NVIDIA MLNX-GW User Manual for NVIDIA Skyway Appliance v8.1.3000
NVIDIA MLNX-GW User Manual for NVIDIA Skyway Appliance v8.2.2200

Configuring the Gateway for the First Time

To initialize the gateway, follow the steps below.

  1. Enable remote access to serial console via IPMI.

    Warning

    Steps a through d, below, instruct how to find the MAC address for the IPMI port from inside the BIOS, even though the outside of the chassis is labeled with the IPMI port MAC address.

    1. Connect a VGA monitor and USB keyboard directly to the NVIDIA Skyway appliance.

    2. To enter the BIOS, reboot the NVIDIA Skyway appliance and press <DEL> during bootup until the BIOS window pops up.

    3. Go to “Server Mgmt.” tab → “BMC network configuration."

    4. The “Station IP address” is the address of the IPMI controller. DHCP may need to be configured in order to provide a lease for the MAC address. The NVIDIA Skyway appliance has 2 LAN ports on the back panel of the appliance that can be used for IPMI (in the figure below IPMI LAN2 is used).

      image2020-10-15_16-7-33.png

      image2021-3-8_9-37-36.png

    5. Use the following IPMI command to remotely access serial console (user and password should be “admin” by default).

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      ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IPMI_CONTROLLER_IP> -U <user> -P <password> sol activate

      Example:

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      ipmitool -I lanplus -H 10.7.113.60 -U admin -P admin sol activate

    Warning

    Make sure to connect to the console SOL port of the gateway and not to the management port. Of the four ports, either of the outer ports (1st or 4th port—either to IPMI LAN1 or IPMI LAN 4, in the image above) can be selected to be the SOL port.

    Warning

    Once operating system boots, iKVM over HTML5 no longer shows any output. However, iKVM over HTML5 can be used for BIOS configurations at the very beginning of the system boot sequence right before the operating system boots.

  2. Configure Console Redirection. This configuration allows to use remote IPMI to see all serial output that comes after the initial boot, useful for monitoring the OS init flow.

    1. Go to “Advanced” tab → “Serial Port Console Redirection” → Under “Serial Communication via IPMI COM".

    2. Set “Console Redirection” to “Enabled”.

      Important

      At this point, make sure to disconnect the VGA monitor and USB keyboard, or else the following error may appear:
      TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata; Please update microcode to version : 0xffffffff or later

  3. Log in as admin and use admin as password, using IPMI.

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    ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IP Address> -U admin -P admin sol activate

  4. Connect the management Ethernet cable to LAN3 (second port from the left) on the back panel of the appliance.

    image2021-3-8_9-40-4.png

  5. Go through the Gateway Management configuration wizard.

    IP Configuration by DHCP

    Wizard Session Display (Example)

    Comments

    Do you want to use the wizard for initial configuration? yes

    This configuration must be performed the first time the gateway is operated or after resetting the gateway to the factory defaults.
    Type “y” and then press <Enter>.

    Step 1: Hostname? [gateway-1]

    To accept the default hostname, press <Enter>.
    Otherwise, type a different hostname and press <Enter>.

    Step 2: Use DHCP on mgmt0 interface? [yes]

    Perform this step to obtain an IP address for the gateway (mgmt0 is the management port of the gateway).

    • Typing “yes” will have the DHCP server assign the IP address

    • Typing “no” (no DHCP) will offer the use of the “zeroconf” configuration or not. For the use of Zeroconf, type "yes" and the session will continue. If “no” (no Zeroconf) is typed, enter a static IP and the session will continue.

    Step 3: Enable IPv6 [yes]

    Perform this step to enable IPv6 on management ports.

    • Type "yes" to enable enable IPv6.

    • Type “no” to not enable IPv6 (Step 4 will be skipped)

    Step 4: Enable IPv6 autoconfig (SLAAC) on mgmt0 interface

    Perform this step to enable StateLess address autoconfig on external management port.

    • Type "yes" to enable

    • Type "no" to disable

    Step 5: Use DHCPv6 on mgmt0 interface? [yes]

    Perform this step to enable DHCPv6 on the MGMT0 interface.

    Step 6: Enable password hardening? 

    Perform this step to enable/disable password hardening on your machine. If enabled, new passwords will be checked upon configured restrictions. If you wish to enable it, type “yes” and press . If you wish to disable it, enter “no”

    Step 7: Admin password (Must be typed)? <new_password>

    To avoid illegal access to the machine, type a password and press <Enter>.

    An admin password must be entered upon initial configuration. Due to California Senate Bill No. 327, this stage is required and cannot be skipped.

    Step 8: Confirm admin password? <new_password>

    Confirm the password by re-entering it. Note that password characters are not printed.

    Step 9: Monitor password (Must be typed)? <new_password>

    To avoid illegal access to the machine, please type a password and then press <Enter>.

    An admin password must be entered upon initial configuration. Due to California Senate Bill No. 327, this stage is required and cannot be skipped.

    Step 10: Confirm monitor password? <new_password>

    Confirm the password by re-entering it. Note that password characters are not printed.

    You have entered the following information:
    Hostname: <gateway name>
    Use DHCP on mgmt0 interface: yes
    Enable IPv6: yes
    Enable IPv6 autoconfig (SLAAC) on mgmt0 interface: yes
    Enable DHCPv6 on mgmt0 interface: no
    Enable password hardening: yes
    Admin password (Enter to leave unchanged): (CHANGED)
    To change an answer, enter the step number to return to.
    Otherwise hit <enter> to save changes and exit.
    Choice: <Enter>
    Configuration changes saved.
    To return to the wizard from the CLI, enter the “configuration jump-start” command
    from configuration mode. Launching CLI...
    <gateway name> [standalone: master] >

    The wizard displays a summary of choices and then asks to confirm the choices or to re-edit them.

    • Press <Enter>, to save changes and exit

    • Enter the relevant configuration step number, to edit any of the choices

    To run the command “configuration jump-start”, Config mode must be used.

  6. Check the mgmt0 interface configuration before attempting a remote connection (e.g., SSH) to the gateway. Specifically, verify the existence of an IP address.

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    gateway # show interfaces mgmt0   Interface mgmt0 status: Comment : Admin up : yes Link up : yes DHCP running : yes IP address : 10.7.148.61 Netmask : 255.255.0.0 IPv6 enabled : yes Autoconf enabled: no Autoconf route : yes Autoconf privacy: no DHCPv6 running : no IPv6 addresses : 1   IPv6 address: fe80::268a:7ff:fe53:3d8e/64   Speed : 1000Mb/s (auto) Duplex : full (auto) Interface type : ethernet Interface source: physical MTU : 1500 HW address : 00:02:c9:11:a1:b2   Rx: 11700449 bytes 55753 packets 0 mcast packets 0 discards 0 errors 0 overruns 0 frame   Tx: 5139846 bytes 28452 packets 0 discards 0 errors 0 overruns 0 carrier 0 collisions 1000 queue len

Rerunning the Wizard

To rerun the wizard, do the following:

  1. Enter config mode.

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    gateway > enable gateway # config terminal

  2. Rerun the wizard.

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    gateway (config) # configuration jump-start

  1. Set up an Ethernet connection between the gateway and a local network machine using a standard SOL connector.

  2. Start a remote secured shell (SSH) to the gateway using the command “ssh -l <username> <gateway ip address>”.

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    rem_mach1 > ssh -l <username> <ip address>

  3. Log in to the gateway (default username and password are both "admin").

  4. Read and accept the EULA, when prompted.

  5. Once the following prompt appears, the system is ready to use.

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      Mellanox Gateway   Password: Last login: <time> from <ip-address>   gateway >

Warning

If firmware was upgraded, firmware boot bar will appear and the CLI will be blocked until firmware upgrade is complete.

Warning

The CLI will be blocked until InfiniBand virtual interfaces are created. The following message will appear : "Creating VFs".

image2021-3-7_17-47-31.png

© Copyright 2023, NVIDIA. Last updated on May 23, 2023.