Brocade CNA cannot pass traffic running 2.3.0.3 device driver update package

Troubleshooting

Problem

After updating the Brocade 10 Gigabits CNA adapter's device driver using the 2.3.0.3 driver update package under Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (RHEL6)), the ethernet interface cannot connect to the network. When ifconfig is run, the Media Access Control (MAC) address is all 0's, such as in the following: eth2 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:00:00:00:00:00 BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0o v erruns:0

Resolving The Problem

Source

RETAIN tip: H203393

Symptom

When ifconfig is run, the Media Access Control (MAC) address is all 0's, such as in the following:

	eth2 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:00:00:00:00:00 BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0

Affected configurations

The system may be any of the following IBM servers:

System x3200 M3, type 7327, any model
System x3200 M3, type 7328, any model
System x3250 M3, type 4251, any model
System x3250 M3, type 4252, any model
System x3250 M3, type 4261, any model
System x3400 M3, type 7378, any model
System x3400 M3, type 7379, any model
System x3500 M3, type 7380, any model
System x3550 M2, type 4198, any model
System x3550 M3, type 4254, any model
System x3550 M3, type 7944, any model
System x3650 M2, type 4199, any model
System x3650 M2, type 7947, any model
System x3650 M3, type 4255, any model
System x3650 M3, type 7945, any model
System x3755 M3, type 7164, any model
iDataPlex dx360 M2 Server, type 6380, any model
iDataPlex dx360 M2 Server, type 7321, any model
iDataPlex dx360 M2 Server, type 7323, any model
iDataPlex dx360 M3 Server, type 6391, any model

The system is configured with at least one of the following:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, any update

The system is configured with one or more of the following IBM Options:

Brocade 10 Gigabit CNA for IBM System x, Option part number 42C1820, replacement part number 42C1822

The 2.3.0.3 device driver for the Brocade 10Gigabit CNA is affected.

Brocade 10 Gigabit CNA

Note: This does not imply that the network operating system will work under all combinations of hardware and software.

Please see the compatibility page for more information: http://www.ibm.com/systems/info/x86servers/serverproven/compat/us/

Solution

This behavior will be corrected in a future release of Brocade CNA or Host Bus Adapter (HBA) FC Device Driver for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6.

The target date for this release is scheduled for third quarter 2011.

The file will be available by selecting the appropriate Product name, Product machine type, and operating system on IBM Support's Fix Central web page, at the following URL:

http://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/systemx/groupView?query.productGroup=IBM%2FSystemx

Workaround

Download and install standalone drivers from Brocade:

http://www.brocade.com/services-support/drivers-downloads/adapters/IBM_SYSTEMX.page

Additional information

The version 2.3.0.3 driver update package does not properly override the RHEL 6 driver.

Document Location

Worldwide

Operating System

System x Hardware Options:Red Hat Linux 6

System x:Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

System x:Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 x86-64

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Tips

Brocade CNA cannot pass traffic running 2.3.0.3 device driver update package - IBM System x