Mellanox switch software image EOS

[chinchillaking]

Hello,

I can found Mellanox switch EOS refer https://hwu.netapp.com/Switch/Index

I can found HCI and Element EOS refer https://mysupport.netapp.com/site/info/version-support,  but I cannot found Mellanox software image EOS, the Mellanox switch with software image onyx-X86_64-3.9.2400, may we know any EOS for Mellanox software image?

[elementx]

I'll let someone from Support answer that, but for Mellanox you can find EOS and EOL (support) info at https://network.nvidia.com/support/eol/ (once a product gets EOS'd, then it is added to this Excel file where you can look up EOS announcement (PDF link in Excel) and see which is the latest version of ONYX supported for it). But you can't find much in that Excel if the product hasn't been End-of-Sale'd yet. And NetApp may add other conditions and narrow the scope of which versions should be used in a NetApp HCI environment, so I won't try to give an answer.

Mellanox Support could give you an answer as well (as customer has Mellanox support contract), but it may be broader than what what you'd get from NetApp Support because there may be NetApp HCI-specific end-to-end testing with specific NICs and NIC f/w involved.

[chinchillaking]

Hello Elementx,

Thanks for your info. I also review https://network.nvidia.com/support/eol/ before open post because I cannot found the answer.

If software image version have end of support date, we need this information notice customer must upgrade if the version reach end of support. 

[elementx]

Mellanox Support doesn't "expire" support for ONYX versions, as long as your switch h/w is supported, your ONYX is also supported (assuming you installed the right ONYX on the switch).

So as @RossC said, you can keep the version mentioned in that KB.

But if there's some vulnerability that you notice for the ONYX version you have (or see it in Mellanox release notes), at that point you could ask NetApp Support if it's OK to upgrade to a newer version and if yes, which one. I think NetApp support keeps track of such updates, but you can always ask Support a specific question if in doubt.

[RossC]

Hi @chinchillaking 

Suggest taking a look at the following KB article - https://kb.netapp.com/Advice_and_Troubleshooting/Hybrid_Cloud_Infrastructure/NetApp_HCI/Which_Mellanox_Switches_are_available_for_the_Netapp_HCI

Specifically the "Interoperability" section which shows how to use our IMT (Interoperability Matrix Tool) to confirm what Onyx versions are supported as part of our HCI solution.

If you still can't find the right answer or aren't sure, then feel free to reach out to our support team.

[chinchillaking]

Hi RossC,

I follow your advise check with IMT, switch firmware display "Not Applicable", is any software image firmware version support?

[RossC]

Hi @chinchillaking 

Thanks for sharing the screenshot. Seems something isn't quite right with the IMT information there. I will follow up with our IMT Team to understand that further. 

Something to keep in mind is that customer's should consider upgrading their ONYX version to 3.9.16 or higher as a result of https://kb.netapp.com/Advice_and_Troubleshooting/Hybrid_Cloud_Infrastructure/NetApp_HCI/Mellanox_switches_SSD_disk_firmware_update 

Additionally, as per our Technical Report relating to best practices for setting up Mellanox SN2100 and SN2700 Network Switch we advise to run the latest ONYX firmware version  (Page 18 - https://www.netapp.com/pdf.html?item=/media/19387-tr-4836.pdf)

If I hear back from our IMT team with any further information I will let you know.

[elementx]

Can we conclude something like:

- As long as your switch is supported, your ONYX OS is supported (this is from Mellanox), but you may want to upgrade ONYX if/when you get notified by NetApp or Mellanox (if you watch their driver releases and notice a security vulnerability (e.g. related to TLS, etc.))

- You can use latest version available for the switch; there's no dependency between NetApp HCI or SolidFire and ONYX version - these just need the network to work as expected

[RossC · Accepted solution]

Yeah I think that is a good summary @elementx 

I did hear back from IMT, and historically they did have ONYX versions on there, but have since stopped because we don't specifically say which versions of ONYX to use, simply that you should use the latest. 

I've sent feedback to our KB team regarding the out of date KB that mentions looking at IMT for ONYX versions.