NVIDIA Mellanox MCX653106A-EFAT SmartNIC Firmware 20.27.1016

Firmware which is added at the time of manufacturing, is used to run user programs on the device and can be thought of as the software that allows hardware to run. Embedded firmware is used to control the functions of various hardware devices and systems, much like a computer’s operating system (OS) controls the function of software applications. Firmware may be written into read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) or flash memory.

Important Notes:
- Security Hardening Enhancements: This release contains important reliability improvements and security hardening enhancements. Mellanox recommends upgrading your devices firmware to this release to improve the devices’ firmware security and reliability.
- SR-IOV - Virtual Functions (VF) per Port - The maximum Virtual Functions (VF) per port is 127.

Changes and New Features:

- RoCE Selective Repeat introduces a new QP retransmission mode in RoCE: recovery from packet drop by resending the dropped packet and not only all the PSN window (Go-Back-N protocol). This new capability comes with the following limitations: Selective repeat cannot be used with AR, Does not work with signature (T10-DIF), and Does not work with Tag Matching enabled
- Allows BMC to query and control NIC over RedFish API. Currently, the NIC supports reading data and setting basic Ethernet and InfiniBand parameters.
- Enables matching of source_vhca_port in the FDB flow for ECMP hardware offload on a single FDB.
- Firmware can be patched with critical bugs fixes live with minimal serviceability impact. The patching can be down only within the same major branch.
- 100GbE link speed is supported in Auto-Negotiation Mode.
- 200GbE link speed is supported in Force Mode.
- Added support for dumping hardware steering entries (raw data) using the resource dump API.
- Added a new field in the PTYS register (max_port_rate).
- [Beta] Added support for relaxed ordering read when using the create_mkey flag.
- Added support for DCQCN Congestion Control to ConnectX-6 InfiniBand adapter cards to improve application performance in case of congestion in the network.
- Due to in a change in link protocol in 100GbE and 200GbE adapter cards (from PAM4 to NRZ), the link may not come up on certain configurations.

About Network Adapter Drivers:

When connected, the operating system usually installs a generic driver that helps the computer to recognize the newly attached device.

However, proper software must be applied if you want to make use of all features that the network adapter has available. This task also allows computers to properly recognize all device characteristics such as manufacturer, chipset, technology, and others.

Updating the adapter's drivers and utilities version might improve overall performance and stability, increase transfer speeds, fix different compatibility problems and several network-related errors, as well as bring various other changes.

To install this release, simply get the package, extract it if necessary, run the setup, and follow the instructions displayed on-screen. When done, don't forget to perform a system restart and reconnect the network adapter to make sure that all changes take effect properly.

Without further ado, if you intend to apply this version, click the download button and install the package. Moreover, check with our website as often as possible so that you don't miss a single new release.

  It is highly recommended to always use the most recent driver version available.

Try to set a system restore point before installing a device driver. This will help if you installed an incorrect or mismatched driver. Problems can arise when your hardware device is too old or not supported any longer.