Using IBDump with default kernel driver

Hi

I have a Client(Host) setup with Centos 7.2, kernel 4.9.8 .

I do not install MLNX_OFED. Instead I load the default driver “modprobe mlx4_core”.

I would like to know if I can use IBdump to capture the communication with my setup, or is it mandatory to install OFED.

In the kernel, I have modified following modules:

nvme-core

nvme

nvme-fabrics

nvme-rdma

When I install OFED, I am not allowed to insert my ‘nvme-rdma’ module.

This fails with IB symbol mismatch.

Need help with this. Can anyone suggest an option/ way by which I can use IBDump, with the stack having my modified modules.

regards

Anuj

ibdump utility depends on the kernel module and verbs package. It is unlikely that it with work on the system that has kernel modules that not part of the MOFED. I would suggest you to install Mellanox OFED, overwise Mellanox support may be not able to help.

Hi Alkx

Thanks for clarifying this.

Further, as I mentioned earlier, I have modified few kernel modules for my custom requirements(which would not be supported in MOFED).

Hence, I would like to understand how (and how much) is MOFED different from the default drivers and will I be allowed to modify that for my requirements.

Regards

Anuj

Hi,

MOFED drivers are much newer and have more features than default drivers. In the case if you are modifying IB part of the kernel, you should be able to modify the MOFED sources that located under /usr/src/mlnx-ofa_kernel-<MOFED_VER>. In order to compile ( re-compile), change to that directory, run

#./configure $(/etc/infiniband/info | awk -F : ‘/Configure/ {print $2}’)

#make

#make install

and reboot the host

It is also recommended to backup /lib/modules/<UNAME -r> directory before installing recompiled version of the drivers.