Power7 High-End System Firmware
Applies to: 9125-F2C
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 775 (9125-F2C) 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 lower than the "Minimum HMC
Code Level" the firmware update will not proceed.
The Minimum HMC Code level for
this firmware is: HMC V7 R7.3.0
(PTF MH01255 or MH01256).
Although the Minimum HMC Code level for this firmware is listed
above, HMC level V7 R7.3.0 with PTF MH01279 (Service Pack 2), or
higher is strongly 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
NOTE: You must be logged in as hscroot in order for the
firmware
installation to complete correctly.
2.0 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
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:
- Number of logical partitions
- Partition environments of the logical
partitions
- Number of physical and virtual I/O devices
used by the logical partitions
- Maximum memory values given to the logical
partitions
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
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.
3.0 Firmware
Information
and Description
Use the following examples as a reference to determine whether your
installation
will be concurrent or 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:
01ASXXX_YYY_ZZZ
- XXX is the release level
- YYY is the service pack level
- ZZZ is the last disruptive service pack level
NOTE: Values of service pack and last disruptive service pack
level
(YYY and ZZZ) are only unique within a release level (XXX). For
example,
01AS330_067_045 and 01AS340_067_053 are different service
packs.
An installation is disruptive if:
- The release levels (XXX) are different.
Example: Currently installed release is AS330, new release is AS340
- The service pack level (YYY) and the last disruptive
service
pack level (ZZZ) are the same.
Example: AS330_120_120 is disruptive, no matter what level of AS330 is
currently
installed on the system
- The service pack level (YYY) currently installed on the system is
lower
than the last disruptive service pack level (ZZZ) of the service pack
to
be installed.
Example: Currently installed service pack is AS330_120_120 and
new service pack is AS330_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 AS330_126_120,
new service pack is AS330_143_120.
| Filename |
Size |
Checksum |
| 01AS730_066_066.rpm |
37827248 |
29371 |
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 01AS730_066_066.rpm
AS730
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
|
| AS730_066_066
01/25/12
|
Impact: Function
Severity: SPE
System firmware changes that affect all systems
- HIPER/Pervasive:
The
initial value of the fault isolation register (FIR) for
MULTICAST_TO_HFI_TIMEOUT was changed from recoverable attention to
special attention to prevent multiple deconfigured Torrent modules
across multiple CECs.
- HIPER/Not pervasive:
A problem
was fixed that caused a node to hang when booting, then terminate with
SRC B1813450, B181C350, and B18187D9.
- HIPER/Not
pervasive: On systems running the Advanced Energy Manager,
a
problem was fixed that caused the system to crash with SRC B114E504.
- 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.
- A problem was fixed that
caused the processor fabric bus to be guarded out when a time-of-day
(TOD) clock failure occurred. Only the TOD clock should be
guarded out.
- A problem was fixed that
caused a node to be erroneously guarded out during power on.
- The firmware was enhanced to
increase the threshold for recoverable SRC B113E504 so that the
processor core reporting the SRC is not guarded out. This
prevents unnecessary performance loss and the unnecessary replacement
of processor modules.
- On the System Management
Services (SMS) remote IPL (RIPL) menus, a problem was caused the SMS
menu to continue to show that an Ethernet device is configured for
iSCSI, even though the user has changed it to BOOTP.
- The firmware was enhanced to
report an error to the operating system (OS) when a bad packet was sent
from a host fabric interface (HFI) window.
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
- On systems running host fabric
interface (HFI) Ethernet, a problem was fixed that caused the TPC/IP
boot parameters to be zeroed out, and the partition to fail to boot
with HFI, when the partition was powered on.
|
4.0
How to Determine Currently Installed Firmware Level
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: AS730_123.
5.0 Downloading
the
Firmware Package
Follow the instructions on the web page. 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: ASXXX_YYY_ZZZ
Where XXX = release level
- If the release level will stay the same (Example: Level
AS330_075_075
is
currently installed and you are attempting to install level
AS330_081_075)
this is considered an update.
- If the release level will change (Example: Level AS330_081_075 is
currently
installed and you are attempting to install level AS340_096_096) this
is
considered an upgrade.
Instructions for installing firmware updates and upgrades can be found
at http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/index.jsp?topic=/p7ha1/updupdates.htm
7.0 Firmware History
The Firmware History can be reviewed at the following link:
http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/server/firmware/AS-Firmware-Hist.html