Power7 Entry Systems Firmware

Applies to:   8231-E1C, 8231-E2C, 8202-E4C, 8205-E6C, 8492-DW3 and 8493-SV3

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 710 (8231-E1C), Power 730 (8231-E2C), Power 720 (8202-E4C), Power 740 (8205-E6C, 8492-DW3 and 8493-SV3) 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 R7.4.0 (PTF MH01273 or MH01274) with PTF MH01275 (Mandatory efix).

Although the Minimum HMC Code level for this firmware is listed above,  HMC level V7 R.4.0 with PTFs MH01275 and MH01296 or higher is suggested for this firmware level.

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/

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

NOTES:
                -You must be logged in as hscroot in order for the firmware installation to complete correctly.
                - Systems Director Management Console (SDMC) does not support this System Firmware level.

2.0 Important Information

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.

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.

Concurrent Firmware Updates

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

Memory Considerations for Firmware Upgrades

Firmware Release Level upgrades and Service Pack updates may consume additional system memory.
Server firmware requires memory to support the logical partitions on the server. The amount of memory required by the server firmware varies according to several factors.
Factors influencing server firmware memory requirements include the following:
Generally, you can estimate the amount of memory required by server firmware to be approximately 8% of the system installed memory. The actual amount required will generally be less than 8%. However, there are some server models that require an absolute minimum amount of memory for server firmware, regardless of the previously mentioned considerations.

Additional information can be found at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/topic/p7hat/iphatlparmemory.htm

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 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:

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
01AL740_046_042.rpm 39550777 54582

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 01AL740_046_042.rpm

AL740
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
AL740_046_042

12/15/11		 Impact: Availability         Severity:  HIPER - High Impact/PERvasive, Should be installed as soon as possible. 

System firmware changes that affect certain systems

  • On systems using the Advanced Energy Manager (AEM) to run in Dynamic Power Save (DPS) mode, and with deconfigured processor cores, a problem was fixed that caused the processor voltages to be set incorrectly, which in turn caused the system to use more power than it should have been using.
  • On all 8231-E1C systems, and 8231-E2C systems without an optional GX adapter, a problem was fixed that caused the system fans to ramp up to their maximum speed.
  • HIPER/Pervasive for systems with a F/C 5283 or F/C 5285 InfiniBand adapter:  On systems with a F/C 5283 or F/C 5285 PCIe2 2-port 4X InfiniBand QDR adapter (40Gb), a  problem was fixed that caused the system to crash with SRC B170E540.
  • HIPER/Pervasive for systems running Red Hat 6.1 Linux with 4GB of memory installed, and for systems with a Red Hat 6.1 Linux partition with a max memory size less than 8GB:  On systems running Red Hat 6.1 Linux that are configured with the minimum memory of 4 GB, or that have a Red Hat 6.1 Linux partition with a max memory size attribute of less than 8 GB in its partition profile, a problem was fixed that prevented the I/O adapters from being configured.  This resulted in the adapters being unusable, or it prevented Linux from booting.
  • HIPER/Not pervasive:  On systems managed by a Hardware Management Console (HMC), and on which a concurrent system firmware update was done, a problem was fixed that caused the number of processors available on the managed system shown on the management console to be smaller than it should have been.

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

Follow the instructions on Fix Central. 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: ALXXX_YYY_ZZZ

Where XXX = release level

HMC Managed Systems:

Instructions for installing firmware updates and upgrades on systems managed by an HMC can be found at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/index.jsp?topic=/p7ha1/updupdates.htm

Systems not Managed by an HMC:

p Systems:
Instructions for installing firmware on systems that are not managed by an HMC can be found at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/index.jsp?topic=/p7ha5/fix_serv_firm_kick.htm

IBM i Systems:
See "IBM Server Firmware and HMC Code Wizard":
http://www-912.ibm.com/s_dir/slkbase.NSF/DocNumber/408316083

NOTE: For all systems running with the IBM i Operating System, the following IBM i PTFs must be applied to all IBM i partitions prior to installing AL740_046:
NOTE: For all systems running with the IBM i Operating System and without an HMC attached, the following IBM i PTFs must be applied to all IBM i partitions in addition to the PTFs listed above, prior to installing AL740_046
These PTFs can be ordered through Fix Central.

7.0 Firmware History

The Firmware History can be reviewed at the following link:
http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/server/firmware/AL-IOC-Firmware-Hist.html