any 7xxx Brocade at this point though.
Good to know. Ruckus did kill off the 32ZP, though: EoL End-of-Life Notice: Ruckus ICX 7450-32ZP and 7450-32ZP-E models | Technical Documents | Ruckus Wireless Support

Guessing it was not the most popular or profitable model.
 

DRAGONKZ

Member
Apr 9, 2018
87
10
8
41
hey everyone, I'm dealing with some medical issues irl so I may be out of commission/MIA for a while. I will try to get to licensing PMs when I can, if it takes a couple days don't worry, there's still some left. I'm sure members like wolfstar and infomatt will still be around to help
Take care mate, hopefully you have a speedy recovery!