Quanta LB6M (10GbE) -- Discussion

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cyberjock

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Jul 15, 2017
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Hello everyone. I did some basic setup of my LB6M, but then got busy and it's been sitting plugged in with nothing attached to it for months. Today I hooked up my serial cable to it and found it is constantly rebooting itself. Here's what it says:

Select startup mode. If no selection is made within 5 seconds,
the FASTPATH Application will start automatically...

FASTPATH Startup -- Main Menu

1 - Start FASTPATH Application
2 - Display Utility Menu
Select (1, 2):
Extracting FASTPATH from .....warning: invalid STK header, assuming uimage
error: invalid uimage header
done
Loading FASTPATH .....tar: switchdrvr.tgz: No such file or directory
grep: /mnt/application/fastpath.vpd: No such file or directory
/mnt/application
done
/etc/rc.d/rc.fastpath: /etc/rc.d/rc.fastpath: 1410: /mnt/application/switchdrvr: not found
Starting pid 709, console /dev/ttyS0: '/etc/rc.d/rc.reboot'
syncing filesystems....This may take a few moments
umount: forced umount of /mnt/fastpath failed!
Rebooting system!
The system is going down NOW !!
Sending SIGTERM to all processes.
Terminated
/etc/rc.d/rc.fastpath: /etc/rc.d/rc.fastpath: 1: 1: not found
/mnt/application
FASTPATH not executed!
Press <ENTER> to continue...
Please stand by while rebooting the system.
Restarting system.


It'll boot up, and this will happen all over, over and over. I tried erasing the config file, but that didn't fix it. I'm really not sure where to proceed with this, so I'm hoping for some advice.

When I bought this months ago, it had the oldest version on it, then I upgraded it to the newest version, and had done several power cycles of the machine without issue. I never got the 10Gb ports to work, but I hadn't tried to use them either. It was one of the projects that was a low priority and "i'll get back to it next week" and then 5 months later I'm finally trying to get it setup.

Edit: I noticed this at the beginning of the boot sequence:

Please stand by while rebooting the system.
Restarting system.


U-Boot 2009.06 (Jun 23 2010 - 16:22:08)

CPU: 8541, Version: 1.1, (0x80720011)
Core: E500, Version: 2.0, (0x80200020)
Clock Configuration:
CPU0:825 MHz,
CCB:330 MHz,
DDR:165 MHz (330 MT/s data rate), LBC:41.250 MHz
CPM: 330 MHz
L1: D-cache 32 kB enabled
I-cache 32 kB enabled
I2C: ready
DRAM: Initializing
DDR: 512 MB
FLASH: 32 MB
L2: 256 KB enabled
*** Warning - bad CRC, using default environment

So I'm thinking I need to reload the u-boot environment as well as the 1.2.0.18 firmware. Anyone have any instructions on reloading both? I'm currently trying to do a boot from serial, and the file is uploading via xmodem. After that I can overwrite the firmware on image1 and image2. But I can't find anyone who has the steps for reloading the u-boot environment.
 
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naga bonar

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Nov 22, 2017
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hy all, can anyone have try Quanta LB6M 24-10G with Cumulus OS ?
or this type of switch do not support Cumulus ??
 

SamCN2

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Dec 4, 2017
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Hi, and thanks for maintaining info in this thread. It's been very helpful!

So, has anyone tried to set the ports as a trunk to auto-participate in all VLANS?
With my 1G switches, they just pass the VLAN tags, and my ESXi hosts just do the right thing.

So, I tried that with the LB6M, and of course, no joy.
So I tried:

(FASTPATH Routing) #show run
!Current Configuration:
!
!System Description "Quanta LB6M, 1.2.0.14, Linux 2.6.21.7"
!System Software Version "1.2.0.14"
!System Up Time "3 days 14 hrs 10 mins 44 secs"
!Additional Packages FASTPATH QOS
!Current SNTP Synchronized Time: Not Synchronized
!
set gvrp adminmode
vlan database
exit
configure
spanning-tree configuration name "08-9E-01-70-CA-5A"
interface 0/20
no auto-negotiate
addport 1/1
exit
interface 0/21
no auto-negotiate
addport 1/1
exit
interface 0/22
no auto-negotiate
addport 1/1
exit
!
interface 0/1
set gvrp interfacemode
exit
interface 0/2
set gvrp interfacemode
exit
... on through 0/26
!
interface 1/1
set gvrp interfacemode
mtu 9000
vlan participation auto 1
exit
interface 1/2
set gvrp interfacemode
exit

... on through 1/64


I'd really like this switch to replace a SFP+ - SFP+ cable.

Cheers!
-sam
 

BLinux

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Jul 7, 2016
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hello LB6M owners...

i know earlier in this 50-page thread, there's mention that idle power consumption was around 120-130W. has anyone measured the power consumption after swapping out fans? just wondering how much of the 130W is from the 3x 9000RPM + 4x PSU fans?

also, for those who swapped out the fans for something quieter/less airflow, do you have any feedback after several months of running with less airflow? would you recommend going back to stock or trying to find higher CFM fans?
 

fohdeesha

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I believe I've found a way to significantly upgrade the LB6M, but I may need a couple guinea pigs. As mentioned several pages back the Brocade TurboIron 24x is the same reference design. Brocade's documentation is top notch and super thorough, and they have firmware builds for that model as recent as last year. I have access to the firmware and will PM it to anyone who messages me and is willing to give it a go.

after a *lot* of googling I even found a post by someone on a russian forum saying they have been running their LB6M with brocade firmware and it works great, including enabling the broadcom chipsets pre-existing support for 1gbe SFP's on all ports, just as it does on the BigIron 24x.

here's a link to the datasheet, you can see some of the new stuff we'd get at the bottom: http://www.suntekpc.com/image/network-switch-xxx-brocade-turboiron-ti-24x-ac-data-sheet.pdf

highlights:
1gbe SFP support
well documented huge commandset with no limitations
BGP
properly working stp/rstp/mstp
QoS, traffic shaping/limiting/ACL etc
Q-in-Q tagging
tons of multicast features
SFlow with a config that doesn't disappear on reboot
huge and well documented/supported snmp MIB

It would almost be like getting a new switch. I'm 90% sure it's possible (especially after finding someone saying they've been running one), I think the big question is just whether it will require flashing the brocade bootloader via JTAG or not. EDIT: it does, the brocade FW is encrypted and requires the matching bootloader. The good news is brocade ships it as a separate file and with the right equipment can easily be flashed via JTAG. Will be doing this around new years unless something else pops up
 
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fohdeesha

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here's some initial binwalk output: http://fohdeesha.com/data/other/binwalk.txt

I forgot that brocade seemingly encrypts most of their firmware, and there's no uImage header to be found, so it seems the brocade boot image definitely needs to be flashed. I'll be talking to a firmware engineer friend with JTAG equipment in the next few days to go further.

Is it possible to flash a new boot image from within the quanta OS? I know the brocade OS lets you do this. I'm not so much worried if it's possible to get this going via JTAG (I'm sure it is), but whether we can figure out an easy process for the rest of you to load it as well

My offer of providing the FW and bootloader still stands to anyone who wants to poke around
 
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fohdeesha

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It seems the LB6M u-boot bootloader might have support to flash a new bootloader image from within it. Can someone verify the "copy -b" command exists in the bootloader? (not the OS) my LB6M is currently buried in a closet.

if that command exists, it may be as simple as
copy -b tftp://192.168.2.10/brocade_boot.bin

will provide the bootloader and fw to anyone brave enough to try it, if not I'll have to wait till i have a JTAG interface standing by to unbrick mine then I'll give it a go
 
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No, doesn't look like "copy -b" exists. There exists a 'dd' command on the internal LVL7 debug, so it may be possible to just copy it to the flash device using 'dd if=xxx.img of=/dev/mtd0' or similar.

The flash looks like this:

Code:
LVL7 Systems, Inc.
# cat /proc/mtd
dev:    size   erasesize  name
mtd0: 01f80000 00020000 "jffs2"
mtd1: 00080000 00020000 "u-boot"
mtd2: 00020000 00020000 "u-boot-env"
# ls /mnt/fastpath/
debug_config         mfg-diags.tar.gz     slog2.txt
debug_config.md5sum  mfg_diags_log.bin    ssh_host_dsa_key
dh1024.pem           olog0.txt            ssh_host_key
dh512.pem            olog1.txt            ssh_host_rsa_key
fastpath.cfg         olog2.txt            sshd.pid
image1               slog0.txt            sslt.rnd
log2.bin             slog1.txt            startup-config
# mount
proc on /proc type proc (rw)
none on /sys type sysfs (rw)
/dev/mtdblock0 on /mnt/fastpath type jffs2 (rw)
tmpfs on /mnt/application type tmpfs (rw)
I'm not willing to flash mine, however. It is probably not reversible without a JTAG and serious Quanta LB6M internals knowledge.

It seems the LB6M u-boot bootloader might have support to flash a new bootloader image from within it. Can someone verify the "copy -b" command exists in the bootloader? (not the OS) my LB6M is currently buried in a closet.

if that command exists, it may be as simple as
copy -b tftp://192.168.2.10/brocade_boot.bin

will provide the bootloader and fw to anyone brave enough to try it, if not I'll have to wait till i have a JTAG interface standing by to unbrick mine then I'll give it a go
 

fohdeesha

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in discord working on it with a couple firmware guys this minute, we're getting close. It's certainly possible using just bootloader commands. We're able to write the brocade bootloader to an arbitrary flash location of our choosing, now we're just sifting through the flash contents using md and disassembling it to find the proper first stage bootloader location. then it's as simple as writing the brocade bootloader to that location.

It should be roughly as easy once it's brocade to get it back to quanta by using the same commands and substituting the quanta boot image, although I have no clue why you'd want to when you'd have brand new full featured firmware
 
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It looks like the first stage would be at 0x1f80000 after mtd0, if the sizes are related to flash offsets.

Notice the sizes of the partitions (the block size is in units of 512b):

Code:
mtd0: 01f80000 00020000 "jffs2"
mtd1: 00080000 00020000 "u-boot"
mtd2: 00020000 00020000 "u-boot-env"

# cat /sys/block/mtdblock*/size
64512
1024
256
The LB8 has a similar structure. The same image size, even though it is a different OS and the image partitions are formatted differently.

Code:
# cat /proc/mtd
dev:    size   erasesize  name
mtd0: 01f80000 00020000 "system image"
mtd1: 00020000 00020000 "uboot-env"
mtd2: 00060000 00020000 "uboot"
mtd3: 01c00000 00020000 "/var"
mtd4: 00400000 00020000 "/mnt/persist"

# cat /sys/block/mtdblock*/size
64512
256
768
57344
8192
 

fohdeesha

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LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. docu to come soon. I can't believe it. everything works, all of it. all done from bootloader
ya'll just got one of these for free: http://www.suntekpc.com/image/network-switch-xxx-brocade-turboiron-ti-24x-ac-data-sheet.pdf

Code:
TX24 Router#show ver
  SW: Version 07.4.00pT203 Copyright (c) 1996-2012 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
      Compiled on Mar 22 2016 at 03:35:33 labeled as TIR07400p
      (6850809 bytes) from Tftp TIR07400p.bin
      Compressed Boot-Monitor Image size = 369366, Version:07.3.00T205 (trz07300)
  HW: Stackable TurboIron-X24
==========================================================================
      Serial  #: ??LB6M
      P-ASIC  0: type B820, rev 11  subrev 00
==========================================================================
  825 MHz Power PC processor MPC8541E (version 8020/0020) 330 MHz bus
  512 KB boot flash memory
31744 KB code flash memory
  512 MB DRAM
The system uptime is 2 minutes 5 seconds
The system : started=cold start

TX24 Router#
 
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fohdeesha

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looking for someone to jump on discord with us ASAP, so we can walk you through it and create easy to follow documentation in the process. We also need a couple memory output commands run to make a couple "verification" steps. Due to the bricking risk if you follow a command incorrectly, we don't want to publish it until we have it very easy to follow. risk of bricking it is 0 if you can copy/paste our commands without changing them.

Message me! the sooner someone volunteers the sooner the guide will be posted for everyone
 
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verygeeky

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Well that was fun! (fohdeesha's paste output was from my LB6M -> Brokeaid Turboirom) If anyone has access to a legit Brocade Turboiron X24, we'd also like to explore the flash protection and EEPROM for serial number offsets.
 
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abq

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LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. docu to come soon. I can't believe it. everything works, all of it. all done from bootloader
ya'll just got one of these for free: http://www.suntekpc.com/image/network-switch-xxx-brocade-turboiron-ti-24x-ac-data-sheet.pdf

Code:
TX24 Router#show ver
  SW: Version 07.4.00pT203 Copyright (c) 1996-2012 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
      Compiled on Mar 22 2016 at 03:35:33 labeled as TIR07400p
      (6850809 bytes) from Tftp TIR07400p.bin
      Compressed Boot-Monitor Image size = 369366, Version:07.3.00T205 (trz07300)
  HW: Stackable TurboIron-X24
==========================================================================
      Serial  #: ??LB6M
      P-ASIC  0: type B820, rev 11  subrev 00
==========================================================================
  825 MHz Power PC processor MPC8541E (version 8020/0020) 330 MHz bus
  512 KB boot flash memory
31744 KB code flash memory
  512 MB DRAM
The system uptime is 2 minutes 5 seconds
The system : started=cold start

TX24 Router#
Impressive work - Thank You!
 
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fohdeesha

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just got done with fvanlint on discord, he helped us get all the extra output we needed for verification steps and got his succesfully turned into a full L3 TurboIron and was able to get vlan routing working in about 60 seconds. The actual process of flashing the brocade code only took ~2 commands and 60 seconds, so if you can copy paste, the guide should be easy to follow.

Full disclosure, after testing everything, there's 2 caveats when turning it into a brocade:

1. the Brocade equivalent device has no status/activity LEDs for the SFP+ ports, so as you can imagine the software has no code to control them. The result is after flashing your quanta, the sfp+ status led's won't do anything. All the chassis and copper LEDs still work obviously, so just a cosmetic thing on the SFP+ ports

2. The Brocade also only has 1 out of band management port. So when flashing this software, the #2 OOB management port ceases to do anything. The OS doesn't see it to configure, and it's not bridged to mgmt 1, so it does nothing. If you need OOB management you still have mgmt #1 like normal, and obviously in-band management on all the other ports