Power7 Entry Systems Firmware

Applies to: 8233-E8B and 8236-E8C

This document provides information about the installation of Licensed Machine or Licensed Internal Code, which is sometimes referred to generically as microcode or firmware.

Contents

1.0 Systems Affected

This package provides firmware for Power 750 (8233-E8B)  and Power 755 (8236-E8C)  servers only. Do not use on any other systems.

The firmware level in this package is:

2.0 Important Information

HMC-Managed Systems

HMC level 7.1.0  Service Pack 1 (MH01213)  is required for this firmware level.

NOTE: You must be logged in as hscroot in order for the firmware installation to complete correctly.

Concurrent Firmware Updates

Concurrent system firmware update is only supported on HMC - Managed Systems only.

Memory Considerations for Firmware Upgrades

The increase in memory used by the firmware is due to the additional functionality in later firmware releases.

3.0 Firmware Information and Description 

Use the following examples as a reference to determine whether your installation will be concurrent or disruptive.

For systems that are not managed by an HMC, the installation of system firmware is always disruptive.

Note: The concurrent levels of system firmware may, on occasion, contain fixes that are known as deferred. These deferred fixes can be installed concurrently, but will not be activated until the next IPL. Deferred fixes, if any, will be identified in the "Firmware Update Descriptions" table of this document. For deferred fixes within a service pack, only the fixes in the service pack which cannot be concurrently activated are deferred.

Note: The file names and service pack levels used in the following examples are for clarification only, and are not
necessarily levels that have been, or will be released.

System firmware file naming convention:

01ALXXX_YYY_ZZZ

NOTE: Values of service pack and last disruptive service pack level (YYY and ZZZ) are only unique within a release level (XXX). For example, 01AL720_067_045 and 01AL740_067_053 are different service packs.

An installation is disruptive if:

Example: Currently installed release is AL710, new release is AL720 Example: AL720_120_120 is disruptive, no matter what level of AL720 is currently
installed on the system Example: Currently installed service pack is AL720_120_120 and new service pack is AL720_152_130

An installation is concurrent if:

The release level (XXX) is the same, and
The service pack level (YYY) currently installed on the system is the same or higher than the last disruptive service pack level (ZZZ) of the service pack to be installed.

Example: Currently installed service pack is AL720_126_120,  new service pack is AL720_143_120.

Firmware Information and Update Description

 
Filename Size Checksum
01AL710_065_043.rpm 24981857
 29939

AL710
AL710_065_043

03/16/10		 Impact:  Usability          Severity:  HIPER

System firmware changes that affect all systems

  • A problem was fixed that caused disks that were not bootable to be displayed in the system management services boot menus.  This problem also prevented the operating system level from being displayed for bootable hard disks in the system management services boot menus.
  • A problem was fixed that caused the location code to be displayed incorrectly for the embedded SAS controller.
  • A problem was fixed that prevented a concurrent system dump from being taken if a system dump was invalidated (off loaded) before the hypervisor was fully loaded during the boot process.
  • A problem was fixed that, under certain rare circumstances, caused the system to become unresponsive and appear to hang.
  • Various enhancements were made to the firmware to error handling, and error logging, when a failure occurs in system memory.
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
  • On systems running Active Energy Management, a problem was fixed that caused Active Energy Management to inaccurately calculate the parameters used for power throttling.
  • On systems running redundant VIOS partitions, a problem was fixed that prevented Ethernet traffic from being properly bridged between the two partitions.  This problem also prevented shared Ethernet adapter failover from working correctly.
  • On systems managed by an HMC, a problem was fixed that caused the HMC to report that the connection to the managed system was dropped due to problems with locks.
  • On systems using IPv6 addresses, a problem was fixed that prevented static IPv6 addresses from being removed without completely disabling IPv6.
  • On systems with two power supplies, the firmware was enhanced such that if ac input power is removed from one power supply, the speed of the fans in the remaining power supply will increase to provide additional cooling.
AL710_043_043
02/19/10
 Impact:  New            Severity:  New
GA Level

4.0 How to Determine Currently Installed Firmware Level

For HMC managed systems:  From the HMC, select Updates in the navigation (left-hand) pane, then view the current levels of the desired server(s).

For standalone system running IBM i without an HMC: From a command line, issue DSPFMWSTS.

For standalone system running IBM AIX without an HMC: From a command line, issue lsmcode.

Alternately, use the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) Welcome pane. The current server firmware  appears in the top right corner. Example: AL710_yyy.

5.0 Downloading the Firmware Package

 You must read and agree to the license agreement to obtain the firmware packages.

Note: If your HMC is not internet-connected you will need to download the new firmware level to a CD-ROM or ftp server.

6.0 Installing the Firmware

The method used to install new firmware will depend on the release level of firmware which is currently installed on your server. The release level can be determined by the prefix of the new firmware's filename.

Example: ELXXX_YYY_ZZZ

Where XXX = release level


For details on installing the firmware, perform the following steps:

1. Go to the IBM Power System Hardware Information Center at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/index.jsp

2. Select the platform and model you are working with.

3. Select from the following options: 

IBM i Systems

See "Server Firmware: Update Policy Set to Operating System",
http://www-912.ibm.com/s_dir/slkbase.nsf/recommendedfixes