Home

NT40E3-4-PTP running NT40A01 (9500) FPGA image — no upgrade path to 9537

Hello, everyone

We have an NT40E3-4-PTP card (PBA 073-011901-07-05) that is currently running the FPGA image belonging to the NT40A01 product line (4x1G), instead of the correct NT40E3-4-PTP (4×10/1G) image.

Hardware identification (from the physical labels):

  • Type: NT40E3-4-PTP
  • SN: 0000-237834
  • PBA: 073-011901-07-05
  • Bracket label also confirms Model: NT40E3-4-PTP

Current state (imgctrl -q):

ADAPTER TYPE : NT40A01-SCC-4x1-E3-FF-ANL PCI Express Gen3 4x1Gb platform
PCI DEVICE ID : 0185
RUNNING FPGA : 200-9500-22-05-0000
BANK0 : 9234 / 55.01
BANK1 : 9500 / 22.05 (running)
SUPPORTCHIP INFO: NT40E3_4_PTP : v3.4f

So despite the board being physically and per-label an NT40E3-4-PTP, it currently identifies and runs as an NT40A01 because of the FPGA image in flash.

What we’ve tried:

  • imgctrl -p --ntimg 200-9537-28-07-00-200319-0824.ntimg → Error: Incompatible image! Product no. of current image: 9500. Product no. of new image is not supported by this adapter: 9537.
  • Checked imgctrl --known-products (imgctrl v3.18.5.2): in the NT40E03 table, products 9234 and 9500 form their own upgrade group (9234 ↔ 9500 only), with no listed path to 9502/9537/9538/9232/9517, even within the same platform table.

Question:
Is there a known factory/recovery procedure or a special initial-programming image to bring this board back into the NT40E3-4-PTP FPGA family (9502/9537/9538), given that the hardware itself is confirmed correct — it’s simply running the wrong product’s FPGA image? Any guidance on how to proceed without an active support contract would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

Default Asked 7 hours ago in Napatech FPGA SmartNICs.

Napatechnician

@psanders240,Thanks, that makes sense. There is one thing I am still trying to understand.Our imgctrl --known-products output shows the following: NT40E03

9232 50-55 -> 9232 9502 9517 9537 9538
9234 55-55 -> 9234 9500
9502 02-15 -> 9232 9502 9517 9537 9538
9517 09-09 -> 9232 9502 9517 9537 9538
9537 22-44 -> 9232 9502 9517 9537 9538
9538 28-44 -> 9232 9502 9517 9537 9538 So 9234 is listed under the NT40E03 platform, but it is a dead-end product: the only allowed targets are 9234 and 9500.This particular card currently has 9234-55.01 in Bank 0 and 9500-22.05 in Bank 1.Could you clarify what 9234-55.01 represents in this context? Is it a special factory/recovery image which is intentionally restricted to 9234/9500, or is there a supported way to move from 9234-55.01 to 9502/9537?Our application specifically requires FPGA product 9537; we don’t necessarily need the 10Gbps functionality itself.One more question: our Bank 0 already contains 9234-55.01, which was historically used as an NT40E3-4-PTP image. Is there any supported way to use this image as an intermediate step toward 9537, or is 9234-55.01 permanently locked to the current NT40A01 factory configuration?Thanks!

3 hours ago.
Cancel
Add Comment
Cancel