Windows OpenFabrics

1.1 Release Notes

05/15/2008


Overview

Supported Platforms, Operating Systems and Infiniband Hardware

Installation Specifics

How to Install

Unattended Install

Setting the IPoIB Interface IP Address

Uninstall

Trouble Shooting

InfiniBand Subnet Management as a Windows Service

Local Network Adapter Ordering

Which WinOF release is installed?

QLogic VNIC Configuration

DAT & uDAPL Configuration

SRP - SCSI RDMA Protocol Driver Installation

Known Issues


 

Overview

The Windows OpenFabrics (WinOF) release package is composed of software modules intended for use on Microsoft Windows based computer systems connected via an InfiniBand fabric.

 Binary files generated from the OpenIB-windows developers subversion (svn) source tree 'svn://openib.tc.cornell.edu' (branches\WOF1-1 svn revision 1177) are packaged into a WIX 2.0 (Windows Installer Xml) single file install package referred to as the Windows OpenFabrics (WinOF) release 1.1.
 

This WinOF 1.1 is a new release as it contains new functionality and bug fixes to numerous components:

The Windows OpenFabrics (WinOF) release package contains the following:

OpenFabrics InfiniBand core drivers and Upper Level Protocols (ULPs):

OpenFabrics utilities:

Documentation

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Supported Platforms, Operating Systems and Infiniband Hardware

CPU architectures

Operating Systems

Supported HCAs (Host Channel Adapters)

Mellanox

Both SDR and DDR mode of the InfiniHost III family are supported.

For official Firmware (FW) versions and update tools please see:
http://www.mellanox.com/support/firmware_table.php
Current HCA firmware version can be viewed from the 'vstat' command.

Supported Switches

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Installation Specifics

User mode tools and diagnostics are installed in '%SystemDrive%\Program Files (x86)\WinOF'.  Although driver modules initially reside in '%SystemDrive%\Program Files (x86)\WinOF', when installed the Windows device installer relocates driver modules to %SystemRoot%\system32 & %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64'. DAT & DAPL runtime libraries are installed into %SystemRoot% in order to be accessible to user mode applications.
WinOF user mode executables are designed to be run from a Command Prompt window; see  'Start->Program Files-> Windows OpenFabrics-> Command Prompt'.

'%SystemDrive%\Program Files (x86)\WinOF' is appended to the system wide search path; new command windows created after the installation will have the updated %PATH% environment variable, hence will be able to access WinOF utilities.

The ‘default’ installation installs ‘released/free’ (not checked/debug) versions of drivers and executables.

A single instance of a subnet manager, opensm.exe, must be running on a fabric connected node in order for the Infiniband fabric to be configured and useful; either Windows or Linux opensm work well.

It is recommended that OpenSM be run as a Windows service.  A typical WinOF install will install OpenSM as a Windows service which is disabled; after an installation, choose your openSM node and start the openSM service.  See the WinOF Manual for details on opensm as a service.
By selecting the 'OpenSM_service_enabled' feature, an OpenSM subnet management service will be automatically started.

Note, the opensm.exe process must continue to run in order to maintain Infiniband fabric configuration. Should the opensm.exe process die, restart the service if not automatic or re-run opensm.exe in order to continue correct fabric operation.

For more subnet management information, consult the Windows OpenFabrics manual.

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How to Install

Requirements

Install HCA hardware prior to installing the Windows OpenFabrics Release package. Upon reboot, cancel any attempts to install new device hardware from the "Found New Hardware Wizard".

If you have previously installed openib-windows, Windows OpenFabrics packages or vendor supplied Infiniband packages, uninstall and reboot prior to installing this version of Windows OpenFabrics (WinOF).

For an existing Windows OpenFabrics uninstall
    Programs-> Windows OpenFabrics-> Uninstall WinOF
      -or-
    Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs-> Windows OpenFabrics->Remove.

openib-windows uninstall:

  1. Stop the openSM subnet manager if it is running on the local node.
  2. Disable any Local Area Connections which are bound to the IPoIB network adapter.
  3. Uninstall the IPoIB driver - My computer->Manage->Devices->Network Adapters->IPoIB*
  4. Uninstall the Infiniband HCA device; don't forget the System Device-> InfiniBand Fabric

 

REBOOT

Upon system restart, cancel the 'Found New Hardware Wizard' attempt to install drivers for newly discovered PCI device.

'My Computer->Manage->Device Manager' should display 'Other Devices->?PCI device' which is your Infiniband HCA device.

Install

From a login with administrator privileges, double-click the WinOF_M-m_arch_setup.msi file to begin the Windows OpenFabrics installation;  where '_arch_' can be (_x64_ for  Intel EMT64 systems or amd64, _x86_ for x86 compatible systems or _ia64_ for Intel IA64 systems).

Follow the instructions.
Answer 'yes' or 'Continue' to any notifier windows which reference non-signed driver installation. These non-signed driver install questions can be disabled via 'My Computer->Properties->Hardware->Driver Signing->Ignore'.

Bottom-line - WinOF drivers in this package are not WHQL'ed although they are built from driver source which has been WHQL'ed.

 

 **** WARNING ****

Should any 'Welcome to the Found New Hardware Wizard' windows popup after the WinOF install has started, just ignore (window will disappear in a few seconds) or 'Cancel' the errant popup window.  For Windows Server 2003 (SP1) you can safely ignore the errant FNHW popup window; for Windows XP (SP2) the errant FNHW popups need to be 'cancelled' in order for the WinOF install to proceed. The report back from Microsoft on these 'Found New Hardware Wizard' windows popping up is they are due to the fact the WinOF drivers are not Digitally signed (non-WHQL'ed) and hence are not trusted by Windows. Even though the Ignore warning on installation of non-signed drivers is enabled (My Computer->Properties->Hardware->Driver Signing->Ignore) the FNHW is still invoked. MS claims this is a 'feature'.

An artifact of cancelling an errant 'Found New Hardware' popup window may induce an errant taskbar Information notifier/bubble indicating there may have been problems installing your hardware drivers;
IGNORE/cancel this information bubble, likely the device installation proceeded without error. Check the Device Manager views for the Infiniband HCA and IPoIB Network Adapters for initial verification of correct installation.

You do need to answer 'Yes' or 'Continue' to those notifier windows which reference non-signed driver installation. If you have previously set My Computer->Properties->Hardware->Driver Signing->Ignore, then you will NOT be queried about installation of non-signed drivers; although the FNHW windows likely will occur.

Should the install appear to hang, look around for occluded notifier windows waiting for a response which are covered by existing windows.
 

Install type: Custom only

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Unattended Install

To perform a silent/unattended installation, invoke the following command from a command window.

start/wait msiexec.exe /i WinOF_x64_1-0-1.msi /quiet /passive /log %TEMP%\WOF_install.log

'/log dev:path\logFilename.log' is optional.

msiexec.exe /? for all options.

An unattended install will install the following 'default' install options:

Should WSD not be a desirable unattended install option (Win2K3 only), currently you would install unattended then execute the command 'installsp -r' on each node to remove WSD.

See Unattended Installations for further references.

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Setting the IPoIB Interface IP Address

The Windows command 'netsh' will assist in assigning an IP address to an IPoIB interface.
By default, an IPoIB interface is configured to use DHCP. The following discussion deals with setting a static IP address on an IPoIB interface.

Display all network interface configuration information
        netsh interface ip show config
        netsh interface ip show address "Local Area Connection 3"

Config a static IP address for an IPoIB interface: [Local Area Connection 3 == 1st IPoIB interface], 10.10.4.23 is the assigned IP address
with a netmask of 255.255.255.0, the gateway is 10.10.4.1 metric is 2.

        netsh interface ip set address "Local Area Connection 3" static 10.10.4.23 255.255.255.0 10.10.4.1 2

See netsh for further reference.

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Uninstall

To uninstall a WinOF package from a single node

  1. Programs-> Windows OpenFabrics-> Uninstall WinOF
  2. Control Panel-> Add Remove Programs-> Windows OpenFabrics-> Remove

Unattended Uninstall

From a Command Window invoke the following command; a system reboot will occur after the uninstall.

start/wait msiexec.exe  /x {3A6A276E-A636-48E8-8624-9A0DE3F2A15E} /quiet /passive /forcerestart
  - or -
start/wait msiexec.exe  /x WinOF_x64_1-0-1.msi /quiet /passive /forcerestart        # WinOF_xxxx.msi is the file used to install WinOF.

msiexec.exe /help for details.

'/log dev:path\logfilename.log'  if you wish to later view the install results.

If for some reason the Product Code {GUID} changes, the latest code can be located via
Programs-> Windows OpenFabrics-> Uninstall WinOF<right-click>Properties

Infrequently, the 'System Device->Infiniband Fabric' may not correctly uninstall. Make sure the Infiniband Fabric device is completely uninstalled; use device manager for checking. The effect of a partially uninstalled Infiniband Fabric device is IPoIB load failure upon the next WinOF install.

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Trouble Shooting

Down rev firmware will result in IPoIB not installing. Consult the event viewer, system error records, look for 'mthca' entries generated when the HCA driver loads. One of the mthca entries will display the current firmware revision.

Current Mellanox Firmware Revisions Matrix

•
–MT23108 (InfiniHost)
§Minimal FW version: 3.3.2
§Optimal FW version: 3.4.0
–MT25208 (InfiniHost III Ex, Tavor mode)
§Minimal FW version: 4.7.0
§Optimal FW version: 4.7.400
–MT25218 (InfiniHost III Ex, memfree)
§Minimal FW version: 5.1.0
§Optimal FW version: 5.1.400
–MT25204 (InfiniHost III Lx)
§Minimal FW version: 1.0.800
§Optimal FW version: 1.1.0
•If HCA FW is older than minimal FW
Error reported to system event log
–HCA loads as memory controller to allow FW upgrade
•If HCA  FW is equal or newer than optimal version
 
–HCA starts OK.
•Else
HCA loads OK.
–Warning will be issued to system event log
–
My computer-> Manage-> Event Viewer-> System Events

Firmware updates are available at www.mellanox.com/support/firmware_download.php

 

Incomplete Previous Uninstall

Should the previous uninstall silently fail, the next installation can fail in the Driver Install phase with the following error:
    DriverInstall - HCA Ret 2 Error 0

At this juncture, check the Device Manager and uninstall the PCI device from 'InfiniBand Host Channel Adapters', and make sure you uninstall the system device 'InfiniBand Fabric'.

REBOOT and retry the WinOF installation again.

 

Correct Installation Validation

From the Device Manager you should find the following devices:

Validation Test

Open a WinOF command window

  1. Start->Program Files->Windows OpenFabrics -> Command Window
  2. run vstat.exe to view HCA configuration.
  3. If IPoIB is installed (Device Manager->Network Adapters), ping another node on the InfiniBand fabric 'ping a.b.c.d'
     

Subnet Management as a Windows Service

Limit the number of Subnet Managers on your fabric; one SM per fabric is sufficient, although redundant Subnet Managers are supported.

  1. After a 'typical' WinOF install, OpenSM is installed as a disabled Windows service named "InfiniBand Subnet Management". To start the OpenSM service, use My computer->Manage->Services and Applications->Services->InfiniBand Subnet Manager->Start.
    Set the service properties to 'auto' in order to restart upon the next system reboot.
     
  2. Install OpenSM as an automatic/running Windows service:
    a) Request a 'Custom' install, selecting the 'OpenSM_service_enabled' feature. Once the install has completed, check that the Infiniband Subnet Manager service is running: My computer->Manage->Services and Applications->Services->InfiniBand Subnet Manager.
     
  3. Consult the OpenSM log file @ %SystemRoot%\temp\osm.log to see what OpenSM thinks is happening.

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Local Network Adapter Ordering

Local Network Adapter ordering, which results in the IP address advertised for the system, can be managed from
    'My Network Places-> Advanced Tab-> Advanced settings'
From the Advanced settings display, the ordering of Local Network Adapters can be reordered after the IPoIB Local Network Adapters have been installed. Please check for your desired adapter ordering.

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Which WinOF release is installed?

  1. Add/Remove Programs entry identifies the WinOF release version.
  2. Start->Programs->Windows OpenFabrics->Release Notes  (2nd Line)
  3. Driver confirmation:
        Query My Computer-> Manage-> Device Manager-> Network Adapters-> OpenIB IPoIB Adapter-> Properties-> Driver-> Details
        The subversion (svn) revision number will be listed under 'Driver Version'. The svn revision number will match what's listed in the release notes.
  4. Hold the mouse point over \Program Files(x86)\WinOF\ib_read_bw.exe to display the file version; the 4th field is the svn revision number.

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QLogic VNIC Configuration

The QLogic VNIC (Virtual Network Interface Card) driver in conjunction with the QLogic Ethernet Virtual I/O Controller (EVIC) provides virtual Ethernet interfaces and transport for Ethernet packets over Infiniband.

Users can modify NIC parameters through User Interface icon in Network Connections:
( Properties->"Configure..." button -> "Advanced" Tab).

Parameters available:

Vlan Id (802.1Q) 

  values from 0 to 4094 ( default 0, disabled )
  This specifies if VLAN ID-marked packet transmission is enabled and, if so, specifies the ID.

Priority (802.1P)

  values from 0 to 7 ( default 0, feature disabled)
  This specifies if priority-marked packet transmission is enabled.

Payload MTU size 

  values from 1500 to 9500 (default 1500)
  This specifies the maximum transfer unit size in 100 bytes increments.

Recv ChkSum offload 

  (default enabled)
  This specifies if IP protocols checksum calculations for receive is offloaded.

Send ChkSum offload

  (default enabled)
  This specifies if IP protocols checksum calculations for send is offloaded.
 

Secondary Path 

   (default disabled)
   Enabled - If more than one IB path to IOC exist then secondary IB instance of virtual port will be created and configured with the same parameters as primary one. Failover from Primary to Secondary IB path is transparent for user application sending data through associated NIC.

   Disabled – only one path at a time is allowed. If more than one path to IOC exists then failed path will be destroyed and next available path will be used for new connection. With this scenario there is a possibility new interface instance will be assigned different MAC address when other hosts compete for EVIC resources.
 

LBFO Bundle Id
   (default disabled) Enabling support for OS provided Load Balancing and Fail Over functionality on adapter level.
   If enabled group ID can be selected from predefined names.

 

Heartbeat interval

   configures interval for VNIC protocol heartbeat messages in milliseconds.
   0 – heartbeats disabled.

Note:
   To take advantage of the features supported by these options, ensure that the Ethernet gateway is also configured appropriately.  For example, if the Payload MTU for a VNIC interface is set to 4000, the MTU at the EVIC module must also be set at least 4000 for the setting to take effect.

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DAT & uDAPL Configuration

In order for DAT/DAPL programs to execute correctly, the 'dat.dll' file must be present in the current directory, %SystemRoot% or in the library search path.

WinOF installation places the dat.dll and dapl.dll files in the '%SystemRoot%' folder (a.k.a. \Windows).

The DAT/DAPL configuration file by convention is defined as '%SystemDrive%\DAT\dat.conf'. If the file '%SystemDrive%\DAT\dat.conf' does not exist, a template configuration file will be installed as '%SystemDrive%\DAT\dat.conf'.
In order to preserve existing installations, the dat.conf file is not automatically installed if '%SystemDrive%\DAT\dat.conf' exists.
A sample dat.conf file is always installed as '\Program Files (x86)\WinOF\dat.conf '.

The default DAT configuration file specification can be overridden by use of the environment variable DAT_OVERRIDE. Such that 'DAT_OVERRIDE=D:\MyDAT\test.conf' would be a valid override specification.

Within the dat.conf file, the DAPL library specification can be located as the 5th whitespace separated line argument. By default the DAPL library file is installed as %WINDIR%\dapl.dll'.

Should you choose to relocate the DAPL library file to a folder where whitespace appears in the full library path specification, then the full library file specification must be contained within double-quotes. A side effect of the double-quotes is the library specification is treated as a Windows string which implies the '\' (backslash character) is treated as an 'escape' character.  Hence all backslashes in the library path must be duplicated when enclosed in double-quotes (e.g., "C:\\Programs Files (x86)\\WinOF\\dapl.dll").

DAT/DAPL version 2.0 runtime libraries are identified as dat2.dll and dapl2.dll, both in %SystemRoot%; see manual for further details.
 

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SRP - SCSI RDMA Protocol Driver Installation

The WinOF stack does not install the SRP driver by default.  If SRP is selected in the custom installation window, it will only be copied during WinOF installation. To complete the SRP driver installation, an SRP target must be detected; a Subnet Manager must be running somewhere in the InfiniBand subnet.

Upon the detection of an SRP target, the "New Hardware Found" Wizard pops up.
- Select Install Automatically and click Next. This installs the I/O unit device.

Once completed, the "New Hardware Found" Wizard pops up again.
- Select Install Automatically and click Next. This installs the SRP driver.

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Known Issues

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