On ebay: Quanta 48p GbE + 2x 10GbE L3 switch @ 289USD

[s0lid]

Pretty much as title it says:
HP Brocade Open Source LB4M 48 Port Gigabit Switch Dual SFP 10GB Ports | eBay

There's also these sale in Germany @ 299€, which is about the same price for european buyer considering the shipping and import fees.
QSSC-LB400GR 48 Port 10/100/1000 Mbit/s L2/L3 Switch, 19", 1U | eBay

So a switch with interesting specs, cheap price and practically no info about it. So does any1 have any better info about these than the product flyers I could find on internet?
http://www.quantaqct.com/language_config/down.php?hDFile=QSSC-LB400GR (LB4M)_Datasheet.pdf

If somebody knows something about these switches let me know before I'll hit the buy now button

 

[dba]

The "HP Brocade" text is just search engine marketing. To me it looks like a Quanta LB4M, aka QSSC-LB400GR, which launched circa 2009 and is not a current model switch. Try https://www.google.com/search?q=QSSC-LB400GR and you'll find a link to the specification sheet near the top. The manual is here: User Manual of the Quanta LB4M Series Layer 2_ 3_ and IPv6 Plus

The price is right and it has all of the right features, but it seems to be a bit of orphan with little documentation and no downloadable updates, so it's risky.

I love the part where it specifies exactly 193,718 hours MTBF!

 

[Thatguy]

I'm also really curious to see what an owner of one of these thinks of it. One seller was claiming it's opensource and the greatest thing since sliced bread, but when I looked, I couldn't seem to find an open source project for it where folks kept updating the firmware.

I'm also very curious to know if it will actually do line speed on all ports, and what the stability is like.

The one thing I did find out is these switches draw like 281W at idle.

 

[s0lid]

Yeah saw that manual earlier on docstock, but it's rather annoying it read. They've made the laggiest pdf reader on earth and to maybe download it you ought to pay 19bucks for it... yeah right...

281W at idle, wow. And yeah updates are pretty much non existant, maybe if you asked nicely from quanta you might get something... might...

 

[dougsk]

I think they're meaning "Open Flow" and SDN network infrastructure. OpenFlow.org appears to be a legacy specification and has moved over here "Open Network Foundation". Looks like there is maybe a decent enough firmware to start with, with the idea that you'll build your own firmware for OpenFlow as this is basically a devkit. This looks like it might be the right spot to start, maybe. It appears though there maybe another implementation stemming from the same openflow legacy called Project Floodlight. Fork or a spoon, beats me Be curious to know how it goes.

 

[mrkrad]

you really don't want to have to deal with buggy npu/cpu combinations man. think DD-WRT but running your enterprise! lol. no thanks.

Best way to explain SDN here, openSM (subnetmanager) for IP Over Infiniband. I seriously doubt many would consider that "SDN" something they'd love to have in their enterprise network.

Look through the changelog on a simpleton switch (vxworks, broadcom) AKA Powerconnect 8024/8024f - then think about how much fun you'll have working out your own bugs. not fun

 

[Ludikraut]

Nice managed layer 2 10g switch

Yeah saw that manual earlier on docstock, but it's rather annoying it read. They've made the laggiest pdf reader on earth and to maybe download it you ought to pay 19bucks for it... yeah right...

281W at idle, wow. And yeah updates are pretty much non existant, maybe if you asked nicely from quanta you might get something... might...

I snagged one of these off eBay last week and so far it's working quite well. No problem getting 10G transfers using Solarflare NICs and Cisco SFP cables (no SFP+ modules needed, yay ). I'm not sure where you got that 281W at idle figure. Mine has dual power supplies and pulls about 80W (confirmed using Kill-a-watt). Granted that's with only three devices plugged in, but still...

So far the only disappointing thing about this switch is that, as configured, it definitely is not a layer 3 switch. It's a layer 2 managed switch. Default username is admin. Uses a standard serial cable for the console port. The command line interface isn't bad - if you've used Cisco switches or similar before, it's pretty much self-explanatory. Once I had the network settings configured (why someone would want to DHCP their switch IP by default is beyond me ), I was able to pull up a basic GUI using the built-in web server (even without having Java installed on my machine).

All-in-all, for the $250 I paid, to get two working SFP+ 10G ports and 48 gigabit ports, all in a managed switch with all of the expected layer 2 features (vlan, qos, spanning-tree, port security, etc.), redundant PS ... definitely one of the better finds on eBay, IMO. Would I trust it in an enterprise environment? Probably not, but I guess we'll see how stable it is once I replace my aging Cisco switch with it and start pushing more data through it.

l8r)

 

[MiniKnight]

How loud is yours? Apparently they got even cheaper:
$205 OBO Quanta LB4M HP Brocade Open Source 48 Port Gigabit Switch w 2X SFP Tested | eBay
$210 OBO HP Quanta LB4M 48 Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch Dual SFP 10GB Ports L3 Routing | eBay

 

[MiniKnight]

OOps double

 

[Jeggs101]

Cheap Google switches

 

[Ludikraut]

It's loud as hell when it first starts up, but then, once the OS boots up, the fans slow down and it's about the same as any of the other equipment I run. The old Cisco 4908G is still the loudest thing in my network rack. It's probably not something you want sitting on your desk, but should be ok in a closet.

l8r)

 

[MiniKnight]

It's loud as hell when it first starts up, but then, once the OS boots up, the fans slow down and it's about the same as any of the other equipment I run. The old Cisco 4908G is still the loudest thing in my network rack. It's probably not something you want sitting on your desk, but should be ok in a closet.

l8r)

Good to know. Still on the fence with these.

 

[ben]

Does anyone know if I can connect two of these with the 10gig ports and create vlans across the switches? For example I want to have them separated by 300 feet and have 2 or 3 different networks available at both locations.
Also what SFPs would work?

 

[ewheelerinc]

Ben,

Use 10gbe SFP+ twinax cross cables. And yes, you can trunk these. LACP too!

 

[ewheelerinc]

Quanta LB4m bootloader console

I'm playing with the LB4m switch console. Set your serial to 9600 N81 and start pressing ctrl-c until you get a menu. You'll need to quickly select option 2 and press enter before it times out and continues.

It looks like this switch is similar to the Pronto 3240 (same BCM hardware) so I'm looking into using openflow on the device. If this is true, then these links are relevant:

IndigoReleaseNotes - OpenFlow Wiki
IndigoImageSetup - OpenFlow Wiki
How to Install Indigo on the new Pica8 Software Images for 3290 and 3780
Indigo - Download Page - Indigo -Â*OpenFlowHub - OpenFlow news and projects

More as this develops...

For now, here's the boot and diagnostic output:

^CBoot Menu Version: 28 Apr 2008
Select an option. If no selection in 2 seconds then
diagnostics will start.

1 - Start diagnostic code.
2 - Start Boot Menu.
Select (1, 2):2

Select an option. If no selection in 2 seconds then
diagnostics will start.

1 - Start diagnostic code.
2 - Start Boot Menu.
Select (1, 2):2

Options available
1 - Start operational code
2 - Change baud rate
3 - Retrieve event log using XMODEM
4 - Load new operational code using XMODEM
5 - Load configuration using XMODEM
6 - Display operational code vital product data
7 - Update boot code
8 - Delete operational code
9 - Reset the system
10 - Restore configuration to factory defaults (delete config files)
11 - Activate Backup Image
12 - Run Diagnostics Image
13 - Load new Diagnostics Image using XMODEM
[Boot Menu] 12

Reading diag_image.stk into memory
Attaching interface lo0...done

Adding 14856 symbols for standalone.


VxWorks

Copyright 1984-2002 Wind River Systems, Inc.

CPU: Freescale MPC8541
Runtime Name: VxWorks
Runtime Version: 5.5.2
BSP version: 1.2/0
Created: Jun 3 2009, 09:31:33
WDB Comm Type: WDB_COMM_NETWORK
WDB: Ready.

Timebase: 66.666666 MHz, MEM: 166.666665 MHz, PCI: 66.666666 MHz, CPU: 833.333325 MHz
SOC BIOS (VxWorks) Freescale MPC8541 vVxWorks5.5.2.
Kernel: WIND version 2.6.
Made on Jun 3 2009, 09:31:33.


Broadcom Command Monitor: Copyright (c) 1998-2005 Broadcom Corporation
Release: sdk-5.4.4 built 20090603 (Wed Jun 3 09:27:01 2009)
From 93010507@AP970100151:/projects/LB4M/LB4M-DIAG-Broadcom/build
Platform: BMW (MPC8245/PPC603e) VxWorks 5.5.2
PCI unit 0: Dev 0xb514, Rev 0x01, Chip BCM56514_A0, Driver BCM56514_A0
PCI unit 1: Dev 0xb514, Rev 0x01, Chip BCM56514_A0, Driver BCM56514_A0
SOC unit 0 attached to PCI device BCM56514_A0

LB4M Topology is found


Set Higig Interfaces (27) to 10GE

Set Higig Interfaces (24, 25, 26) to 12Gbps (Higig+)
SOC unit 1 attached to PCI device BCM56514_A0

LB4M Topology is found


Set Higig Interfaces (27) to 10GE

Set Higig Interfaces (24, 25, 26) to 12Gbps (Higig+)
Set load balancing on Higig+ interfaces




Slot 1: SFP+ module is detected. ..(OK)
Slot: 1, mdio: 0 is working.
Slot: 1, mdio: 1 is working.


Loading Enhanced Network Driver... Done
Set IP Address to 192.168.1.160










Diagnostic Test Main Menu v1.0 (LB4M VxWorks)

[1 ] File Management
[2 ] Board Information
[3 ] Diagnostic Test
[4 ] Manufacturing Test Mode Set
[5 ] Test Error Log File Management
[6 ] PING
[7 ] Reset
[8 ] For Vibration Test

Enter your choice: 3









Diagnostic Test Menu

[1 ] Host Peripherals Test
[2 ] Packet Processors Test
[3 ] Environmental Test
[4 ] Daughter Board Function Test
[ESC] Exit

Enter your choice: 1









Host Peripherals Test Menu

[1 ] PCI Bus Test
[2 ] UART Loopback Test
[3 ] SDRAM Test
[4 ] FLASH and File CRC32 Checksum Test
[5 ] System Timer Test
[6 ] I2C Test
[7 ] FAN Test
[8 ] Ethernet Test
[9 ] RPSU Test
[A ] Test All Items
[ESC] Exit

Enter your choice:

PCI Initial Test...................... PASS

PCI Device Test....................... PASS
Found Device : MPC8541
Device Number: 0
Found Device : BCM56514
Device Number: 18
Found Device : BCM56514
Device Number: 20

UART 1 Test ............................. PASS


SDRAM Data Line Test.................. PASS

SDRAM Address Line Test............... PASS

SDRAM Memory Read/Write Test.......... PASS

SDRAM Byte-Word-Long Test............. PASS

SDRAM Power-of-2 Test................. PASS

SDRAM Walking 1's and 0's Test........ PASS

SDRAM XOR Test........................ PASS

Flash Memory Initialize............... PASS
Flash Information :
Device Id : 0x00000022
Device Flags : 0x00000000
Device Blocks : 0x00000100
Device Block Info : 0x00020000


Flash Memory Checksum Test............ PASS

Flash Memory Read/Write Test.......... PASS


System Timer Test..................... PASS


I2C Bus Test.......................... PASS


24C02(EEPROM) Test.................... PASS
ADT7460(Sensor) Test.................. FAIL
Cannot read local temperature!
Cannot read remote 2 temperature!
DS1338(RTC) Test...................... PASS
RTC Function Test..................... PASS


FAN Tray Present Signal Test.......... PASS


FAN 1 Test............................ FAIL

FAN 2 Test............................ PASS
Speed = 8144 RPM, PWM = 56

FAN 3 Test............................ FAIL


Ethernet : MAC Internal loopback test .... started

CPU counter :
RX = 100
TX = 100


MAC Internal loopback test ... PASS


Ethernet : PHY Internal loopback test .... started

CPU counter :
RX = 100
TX = 100

PHY counter :
CRC error count = 0
Frame count = 100

PHY Internal loopback test ... PASS


Ethernet : External loopback test at speed 1000M Full Duplex .... started

CPU counter :
RX = 0
TX = 100

PHY counter :
CRC error count = 0
Frame count = 100

External loopback test at speed 1000M ... FAIL


Ethernet : External loopback test at speed 100M Full Duplex .... started

CPU counter :
RX = 17
TX = 100

PHY counter :
CRC error count = 0
Frame count = 100

External loopback test at speed 100M ... FAIL


Ethernet : External loopback test at speed 10M Full Duplex .... started

CPU counter :
RX = 15
TX = 100

PHY counter :
CRC error count = 0
Frame count = 100

External loopback test at speed 10M ... FAIL


Press any key to continue.

 

[legen]

Does this switch provide a web-interface for configuration or is it all console?

Edit: According to the manual it says
"
*1000/100/10 service ports:
Managed switch status and configured the switch via web or telenet
"

So i guess one can set up i.e. LACP through the web interface.

 

[tomx]

it has a pretty simplistic web interface. the cli is not bad though.

has anyone seen any mtu settings for this switch?

im trying to enable jumbo frames.

please help

****update****

I found it... it was located in the interface configuration.

interface 0/27
mtu 9000
exit

 

[Jeggs101]

I'm playing with the LB4m switch console. Set your serial to 9600 N81 and start pressing ctrl-c until you get a menu. You'll need to quickly select option 2 and press enter before it times out and continues.

It looks like this switch is similar to the Pronto 3240 (same BCM hardware) so I'm looking into using openflow on the device. If this is true, then these links are relevant

Keep us updated on the progress and post a how to if you get this to work! I would certainly get one if you do.

 

[RTM]

This looks like a really interesting deal, but I would not want to buy it for the possibility of installing the Indigo firmware.

As i understand it, the Pronto 3240 is similar to the Quanta LB4G, meaning not the LB4M, as this page also indicates: Mock Up - Indigo - OpenFlowHub - OpenFlow news and projectsMock Up - Indigo - OpenFlowHub - OpenFlow news and projects

According to this specsheet, there are some subtle differences, a different 10G PHY and the LB4G has 4 10G ports and of course the LB4M has two PSUs

 

[ewheelerinc]

As i understand it, the Pronto 3240 is similar to the Quanta LB4G, meaning not the LB4M [...] there are some subtle differences, a different 10G PHY and the LB4G has 4 10G ports and of course the LB4M has two PSUs

True. The lb4m uses BCM 8706 SFP+ ports, whereas the LB4g uses the Aeluros chipset.

That said, indigo does appear to support the BCM8706 chipset (See Pronto 3290) so its probably just a slightly different indigo build---if the indigo build even differentiates between them.