RARE user and assistance email list

[Frédéric LOUI <>]

+ adding rare-users as your question might interest others

Hi,

It depends on what you seek to achieve here.

1- If it is to have student use RARE/freeRtr on Wedge, please just use 
RARE/freeRtr ONIE image here:
http://docs.freertr.org/guides/installation/wedge100bf32/onie-nos-install/

This will let you install RARE/freeRtr on Debian. If you have some 
difficulties, David recently succeeded in installing RARE/freeRtr on their 
Wedge.
Therefore he can assist/help you in the frame of GP4L context.

2- If you want student to learn how to compile P4 program with INTEL SDE, 
just use bf_switch virtual model on any Linux.
(Preferably Debian stable) But then this part is less documented because 
after that you’d need to run by hand the interface between the control plane 
(freeRtr) and the dataplane (bf_switchd)

3- It also assumes that your students or their supervisors (you) have signed 
NDA with INTEL and that you are familiar with installing INTEL SDE and also 
load bf_switchd modules. In RARE/freeRtr case, we are using bf_kpkt modules.

-3- is described and part of INTEL P4 training on INTEL SDE here below: 
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/network-io/programmable-ethernet-switch/connectivity-education-hub/academy.html

Now coming back to your original question:
> When we try to go through RARE’s data plane functions on Tofino 1 in 
> WEDGE100BF32X (with SDE 9.2.0), we got a compilation error with CPE 
> function enabled saying that the code consumed 13 stages as screenshot 
> below. (We enable the function by defining the CPE profile in bf_router.p4 
> as:https://bitbucket.software.geant.org/projects/RARE/repos/rare/browse/profiles/profile-cpe.p4)
>  Other functions like GGSN also shows the similar warning. We were 
> wondering whether it exceeds the capability of Tofino 1? Do we need to try 
> it on Tofino 2? We found that it would cost 12 stages when other functions 
> like ToR enabled? 


IIRC, I remember that this problem disappeared when you use more recent SDE 
than SDE 9.2.0. INTEL would recommend in any case when you report this type 
of issue to upgrade to latest INTEL SDE.

Now that being said in our case, our Wedge is using SDE LTS flavour and the 
code it tested to work with SDE 9.7.0 LTS (and onward i.e 9.9.x, 9.11.x and 
9.12.x which is the most recent to date)

> https://bitbucket.software.geant.org/projects/RARE/repos/rare/browse/profiles/profile-cpe.p4

I’m talking under Alexander Gall/Csaba's control , but this profile is the 
output of a profiler software. During our CI/CD pipeline, this profile is 
compiled and included in our ONIE image in the form of a P4 Nix package.

If you are not sure about what is mentioned above. I propose we have a quick 
sync VC where you can explain what you want to achieve.
I would be then able to provide you advise on how to move forward. Because a 
lot of work have been done and in order to learn p4 programming you don’t 
need a real  Wedge physical hardware and p4 stack installed.

All the best,
Frederic

> Le 15 févr. 2023 à 16:07, Mingyuan Zang <> a écrit :
> 
> Hi Frederic, 
>  
> Recently we’re preparing for the exercises on the RARE router for students. 
> When we try to go through RARE’s data plane functions on Tofino 1 in 
> WEDGE100BF32X (with SDE 9.2.0), we got a compilation error with CPE 
> function enabled saying that the code consumed 13 stages as screenshot 
> below. (We enable the function by defining the CPE profile in bf_router.p4 
> as:https://bitbucket.software.geant.org/projects/RARE/repos/rare/browse/profiles/profile-cpe.p4)
>  Other functions like GGSN also shows the similar warning. We were 
> wondering whether it exceeds the capability of Tofino 1? Do we need to try 
> it on Tofino 2? We found that it would cost 12 stages when other functions 
> like ToR enabled? 
>  
> Can we ask whether such resource consumption is expected, or is there 
> anything we wrongly configured? Is there any other repository that you 
> would recommend us to check?
>  
> Many thanks for your help!
>  
> <image003.jpg>
>  
> Best Regards,
> Ming