Before upgrading Cumulus Linux, it's essential to back up configuration files to a different server.
The /etc directory is the primary location for all configuration data in Cumulus Linux. Specifically, the following files and directories should be backed up:
/etc/frr/ - Routing application (responsible for BGP and OSPF) /etc/hostname - Configuration file for the hostname of the switch /etc/network/ etwork configuration files, most notably
/etc/network/interfaces and /etc/network /interfaces.d/
/etc/cumulus/acl ccess control list configurations
Cumulus Linux is a network operating system used on NVIDIA Spectrum switches, including those in the Spectrum-X platform, to provide a Linux-based environment for Ethernet networking in AI and HPC data centers. When upgrading Cumulus Linux to a new version, it's critical to migrate specific configuration files to preserve network settings and ensure continuity. The question asks for the two configuration file locations that should be migrated from the old installation during an upgrade. According to NVIDIA's official Cumulus Linux documentation, the key directories containing configuration files that should be migrated during an upgrade are
/etc/cumulus/acl (for access control list configurations) and /etc/network (for network interface configurations). These directories store critical network settings that define the switch's behavior, such as ACL rules and interface settings, which must be preserved to maintain network functionality after the upgrade.

The NVIDIA Spectrum Ethernet switch is designed to provide high-performance networking, supporting AI workloads by ensuring fast communication between nodes, particularly GPUs, in distributed training setups.

The NVIDIA Spectrum-X Reference Architecture (RA) 1.0.1 is designed for Ethernet AI cloud deployments and includes the SN5600 Spectrum-4 switches and BlueField-3 SuperNICs. This architecture supports adaptive routing and DOCA programmable congestion control (PCC) for lossless RoCE traffic, optimizing performance for AI workloads.
The SN5600 switch offers 64 ports of 800GbE in a dense 2U form factor, providing high throughput and low latency essential for AI applications.

RDMA enables direct memory access from one computer to another without involving the CPU, reducing overhead, lowering latency, and improving the speed of data transfers, which is especially important for high-performance AI applications.