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The fwtrace utility extracts and prints trace messages generated by the firmware running on 5th generation (Group II) devices iRISCs.

These trace messages inform developers of software drivers about internal status, events, critical errors, etc. Trace messages generated by iRISCs are stored in the trace buffer. The trace buffer is located in host memory. The tool also supports mem free mode where it uses a device internal small buffer.

By default, the firmware does not print trace messages. Please contact your FAE for more details on how to enable firmware tracing.

When using secure firmware, the user needs to validate that the value "1" is set to /sys/kernel/debug/tracing/events/mlx5/fw_tracer/enable.

Memory mode on 5th generation (Group II) devices is supported only by PCI mst devices.

For the tool to properly work with Inband devices, both the MFT and the Firmware must be updated to the latest (MFT v4.18.0 & firmware vXX.32.1xxx). 

If ConnectX-4 adapter card is used as an Inband device, for the tool to work properly, you need to use MFT 4.17.0.  

fwtrace Usage

  1. Start the mst driver (mst start or mst restart)
  2. Enter the following command:

    # fwtrace [options...]   

where

-h|--helpPrint this help message and exit
-d|--device      mst device name
-f|--fw_strings    Fw strings db file containing the FW strings
--tracer_mode     

Tracer mode [FIFO | MEM]

--real_ts  Print real timestamps in [hh:mm:ss:nsec] format
-i|--irisciRISC name (See below for full list of irisc names)
-t|--tile 

Allow the user to specify which tile events he would like to see.  

# "1.all" will enable risc1 in all tiles.  

# "1" will be treated like "1.all" 

# "all" will be treated like all.all 

# "all.1" will enable all iriscs in tile 1 

# .1 is invalid input. 

-a|--apu If enabled, tool will show APU events. 
--include_phy_ucIf enabled, tool will also show phy_uc events related to the enabled riscs (main / tiles)
--keep_cfg If enabled, the FWtrace will not delete the temporary cfg file (if one was created during the current run)
-s|--streamRun in streaming mode
-c|--cfg  HW tracer events cfg file
-n|--snapshot  Take events snapshot - this assumes previous FW configurations
-S|--buf_size  HW tracer MEM buffer size in [MB]
--dumpDump file name
-m|--maskTrace class mask, use "+" to enable multiple classes or use integer format, e.g: -m class1+class2+... or 0xff00ff00
-l|--level Trace level
v|--version   Print tool's version and exit
--gvmiGlobal virtual machine interface
--ignore_old_eventsIgnore collecting old events
--mem_accessMemory access method: OB_GW, VMEM, UDRIVER
--keep_running    Keep the hardware tracer unit running after exit
--config_only    Configure tracer and exit


Device Specific Info:

To view device specific information, run "fwtrace -d <mst_dev> -h".

Example:

# fwtrace -d mlx5_0 -i all -s
-I- Found FW string db cache file, going to use it
mlxtrace -d mlx5_0 -m MEM -c /tmp/itrace_8153.cfg -S
-I- Tracer Configuration:
-I- =====================
-I- Mode                                      : Collector
-I- Activation Mode                           : Memory Mode
-I- Memory Access Method                      : NA
-I- Configuration File Path                   : /tmp/itrace_8153.cfg
-I- Output file (Trace File) Path             : mlxtrace.trc
-I- User Buffer Size                          : NA[MBytes]
-I- Use Stream Mode                           : YES
-I- Configure Only                            : NO
-I- Only Snapshot (Skip Configuration Stage)  : NO
-I- Continuous fill                           : NO
-I- Print timestamp in [hh:mm:ss:nsec] format : NO
-I- Output file for streaming                 : STDOUT
-I- Delay between samples                     : 0[usec]
-I- ===============================================
-I- Device is: cib
-I- Configuring Tracer...
-I- Invalidating kernel buffer... (Press ^C to skip)
-I- Done
-I- Tracer was configured successfully
Device frequency: 276MHz
-I- Starting event streaming...
Reading new events...
774774193803 I2 Mad received on port 1 - QP 0
774774215444 I2 process set_get_pkey_table on port=1 set_get_=0 block=1
774775079296 I2 Mad received on port 1 - QP 0
774775120645 I2 port_state changed from INIT to ARM
774775166315 I2 process set_get_port_info on port 1 set_get_: 1 status:0x0
774775335890 I2 Mad received on port 1 - QP 0
774775367205 I2 port_state changed from ARM to ACTIVE
774775410880 I2 process set_get_port_info on port 1 set_get_: 1 status:0x0
774786733806 I3 process MAD_IFC on port 1
774786744859 I3 process set_get_port_info on port 1 set_get_: 0 status:0x0
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