Symptoms
After an IB-to-ETH back-end network conversion procedure (an internal DELL EMC PS service), the attempted re-image of a node to v8.1.x failed with the following error:
Verifying hardware configuration...
No backend network devices detected for LNI.xml creation. Actual NIC type: 40 GigE, Expected: Infiniband
Verify Hardware exited with an error.
Aborting boot.
Cause
Nodes that were built with backend IB interfaces contain a special type of backend NIC called a VPI card. This NIC is capable of both InfiniBand and Ethernet networking. The backend conversion process introduced in OneFS 8.2 allows the card to be switched from IB mode to Ethernet mode, enabling cluster migration to an Ethernet backend network. Prior versions of OneFS do not 'understand' that this card can operate in either mode, and when this card is detected in those versions it is presumed to be an InfiniBand card, causing the hardware check to fail since the configured backend type (Ethernet) does not match the detected backend type ('InfiniBand').
Resolution
Nodes with VPI backend NICs operating in Ethernet mode are only supported in OneFS v8.2 and newer, and cannot be downgraded to an older version. Once OneFS 8.2 or newer is reinstalled, the node will function normally.
Affected Products
Isilon
Products
Isilon, Isilon A200, Isilon F800, Isilon Gen6, Isilon H400, Isilon H500, Isilon H5600, Isilon H600, PowerScale OneFS