C H A P T E R 9 |
Configuring System Firmware |
This chapter describes OpenBoot firmware commands and configuration variables available for configuring the following aspects of Sun Fire V490 system behavior:
In addition, this chapter provides information about keyboard commands and alternative methods for performing OpenBoot emergency procedures.
Tasks covered in this chapter include:
Note - Many of the procedures in this chapter assume that you are familiar with the OpenBoot firmware and that you know how to enter the OpenBoot environment. For background information, refer to About the ok Prompt. For instructions, refer to How to Get to the ok Prompt. |
For background information about the OpenBoot environmental monitor, refer to:
To enable OpenBoot environmental monitoring, type env-on at the ok prompt.:
To disable OpenBoot environmental monitoring, complete this task:
For background information about the OpenBoot environmental monitor, refer to:
To disable OpenBoot environmental monitoring, type env-off at the ok prompt:
For background information about environmental status information, refer to:
To obtain OpenBoot environmental status information, type .env at the ok prompt:
For background information about the hardware watchdog mechanism and related externally initiated reset (XIR) functionality, refer to:
1. Edit the /etc/system file to include the following entry.
2. Choose the desired system recovery behavior.
The hardware watchdog mechanism can automatically reboot the system in case the system hangs. This can be done with or without first generating an automated crash dump file. As superuser, do one of the following:
3. Restart the system to effect the changes. Type:
If you choose to have the system generate an automated crash dump file, then, in the event the operating system hangs, that file appears in the /var/crash/ directory, under a subdirectory named after your system. For more information, refer to the documentation accompanying your Solaris software release.
The automatic system recovery (ASR) feature is activated by default. However, if you have manually disabled it, use this procedure to restore it.
1. Set the system control switch to the Normal position.
2. At the system ok prompt, type:
3. Set the diag-trigger variable either to power-on-reset, error-reset, (the default) or to all-resets. For example, type:
4. To cause the parameter changes to take effect, type:
The system permanently stores the parameter changes and boots automatically if the OpenBoot variable auto-boot? is set to true (its default value). If auto-boot? is not set to true, you must power-cycle the system for the parameter changes to take effect.
To disable ASR, complete this task:
After you disable the automatic system recovery (ASR) feature, it is not activated again until you enable it at the system ok prompt.
1. At the system ok prompt, type:
2. To cause the parameter change to take effect, type:
The system permanently stores the parameter change.
Use the following procedure to retrieve information about the status of the automatic system recovery (ASR) feature.
1. At the system ok prompt, type:
In the .asr command output, any devices marked disabled have been manually deconfigured using the asr-disable command. The .asr command also lists devices that have failed firmware diagnostics and have been automatically deconfigured by the OpenBoot ASR feature.
2. Display components that have failed POST diagnostics. Type:
3. Display components that have failed OpenBoot diagnostics tests. Type:
For more information, refer to:
Perform this procedure if, after installing the Solaris OS and the Sun Remote System Control (RSC) software, you want to configure the system to use the system controller as the system console. For more information about RSC software, refer to:
1. Establish a system controller session.
For instructions, refer to the Sun Remote System Control (RSC) 2.2 User's Guide, which is included on the Sun Fire V490 Documentation CD.
2. At the system ok prompt, type:
ok setenv diag-out-console true ok setenv input-device rsc-console ok setenv output-device rsc-console |
3. To cause the changes to take effect, type:
The system permanently stores the parameter changes and boots automatically if the OpenBoot variable auto-boot? is set to true (its default value).
4. To connect to the system console, at the system controller prompt, type:
Note - To reverse the system controller console redirection manually and temporarily by resetting OpenBoot configuration variables, follow the instructions in About OpenBoot Emergency Procedures. Otherwise follow the system controller console exit steps in the section, How to Restore the Local System Console. |
For instructions on how to use RSC software, refer to:
Perform this procedure if your system is configured to use the system controller (SC) as the system console and you need to redirect the system console to a local graphics terminal, alphanumeric terminal, or an established tip connection. For more information about RSC software, refer to:
1. Set the input and output device. Do one of the following.
The above settings are appropriate for viewing system console output on either an alphanumeric terminal or a tip line connected to serial port ttya.
The above settings are appropriate for viewing system console output on a graphics terminal connected to a frame buffer card.
2. To cause the changes to take effect, type:
The system permanently stores the parameter changes and boots automatically if the OpenBoot variable auto-boot? is set to true (its default value).
You can now issue commands and view system messages on the local console.
To support the ability to boot even when nonessential components fail, the OpenBoot firmware provides the asr-disable command, which lets you manually deconfigure system devices. This command "marks" a specified device as disabled, by creating an appropriate "status" property in the corresponding device tree node. By convention, UNIX will not activate a driver for any device so marked. For background information, refer to
1. At the system ok prompt, type:
where the device-identifier is one of the following:
Note - Manually deconfiguring a single processor causes the entire CPU/Memory board to be deconfigured, including all processors and all memory residing on the board. |
OpenBoot configuration variable changes take effect after the next system reset.
2. To effect the changes immediately, type:
Note - To immediately effect the changes, you can also power cycle the system using the front panel Power button |
You can use the OpenBoot asr-enable command to reconfigure any device that you previously deconfigured with asr-disable. For background information, refer to
1. At the system ok prompt, type:
where the device-identifier is one of the following:
Note - To reconfigure a processor, you must power cycle the system. The
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This procedure implements Stop-N functionality on Sun Fire V490 systems, temporarily resetting OpenBoot configuration variables to their default settings. This procedure is most useful if you have not configured your Sun Fire V490 system to run diagnostic tests. You might find it more convenient to use the alternative method of placing the system control switch in the Diagnostics position. For more background, refer to:
For information about the system control switch, refer to:
1. Turn on the power to the system.
If POST diagnostics are configured to run, both the Fault and Locator LEDs on the front panel will blink slowly.
2. Wait until only the system Fault LED begins to blink rapidly.
Note - If you have configured the Sun Fire V490 system to run diagnostic tests, this could take upwards of 30 minutes. |
3. Press the front panel Power button twice, with no more than a short, one-second delay in between presses.
A screen similar to the following is displayed to indicate that you have temporarily reset OpenBoot configuration variables to their default values:
Note - Once the front panel LEDs stop blinking and the Power/OK LED stays lit, pressing the Power button again will begin a graceful shutdown of the system. |
During the execution of OpenBoot firmware code, all OpenBoot configuration variables--including the ones that are likely to cause problems, such as input and output device settings--are temporarily set to "safe" factory default values. The only exception to this is auto-boot, which is set to false.
By the time the system displays the ok prompt, OpenBoot configuration variables have been returned to their original, and possibly misconfigured, values. These values do not take effect until the system is reset. You can display them with the printenv command and manually change them with the setenv command.
If you do nothing other than reset the system at this point, no values are permanently changed. All your customized OpenBoot configuration variable settings are retained, even ones that may have caused problems.
To correct such problems, you must either manually change individual OpenBoot configuration variables using the setenv command, or else type set-defaults to permanently restore the default settings for all OpenBoot configuration variables.
Copyright © 2004, Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.