Fixing The MAC Address
Why Do This?
The flashing procedure resets the switches MAC to 00e0.5200.0100 - The OS iterates upon this base MAC to generate MACs for the management port, VE interfaces, etc. This isn't a problem by itself, but will cause serious issues if you use multiple flashed switches together (they'll all have the same MAC addresses).
Fast And Easy
If you're lazy, there's a single command in the bootloader you can use. You’ll need serial port access to the switch (just like you had during the flash guide). Assuming that’s taken care of, reboot the switch, then hit b to enter the bootloader prompt:
enable
reload
#watch the output and hit b when prompted
Now that we're in the bootloader, run the set ether-address command to set the base MAC back to the factory assigned address. It can usually be found on a sticker on the side of the chassis. If you can’t find it but want to set a unique MAC, you can use an online MAC generator. Stick that MAC in the command below, adhering to the same formatting:
set ether-address 68a6.23fb.e3b4
Now we tell it to boot into the OS. This won't reload the bootloader, so once it boots the OS, tell it to reload. Then it will do a full reboot:
boot system flash primary
#wait for it to load the OS, then:
enable
reload
It will do a full reboot and come up with your new MAC. To double check, look at the bottom output of show chassis.
Slightly Longer - Customizing The Chassis Info
If you'd like to be thorough, there's a diagnostic menu that allows you to easily completely program the onboard EEPROM, which is where the chassis info is stored- including the MAC and serial string (the serial string is what's displayed in the output of show version). You'll need serial port access to the switch (just like you had during the flash guide). Assuming that's taken care of, reboot the switch, then hit b to enter the bootloader prompt:
enable
reload
#watch the output and hit b when prompted
You should be dropped into the Brocade bootloader with a prompt that looks like this:
Monitor>
Run the following command to enable a hidden diag menu on next boot:
set diag_mode
Now tell the system to boot:
boot system flash primary
It will boot into the diagnostic menu, which should resemble the below:
Diagnostic Test Main Menu v1.0 ( LB6M )
[1 ] File Management
[2 ] Board Information
[3 ] Diagnostic Test
[4 ] Manufacturing Test Mode Set
[5 ] Test Error Log File Management
[6 ] PING
[7 ] Reset
[8 ] For Vibration Test
Enter your choice:
Yes, it does indeed say "LB6M" in the menu title, and no, this is not a piece of software left over from the Quanta firmware. Brocade seemingly re-used a bit of code from Quantas/Broadcoms reference, which again goes to show how similar the Brocade TurboIron is to our LB6M.
Anyway, we need to customize the chassis information. Enter 2 into the menu for Board Information - on the menu following, enter 1 for Configure Board Info. You will enter an interactive menu that allows you to input new values for each item.
After some trial and error it will tell you the length and format each item needs to be in. No need to be careful, you cannot break anything here. Other than the MAC address, every item in here is aesthetic only. When it asks for the MAC Address, this is where you enter in your original unique MAC. It can usually be found on the side of your switch on a sticker. If you can't find it but want to set a unique MAC, you can use an online MAC generator.
After finishing each item, it will write to EEPROM and you're done. Hit ESC until you're back to the main diagnostic menu, then enter 7 to reset the switch. It will reboot into the OS as normal, and now show chassis should have your new MAC at the bottom of the output. If the MAC displayed there is off by the end character, that's normal - it's using your specified base MAC to iterate upon. If you set a custom serial, you can also see that with show version - your chassis is now properly customized.
Note To Advanced Users
The MAC and chassis information is all stored in EEPROM. In the t2 test menu (initiated from the bootloader or hidden OS prompt), there are tests that wipe all this data. Namely the I2C and EEPROM tests - they both write garbage data to the EEPROM. If for some reason you need to run these tests, you'll need to run this customization procedure again.
Thanks:
Contributing:
The markdown source for these guides is hosted on our Github repo. If you have any suggested changes or additions feel free to submit a pull request.