[dpdk-dev] Testpmd with Mellanox ConnectX-3

[Raghav Sethi]

Hi folks,

Hopefully this is the right place to ask questions. I'm trying to run
testpmd (and then develop my own applications) with DPDK 1.8 and the
Mellanox ConnectX-3. The setup script/quickstart/Getting Started guide
don't have too much information about what to do if you have a
Mellanox. I've installed libibverbs and libmlx4 system-wide. This is the
closest I found to a guide for the Mellanox:
https://dpdk.readthedocs.org/en/stable/prog_guide/mlx4_poll_mode_drv.html .
When I run testpmd as described by this article, I get "Cause: No probed
ethernet device".

Here are my questions:
1. Is this how I should set the PMD flag for DPDK? "make install T=<arch>
CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_MLX4_PMD=y"
2. If not, how should I do it?
3. Does using the Mellanox mean that I shouldn't use igb_uio at all?
4. Do I need to bind the Mellanox to mlx4_core before using testpmd?

I would be happy to contribute to the help page with end-to-end
instructions for using the Mellanox with testpmd.

Best,
Raghav Sethi

[Adrien Mazarguil]

Hi,

Post by Raghav Sethi
Hi folks,
Hopefully this is the right place to ask questions. I'm trying to run
testpmd (and then develop my own applications) with DPDK 1.8 and the
Mellanox ConnectX-3. The setup script/quickstart/Getting Started guide
don't have too much information about what to do if you have a
Mellanox. I've installed libibverbs and libmlx4 system-wide. This is the
https://dpdk.readthedocs.org/en/stable/prog_guide/mlx4_poll_mode_drv.html .
When I run testpmd as described by this article, I get "Cause: No probed
ethernet device".

First, the ConnectX-3 (mlx4) driver is not included in DPDK 1.8, the
documentation you refer to is from a DPDK 2.0 release candidate.
DPDK 2.0 will support it.

Post by Raghav Sethi
1. Is this how I should set the PMD flag for DPDK? "make install T=<arch>
CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_MLX4_PMD=y"

No, see below.

Post by Raghav Sethi
2. If not, how should I do it?

You should either create a specific configuration file in configs/ with that
option and use make config T=<whatever>, or update your .config file after
you've run make config T=<arch>.

Post by Raghav Sethi
3. Does using the Mellanox mean that I shouldn't use igb_uio at all?

Indeed. Loading it is harmless though.

Post by Raghav Sethi
4. Do I need to bind the Mellanox to mlx4_core before using testpmd?

The kernel module (mlx4_core) must remain bound to its devices, the PMD
relies on it.

Post by Raghav Sethi
I would be happy to contribute to the help page with end-to-end
instructions for using the Mellanox with testpmd.

I've just submitted a patch to provide more details about the installation
process, you should have a look.