| Sun Netra X4250 Server Product Notes | 
   |
| C H A P T E R 1 |
These product notes contains contain information about new features, known limitations, and documentation updates for the Sun Netra X4250 server from Oracle.
New issues are added to the product notes, as needed. Be sure to read the most recent version of the product notes that is available on the web. For the most recent version of the product notes, go to the Sun documentation portal at the following site:
The latest Sun Netra X4250 server firmware is available and downloadable at:
The Sun Netra X4250 server 1.0 update includes ilom.N4X50-2.0.2.6-r37445.pkg, which contains the following firmware versions:
For details on how to update your firmware, refer to the Sun Netra X4250 Server Installation Guide (820-4055).
The Sun Netra X4250 Server Tools and Drivers DVD image is available on the Sun Download Center (SDLC) at:
You can use the DVD image to install supported operating systems and to update firmware. For more information, go to:
In addition to the Oracle Solaris 10 08/07 Operating System (OS), the following operating systems are supported:
For more information on the latest OS support for the Sun Netra X4250 server, go to:
http://www.sun.com/servers/netra/x4250/os.jsp
Also see the Sun Netra X4250 Server Operating System Installation Guide (820-4602) for OS installation information.
To determine the power consumption requirements at your site, use the power calculator at:
http://www.sun.com/solutions/eco_innovation/powercalculators.jsp
Sun Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) is system management firmware that is installed on Sun Netra X4250 server. ILOM runs on the service processor (SP) and automatically initializes as soon as power is applied to your system. With ILOM, you can monitor and manage your server system by viewing hardware configurations, monitoring system information, managing system alerts, and more. ILOM provides a browser-based web interface and a command-line interface, as well as an SNMP user interface and an IPMI user interface.
Refer to the Sun Integrated Lights Out Manager 2.0 User’s Guide (820-1188) for more information. The ILOM documentation is posted on the Sun Netra X4250 server documentation web site at:
The Alarm port is located on the Sun Netra X4250 server’s rear panel and uses a standard DB-15 connector. In a telecommunications environment, the Alarm port connects to the central office alarming system.
Refer to the Sun Netra X4250 Server Service Manual (820-4056) for alarm connector pinouts and signals.
There are two ILOM controlled watchdog timers supported on the service processor:
These watchdog timers enable the service processor to reset or power off the system if the BIOS or operating system (OS) crashes or hangs. Both watchdog timers are set using the BIOS Setup Utility.
Refer to the Sun Netra X4250 Server Service Manual (820-4056) for information on configuring the watchdog timers.
The following operating system is currently supported on the Sun Netra X4250 server:
For this initial release, the Sun Netra X4250 server supports the Solaris 10 8/07 OS with the patches listed in TABLE 1-1. The Solaris 10 8/07 OS with patches is preinstalled on the Sun Netra X4250 server.
The patches are also available at:
Note - Before contacting support, ensure that all mandatory
patches are installed on your server. Check the SunSolve |
To determine if a patch is present, see “To Download Patches” on page 1.
Determine whether the patches have been installed on your system.
For example, using the showrev command, type the following for each patch number:
# showrev -p | grep "Patch: 127112" |
If you see patch information listed for the queried patch, and the dash extension (the last two digits) matches or exceeds the required version, your system has the proper patches already installed and no further action is required.
For example, if Patch 127112-06 or later is installed, your system has the required version of this patch.
If you do not see patch information listed for the queried patch, or if the dash extension precedes the required version, go to Step 2.
For example, if no version of the 127112 patch, or a version with an extension of ‐05 or earlier is installed, you must download and install the new patch.
Go to http://www.sun.com/sunsolve to download the patches.
Using the SunSolve PatchFinder tool, specify the base Patch ID number (the first six digits) to access the current release of a patch.
Follow the installation instructions provided in a specific patch’s README file.
This section describes the preinstalled and preloaded software on your server. The preinstalled software is ready to use. The preloaded software must first be installed from the preloaded location.
TABLE 1-2 lists the software preinstalled on your server.
TABLE 1-3 lists the software preloaded on your server. To use this software you must first install it from the preloaded location.
| Software | Location |
|---|---|
| Sun Java Enterprise Server | /var/spool/stage/JES5/Solaris_sparc |
The Sun Java Enterprise Server is a comprehensive set of software and lifecycle services that make the most of your software investment.
For an overview and documentation, go to:
http://www.sun.com/service/javaes/index.xml
The Solaris OS and Sun Java Enterprise Server software are preinstalled.
If it becomes necessary to reload the software, go to the following web site for download and installation instructions:
http://www.sun.com/software/preinstall
The following issues apply to the Sun Netra X4250 server.
This section contains issues that have been found on x86 platforms when running the Solaris OS.
When the dbx debugger is being used on the Solaris 10 OS on x86 platforms to debug a program that raises or delivers signals that have signal handlers, dbx might receive an unexpected SIGTRAP signal from the kernel that causes it to hang. This situation can occur when dbx is single stepping, running to a breakpoint, collecting runtime checking (RTC) data, or performing any other activity that depends on signal trapping.
In some cases, dbx displays a warning of a unexpected SIGTRAP signal when it hangs:
dbx: internal warning: unexpected SIGTRAP! |
In other cases, dbx indicates receipt of a SEGV signal, as in the following example:
signal SEGV (no mapping at the fault address) in main at line 29 in file "test.c" |
If you use a cont -sig SEGV command to continue execution with the SEGV signal, dbx will display the SIGTRAP warning.
For the Sun Studio 12 debugger, sigsegv and sigaltstack are restricted on Solaris 10 5/08 x86/x64.
RTC instruments memory access instructions for access checking. These instructions are handled by a sigsegv handler at runtime. Because RTC requires its own sigsegv handler and signal alternate stack, any attempts to install a sigsegv handler or signal alternate stack (sigaltstack) will result in EINVAL, or the installation will be ignored. sigsegv handler calls cannot be nested. Otherwise, the nesting will result in a terminating signal 11 SIGSEGV error.
Workaround: If a terminating signal 11 SIGSEGV error occurs, use rtc skippatch to skip the instrumentation of the affected function. Otherwise, install patch 124873-06 to fix most of the segvs errors.
A critical alarm is asserted by default when system power is not applied. The critical alarm must be reset by the user application in order to be deasserted. A critical alarm is reasserted by a subsequent power failure or by the user application. IPMItool commands can be used to set and reset the system alarms. See Use IPMItool Commands to Set or Clear Alarms.
The system alarms are set and cleared using IPMItool commands. Refer to the Sun Integrated Lights Out Manager 2.0 Supplement for the Sun Netra X4250 Server (820‐4060) for examples of these IPMItool commands.
You can download IPMItool utility from the following web site:
http://ipmitool.sourceforge.net/
IPMItool version 1.8.9.4 or later is required for the Sun Netra X4250 server’s service processor (ILOM version 2.0.2.6). IPMItool version 1.8.8 or later is required to run on the host OS.
Type the following command to get IPMItool version information:
ipmitool -V |
The following issues apply to the Sun Netra X4250 server hardware or BIOS.
Under rare circumstances, you might see a BMC not responding message during BIOS POST. If the BIOS halts and reports this message, reboot the server as follows:
The SP/BIOS flash process includes an Update Successful message when the service processor (SP) flash completes. This message signals the end of the SP flash activity only. At this point in the process, the BIOS has not been flashed and premature termination of the process (for example, a manual reboot) will result in BIOS corruption. To avoid corrupting the BIOS review the flash sequence below:
Before writing a script to flash the BIOS/SP remotely, observe the sequence in real-time and test the script on a single system before updating all systems.
When inserting a hard disk drive, do not extend the lever past 70 degrees. If the lever is extended past 70 degrees on insertion there is a risk that the right-most tab might break off. The end result of accidentally breaking off the tab is purely cosmetic. The drive still functions properly if fully inserted.
If you need to open the bezel, you must ensure that the front of the server is hanging over the edge of a flat surface. The hinges on the bezel are designed to drop the bezel below the bottom edge of the server.
 | Caution - The hinges will break if you open the bezel while the front of the server is on a flat surface. |
The following issues are related to the Sun Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) remote console system. For more information on the ILOM, see the online Sun Integrated Lights Out Manager 2.0 User’s Guide (820-1188).
For some USB flash devices, the virtual device will appear mounted in the ILOM, but will not actually be mounted. This issue is under investigation.
When you start a Remote Console session on a Solaris system, the system prompts you for a decision regarding the javaRKVM.jnlp file. You have the following two options:
If you are logged in as root, choose the option to open this file with its default application.
If you are logged in as a user other than root, do the following:
When the system prompts you, choose the option to save the file.
The javaRKVM.jnlp file is downloaded and must be run manually. The download manager displays the location of this file.
Move the javaRKVM.jnlp/tmp file to the directory.
% mv /location_of_javaRKVM.JNLP/javaRKVM.JNLP /tmp |
where location_of_javaRKVM.JNLP is the directory where javaRKVM.JNLP resides.
To find the location of the javaws application, type the following in a terminal window:
% which javaws |
Type the following command in the terminal window:
% /location_of_javaws/javaws /tmp/javaRKVM.JNLP |
where location_of_javaws is the directory where javaws resides.
Assume the javaws application is run from the /usr/bin directory:
% /usr/bin/javaws /tmp/javaRKVM.JNLP |
This opens a Remote Console session. Once the Remote Console window is closed, the /tmp/javaRKVM.jnlp is removed.
It is best to select the web interface time-out duration when performing remote installations.
You must select the correct mouse mode corresponding to the host OS in order for your local mouse to manage the host remotely through the ILOM web interface.
In order to switch control between local mouse and host mouse, you can press Alt‐M.
If you have a pop-up blocker enabled in the browser that is running the remote console through the ILOM web interface, the remote console will be blocked from starting on Firefox. If you don't see the remote console, check to see if the built‐in pop-up blocker has blocked it.
If you are running Solaris OS on your remote console system, you must log into the operating system as root (superuser) to mount any virtual devices.
Virtual media is considered a USB device and is listed as a CD-ROM device. This setting overrules any CD-ROM currently set as a USB device.
When installing an OS remotely using a Remote Console session, each CD request from an installation requires the user to unmount and remount the virtual CD-ROM. When a virtual CD is ejected, the OS treats it as a USB device removal. You must remount the virtual CD to continue the installation.
The ILOM browser issues are contained in this section.
TABLE 4 shows the minimum versions that are supported for running the ILOM web interface for the Sun Netra X4250 server on the Solaris, Linux, and Windows operating systems.
Java Runtime Environment (JRE
)
5 Update 7 is the minimum supported version for the browsers to
run the ILOM web interface.
The following issues relate to Sun Netra X4250 server documentation:
This section contains issues that were found in the Sun Netra X4250 Server Service Manual.
The Sun Netra X4250 Server Service Manual (820-4056-10) has the DIMM population rules stated incorrectly. The correct DIMM population rules are:
There is a 2 DIMM minimum and 16 DIMM maximum per system, regardless of the number of processors.
DIMMs must be populated in identical pairs. Any even number of DIMMs is allowed.
DIMMs within a given pair must be identical with respect to size, speed, and organization.
DIMM pairs are populated in the following DIMM slot order: A0/B0, C0/D0, A1/B1, C1/D1, and so on.
DIMM capacities can be different between different DIMM pairs.
For example, a valid mixed DIMM configuration might have 4 GByte DIMMs installed in DIMM Slots A0/B0, and 2 GByte DIMMs installed in DIMM slots C0/D0.
DIMMs should be installed with the largest capacity DIMM pair first.
For example, four 4 GByte DIMMs and four 2 GByte DIMMS should be installed as follows: A0/B0=4GByte DIMMs, C0/D0=4GByte DIMMs, A1/B1=2GByte DIMMs, C1/D1=2GByte DIMMs.
This section contains issues that were found in the Sun Netra X4250 Server Installation Guide.
The Sun Netra X4250 Server Installation Guide (820-4055-10) incorrectly listed “Cryptography - Processor integrated cyptographic acceleration” as a feature of Oracle’s Sun Netra X4250 server.
The Sun Netra X4250 Server Installation Guide (820-4055-10) incorrectly listed the shipping list contents. The correct shipping kit contents list are:
The following cautions should have been included in the overview section.
| Caution - To maintain NEBS compliance, all I/O ports, except the Ethernet ports, must use shielded cables, and both ends of the shield must be grounded. |
| Sun Netra X4250 Server Product Notes | 820-4059-12 |
|
Copyright © 2010, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
web site on a regular
basis for the availability of new patches. 
To Download Patches