diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'src/drivers/net/mlx_ipoib/doc')
-rw-r--r-- | src/drivers/net/mlx_ipoib/doc/README.boot_over_ib | 176 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 176 deletions
diff --git a/src/drivers/net/mlx_ipoib/doc/README.boot_over_ib b/src/drivers/net/mlx_ipoib/doc/README.boot_over_ib deleted file mode 100644 index 07738628..00000000 --- a/src/drivers/net/mlx_ipoib/doc/README.boot_over_ib +++ /dev/null @@ -1,176 +0,0 @@ -.Boot over IB over Mellanox HCAs README - Pre-Alpha release -========================================================== -Document #2442, Rev 0.10, December 2005 - - -1. General ------------ -This README describes the Boot over IB package which enables booting a Linux -kernel from a remote server using one of the Mellanox Technologies HCA -devices. The package is based on Etherboot 5.4.1. - -The package actually implements a network driver for Etherboot. The wire -protocol is compliant with IP Over IB -(see http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/ipoib-charter.html for related -documents). - -Etherboot uses a traditional setup of a DHCP server and a TFTP server to -perform a remote boot in a similar manner to Ethernet NICs. The binary code is -exported by the device as an expansion ROM image. - - -2. Supported Devices ---------------------- -The following Mellanox Technologies HCA devices are supported: - - PCI Device ID Mellanox HCA Device - ---------------------------------------------- - 23108 InfiniHost (P/N MT23108) - 25208 InfiniHost III Ex (P/N MT25208) (InfiniHost) - 25218 InfiniHost III Ex (P/N MT25208) (MemFree) - 25204 InfiniHost III Lx (P/N MT25204) - - - Note: For devices with more than one IB port, port 1 is used for - communications. - - -3. Compiling ----------------- -From the src directory: -Run" make bin/<device>.<ext> -where device can be any of: - MT23108 - MT25218 - MT25208 - MT25204 - -and ext can be rom, zrom etc. (see Etherbot doumentation for more details) - -4. Directory Structure ------------------------ -All driver files are available under src/drivers/net/mlx_ipoib/. Under this -directory the following files can be found: - - *** doc - Contains related documents including this file. - *** patches - Contains needed patch files. - *** samples - Contains sample files. - *** . Contains driver source files. - - -5. Burning the Flash Memory ----------------------------- -The binary code resides in the same Flash device of the device firmware. -However the binary files are distinct and do not affect each other. Mellanox's -'mlxburn' tool is available for burning, however, it is not possible to burn -the expansion ROM image by itself; rather, both the firmware and expansion ROM -images must be burnt simultaneously. - -'mlxburn' is part of the Mellanox Firmware Tools (MFT) package available for -download from www.mellanox.com under 'Firmware Downloads'. - -Example: -The following command burns a firmware image and an expansion ROM image to an -InfiniHost Adapter Card (P/N MHX-CE128-T.ini): - - mlxburn -fw fw-23108-a1-rel.mlx -exp_rom MT23108.bin - /dev/mst/mt23108_pci_cr0 -conf MHX-CE128-T.ini - -*** Important Note: The .ini file must support burning expansion ROMs. For -example, the following lines must appear in the .ini file. If they do not, -please add them manually. - -[ADAPTER] -exp_rom_en = true - -Mellanox's web site contains firmware binary files with extension .bin.gz. -These files contain contain EVERYTHING the goes in the flash memory and thus -are NOT suitable for including the expansion rom image. Therefore, one use the -files with .mlx extension also available from Mellanox's web site. - - - -6. Preparing the DHCP Server ------------------------------ -DHCP messages over IP Over IB are transmitted as broadcasts. In order to -distinguish between messages belonging to a certain DHCP session, the messages -must carry the client identifier option (see ietf documentation referred to -above). As of November 2005, ISC DHCP servers do not support this feature. -They are expected to support this at the end of 2005. In order to work this -out, the appropriate patch must be applied (see patches directory). It has -been tested on version isc-dhcpd-V3.0.4b2. - -The DHCP server must run on a machine which supports IP Over IB. The Mellanox -IBGD package (gen1 or gen2) can be used to provide this. -To run the DHCP server from the command line use: dhcpd ib0 - -7. DHCP Server Configuration File ----------------------------------- -In order for the DHCP server to provide configuration records for clients, an -appropriate configuration file dhcpd.conf must be created and put under /etc/. -A sample configuration file with comments can be found in the samples directory. - - -8. OpenSM ----------- -To successfully boot over IB, the IB network must contain a Subnet Manager -which configures the IB network. OpenSM is part of the IBGD distribution and -can be used to accomplish that. Note that OpenSM may be run on the same host -running the DHCP server but it is not mandatory. - - -9. TFTP Server ---------------- -When the DHCP session is completed, the client has the IP address of the TFTP -server from which it should download the kernel image. This TFTP server must -run on a machine with InfiniBand support. The client loads first a loader -image based on PXE API which then loads the kernel image. The image can be -found in the Linux kernel homepage: - -http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/boot/syslinux/ - - -10. BIOS Configuration ------------------------ -The expansion ROM image presents itself to the BIOS as a boot device. As a -result, the BIOS will add it to the list of boot devices. The priority of this -list can be modified when entering the BIOS setup. The boot over IB image must -be set first for the BIOS to attempt to use it first. - - -11. Operation --------------- -When booting the client, a message appears on the screen describing the device -found and the revision of the code. The user has 3 seconds to press a key for -increased functionality: -'V' will increase verbosity. -'I' will prinit some information to aid in configuring the DHCP configuration - file. In this case the display will hold for 5 seconds to let the user - grasp the information. - -Note that increasing verbosity will significantly slow boot time and will -print lots of debug messages to the screen. - - -12. Diskless Machines ----------------------- -Most often it is required to boot a diskless machine. In these cases the -kernel mounts its root file system over NFS over one of the interfaces. For -this to happen on a client with only InfiniBand interfaces, the kernel image -must be configured accordingly and must include IP Over IB support. This can -be achieved either by compiling this into the kernel or using initrd images -that contain IP Over IB support. - - -13. Changing Defaults ----------------------- -As stated the driver uses port 1 for its communications. To use another port -edit the file src/drivers/net/ib_driver.h and modify the definition of -PXE_IB_PORT. - - -14. Installing a package from Mellanox --------------------------------------- -When using a package obtained from Mellanox Technologies' web site, the -directory src/bin will contain the driver binary files. The files have a .bin -extension and are equivalent to the same files with .zrom extension. |