Hardware Management Console Readme

Terminology

x86 -  This term is used to reference the legacy HMC that runs on x86/Intel/AMD  hardware for both the 7042 Machine Type appliances and the Virtual HMC that can run on the Intel hypervisors (KVM, VMWare, Xen).

ppc64 or ppc64le - describes the Linux code that is compiled to run on Power-based servers or LPARS (Logical Partitions)

DNS - Domain Name Server

GUI - Graphical user interface

vHMC - Virtual HMC. The HMC appliance that runs in supported VM Hypervisors

Package information

Package name	Size	Checksum (sha1sum)	APAR#	PTF#
HMC_Update_V9R1M931_x86.iso	3802062848	22308032ac6668e0d992725edfc410d412f2389e	MB04219	MH01831
Splash Panel information (or lshmc -V output)
"version= Version: 9  Release: 1  Service Pack: 931  HMC Build level 1908192009 MH01831 - HMC V9R1 M931  ","base_version=V9R1 "

List of fixes

General fixes

• Fix for daily reporting of E3325009 between two consoles connected to the same managed server when the HMCs have multiple interfaces and only one interface can reach the peer HMC.  This issue can also result in service events reported by the managed server not calling home.
  
• Added 10GB media speed for network adapters installed in the 7063-CR1.
  
• Fix to NTP where there was an issue with the hwclock sync in the OS when the hwclock is configured with the wrong time.
  
• Fix to prevent the call home of SRC E212E114 by reducing the memory usage of ccfw,wlp,esa and performance monitor processes.
  
• Updated LDAP client on HMC to use TLSv1.2 for LDAP user management.
  
• Fixed a GUI performance issue that impacts IBM i partitions when RMC is enabled in IBM i, DNS is configured on the HMC, and the IBM i host name cannot be resolved in DNS.   Symptoms included the GUI no longer drawing menus or populating information in panels, instead the clocking "circle" would be displayed or a blank screen.
  
• Fixed an issue that can cause SRCs E35A0016/E35A0017 and resulting E332FFFF JVM dumps. It occurs due to a deadlock when there are multiple login, logout sessions at the same time. Other SRCs not listed may also be reported until the HMC is rebooted or this fix is installed.   
  
• Fixed an issue with the CLI to add/remove ::/:: ipv6 ssh firewall.  The symptom was an error returned to the user: "An invalid parameter value was entered.  The parameter -a is empty or not valid.  Please check your entry and retry the command."
  
• Fixed 'chmod: command not found' error while running sendfile command.
  
• Fixed the Hardware Discovery operation failure when CEC is in MDC mode.  Symptoms include no errors, CEC powering on to standby, but no "Details" info populated for i/o adapters under CEC properties.
  
• Fixed the issue to retry and attempt to prevent the deletion of a managed system dump file when the console is coming up and domain is not established.
  
• Fix to allow automatic resource role update as part of partition mobility, simplified remote restart and LKU operations, to allow access continuity to LPAR which were accessible before the operation to custom users.
  
• Fixed an issue where a custom user is unable to view SRIOV adapters in the UI unless they have the "Manage SRIOV" role.  
  
• Update logic which prevents multiple updlic CLI commands at the same time to allow for invocation from shells.  Symptoms include receiving error: HSCF0286E Can not start the update, another update task is already running
  
• Fixed the issue blocking the BMC code update when the locale is not en_US.  Symptoms include unable to accept the license agreement:  "License not found. Cannot proceed with Code update."
  
• Fixed an issue that would cause call home SRC E3550423 with multiple Call Home failures reported on the Call Home server if it received unsupported requests from downlevel HMCs that discovered this HMC as a call home server.
  
• Fixed a timing issue at startup that impacts HMC managing many servers and partitions.  Intermittently one or more servers may show incomplete state after a reboot.  The problem may also leave a file open on a server preventing further saves of partition profile data.  Symptoms include errors making partition configuration changes, saving profile data, and partition mobility failing with a generic HSCL1400.  Circumvention is to reset the connection on the impacted server.
  
• Fixed an issue with the change network settings task panel resulting in failures E35B0005 and subsequent E3550956 and E3550037 when the signer certificate has no CN.
  
• Fix to cleanup core files properly at system reboot to prevent repeated call homes of SRC E23D0503.
  
• Fix for call home SRC E35A000B to properly collect a heapdump and avoid duplicate E332FFFF SRCs being reported.
  
• Fix to remove the message "No RMC Connection" text for IBMi partitions in the Dashboard gallery view.
  
• Fixed an issue where email notifications fail when the SMTP server sends a multi-line response.  The test email task will appear to hang;  service event notification will not reach the recipients.
  
• Fixed an issue where a security scan of the HMC results in E3550046. Users are unable to log into the UI with error 502 Proxy error.The issue has been reported with the Tenable Nessus scan.
  
• Fixed HMC startup issues after updating from 921 to 930 that prevented the login screen from loading.
  
• Fixed an issue with periodic transmission failures of scheduled operations such as UAK, VPD, Performance, and Software information.
• Fixed an issue where opening multiple vterm applets intermittently fails after the first open is successful.
  
  

Web browser requirements

Learn about the requirements your web browser must meet to monitor and control the HMC.

To access HMC through a remote browser in a Windows 7 environment, you must have a minimum/default of 1600x900 screen resolution.

HMC web browser support requires HTML 2.0, JavaScript 1.0, Java™ Virtual Machine (JVM), Java Runtime Environment (JRE) Version 8 U151, and cookie support in browsers that will connect to the HMC. Contact your support personnel to assist you in determining if your browser is configured with a Java Virtual Machine. The web browser must use HTTP 1.1. If you are using a proxy server, HTTP 1.1 must be enabled for the proxy connections. Additionally, pop-ups must be enabled for all HMCs addressed in the browser if running with pop-ups disabled.

The following browsers have been tested:

Google Chrome

This HMC version supports Google Chrome Version 73 (Official Build) (64-bit).

Safari

This HMC version supports Safari 11.1

Mozilla Firefox

This HMC version supports Mozilla Firefox Version 60.5 Extended Support Release (ESR) and Mozilla Firefox Version 60.6 Extended Support Release (ESR). Ensure that the JavaScript options to raise or lower windows and to move or resize existing windows are enabled. To enable these options, click the Content tab in the browser's Options dialog, click Advanced next to the Enable JavaScript option, and then select the Raise or lower windows option and the Move or resize existing windows options. Use these options to easily switch between HMC tasks.  For more information about the latest Mozilla Firefox ESR levels, see Security Advisories for Firefox ESR.

Safari

This HMC version supports Safari Browser Version 12.0.3

Clearing the Browser Cache

In Microsoft Internet Explorer

1. Open the Browser
2. Select Tools
3. Select Internet Options
4. Under Browser History, select Delete
5. Check "Temporary Internet files and websites files" and "Cookies and website data"
6. Click on Delete

In Mozilla Firefox

1. In the top-right corner of the browser window click the menubutton
    Choose History, and then Clear Recent History.
    In time range to clear, select "Everything"
    In the Details section, select "Cookies" and "Cache"
    Click on "Clear now"
2. In the top-right corner of the browser window click the menu button
    Choose Options > Advanced > Network >
    In "Offline Web Content and User Data" section click on "Clear Now"

In Google Chrome

1. In the top-right corner of the browser window, click the Chrome menu
    Choose History.
    Click the button Clear browsing data. A dialog will appear.
    From the drop-down menu, select "the beginning of time."
    Check the boxes "Cookies, site, and plug-in data" and "Cache"
    Click the button Clear browsing data.
2. Open the following URL with the Chrome browser: chrome://appcache-internals/
    If there is an entry related to the target hmc, click the corresponding “Remove” link

Other web browser considerations

Session cookies need to be enabled in order for ASMI to work when connected to HMC remotely. The ASM proxy code saves session information and uses it.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Click Tools > Options.
2. Click the Cookies Tab.
3. Select Allow sites to set cookies.
   If you want to allow only specific sites, select Exceptions, and add the HMC to allow access.

Installation

Virtual HMC Installation for x86 hypervisors

Installation Images 

Download of the Power Hardware Management Virtual Appliance (vHMC) install images are available at the Entitled Systems Support site (ESS): http://www-304.ibm.com/servers/eserver/ess/OpenServlet.wss .  You must be entitled to Product ID 5765-HMW or 5765-HMV in order to download 5765-HMW from the ESS site.

Upgrade of 5765-HMV to 5765-HMW is supported.

Fixes, mandatory fixes and service packs for the vHMC are common to the Power Hardware management console (HMC) and will be available at IBM Fix Central.

The splash panel information (lshmc -V output) for the vHMC will be the same as for the HMC recovery DVD that is documented in the above description section.

Installation guidance for installing the vHMC into your hypervisor is found in the IBM Knowledge Center. Installation procedures may vary depending on the operating system you use and the hypervisor you use.

A feature of the vHMC is the activation engine which allows you to preconfigure the HMC Console by passing configuration information to the HMC at the first boot of the HMC, when using these images. Please look at the on-line Knowledge Center documentation on using the Activation Engine feature.

Notes for the Virtual Appliance for  x86 hypervisors

• The supported hypervisors for x86 are
  
  • VMWARE ESXi 6.0 or higher
  • KVM on Red Hat RHEL7 or higher
  • Xen 4.2 or higher on SLES 12
• There are now two images for the VMWare ESXi Server, one is for ESXi 6.0 and the other for ESXi 6.5. This is due to differences in the encoding of the OVA images. SHA1 for ESXi 6.0 , SHA256 for ESXi 6.5
• The processor on the systems hosting vHMC for x86 must have either Intel VT-x or AMD-V Hardware Virtualization enabled.
  

Installation methods for vHMC on x86 hypervisors
http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/POWER8/p8hai/p8hai_installvhmc.htm

After the upgrade, install the mandatory fix using the instructions at Installation methods for HMC Version 8 fixes

Virtual HMC for PowerVM LPARS

Installation Images 

Download of the Power Hardware Management Virtual Appliance (vHMC) install images are available at the Entitled Systems Support site (ESS): http://www-304.ibm.com/servers/eserver/ess/OpenServlet.wss . You must be entitled to Product ID 5765-HMA or 5765-HMB in order to download 5765-HMB from the ESS site.

Upgrade of 5765-HMA to 5765-HMB is supported.

Fixes, mandatory fixes and service packs for the vHMC are common to the Power Hardware management console (HMC) and are available at IBM Fix Central.

The splash panel information (lshmc -V output) for the vHMC will be the same as for the HMC recovery DVD that is documented in the above description section for the 7063 Machine type.

Installation guidance for installing the vHMC into your hypervisor are found in the Online Knowledge Center. Installation procedures may vary depending on the operating system you use and the hypervisor you use. 

Notes for the Virtual Appliance for PowerVM :

• On Power9 servers, the HMC Virtual Appliance for PowerVM must run in Power8 compatibility mode, for this release.
  
• The HMC Virtual Appliance for PowerVM   does not provide graphics adapter support for adapters assign to the partition. Use a supported web browser to point to the HMC for UI support.
  
• DLPAR operations such as memory and processor moves for HMCs running in an LPAR are not supported.
  
• Inactive partition migration and Simplified Remote Restart operations are supported.
  
• The virtual appliance for PowerVM requires a Power8 or Power9 server that is enabled for little endian support. Minimum System Firmware 860 recommended for Power8 servers.
• vHMC for PowerVM cannot manage the server it is hosted on.

Installation of vHMC for LPARs:
http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/POWER8/p8hai/p8hai_vhmc_pvm.htm

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General Virtual HMC notes

• Virtual HMC Appliance can be deployed in your existing POWER virtualized infrastructure. Virtual HMC Appliance supports install into PowerVM LPARs.
• Call home of serviceable events with a failing MTMS of the HMC itself is disabled.  Those serviceable events should be manually reported to IBM software support.
• To see if you are running on a virtual HMC use the lshmc -v command. If it displays a UVMID field, then you are running in a virtual machine.
  

  Example:
  

  lshmc -v

  "vpd=*FC ????????
  *VC 20.0
  *N2 Thu Sep 14 15:02:44 UTC 2017
  *FC ????????
  *DS Hardware Management Console
  *TM Vc87-f0a
  *SE 7f61457
  *MN IBM
  *PN N/A
  *SZ 8371892224
  *OS Embedded Operating Systems
  *NA 127.0.0.1
  *FC ????????
  *DS Platform Firmware
  *RM V8R8.7.0.0
  *UVMID c87f:0a7f:603a:1457
  "

• When deploying a virtual HMC, if the mac address is not specified, it will be generated by the hypervisor.  Network configuration on the HMC relies on the value of MAC addresses. If you re-deploy a new virtual HMC and want to restore critical console data previously taken on a virtual HMC, ensure sure you are using the same MAC addresses.
• When using Activation Engine to setup NTP configuration, you must specify the NTP version value.
• We recommend upgrading to the new image that uses 500GB by following the steps below:
  
  • From the current HMC version (e.g. HMC V8.860.0), upgrade to HMC V9 R1 M910
  • When the upgrade is complete the HMC is now at a new version but still has a 160GB disk.
  • Perform a Critical Console Data backup, excluding network information and store the backup to a remote location.
  • Deploy the new HMC V9 R1 M910 image which uses a 500GB disk.
  • After the HMC boots up with the 500GB disk, restore the Critical Console data.