Broadcom (R) NetXtreme II (TM) Ethernet Software CD for IBM eServer BladeCenter and System x NetXtreme II Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet products RELEASE 7.0.11.0 (03/29/2012) Support Overview ================ This is the drivers software release for all IBM eServer BladeCenter and System x Broadcom-based NetXtreme II Ethernet products, including both on-board Ethernet and adapter options. The supported Broadcom (R) NetXtreme II (TM) chipsets include BCM5706, BCM5708, BCM5709, BCM57710, BCM57711 and BCM57712. The supported adapter options include: 39Y6066 - NetXtreme II 1000 Express Ethernet Adapter 42C1780 - NetXtreme II 1000 Express Dual Port Ethernet Adapter 42C1790 - NetXtreme II 10 GigE Express Fiber SR Adapter 44W4479 - 2/4 Port Ethernet Expansion Card CFFh for IBM BladeCenter 44W4465 - 2/4 Port 10Gb Ethernet Expansion Card CFFh for IBM BladeCenter All Microsoft Windows device drivers are digitally signed. WARNING: Any x3850M2/x3950M2 server is required to be updated to at least Version 1.05 (Build A3E145A) system BIOS, or later, prior to any device driver software update. Disclaimer ========== - FCoE: Broadcom only officially supports the FCoE and DCB feature set on adapters that are licensed for FCoE, and for which EMC e-Labs certification is already complete or in progress. Broadcom will *not* provide field support for unqualified platforms. Please refer to the EMC e-Labs certification matrix for existing support matrix postings, or contact your Broadcom liaison to inquire about configurations currently in the qualification queue for eventual support. Exercising either FCoE or DCB on an unsupported platform may lead to unpredictable results. Caveats ======= - Windows 2003 support was discontinued as of the T7.0 program. - preventing driver install in W2K3 environment - preventing enumeration of iSCSI HBA in W2K3 environment - F6 kit is removed (no iSCSI boot over L4 path into W2K3) Prerequisite ============ - For FCoE evaluation, 57712A1+8727C NIC adapters with valid FCoE license - For FCoE, NVRAM flag 105 must be enabled for DCB/DCBX - DCB/DCBX is required for FCoE - In order to enable FCoE, only the new 'MFW' firmware image can be used. Please use the eDiag supplied in this kit and upgrade the legacy boot code (and NCSI) to the new 'MFW' image Package NOTES: (1) When updating drivers via UXSPi, the utility will prompt version number(s) of drivers loaded on system that are pertinent to the Operating System being updated. After the utility completes and drivers are updated, there may be some driver version(s) where the New Version does not match the Installed Version. This may be because the adapter corresponding to the driver is not installed. Adapters must be installed to gain proper version numbers from the utility. Please disregard version numbers that do not pertain to the adapter(s) you have installed. (2) When extracting files from this package, Windows 2008 R2 extract to floppy may not work. This is due to change in Windows security settings, and may become a limitation. Known problems: =============== PQA Testing Information ======================= - SW: -> FCoE validation focused on W2K8-SP2 and W2K8-R2 -> FCoE boot support only under Windows. - HW: -> External PHY Firmware versions for 10G Devices - 8727 : v4.06 - 8073 : v2.09 - Solarflare: v2.00 Notables ======== - 10G MBA driver release no longer supports RPL protocol. All files with xMMBA.NIC and xMMBA.LOM are removed - No TOE offload in conjunction w/ BASP in HyperV (see KB968703) - BASP w/ RSS enable can support a maximum of up to 4 processors - Broadcom does not recommend nor support enabling (manually) TCP Chimney Offload in Guest Operating Systems (GOS)running in Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008 R2 Version history between CD T7.0.4.4 release and previous CD T6.2.4.1 release: ================================================================================ Software CD T7.0.4.4 Previous CD T6.2.4.1 Version Version Windows 2008 Driver NX2 7.0.11.0 6.2.8.0 iSCSI Crash Dump Driver 7.0.9 6.2.1.0 VBD Driver 7.0.6.0 6.2.8.0 VBD Driver NX2_Ev* 7.0.44b 6.2.16.0 *NX2_EV = 10 Gb Software Compatibility: - BCM5706 NetXtreme II Gigabit Ethernet Adapter - BCM5706S NetXtreme II Gigabit Ethernet Adapter - BCM5708 NetXtreme II Gigabit Ethernet Adapter - BCM5708S NetXtreme II Gigabit Ethernet Adapter - BCM5709 NetXtreme II Gigabit Ethernet Adapter - BCM5709S NetXtreme II Gigabit Ethernet Adapter - BCM57710 NetXtreme II 10 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter - BCM57711 NetXtreme II 10 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter - BCM57712 NetXtreme II Gigabit Ethernet Adapter Key Fixes & Enhancements with this T7.0.4.4 sw CD release include: =================================================================== - BSOD with BASP when IPV6 runt packet is found in buffer - Provide the ability of BASP to fix the BASP MAC address - 1g/10g Mezzanine cards lose TOE capability when BOFM MAC address is applied to card - 10g Windows driver - Fixed race condition that could occur during driver update. - 10g Windows driver - Fixed problem where a system reboot could occur if one port of a dual port device was being enabled/disabled while heavy traffic is running on the other. - 10g Windows driver - Fixed inability to wake system via magic packet when Locally Administered MAC address was assigned. Feature Additions: ================== - Non-switch dependent NIC Partitioning support added to all components for 57712 based mezzanine cards. - BOFM support added for NIC Partitioned devices NOTES: (1) When updating drivers via UXSPi, the utility will prompt version number(s) of drivers loaded on system that are pertinent to the Operating System being updated. After the utility completes and drivers are updated, there may be some driver version(s) where the New Version does not match the Installed Version. This may be because the adapter corresponding to the driver is not installed. Adapters must be installed to gain proper version numbers from the utility. Please disregard version numbers that do not pertain to the adapter(s) you have installed. (2) When extracting files from this package, Windows 2008 R2 extract to floppy may not work. This is due to change in Windows security settings, and may become a limitation. *******Currently known issues and limitations with Broadcom NetXtreme drivers and devices. ******** 1. BASP (the Broadcom Advanced Server Program) will appear to be bound to all adapters in the system once loaded. This binding is normal and is used only to determine compatibility with BASP. The binding is not active, as indicated by the gray background of the selection box. This pre-binding will not interfere with bindings to other software protocols. 2. The NetXtreme II drivers have two parts, the VBD driver and the NDIS Client driver. This combination of drivers can be used for WinPE installations as long as the WinPE image is built with the /PnP option. WinPE images that are booted with the -miniNT option will only load the NDIS driver so NetXtreme II network devices will not be functional in this environment. Use the -winpe option instead of the -minint option to boot WinPE when using NetXtreme II devices or use the special RIS driver contained in the distribution package in the NX2_RIS_Driver directory of the unpacked files. 3. Specifying network settings for NetXtreme II devices using the Microsoft unattended answer file does not work using the PCI Bus/Device/Function designation to specify adapters. This is due to the NDIS personality of the NetXtreme II device being a virtual device which means it does not have a physical Bus/Device/Function address. MAC address designation does work and may be used in conjunction with Bus/Device/Function for a complete solution. A program called netset.exe from Microsoft, available in the Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit, can also be used to apply network settings after the unattended install. Netset.exe uses the answer file to apply the network settings specified to the adapters in the system. See Microsoft Knowledge Base article 268781 for more information on netset.exe. 4. The first time diagnostics are run in a Windows environment on NetXtreme II devices, the diagnostic driver must be installed. Windows will either automatically install the driver, in which case, no action is required by the user, or Windows will ask to be directed to the INF file for the diagnostic driver. If you are prompted to install the driver, please direct the Windows dialog to search for the driver in the directory where the Broadcom driver package was unzipped. You may also search your hard drive for the file “bxdiag.inf.” 5. When loading drivers through the PNP (Plug and Play) method, users can occasionally end up loading the RIS drivers accidentally. Generally this occurs when a user is asked to point to the proper driver for the device, and the user selects the folder containing the RIS drivers as the driver for the device. This can result in network connections that fail to communicate across the network, as the NDIS driver will fail to bind to the devices. The most obvious way to identify the problem scenario is to open BACS and look at the network adapters displayed. Adapters that have the RIS drivers installed will be grayed out. Observing the driver loaded for the System Device portion of the Broadcom NetXtreme II devices will show that the RIS driver is loaded. Additionally, attempts to load the drivers using the installer will result in NDIS drivers displaying a yellow bang, as they’re not able to bind to the VBD driver. The easiest way to correct the problem is to run add/remove programs on all installed Broadcom devices, and then re-run the installer. 6. Windows Pre-installation Environment (WinPE for short) does not contain native support for 5708, 5709, 5716, 57710 and 57711 devices on operating systems prior to Windows Server 2008 R2. In order to “inject” driver support into Windows PE, refer to the steps provided by Microsoft at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923834/en-us. Broadcom 5708 Network Controller support is available as a native driver package in the Windows Server 2008 OS. 7. Network Teaming limitation with iSCSI offload: When iSCSI offload is enabled on Broadcom NetXtreme II NIC's or LOM's, only SLB teaming mode is supported. In order to create other teaming modes like 802.3ad and FEC/GEC, you will need to disable iSCSI offload. You can disable the iSCSI offload by a. launching the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 3 (BACS 3). b. select the adapter you want to add to the team c. click the configurations tab, extend resource reservations. d. Uncheck iSCSI resource. 8. When iSCSI devices are installed on Windows Server 2003 or Server 2008, they will have the same friendlyname. View devices "by connections" in BACS3 on for managing iSCSI devices. 9. Restoring the team configuration with static IPv6 addresses may fail. Use either DHCP addresses for team configuration, or restore the team and re-apply the IP address manually if this issue is encountered. 10. When working in BACS while being logged into W2K3 x86 with a non-administrator account, the same icon that is used for a non-teamed adapter is being displayed for a teamed adapter. This is due to the fact the non-admin account cannot query the driver due to insufficient privileges. 11. Windows Server 2008 R2 is expected to support the ability to utilize the TCP Offload Engine (TOE) on child partitions for supported Guest operating systems. However, the stack supporting this feature was not fully matured upon the completion of this Windows drivers release. As a result, we do not recommend enabling this capability with these drivers until an update to resolve these issues are released. This is now understood to be a third-party issue. 12. After upgrading to this version of the software in W2K8 we have noticed that during a team restore in BACS3 that not all of the IPv4 addresses for VLANS are restored properly. This may require that the team be recreated and saved. 13. Remote install of Windows Server 2008 R2 over non-offload path (MSFT stack) with new Broadcom adapters, e.g. 57711, which are not supported by the inbox driver will fail. The problem is due to a conflict between the inbox (boot.wim) driver not able to support the new adapters. Although the installer provides a newer driver externally during the installation, the OS reverts back to the inbox. Please refer to the workaround provided through the following link:http://attachments.wetpaintserv.us/JA9hJcVpHrEi11mJ19vYVg%3D%3D23856. Alternatively, Microsoft’s proposed solution is to build a custom install DVD by extracting the boot.wim and overwrite the .INF and .SYS files with Broadcom’s newer driver set. Please read Microsoft’s WAIK documentation for instruction process. Note: Remote install of Windows Server 2008 R2 over Broadcom iSCSI Offload path does not have an issue. 14. Flow control statistics (MAC Sent X-ON, MAC Sent X-OFF and MAC Rx w/ no Pause Command) are reported incorrectly within BACS for 57710 based adapters. There is no functional impact and device is working as expected. 15. Receive Side Scaling (RSS) on TCP offloaded connections require a minimum of 8 gigabytes of RAM and only works for the 64-bit version of Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. This feature is not supported in Windows Server 2003 due to a limitation in this operating system. RSS on non-offloaded connections, however, is supported for Windows 2003 SP2 and later. 16. WoL with NPar: When using Wake on LAN (WoL) with NIC Partitioning, all of the devices that comprise a port must be shut down to cause the WoL configuration to be written to the controller during operating system shutdown. If only a single function is shut down, the WoL configuration might not be written to the controller, and the controller might not wake. 17. Editing BASP teams: There is a known problem where editing a BASP team in BACS can sometimes cause a failover to occur on another team. This is currently believed to be a Microsoft issue, and Broadcom is pursuing a fix or workaround. 18. NC-SI with IOMMU: There is a known problem using NC-SI with IOMMU enabled, that can cause link down/up under stress conditions. If this occurs, disabled IOMMU in the BIOS.