mstflint: Burning a Firmware Image

The mstflint utility enables you to burn the Flash from a binary image.To burn the entire Flash from a raw binary image, use the following command line:

            

            
# mstflint -d <device> -i <fw-file> [-guid <GUID> | -guids <4 GUIDS> | -mac <MAC> | -macs <2 MACs>] burn
        

where:

To burn a firmware image:

1. Update the firmware on the device, keeping the current GUIDs and VSD. (Note: This is the common way to use the tool.

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   # mstflint -d 41:00.0 -i fw-4099-2_42_5000-MCX354A-FCB_A2.bin burn
           

2. Update the firmware on the device, specifying the GUIDs to burn.

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   # mstflint -d 41:00.0 -i fw-4099-2_42_5000-MCX354A-FCB_A2.bin -guid 1234567deadbeef burn
           

3. Update the firmware on the device, specifying the MACs to burn.

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   # mstflint -d 41:00.0 -i fw-4099-2_42_5000-MCX354A-FCB_A2.bin -mac 1234567deadbeef burn
           

4. Burn the image on a blank Flash device. This means that no GUIDs are currently burnt on the device, therefore they must be supplied (with -guid/-guids) by the burning command. Moreover, the burn process cannot be failsafe when burning a blank Flash, therefore the -nofs flag must be specified.

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   burn# mstflint -d 41:00.0 -i fw-4099-2_42_5000-MCX354A-FCB_A2.bin -nofs -guid 12345678 burn
           

5. Read FW from the device and save it as an image file.

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   # mstflint -d 41:00.0 ri Flash_Image_Copy.bin
           

6. MT58100 SwitchX switch:
   Burn the image on a blank Flash device. Meaning, no GUIDs/MACs are currently burnt on the device, therefore they must be supplied (with -guid/-guids and -mac/-macs) by the burning command. Moreover, the burn process cannot be failsafe when burning a blank Flash, therefore the -nofs flag must be specified.

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   # mstflint -d 41:00.0 -i /tmp/fw-sx.bin -nofs -guids 000002c900002100 0 0 000002c900002100 -macs 0002c9002100 0002c9002101 b
           

Burning the MFA2 images enables the user to extract (i.e. unzip) 4MB images from MFA2 archive that matches the device type and device PSID. If there are more than one matching images, the user may use the --latest_fw flag and burn the latest firmware, or choose the required image from the user menu.

• Burning the MFA2 Images when the Device Includes a Valid Image

  In this scenario, the user may (optional) provide a “—psid” flag and extract from the MFA2 archive the image that matches this flag, and this way actually change the PSID on the device.

• Burning the MFA2 Images when in Live Fish Mode

  In this scenario, the user must provide a “—psid” flag and extract from the MFA2 archive the image that matches this flag, and this way actually change the PSID on the device.

The In-Field-Firmware-Update (IFFU) tool works via the HCAs in the datacenters and is intended for remote control. The tool is used to update cables transceivers' firmware.

Optical Cables and Transceivers are active network components which run firmware, and as any component running firmware, the ability to update firmware is mandatory. Transceiver firmware update is a system flow which requires the following elements:

• Tool/Manager which will perform the firmware update

• HCA firmware management used as a middleman between the Manager and the cable transceiver

• Transceiver firmware: target for upgrade

The figure below shows the tool/manager which runs on a remotely controlled HCA on host shown as ‘Device’.

The manager can query the transceivers type and the current running firmware to understand if an update is required. When an update is required, the manager can apply set of commands that will send the remote host device a new firmware images for the specific transceiver(s) and activate a firmware update flow. The set of commands is defined with low level primitives to support full flexibility for the user. High level script can be applied on top of the manager and allow system wide update.

The Tool/Manager host must have MST rev. 4.16.00 or later installed.
Remote control from outside the cluster (data center) requires access to the host being used as Tool/Manager. When the cluster has many HCAs, multiple hosts may be engaged in the upgrade process. The host(s) can be remotely controlled via VNC access.

Firmware Burning Across a Cluster (Data Center)

The IFFU function described below works on one switch. Cluster-wide firmware updating is done by use of a script which initiates the update procedure in multiple switches in parallel by initiating an instance of the flint command for each switch. In large clusters the script can be executed on multiple hosts, each handling a different part of the cluster.

Cable Burn Command

            

            
# mstflint -d <device> --linkx <flags> <commands>
        

where:

Flags:

Commands:

Updating the Firmware

Burning a firmware cable transceiver connected to the host is done using the "mstflint" tool. To do so, the user should use the "–linkx" flag.

Firmware can be burnt in follow one of the methods:

• Burn with Auto-update:

1. Transfer the data from the host.

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   # mstflint -d <device> --linkx --linkx_auto_update --download_transfer -i <image> b
           

   Example:

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   # mstflint -d /dev/mst/mt4123_pciconf0 --linkx --linkx_auto_update --download_transfer -i image.bin b
           

2. Activate the firmware.

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   # mstflint -d <device> --linkx --linkx_auto_update –-activate b
           

   Example:

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   # mstflint -d /dev/mst/mt4123_pciconf0 --linkx --linkx_auto_update --activate b
           

   Transfer and Activate Example:

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   # mstflint -d /dev/mst/mt4123_pciconf0 --linkx --linkx_auto_update --download_transfer --activate -i image.bin b
           

• Burning a specific port in the HCA using the 'Range':

1. Transfer the data from the host.

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   # mstflint -d <device> --linkx --downstream_device_id_start_index <port_number> --num_of_downstream_devices 1 --download_transfer -i <image> b
           

2. Activate the firmware.

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   # mstflint -d <device> --linkx --downstream_device_id_start_index <port_number> --num_of_downstream_devices 1 --activate b
           

   Example of Download Transfer with Activation, range is 1 to 2:

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   # mstflint -d /dev/mst/mt4123_pciconf0 --linkx --downstream_device_id_start_index 1 --num_of_downstream_devices 2 download_transfer --activate -i image.bin b
           

   This will update 2 AOCs/Transceivers starting from port 1, i.e. all ports in the range 1…2.

   Warning

   You cannot ‘overburn’ the same firmware version into a transceiver/AOC as the one already installed. This is to prevent wasting time re-burning transceivers in a large cluster.

   Example of successful update of 1 AOC:

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   -I- Downloading FW ...
   FSMST_INITIALIZE -   OK
   Writing COMPID_LINKX component -   OK
   FSMST_LOCKED -   OK
   FSMST_DOWNSTREAM_DEVICE_TRANSFER -   OK
   FSMST_LOCKED -   OK
   Please wait while activating the transceiver(s) FW ...
   FSMST_ACTIVATE -   OK..]
   -I- Cable burn finished successfully.
           

   Warning

   Downloading and burning takes approx. 1½ minute + activation ½ minute for one cable.

Querying Vendor Specific Firmware Information from a NVIDIA AOC / Transceiver

Querying a firmware cable transceiver is done using the "mstflint" tool.

            

            
# mstflint -d <cable device> q
        

Querying Firmware Information from an AOC / Transceiver

Querying a firmware cable transceiver connected to the host is done using the "mstflint" tool. To do so, the user should use the "–linkx" flag.

            

            
# mstflint -d <device> --linkx --downstream_device_ids <ids> [--output_file <file_name>] q
        

Query ports 1,2,5 Example:

            

            
# mstflint -d <device> --linkx --downstream_device_ids 1,2 q
        

The system responds with information about the firmware version loaded into the transceivers.

Checking successful burning and operation - Example:

It is essential to check that the links come up AFTER the cable FW is updated and reactivated. This can be done as follows:

            

            
# for i in {1..2}; do echo $i; mstlink -d /dev/mst/mt4123_pciconf0 -p $i -m | grep 'Part\|FW\|State'; done
        

The ‘State’ parameter was added to the query. The response has the following format (example):

            

            
# 1
 
State                           : Active
Vendor Part Number              : MFS1S00-H010
FW Version                      : 38.100.59
 
2
 
State                           : Active
Vendor Part Number              : MFS1S00-H010
FW Version                      : 38.100.59