Preparation

Download MLNX_OFED ISO

xCAT only supports installation using the ISO format.

Download the Mellanox OFED ISO file here (MLNX_OFED).

Prepare Installation Script

The mlnxofed_ib_install is a sample script intended to assist with the installation of the Mellanox OFED drivers. The following support matrix documents the limited number of scenarios that have been verified: support matrix.

  1. Copy the mlnxofed_ib_install to /install/postscripts, renaming to mlnxofed_ib_install.

    cp /opt/xcat/share/xcat/ib/scripts/Mellanox/mlnxofed_ib_install \
   /install/postscripts/mlnxofed_ib_install

# ensure the script has execute permission
chmod +x /install/postscripts/mlnxofed_ib_install

  2. Familiarize the options available for the xCAT mlnxofed_ib_install script.

    Option

    Required

    Description

    -p

    Yes

    The full path to the MLNX_OFED ISO image

    -m

    No

    Use this option to pass arguments to the Mellanox OFED installation script mlnxofedinstall.

    The special keyword -end- must be added to the end of the string to mark the completion of the option list option list.

    If nothing is specified, xCAT passes the following --without-32bit --without-fw-update --force

    -i

    For diskless

    The image root path of the diskless image

    -n

    For diskless

    nodeset status, value is genimage

    A very basic usage of the install script:

    /install/postscripts/mlnxofed_ib_install -p /install/<path-to>/<MLNX_OFED_LINUX.iso>

    To pass the --add-kernel-support option to mlnxofedinstall, use the following command:

    /install/postscripts/mlnxofed_ib_install -p /install/<path-to>/<MLNX_OFED_LINUX.iso> \
    -m --without-32bit --without-fw-update --add-kernel-support --force -end-