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OverviewDeploymentManagementOperationReference

Installing the Mellanox firmware tool

  1. Connect to the ESXi host via the SSH service and log in to the ESXi host with the root account.

  2. Upload the MFT software package to the ESXi /tmp directory, and run the following command to confirm that the mft and nmst vib packages have been uploaded.

    cd /tmp
ls
mft-4.22.1.11-10EM-730.0.0.18434556.x86_64.vib
nmst-4.22.1.11-1OEM.703.0.0.18434556.x86_64.vib

  3. Run the following command to obtain the list of network adapters and confirm that the Mellanox NIC is in the list.

    esxcli network nic list
Name   PCI Device   Driver     Admin Status Link Status Speed  Duplex MAC Address       MTU  Description
------ ------------ ---------- ------------ ----------- ------ ------ ----------------- ---- ----------------------------------------------------
vmnic0 0000:81:00.0 igbn       Up           Up          1000   Full   0c:c4:7a:e3:5c:20 1500 Intel Corporation I350 Gigabit Network Connection
vmnic1 0000:81:00.1 igbn       Up           Down        0      Half   0c:c4:7a:e3:5c:21 1500 Intel Corporation I350 Gigabit Network Connection
vmnic2 0000:02:00.0 nmlx5_core Up           Up          100000 Full   ec:0d:9a:8a:27:8a 1500 Mellanox Technologies MT28800 Family [ConnectX-5 Ex]
vmnic3 0000:02:00.1 nmlx5_core Up           Down        0      Half   ec:0d:9a:8a:27:8b 1500 Mellanox Technologies MT28800 Family [ConnectX-5 Ex]

  4. Run the following command to install nmst and mft.

    esxcli software vib install -v /tmp/nmst-4.22.1.11-1OEM.703.0.0.18434556.x86_64.vib -f
Installation Result
Message: The update completed successfully, but the system needs to be rebooted for the changes to be effective.
Reboot Required: true
VIBs Installed: MEL_bootbank_nmst_4.22.1.11-1OEM.703.0.0.18434556
VIBs Removed:
VIBs Skipped:

esxcli software vib install -v /tmp/mft-4.22.1.11-10EM-730.0.0.18434556.x86_64.vib -f
Installation Result
Message: The update completed successfully, but the system needs to be rebooted for the changes to be effective.
Reboot Required: true
VIBs Installed: MEL_bootbank_mft_4.22.1.11-0
VIBs Removed:
VIBs Skipped:

  5. Enable maintenance mode on the ESXi host.

  6. Restart the ESXi host.

  7. Disable maintenance mode on the ESXi host.

  8. Go to the /opt/mellanox/bin/ directory and confirm that the MFT tool exists.

  9. Run the following command to run mst.

    cd /opt/mellanox/bin
./mst start
Module mst loaded successfully

  10. Check the current status of the Mellanox device.

    /opt/mellanox/bin/mst status
MST devices:
------------
mt4121_pciconf0

  11. View detailed information about the Mellanox device.

    /opt/mellanox/bin/mst status -vv
PCI devices:
------------
DEVICE_TYPE MST PCI RDMA NET NUMA
ConnectX5(rev:0) mt4121_pciconf0 02:00.0 net-vmnic2
ConnectX5(rev:0) mt4121_pciconf0.1 02:00.1 net-vmnic3