Software Notes

Enabling Dynamic Reconfiguration

In the /etc/system file, two variables must be set to enable dynamic reconfiguration and an additional variable must be set to enable the removal of CPU/memory boards.

1. Log in as superuser.

2. To enable dynamic reconfiguration, edit the /etc/system file and add the following lines to the /etc/system file:

   set pln:pln_enable_detach_suspend=1 set soc:soc_enable_detach_suspend=1

3. To enable the removal of a CPU/memory board, add this line to the /etc/system file:

   set kernel_cage_enable=1

   Setting this variable enables the memory unconfiguration operation.

4. Reboot the system to put the changes into effect.

Quiesce Test

On a large system, the quiesce-test command (cfgadm -x quiesce-test sysctrl0:slotnumber) may run as long as a minute or so. During this time no messages are displayed if cfgadm does not find incompatible drivers. This is normal behavior.

Disabled Board List

If a board is on the disabled board list, an attempt to connect the board may produce an error message:

# cfgadm -c connect sysctrl0:slotnumber
cfgadm: Hardware specific failure: connect failed: board is disabled: must override with [-f][-o enable-at-boot]

1. To override the disabled condition, use the force flag (-f) or the enable option (-o enable-at-boot) with the cfgadm command:

   # cfgadm -f -c connect sysctrl0:slotnumber

   # cfgadm -o enable-at-boot -c connect sysctrl0:slotnumber

1. To remove all boards from the disabled board list, set the disabled-board-list variable to a null set with the system command:

   # eeprom disabled-board-list=

1. If you are at the OpenBoot prompt, use this command instead of the above to remove all boards from the disabled board list:

   OK set-default disabled-board-list

   For further information about the disabled-board-list setting, refer to the section “Specific NVRAM Variables” in the Platform Notes: Sun Enterprise 3x00, 4x00, 5x00, and 6x00 Systems manual in the Solaris on Sun Hardware Collection AnswerBook set in this release.

Disabled Memory List

For information about the OpenBoot PROM disabled-memory-list setting, refer to the section “Specific NVRAM Variables” in the Platform Notes: Sun Enterprise 3x00, 4x00, 5x00, and 6x00 Systems in the Solaris on Sun Hardware Collection AnswerBook set in this release.

Unloading Detach-Unsafe Drivers

If it is necessary to unload detach-unsafe drivers, use the modinfo(1M) line command to find the module IDs of the drivers. You can then use the module IDs in the modunload(1M) command to unload detach-unsafe drivers.

Interleaved Memory

A memory board or CPU/memory board that contains interleaved memory cannot be dynamically unconfigured.

To determine if memory is interleaved, use the prtdiag command or the cfgadm command.

To permit DR operations on CPU/memory boards, set the NVRAM memory-interleave property to min.

For related information about interleaved memory, see Memory Interleaving Set Incorrectly After a Fatal Reset (BugID 4156075) and DR: Cannot Unconfigure a CPU/Memory Board That Has Interleaved Memory (BugID 4210234).

Self-Test Failure During a Connect Sequence

If the error “cfgadm: Hardware specific failure: connect failed: firmware operation error” is displayed during a DR connect sequence, remove the board from the system as soon as possible. The board has failed self-test, and removing the board avoids possible reconfiguration errors that can occur during the next reboot.

If you want to immediately retry the failed operation, you must first remove and reinsert the board, because the board status does not allow further operations.