Power7 System Firmware
Applies to: 9117-MMB and 9179-MHB
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 770 (9117-MMB) and Power
780 (9179-MHB) 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 R7.3.0
(PTF MH01255 or MH01256) with PTF MH01257 (Mandatory efix).
Although the Minimum HMC Code level for this firmware is listed
above, HMC level V7 R7.3.0 with PTF MH01313 (Service Pack 4) and
PTF MH01320 (Fix for V7R7.3.4), 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
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.
Although the Minimum SDMC Code level for this firmware is listed
above, SDMC level V6.730 SP2 (MF54510), or
higher is
suggested for
this
firmware level.
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 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 or SDMC
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:
- 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
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:
01AMXXX_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,
01AM720_067_045 and 01AM740_067_053 are different service
packs.
An installation is disruptive if:
- The release levels (XXX) are different.
Example: Currently installed release is AM710, new release is AM720
- The service pack level (YYY) and the last disruptive
service
pack level (ZZZ) are the same.
Example: AM720_120_120 is disruptive, no matter what level of AM720 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 AM720_120_120 and new
service
pack is AM720_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 AM720_126_120,
new
service pack is AM720_143_120.
Firmware Information and Update Description
| Filename |
Size |
Checksum |
| 01AM730_099_035.rpm |
37297687
|
34852
|
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 01AM730_099_035.rpm
AM730
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
The complete Firmware Fix History for this
Release Level can be
reviewed at the following url:
http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/server/firmware/AM-Firmware-Hist.html
|
AM730_099_035
10/24/12 |
Impact: Availability
Severity: SPE
System firmware changes that affect all systems
- HIPER/Non-Pervasive: DEFERRED: A problem was fixed
that caused a system crash with SRC B170E540.
- HIPER/Non-Pervasive:
A related
problem was also fixed that could cause a live lock on the power bus
resulting in a system crash.
- To address poor placement of partitions following a reboot
of a server with unlicensed cores, the firmware was enhanced to run the
affinity manager when the initialize configuration operation is done
from the HMC. A problem was also fixed that caused the hypervisor
to be left in an inconsistent state after a partition create operation
failed.
|
AM730_095_035
08/23/12 |
Impact: Availability
Severity: SPE
New Features and Functions
- Support for booting the IBM i operating system from a USB
tape drive.
System firmware changes that affect all systems
- A problem was fixed that caused a partition with dedicated
processors to hang with SRC BA33xxxx when rebooted, after it was
migrated using a Live Partition Mobility (LPM) operation from a system
running Ax730 to a system running Ax740, or vice versa.
- The firmware was enhanced to call out the correct field
replaceable units (FRUs) when SRC B124E504 with description "Chnl init
TO due to SN stuck in recovery" was logged.
- A problem was fixed that caused SRC B1818A10 to be
erroneously logged after a system firmware installation.
- A problem was fixed that caused booting from a virtual
fibre channel tape device to fail with SRC B2008105.
- The firmware was enhanced to log SRCs BA180030 and BA180031
as informational instead of predictive.
- A problem was fixed that caused a "code accept" during a
concurrent firmware installation from the HMC to fail with SRC
E302F85C. This is most likely to occur on model FHB systems.
- On systems running the AIX operating system, a problem was
fixed that caused the hypervisor to crash with SRC B7000103, after an
HEA (Host Ethernet Adapter) error was logged, when there is a lot of
AIX activity on the HEAs.
- A problem was fixed that caused the suspension of a
partition to fail if a large amount of data has to be stored to resume
the partition.
- A problem was fixed that caused a system crash with
unrecoverable SRC B7000103 with "ErFlightRecorder" in the failing
stack..
- On systems booting from an NPIV (N-port ID virtualization)
device, a problem was fixed that caused the boot to intermittently
terminate with the message "PReP-BOOT: unable to load full PReP
image.". This problem occurs more frequently on the IBM V7000
Storage System running the SAN Volume Controller (SVC), but not on
every boot.
- A problem was fixed that caused SRC B181E6F1 with the
description "RMGR_PERSISTENT_EVENT_TIMEOUT" to be erroneously logged.
- A problem was fixed that prevented a change to the system
operating mode ("M" or "N") made in the Advanced System Management
Interface (ASMI) menu from being displayed in the physical control
(operator) panel.
- A problem was fixed that caused a memory leak in the
service processor firmware.
- A problem was fixed that caused SRC B155A491 to be
erroneously logged during multiple system IPLs. This SRC may
cause the system to terminate.
- A problem was fixed that caused the lsstat command on the
HMC to display an erroneously high number of packets transmitted and
received on a vlan interface.
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
- The
firmware was enhanced to fix a potential performance degradation on
systems utilizing the stride-N stream prefetch instructions dcbt (with
TH=1011) or dcbtst (with TH=1011). Typical applications executing
these algorithms include High Performance Computing, data intensive
applications exploiting streaming instruction prefetchs, and
applications utilizing the Engineering and Scientific Subroutine
Library (ESSL) 5.1.
- On systems on which Internet Explorer (IE) is used to
access the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) on the Hardware
Management Console (HMC), a problem was fixed that caused IE to hang
for about 10 minutes after saving changes to network parameters on the
ASMI.
- A problem was fixed that caused informational SRC A70047FF,
which may indicate that the Anchor (VPD) card should be replaced, to be
erroneously logged again after the Anchor card was replaced.
- A problem was fixed that caused a network installation of
IBM i to fail when the client was on the same subnet as the server.
- On systems with a 5796 or 5797 I/O drawer attached, a
problem was fixed that could cause a system hang.
- On systems with a feature code (F/C) 5802 or 5877 I/O
drawer attached, a problem was fixed that prevented the system from
booting with SRC B1818903, with a signature of
"SINK_REASON_CODE_FILE_LOCK_TIMEOUT".
- On systems with the F/C 1804 (Integrated 4 Port (2x1Gb and
2x10Gb SFP+ Optical-SR ports)) or F/C 1813 (Integrated, 4 Port (2x1Gb
and 2x10Gb SFP+ Copper twinax ports)), the firmware was enhanced to
prevent the attached network switch from prematurely shutting down the
Ethernet port due to link flaps detected during IPL.
Concurrent hot add/repair
maintenance firmware fixes
- A problem was fixed the prevented the DASD roll-up fault
LED from working properly after a node add or node remove operation.
- A problem was fixed that caused a hot node repair operation
to fail with PhypRc=0x0300, indicating the deactivate system resource
operation failed.
- During a CHARM replacement of a memory card on a system
running with mirrored memory, a problem was fixed that caused the
operation to fail with "PhypRc = 0x0326".
|
AM730_087_035
05/18/12 |
Impact: Availability
Severity: SPE
New Features and Functions
- Support for IBM i Live Partition Mobility (LPM)
System firmware changes that affect all systems
- A problem was fixed that prevented the user from changing
the boot mode or keylock setting after a remote restart-capable
partition is created, even after the partition's paging device is
on-line.
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
- The firmware resolves undetected N-mode stability problems
and improves error reporting on the feature code (F/C) 5802 and 5877
I/O drawer power subsystem.
|
AM730_078_035
03/14/12 |
Impact: Availability
Severity: SPE
System firmware changes that affect all systems
- The firmware was enhanced to properly display a memory
controller that has been guarded out manually on the "Deconfiguration
Records" menu option (under "System Service Aids") on the Advanced
System Management Interface (ASMI).
- A problem was fixed that caused multiple service processor
dumps to be unnecessarily taken during a concurrent firmware
update. SRC B181EF9A, which indicates that the dump space on the
service processor is full, was logged as a result.
- 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.
- A problem was fixed that caused SRC B7000602 to be
erroneously logged at power on.
- The firmware was enhanced to recognize new USB-attached
devices so that they will be listed as boot devices in the System
Management Services (SMS) menus.
- A problem was fixed that caused booting or installing a
partition or system from a USB device to fail with error code
BA210012. This usually occurs when an operating system (OS) other
than the OS that is already on the partition or system is booted or
installed.
- On the System Management Services (SMS) remote IPL (RIPL)
menus, a problem was fixed that 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 log SRCs BA180030 and BA180031
as informational instead of predictive.
- The firmware was enhanced to increase the threshold of soft
NVRAM errors on the service processor to 32 before SRC B15xF109 is
logged. (Replacement of the service processor is recommended if
more than one B15xF109 is logged per week.)
- A problem was fixed that caused a system to crash when the
system was in low power (or safe) mode, and the system attempted to
switch over to nominal mode.
- On a multi-drawer system, a problem was fixed that
prevented the system attention LED from correctly reflecting the status
of the DASD fault LEDs in drawers 2, 3, and 4.
- A problem was fixed that caused the system to fail to boot
with SRC B1xxB507.
- A problem was fixed that prevented a node from being
deconfigured manually using the Advanced System Management
Interface (ASMI).
- A problem was fixed the caused system fans to be
erroneously called out as failing.
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
- A
problem was fixed that caused the hypervisor to hang during a
concurrent operation on a F/C 5802, 5803, 5873 or 5877 I/O
drawer. Recovering from the hypervisor hang required a platform
reboot.
- A problem was fixed that impacted performance if profiling
was enabled in one or more partitions. Performance profiling is
enabled:
- In an AIX or VIOS partition using the tprof (-a, -b, -B, -E option)
command or pmctl (-a, -E option) command.
- In an IBM i partition when the PEX *TRACE profile (TPROF) collections
or PEX *PROFILE collections are active.
- In a Linux partition using the perf command, which is available in
RHEL6 and SLES11; profiling with oprofile does not cause the problem.
- A problem was fixed that prevented the operating system
from being notified that a F/C 5802 or 5877 I/O drawer had recovered
from an input power fault (SRC 10001512 or 10001522).
- On a system that is being upgraded from Ax720 system
firmware to Ax730 system firmware, the firmware was enhanced to log
B1818A0F as informational instead of predictive if it occurs during the
firmware upgrade.
- On systems running Active Memory Sharing (AMS), the
allocation of the memory was enhanced to improve performance.
- A problem was fixed that caused the suspension of a logical
partition running Active Memory Sharing (AMS) to fail because the disk
headers had not been erased.
- On systems with an iSCSI network, when booting a logical
partition using that iSCSI network, a problem was fixed that caused the
iSCSI gateway parameter displayed on the screen to be incorrect.
It did not impact iSCSI boot functionality.
- On systems running Active Memory Sharing (AMS) and Active
Memory Mirrorring (AMM), a problem was fixed that caused memory
allocation to fail. This in turn caused a partition to fail to
boot with SRC A2009030.
- On systems using affinity groups, a problem was fixed that
prevented one of the partitions from being placed correctly.
- On 9117-MMB and 9179-MHB systems without an optional GX
adapter, a problem was fixed that caused the system fans to ramp up to
their maximum speed.
Concurrent hot add/repair
maintenance firmware fixes
- A problem was fixed that caused a checkstop to occur during
a node repair operation.
- A problem was fixed that caused the system to hang
during a CHARM operation.
- A problem was fixed that caused multiple types of failures
(CHARM node operations and Advanced Energy Manager (AEM) state
changes, among others), after a CHARM hot node operation on the first
(top) drawer was followed by a concurrent firmware installation.
- On systems with more than one node, a problem was fixed
that caused a CHARM operation on node B to fail with a Repair and
Verify (R&V) panel that indicated a "Deactivate power domain for
the FruType.CEC_ENCLOSURE at U78C0.001.xxxxxx" failure due to a "0x0007
COMMAND_TIMEOUT".
|
AM730_066_035
12/08/11 |
Impact: Availability
Severity: HIPER - High Impact/PERvasive, Should be installed as soon as
possible.
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
- HIPER/Pervasive on systems
with a Virtual Input/Output (VIO) client running AIX, and with a F/C
5802 or 5877 I/O drawer attached: A problem was fixed
that caused the system to crash with SRC B700F103.
|
AM730_065_035
11/22/11 |
Impact: Availability
Severity: HIPER
- High Impact/PERvasive, Should be installed as soon as
possible.
System firmware changes that affect all systems
- HIPER/Pervasive:
On systems running firmware level AM730_049 or AM730_058, a problem was
fixed that caused the target server to hang, or go to the incomplete
state on the management console, after a Live Partition Mobility (LPM)
operation. This problem can also occur when a partition
hibernation operation is done.
|
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, use the Advanced System
Management Interface (ASMI) Welcome pane. The current server
firmware appears in the top right
corner.
Example: AM710_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 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: AMXXX_YYY_ZZZ
Where XXX = release level
- If the release level will stay the same (Example: Level
AM710_075_075
is
currently installed and you are attempting to install level
AM710_081_075)
this is considered an update.
- If the release level will change (Example: Level AM710_081_075 is
currently
installed and you are attempting to install level AM720_097_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
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 AM730_099:
- V7R1M0 - MF51869
- V6R1M1 - MF51864
These PTFs can be ordered through Fix Central.
7.0 Firmware History
The complete Firmware Fix History for this Release level can be
reviewed at the following url:
http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/server/firmware/AM-Firmware-Hist.html
8.0
Change History
Date
|
Description
|
| January 28, 2013 |
Severity update for level
AM730_099 |
December 07, 2012
|
Corrected the Fix description
classifications for
level AM730_099 |