Brocade VDX 6740
- Thread starter Dhiru
- Start date
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hello
i found and old vdx 6740t, connected serial cable and was able to communicate.
tried to reset the config reset everything and then then i lost control... waited a bit then paniced and powercycled nothing changed. i lost any communication after that. nothing in console no matter how long i wait. can i force write firmware to it somehow or i dunno im lost here the switch is bricked.
open to suggestions any help is appreciated
i found and old vdx 6740t, connected serial cable and was able to communicate.
tried to reset the config reset everything and then then i lost control... waited a bit then paniced and powercycled nothing changed. i lost any communication after that. nothing in console no matter how long i wait. can i force write firmware to it somehow or i dunno im lost here the switch is bricked.
open to suggestions any help is appreciated
May you try this guide:
I have a USB Image if needed
I have a USB Image if needed
You will see output on the console within 1-2 seconds of power-on from the bootrom for sure - no matter the state of the onboard flash that holds the full software/image.
If you have absolutely zero on the console port - even after a power cycle - I would go thru these steps:
1. Validate the cable (any other devices that use the serial to mini-USB to test with?)
2. Validate the console host / terminal server
3. Make sure the basic serial settings are proper (e.g. baud rate, flow control, etc.)
4. Do you have an RS232 tester/diagnostic adapter? (shows LEDs for activity and status signals on the pins)
5. What exactly did you do to reset the config when you lost control? ('tried to reset the config reset everything and then then i lost control.') ?
Make a note of the startup/power-on status and LEDs. For example - does the LED labeled with the exclamation point go to green or stay amber? (make sure both PSUs are plugged in). Does the device eventually spin up the fans to full speed and then slow them back down after a few seconds? (aka 'clearing its throat').
This can show that the switch has booted up into the main OS, even if the console is not working properly. Do you know if you left the mgmt port for DHCP or static IP configuration? Does it acquire an IP address via DHCP, or respond to ARP/ping/SSH/etc? Attach a sniffer and observe any emitted packets?
It of course could be the situation that the hardware has completely died or the bootrom has been destroyed - but generally speaking 'software corruption' or 'bad flash' (the likely component to wear and then break) will still have outputs on the console of some sort to tell you it is corrupted/broken/not able to continue.
As Balteck posted - there is a recovery processes ('netinstall') that you can do - if you can communicate with the bootrom via console on the device. This will let you restore an image via USB. Please note that there is a license 'wipe' that takes place in this manner - you will want to make sure you have your license strings backed up someplace safe.
Failing that you can also remove the flash from the unit (it is a compactflash card internally that can be removed/replaced) and clone it from another unit if you have one available. Note - this is _not_ the USB image mentioned for netinstall if you write directly to it.
Short version is that if you have zero on the console - start with that and keep your troubleshooting steps on things that revolve around the serial/hardware - don't worry about software items until you can communicate with the device over the console - as even broken software will still emit something on the console from the bootrom.
thank you and sorry for late replay i couldn't return to the crime scene yet.
i did use the original cable out of its box, fresh never used before came with the device opened it myself never hurt anything was gentle. console worked perfectly i was able to communicate with the device no problem was able to reset its password and such first.
then tried chat gpt for config reset since i was gonna reconfigure it from scratch anyway. that damned chat bot gave me "reset" or some silly command like that and after that zero connection back. i will continue to play with it. i was desperate enough after playing with baud rates and such opened it up and found compact flash removed it tried it just to see any change in lights and such nothing changed.
there is a led inside hidden on mainboard sometimes blinks other than that nothing ever happens no lights no console on monitor.
thank you for your suggestions ill return back to play with it later on
i did use the original cable out of its box, fresh never used before came with the device opened it myself never hurt anything was gentle. console worked perfectly i was able to communicate with the device no problem was able to reset its password and such first.
then tried chat gpt for config reset since i was gonna reconfigure it from scratch anyway. that damned chat bot gave me "reset" or some silly command like that and after that zero connection back. i will continue to play with it. i was desperate enough after playing with baud rates and such opened it up and found compact flash removed it tried it just to see any change in lights and such nothing changed.
there is a led inside hidden on mainboard sometimes blinks other than that nothing ever happens no lights no console on monitor.
thank you for your suggestions ill return back to play with it later on
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If I remember correctly, these suffered Compact Flash failures. I think I had to replace mine when I still had it as it did something similar. There is a process to recover it once a new CF card is installed but heck if I remember it. Maybe I have a putty log dump from when @fohdeesha helped me get it working again.
If you did that from u-boot you may have wiped u-boot which is why you have no output now. I have no idea why they have the option in some of the brocade line for erasing u-boot from the menu but it can happen. I don't think this is CF card failure as u-boot should still load and report that it can't boot etc.
can you go back through your chat log with the dumbass lying python script from hell and see what exactly it had you run? Because just the command "reset" in u-boot just reboots the CPU, this can be implemented poorly though and devices can be locked up, but it doesn't touch the bootrom. You just need to totally remove power from the switch, wait a couple seconds, then plug it back in
can someone point me in the direction of where to get the firmware for this switch? i have tried and cant find anywhere, i have also tried to get additional licenses as the switch only has half the ports licensed and even my work supplier has been unable to get anywhere.
also is there any specific CF cards that are best to use as a replacement and finally is backing the current licence as simple as copying the key from the show license command?
also is there any specific CF cards that are best to use as a replacement and finally is backing the current licence as simple as copying the key from the show license command?
I've used 8-16Gb CF cards with UDMA support from China. You'll need 8Gb or more, basically.
It is better to get 'industrial-grade' card, maybe used, but, IMHO, it is overpriced sometimes. I'd rather get a spare card.
I'd like to get ANY version.
That's what I have:
nos3.0.1.tar
nos4.0.1.tar
nos4.1.3d.tar.gz
nos5.0.2a.zip
nos6.0.1a.tar.gz
nos6.0.2g.tar
nos6.0.2g.tar.gz
nos6.0.2.zip
nos7.0.0.zip
nos7.0.1.tar.gz
nos7.0.2b.zip
nos7.2.0d.tar.gz
nos7.2.0.tar.gz
nos7.4.0a.tar.gz
nos7.4.1b.tar.gz
nos7.4.1f.zip
I can share these, but I'm not sure if I can put direct links to my FTP here.
ftp://188.227.23.100/safe/Install/_BIOS_and_FW/_LAN/Brocade.VDX/fw/
Actually NOS is up to 7.4.1m now. If anyone want to share???