I managed to update fw-ConnectX3-rel-2_42_5000-MCX354A-FCB_A2-A5-FlexBoot-3.4.752.bin (a Mellanox/NVidia download) with a modified version of MCX354A-FCB_A2-A5.ini. I used fs2_update_ini.py to accomplish this.
Mellanox firmware files and MFT related scripts. Contribute to BeTeP-STH/mft-scripts development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
Then I used flint verify and flint burn.
Following the burn and a reboot, I could verify that the .INI file additions made it to the configuration by extracting it using flint dc.
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Interestingly the following two lines were already present in the config before my addition:
port1_802_3ap_56kr4_ability = true
port2_802_3ap_56kr4_ability = true
So I only added:
port1_802_3ap_56kr4_enable = true
port2_802_3ap_56kr4_enable = true
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However, unfortunately, these changes had no effect.
Perhaps this is due to the firmware version - the article suggesting this tweak is from 2014 and mentioned the firmware version.2.31.5050:
Hello, I have a pair of ConnectX-3 VPI adapters (MCX354A-FBCT) in Ethernet mode and am attempting to test out 56 GbE connectivity by directly connecting the adapters to one another via an FDR cable (MC2207128). However, the cards only establish link at 40 GbE. In fact, ethtool at least does not...
forums.developer.nvidia.com
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I am not willing to downgrade the firmware on my adapters, so I am giving up for now.
If anybody has an idea as to what to try, please ask/advise.