SPARC Enterprise M3000/M4000/M5000/M8000/M9000 Servers Product Notes for XCP Version 1100

This chapter describes issues about M3000/M4000/M5000/M8000/M9000 server hardware as related to this XCP release. Unless otherwise noted, the information in this chapter applies to all of the above platforms.

See also Compatible Hardware, Firmware, and Software Matrix.

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Important Notes, Issues and Workarounds - All M-Series Servers

Booting From a WAN Boot Server

The WAN boot installation method enables you to boot and install software over a wide area network (WAN) by using HTTP. To support booting the M4000/M5000 servers from a WAN boot server, you must have the appropriate wanboot executable installed and OpenBoot version 4.24.10 or above to provide the needed hardware support.

For information about WAN boot servers, refer to the Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations for the version of Oracle Solaris 10 OS that you are using. You can find Oracle Solaris 10 OS documentation here:

http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/prod/solaris.10

If you do not upgrade the wanboot executable, the server will panic, with messages similar to the following:

krtld: load_exec: fail to expand cpu/$CPU
krtld: error during initial load/link phase
panic - boot: exitto64 returned from client program

Booting Multiple Systems From a Single J4200 JBOD Storage Array

Sun Storage J4200 SAS JBOD arrays have six general-purpose SAS connectors. With FW version 3A32 or higher, each of them can be connected to separate SAS initiators, therefore up to six systems can be connected to the array. Each system can use a different disk on the array as its boot device. J4200 arrays have 12 disks, so each boot device can be mirrored for higher reliability. J4200 arrays can be configured into multiple zones to provide a more secure environment.

For related information, see Sun StorageTek Common Array Manager Software documentation, at:
http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/prod/stor.arrmgr#hic

See especially:

• Sun StorageTek Common Array Manager Software Release Notes 6.4.1
• Sun StorageTek Common Array Manager User Guide for Open Systems

Notes on the Use of USB Memory

To execute the dumpconfig(8), restoreconfig(8) or snapshot(8) command, if you specify USB memory as the destination to store data, prepare the USB memory as a medium in advance.

The data stored will include the information about the system. To use USB memory, you need to pay attention to the management of the USB memory in which the data stored, from the data security viewpoint.

We do not provide guarantees on the proper operation and connectivity to the XSCF of every USB memory currently manufactured on the market. Depending on the USB memory in use, defects such as the XSCF firmware error or reset may occur. In case such defects occurred, stop the use of USB memory immediately.

To connect the USB memory to the USB port for the XSCF, connect the USB memory directly to the USB port. If connected via the USB hub or USB extension, it might cause errors.

Hardware Functionality Issues and Limitations

This section describes known issues in this release.

• When you use the external power control interface of the external power controller, the following notification signals are not supported:
• The OS panic or the server hardware error signal (*CPUN/RTNU).
• The server hardware error signal (power fail, temperature error, and fan error) (*ALARM).

• For information about I/O options and storage, such as the number of cards supported in a domain, see the Sun Cross Platform IO Support page:

http://wikis.sun.com/display/PlatformIoSupport/Home/

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Important Notes, Issues and Workarounds - M3000 Servers Only

Patches for Emulex PCI Express (PCIe) Cards

The following Emulex cards require drivers supplied in patch 120222-27:

• XSEFC402AF Sun StorageTek Enterprise Class 4-Gigabit Dual-Port Fiber Channel PCIe HBA
• XSEFC401AF Sun StorageTek Enterprise Class 4-Gigabit Single-Port Fiber Channel PCIeHBA

Hardware Functionality Issues and Limitations

This section describes known issues in this release.

• For power-on after power-off, wait at least 30 seconds before turning the system power back on by using the main line switch or the circuit breakers on the distribution panel.
• For servers that have the B-type plug, confirm that a 15A overcurrent protection device is available outside the server. If one is not available, prepare an external 15A overcurrent protection that can be achieved by means of no-fuse breakers (NFBs) or fuses. The B-type plug refers to plugs other than grounding-type ones with two parallel blades, such as the NEMA L6-30, L6-20, L6-15, and L5-15.
• Connecting a SAS device containing multiple SAS targets to the onboard external SAS interface is not supported. Instead, use a Sun StorageTek Host Bus Adaptor (SG-XPCIE8SAS-E-Z).

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Important Notes, Issues and Workarounds - M4000/M5000 and M8000/M9000 Servers

DVD Drives and cfgadm

The Oracle Solaris cfgadm(1M) command does not always unconfigure a DVD drive from a domain on SPARC Enterprise M8000/M9000 servers.

Disable the Volume Management Daemon (vold) before unconfiguring a DVD drive with the cfgadm(1M) command. To disable vold, stop the daemon by issuing the command /etc/init.d/volmgt stop. After the device has been removed or inserted, restart the daemon by issuing the command /etc/init.d/volmgt start.

F20 PCIe Cards

This release supports Sun Flash Accelerator F20 PCIe cards on M4000/M5000 and M8000/M9000 servers. These cards are not supported on M3000 servers.

On M4000/M5000 servers, configure the F20 card only in slots 1 and 3. This restriction does not apply to M8000/M9000 servers.

For more information see the F20 documentation:

http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/prod/flash.pcie?l=en&a=view

Sun Crypto Accelerator 6000 Cards

If you are not using the correct version of the Sun Crypto Accelerator (SCA) 6000 card driver, hot-plug operations on SCA 6000 cards can cause SPARC Enterprise M8000/M9000 servers to panic or hang. Version 1.1 of the SCA6000 driver and firmware supports hot-plug operations after the required bootstrap firmware upgrade has been performed. Version 1.0 of the SCA6000 driver does not support hot-plug and should not be used.

U320 PCIe SCSI Card

The U320 PCIe SCSI card, part number 375-3357-01/02, is not supported in PCI cassettes for Sun SPARC Enterprise M8000/M9000 servers. Customers must use part number 375-3357-03 at a minimum.

Patches for QLogic PCIe Cards

The following QLogic cards require drivers supplied in patch 125166-10:

• Sun StorageTek Enterprise Class 4-Gigabit Dual-Port Fiber Channel PCIe HBA (part SG-XPCIE2FC-QF4)
• Sun StorageTek Enterprise Class 4-Gigabit Single-Port Fiber Channel PCIe HBA (part SG-XPCIE1FC-QF4)

Patches for Emulex PCI Express (PCIe) Cards

The following Emulex cards require drivers supplied in patch 120222-27:

• Sun StorageTek Enterprise Class 4-Gigabit Dual-Port Fiber Channel PCIe HBA (part SG-XPCIE2FC-EM4)
• Sun StorageTek Enterprise Class 4-Gigabit Single-Port Fiber Channel PCIe HBA (part SG-XPCIE1FC-EM4)

Hardware Functionality Issues and Limitations

This section describes known issues in this release.

• The use of the External I/O Expansion Unit to connect the host server to an external boot disk drive is not supported.
• Do not use the CD-RW/DVD-RW drive unit and the TAPE drive unit at the same time.
• Power cables are not redundant on single power feed servers without the dual power feed option. All power cables must be connected and powered on at all times.
• DR operations on an M8000/M9000 server might fail with a misleading message regarding the board being unavailable for DR after the addfru(8) or replacefru(8) command has been used for active replacement. This happens when the active replacement is done without the diagnostic test in the maintenance menu. Execute the diagnosis in the maintenance menu of the addfru(8) or replacefru(8) command to avoid this problem. To recover, execute the testsb(8) command or delete the CPU/memory board unit using the deletefru(8) command and then retry the addfru(8) command.
• Contact your sales representative for tape drive unit options.
• The M4000/M5000 servers are cold-service machines. Hot-swapping of the CPU module (CPUM), memory board (MEMB), I/O unit (IOU), or XSCF unit is not supported.

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Hardware Documentation Updates for the M3000 Server

This section contains late-breaking hardware information that became known after the documentation set was published and corrections in the M3000 server hardware documentation.

The following table lists known documentation updates.

Updates of the SPARC Enterprise M3000 Server Site Planning Guide

The following information supersedes the information in the SPARC Enterprise M3000 Server Site Planning Guide.

Electrical Specifications

This section explains the electrical specifications of the M3000 server.

Updates in the SPARC Enterprise M3000 Server Overview Guide and Service Manual

The following information supersedes the information in the SPARC Enterprise M3000 Server Overview Guide and the SPARC Enterprise M3000 Server Service Manual.

CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive Unit

There are two types of CD-RW/DVD-RW drive units: slot-loading type and tray-loading type.

FIGURE 4-1 Types of CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive Unit

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Hardware Documentation Updates for the M4000/M5000 Server

This section contains late-breaking hardware information that became known after the documentation set was published and corrections in the M4000/M5000 servers hardware documentation.

All M4000/M5000 hardware documents were up-to-date as of this release.

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Hardware Documentation Updates for the M8000/M9000 Server

This section contains late-breaking hardware information that became known after the documentation set was published and corrections in the M8000/M9000 servers hardware documentation.

All M8000/M9000 hardware documents were up-to-date as of this release.

^{1 (TableFootnote) In a redundant configuration, the rated current per cord is half the value shown in TABLE 3-3.}

^{2 (TableFootnote) This value represents the current for each power cord.}

SPARC Enterprise M3000/M4000/M5000/M8000/M9000 Servers Product Notes for XCP Version 1100

821-2799-10

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