Updating Port Description on Mellanox Switches like QM9700

Updating Port Description on Mellanox Switches like QM9700

Objective

To update the description for multiple InfiniBand (IB) ports on a Mellanox QM9700 series switch using the web interface.

Prerequisites

  • Administrative access to the Mellanox QM9700 switch's web interface.

  • A pre-prepared list of commands with the correct interface numbers and desired descriptions.

  • A web browser to access the switch management interface.

Procedure

  1. Prepare the Configuration Commands:

    • Using a text editor (like Notepad as shown in the fourth screenshot), create a list of the commands required to update the port descriptions.

    • For each port, you will need a set of three commands:

      • interface ib <slot>/<port>: To enter the configuration mode for the specific InfiniBand port.

      • description "to <destination_device-port>": To set the new description for the interface. Enclose the description in double quotes.

      • exit: To exit the configuration mode for that specific interface.

    • Example from screenshot:

      Generated code

      interface ib 1/31/1 description "to T10PHGXSPSW08-P19/1" exit interface ib 1/31/2 description "to T10PHGXSPSW08-P19/2" exit

       

      Use code with caution.

    • Prepare this for all the ports you intend to update.

  2. Log in to the Switch Web Interface:

    • Open a web browser and navigate to the IP address of your Mellanox switch (e.g., https://10.152.15.55 as indicated in the first screenshot).

    • Log in with your administrative credentials.

  3. Navigate to the CLI Execution Page:


    • In the left-hand navigation pane, click on Configurations.

    • Under the "Configurations" menu, select "Execute CLI commands"

  4. Execute the CLI Commands:

    • Copy the commands you prepared in Step 1 from your text editor.

    • Click the "Execute CLI commands" button.

  5. Save the Running Configuration:


    • The changes made are now active but are not persistent and will be lost on a reboot. To save them permanently, you must save the running configuration to the startup configuration.

    • In the left-hand navigation pane, navigate to Configurations -> Configurations.

    • You will see the current configuration file, marked as (not saved: view running config), as shown in the third screenshot.

    • Under the "Active Configuration" section, click the Save button.

    • This action saves the current running configuration to the active configuration file, ensuring your changes are persistent across reboots.

  6. Verification (Optional but Recommended):

    • To verify, you can either view the running configuration from the web interface or re-run a show interface ib <slot>/<port> command for one of the updated ports in the CLI execution window to check if the description has been updated.