Power6 Mid-Range Firmware

Applies to: 9117-MMA , 9406-MMA, and 8234-EMA

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 System p 570 (9117-MMA), System i570 (9406-MMA), Power 570 (9117-MMA), and Power 560 (8234-EMA) servers only.

The firmware level in this package is:

1.1 Minimum HMC Code Level

This section is intended to describe the "Minimum HMC Code Level" required by the System Firmware to complete the firmware installation process. When installing the System Firmware, the HMC level must be equal to or higher than the "Minimum HMC Code Level" before starting the system firmware update.  If the HMC managing the server targeted for the System Firmware update is running a code level lower than the "Minimum HMC Code Level" the firmware update will not proceed.

The Minimum HMC Code level for this firmware is:  HMC V7 R3.5.0 Service Pack 1 ( PTF MH01212) and MH01217 (or higher).

Although the Minimum HMC Code level for this firmware is listed above,  HMC level V7 R3.5.0 with PTF MH01238 (Service Pack 3), or higher is suggested for this firmware level.

For specific fix level information on key components of IBM Power Systems running the AIX, IBM i and Linux operating systems, we suggest using the Fix Level Recommendation Tool (FLRT):
http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/flrt/home

For information concerning HMC releases and the latest PTFs,  go to the following URL to access Fix Central.
http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/

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

1.2 Minimum SDMC Code Level

This section is intended to describe the "Minimum Systems Director Management Console (SDMC) Code Level" required by the System Firmware to complete the firmware installation process. When installing the System Firmware, the SDMC level must be equal to or higher than the "Minimum SDMC Code Level" before starting the system firmware update.  If the SDMC managing the server targeted for the System Firmware update is running a code level lower than the "Minimum SDMC Code Level" the firmware update will not proceed.

The Minimum SDMC Code level for this firmware is:  SDMC V6 R7.3.0 with Mandatory PTF MF53082.

For information concerning SDMC releases and the latest PTFs,  go to the following URL to access Fix Central:
http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/

For specific fix level information on key components of IBM Power Systems running the AIX, IBM i and Linux operating systems, we suggest using the Fix Level Recommendation Tool (FLRT):
http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/flrt/home


2.0 Cautions and Important Information

2.1 Cautions

Downgrading firmware from any given release level to an earlier release level is not recommended.
If you feel that it is necessary to downgrade the firmware on your system to an earlier release level, please contact your next level of support.

Upgrading from EM320_031 to EM350_xxx

If your current level of firmware is EM320_031 you must install any higher level of EM320 before upgrading your firmware to this level.

Upgrading from EM310_xxx to EM350_yyy

If your current level of firmware is EM310_xxx,  you must install EM320_040 or higher before upgrading your firmware to this level.

2.2 Important Information

IPv6 Support and Limitations

IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) is supported in the System Management Services (SMS) in this level of system firmware. There are several limitations that should be considered.

When configuring a network interface card (NIC) for remote IPL, only the most recently configured protocol (IPv4 or IPv6) is retained. For example, if the network interface card was previously configured with IPv4 information and is now being configured with IPv6 information, the IPv4 configuration information is discarded.

A single network interface card may only be chosen once for the boot device list. In other words, the interface cannot be configured for the IPv6 protocol and for the IPv4 protocol at the same time.

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 or SDMC, 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 and/or Partition-Deferred. Deferred fixes can be installed concurrently, but will not be activated until the next IPL. Partition-Deferred fixes can be installed concurrently, but will not be activated until a partition reactivate is performed.  Deferred and/or Partition-Deferred fixes, if any, will be identified in the "Firmware Update Descriptions" table of this document. For these types of fixes (Deferred and/or Partition-Deferred) 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:

01EMXXX_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, 01EM310_067_045 and 01EM320_067_053 are different service packs.

An installation is disruptive if:

Example: Currently installed release is EM310, new release is EM320 Example: EM310_120_120 is disruptive, no matter what level of EM310 is currently
installed on the system Example: Currently installed service pack is EM310_120_120 and
new service pack is EM310_152_130

An installation is concurrent if:

Example: Currently installed service pack is EM310_126_120,
new service pack is EM310_143_120.

Firmware Information and Update Description

For information about previous firmware release levels, see  Section 7.0 Firmware History.

 
Filename Size Checksum
01EM350_107_038.rpm 24014500
 25449

Note: The Checksum can be found by running the AIX sum command against the rpm file (only the first 5 digits are listed).
ie: sum 01EM350_107_038.rpm

EM350
For Impact, Severity and other Firmware definitions, Please refer to the below 'Glossary of firmware terms' url:
http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/sas/f/power5cm/home.html#termdefs
EM350_107_038

06/06/11

 Impact:  Availability        Severity:  ATT

New Features and Functions

  • Support for the attachment of a System Director Management Console (SDMC).

System firmware changes that affect all systems

  • PARTITION-DEFERRED:  A problem was fixed that prevented virtual LANs (VLANs) in a VIOS with partition ID of 1 from being displayed as bootable devices in the system management services (SMS) menus.
  • A problem was fixed that prevented a hardware management console (HMC) from being permanently disconnected using the Advanced System Management Services (ASMI) menus.
  • A problem was fixed that prevented the timed-power-on command from turning the system back on if the service processor's clock was adjusted to an earlier time.  Adjustment of the service processor's clock could have been done through the operating system or the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI).  This problem could occur during the fall when clocks are set back when daylight saving time ends, for example.
  • A problem was fixed that caused certain service processor error log entries with a severity of "predictive", and a failing subsystem of "service processor firmware", to be erroneously converted to "informational".
  • A problem was fixed that caused the HMC2 port on the advanced system management interface (ASMI) to erroneously default to static IP addressing instead of dynamic.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a firmware installation to fail with SRC B181EF7C.
  • A problem was fixed that prevented processor resources from being moved to another partition by a DLPAR (dynamic LPAR) operation.
  • A problem was fixed that prevented partitions from booting.
  • The firmware was enhanced to list the attached devices when viewing the adapter information for a partition profile on the HMC GUI.
  • A problem was fixed that could cause the target partition to crash after a successful P6 to P7 partition migration.  Possible AIX error log entries include:  label: DSI_PROC, resource:  SYSVMM, with description: "DATA STORAGE INTERRUPT, PROCESSOR".  Other partition-related crash descriptors may also be logged.
  • A problem was fixed that could cause AIX error log entries following a successful partition migration.  Possible AIX error log entries include: label: RTAS_ERROR, resource: sysplanar0, with description: "INTERNAL ERROR CODE".  Other errors may also be logged..
  • A problem was fixed that caused a partition to crash with SRC BA330002 after several concurrent installations of system firmware, or partition migrations, without a reboot.
  • A problem was fixed that caused multiple DR_DMA_MIGRATE_FAIL entries in the AIX error log.
  • A problem was fixed that caused the installation of some versions of Linux to fail.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a partition migration or partition hibernation operation to hang with the partition left in the "suspending" state.
  • The firmware was enhanced to log SRC B1768B76 as informational instead of unrecoverable.
  • A problem was fixed that caused the platform to become unresponsive; this was indicated by an incomplete state on the HMC.  When this problem occurred, the partitions on the managed system became unresponsive.
  • A problem was fixed that caused the managed system to go to the incomplete state on the HMC.
  • A problem was fixed that prevented the battery on the secondary service processor from being called out when it needed to be replaced.

System firmware changes that affect certain systems

  • On systems running Advanced Memory Sharing (AMS), a problem was fixed that caused an AMS partition to crash with SRC B700F103.  This problem may occur when reducing the size of the AMS pool (or doing a hot node repair on a model MMB or MHB) at the same time as dynamically creating an AMS partition, or changing an AMS partition's maximum memory.
  • On systems using logical host Ethernet adapter (LHEA) ports, a problem was fixed that caused the activation of a partition that is using an LHEA logical port (LPORT) to hang at C2008104, and the HMC to show an Incomplete status for the system.
  • On systems with a F/C 5802 or 5877 I/O expansion drawer, a problem was fixed that caused SRC 10003144 or 10003154 to be erroneously
    logged when a repair was done on the I/O drawer.
  • On systems with a F/C 5802 or 5877 I/O expansion drawer, a problem was fixed that caused the lamp test on the HMC to turn off all of the LEDs when the test was complete instead of returning them to their original states.
  • On stand-alone systems running AIX or Linux, and on systems managed by IVM (Integrated Virtualization Manager), a problem was fixed that prevented platform dumps from being off-loaded, or resulted in corrupted or incomplete platform dumps. 
  • On systems using capacity on demand (CoD), a problem was fixed that caused multiple informational B7005300 SRCs to be logged, which caused the error log to wrap, and predictive and unrecoverable SRC data to be lost.
  • On systems running IBM i partitions, IBM i network installation capability was not reported correctly to the HMC after installation of the firmware service pack that enabled this function without rebooting the managed system.
  • On systems running IBM i partitions, a problem was fixed that caused a RAID array of SCSI disks to be exposed if an MES upgrade was done, or a system plan was created.
  • On systems and partitions running IBM i, a problem was fixed that caused the operating system to use excessive processor cycles.
  • On systems with a F/C 5802 or 5877 I/O drawer attached, a problem was fixed that caused a power on unit operation from the HMC to time out, and informational SRC 10009107 to be logged, if the following conditions were met:
            - The SPCN firmware update policy in the ASMI was set to "Expanded", instead of "Enabled" (the default and recommended setting).
            -  An SPCN firmware update of the power firmware on the I/O drawer was taking place over the SPCN cables.
Concurrent Maintenance (CM) firmware fixes
  • A problem was fixed that caused SRC B70069D9, which indicates a host Ethernet adapter (HEA) failure, to be intermittently logged after a node repair operation.
  • A problem was fixed that caused the system to crash with SRCs B170E540, B181F02D and B700F103 during a hot node upgrade (memory), or hot node repair, of node A.

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 SDMC managed systems:  From the SDMC Welcome page, select the desired server(s), then select Release Management, then select Power System Firmware Management. Click Gather Target Information, then view the current levels of the desired server(s). 
NOTE:  If Inventory has not previously been collected, a message will be displayed indicating to "View and Collect Inventory" to proceed.

Alternately, you can view the server's current firmware level on the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) Welcome pane. It appears in the top right corner. Example: EM350_038.

5.0 Downloading the Firmware Package

Follow the instructions on Fix Central. You must read and agree to the license agreement to obtain the firmware packages.

Note: If your HMC or SDMC 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: EMXXX_YYY_ZZZ

Where XXX = release level


Instructions for installing firmware updates and upgrades can be found at http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/systems/scope/hw/topic/ipha1/updupdates.htm

IBM i Systems

See "Server Firmware and HMC Wizard",
http://www-912.ibm.com/s_dir/slkbase.nsf/recommendedfixes

7.0 Firmware History

The Firmware History can be reviewed at the following url:

http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/server/firmware/EM-Firmware-Hist.html

8.0 Change History

Date
 Description
June 27, 2011 Removed older levels from the Firmware Information and Update Description table.  Corrected a typo in the firmware history html file (link in Section 7.0) for firmware level EM350_063.
June 20, 2011
 Updates for SDMC support