Firmware Issues

This section describes issues related to the system firmware.

Performing First-Time Boot On Servers Equipped With the Sun Storage 6 Gb SAS PCIe 8-Port Internal RAID HBA

On servers ordered with the Sun Storage 6 Gb SAS PCIe 8-Port Internal RAID HBA card preinstalled, you must specify the full device path when performing first-time boot.

Set the auto-boot parameter to false:

sc> set /HOST/bootmode script="setenv auto-boot? false"

Use the full device path when performing first-time boot:
```
ok boot /pci@400/pci@2/pci@0/pci@c/LSI,mrsas@0/disk@0,0
```

Cold Reset Adds One Day to System Time (CR 15764743, Bug ID 15765255, Bug ID 15765770)

Note - This issue was originally listed as CR 7127740.

Note - This issue is fixed in System Firmware version 8.1.4.e.

After a cold reset, the server might add one day to the Oracle Solaris OS date and time. This possible date change will only occur on the first cold reset after the first day of a leap year (for example. January 1, 2012). Once you set the correct date using the Oracle Solaris OS date(1) command, the corrected date and time will persist across future resets.

Note - This extra day error condition will return if the clock offset stored in the SP is cleared for any reason. For example, the clock offset will be lost if the battery is replaced, Oracle ILOM is reset, or the system firmware is flashed without first saving and then restoring the configuration.

A cold reset is when you halt the OS and restart the service processor (SP). For example, you can use one of the following Oracle Solaris OS commands to halt the OS:

# shutdown -g0 -i0 -y
# uadmin 1 6
# init 5
# poweroff

Then, at the Oracle ILOM prompt, use the following commands to reset the host:

# stop /SYS
# start /SYS

Refer to the service manual, the administration guide, and the Oracle Solaris OS documentation for more information.

Workaround: After the first cold reset of the system, verify that system date and time are correct. If the date has been impacted by this issue, use the Oracle Solaris OS date(1) command to set the correct date and time.

For example, to set the date and time to be February 26, 9:00am, 2012, type:

# date 022609002012

Refer to the date (1) man page and the Oracle Solaris OS documentation for more information.

Timestamp for an Oracle ILOM Fault/Critical Event Might Be Off by One Hour (Bug ID 15802097)

Note - This issue was originally listed as CR 6943957.

Note - This issue is fixed in System Firmware 8.3.0.

The timestamp reported in an email generated in an Oracle ILOM Fault/critical event might be one hour later than the timestamp recorded in the event log.

Recovery Action: Check the timestamp recorded in the event log. If it does not match the timestamp reported in the email, use the event log time.

Missing Interrupt Causes USB Hub Hotplug Thread to Hang, Resulting In Process Hangs (Bug ID 15655752)

Note - This issue was originally listed as CR 6968801.

When running Oracle VTS on T4 series platforms, it is possible (although rare) for a Oracle VTS test to hang. If this happens, it might cause other processes and commands to hang, including fmadm and prtconf. The hung processes cannot be killed.

Workaround: Reboot the system. If the problem repeats, contact your authorized service provider. Avoid running Oracle VTS in production environments.

Units Used to Define the MIB Power Management Time Limit Are Reported in Seconds (Bug ID 15675720)

Note - This issue was originally listed as CR 6993008.

The MIB should report the sunHwCtrlPowerMgmtBudgetTimelimit in milliseconds, but the value displayed is in seconds.

Workaround: Understand that the value reported for sunHwCtrlPowerMgmtBudgetTimelimit is in seconds.

Message From `cpustat` Refers to Processor Documentation Incorrectly (Bug ID 15717099, Bug ID 15717100, Bug ID 15749141)

Note - This issue was originally listed as CR 7046898.

Note - This issue is fixed in Oracle Solaris 11.

A message displayed by the cpustat command says:

SPARC T4 Supplement to Oracle SPARC Architecture 2011
User's Manual" for descriptions of these events.
Documentation for Sun processors can be found at:
http://www.sun.com/processors/manuals

This document and web site listed in this message are not available.

`reboot disk` Command Occasionally Fails When `disk` Argument Picks Up Extra Characters (Bug ID 15816272)

Note - This issue was originally listed as CR 7050975.

Note - This issue is fixed in Oracle Solaris 10 01/13.

When running the reboot disk command, extraneous characters are occasionally added to the disk argument before it reaches the OpenBoot PROM (OBP). This results in a failure to boot.

Recovery Action: Repeat the boot request.

Explicit Processor Binding Might Block Strand Retirement (Bug ID 15733312)

Note - This issue was originally listed as CR 7071974.

The explicit assignment of specific process(es) to CPU strands, either by binding or by use of the High-IPC feature, might cause a situation in which the fault manager's attempt to retire a strand is rejected because the strand is marked as busy.

Workaround: Remove the explicit binding of any process to the CPU strand diagnosed as faulty.

Blue OK-to-Remove LED On Drive Does Not Light When The Drive Is Ready To Remove (Bug ID 15737491)

Note - This issue was originally listed as CR 7082700.

When you attempt to unconfigure a drive for removal, the drive's OK-to-Remove LED might not light. This happens after you place a drive in a slot in place of a drive that had a different WWID.

Workaround: If you inserted a drive after booting the server, realize that the OK‐to-‐Remove LED does not perform this function until the server has been rebooted.

In Some Instances, a PCIe Card Might Disappear From the Device Tree Upon Reboot or During Power-On (Bug ID 15849720)

In some cases, a PCIe card might disappear from the device tree upon reboot or during power-on. The PCIe card reappears in the device tree when the system is power cycled or reset.

Workaround: Do one of the following:

Power cycle the sever.
Perform a system reset:
```
ok reset-all
```

Note - If the PCIe card does not reappear even after a power cycle or system reset, the PCIe card might be faulty

System Firmware 8.2.0 Contains a New Version of the `scvar` Database (Bug ID 16184046)

A new version of the scvar database was introduced in system firmware 8.2.0. Upgrading the system firmware from a version prior to 8.2.0 to system firmware version 8.2.0 or later reverts the scvar database to default settings after the installation completes. This also erases any date/time offsets that have not been saved in an LDOMs spconfig file, making it necessary to re-set the date/time on affected domains.

System Firmware 8.3.0.b Incompatible with the Sun Flash Accelerator F40 PCIe Card (Bug ID 16813726)

Servers equipped with System Firmware 8.3.0.b might exhibit severe performance degradation due to thermal limiting of the Sun Flash Accelerator F40 PCIe Card.

Workaround: If your server is equipped with the Sun Flash Accelerator F40 PCIe Card, do not not upgrade to System Firmware 8.3.0.b. If you have already upgraded a server equipped with a Sun Flash Accelerator F40 PCIe Card to System Firmware 8.3.0.b and are encountering thermal-related performance degradation, downgrade to System Firmware 8.2.2.c.

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	SPARC T4-1 Server Product Notes

Product Notes