FS: AMD/Pensando Dual 200GbE DPUs

[BlueFox]

Zelle preferred as PayPal fees add up. Will also entertain trades since I like new toys and rotate through hardware regularly, though currently not in need of a whole lot. I think my reputation should help: Heatware

Local pickup available in Phoenix. Will ship internationally.

Like the title states, have some Pensando DPUs for sale. They are the the newer Elba generation (DSC-200) and support dual 50/100/200GbE or quad 50/100GbE. You can also install vSphere 8 on them (see here). They're Oracle OEM and brand new. Datasheet can be seen here: https://www.amd.com/system/files/documents/pensando-dsc-200-product-brief.pdf

All sold - $599 each

 

[Justin Utherdude]

If you don't mind me asking, what were these used for? The theoretical max for 16 lanes of pcie 4.0 is only 256Gb/s right? If I recall these are also single x16 slot cards, without an auxiliary card. I may be interested. I'll have to let you know closer to the end of the month when I get paid.

 

[BlueFox]

If you don't mind me asking, what were these used for? The theoretical max for 16 lanes of pcie 4.0 is only 256Gb/s right? If I recall these are also single x16 slot cards, without an auxiliary card. I may be interested. I'll have to let you know closer to the end of the month when I get paid.

Didn't wind up getting used actually (which is why they're new and sealed except for the one I photographed). You're correct about the bandwidth and slot size (as pictured). Not as much of an issue when PCIe is full-duplex, so at least can send/receive concurrently at that speed. Let me know if you have any further questions.

 

[Justin Utherdude]

I have another question. How programmable are these, per se? I know it isn't listed on the data sheet anywhere, but would it be possible to run an 8x breakout cable (200g qsfp-dd to 8x25g sfp28) on these cards? I saw that the ports were only listed down for quad 50g, but I'm curious to know if they would be programmable or adaptable to take one of these breakout cables. I was really only able to find minimal information on how to use these on the web. Most references to pensando are news articles. If you bought these did you have any plans or documentation on using them outside of vsphere?

 

[Patrick]

I think on the ESXi side you need ESXio.

For example, we should be showing BF2 w/ ESXi this week, but I have heard they might actually be special SKUs for ESXio, not standard BlueFields. Pensando I think they are the standard cards, and I am supposed to be trying it out in a few weeks so I should know more then.

 

[BlueFox]

I have another question. How programmable are these, per se? I know it isn't listed on the data sheet anywhere, but would it be possible to run an 8x breakout cable (200g qsfp-dd to 8x25g sfp28) on these cards? I saw that the ports were only listed down for quad 50g, but I'm curious to know if they would be programmable or adaptable to take one of these breakout cables. I was really only able to find minimal information on how to use these on the web. Most references to pensando are news articles. If you bought these did you have any plans or documentation on using them outside of vsphere?

Regrettably, as I didn't try them out, not sure. My plans were for ESXi like Patrick mentioned.

Should be able to test a few basic things at home if you'd like, but most of my gear is at my colo and I don't have a trip planned there for a while.

 

[Justin Utherdude]

I think on the ESXi side you need ESXio.

For example, we should be showing BF2 w/ ESXi this week, but I have heard they might actually be special SKUs for ESXio, not standard BlueFields. Pensando I think they are the standard cards, and I am supposed to be trying it out in a few weeks so I should know more then.

Please let us know when you do! The bluefields max out at 200gb/s right? I guess one of my questions would be whether 400gbe networking is even worth getting right now on pcie 4.0, or whether it would be wise to wait for the next generation of DPUs that are pcie 5.0 compatible. I'm still considering these, since I doubt that I'd ever saturate the connection at 256gb/s, but the thought of forward compatibility has crossed my mind. The connectx-7 cards are pcie 5.0 for 400gbe, So I doubt that the DPUs are very far behind. I haven't seen the bluefield series "oversubscribe" their bandwidth at all, but I haven't looked into many other DPUs. Is that normal?

Since the processors are arm based I'd be interested in knowing your thoughts on running open source software on them (if there are any comparable options). VMware/Vsphere is great and all, but a perpetual license is quite expensive for the average homelab. It makes sense in a business environment. I'll keep an eye out for your upcoming videos.

On an unrelated note. Mr. Kennedy have you had any experience or interest in netgate's TNSR? I think that it is quite attractive as a homelab option, but my experience is pretty limited.

 

[wifiholic]

Are there drivers and firmware available for this card? I checked AMD's Pensando support site, but the last drivers I saw there were from 2021, and did not indicate support for the DSC-200 in the release notes. Oracle, for their part, seems to be pretending that this card doesn't exist at all, so their website was no help either - at least they didn't have anything I could find that was not behind a paywall.

 

[kedzior]

I get Pensando from BlueFox, everything is was correct, now I'm digging to this card, it is not so simple as Bluefield (lack of documentation) but I will managed to do it, or maybe someone has more info regarding management port how to login to card etc.

 

[primant]

I think on the ESXi side you need ESXio.

For example, we should be showing BF2 w/ ESXi this week, but I have heard they might actually be special SKUs for ESXio, not standard BlueFields. Pensando I think they are the standard cards, and I am supposed to be trying it out in a few weeks so I should know more then.

You're talking about DPU offload utilizing the dpu correct, not running ESX off the DPU?
making sure I'm not confusing myself.
After a quick read and review, I answered my own question!

 

[leonderooij]

@kedzior did you get it to work? I would love to buy one