2.1 Changes and Improvements in Release 1.1.1

2.1 Changes and Improvements in Release 1.1.1
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Support for Next-Generation Hardware

Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance Release 1.1.1 software adds provisioning and orchestration support for Sun Server X4-2 nodes and the Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance ZS3-ES. Both are standard components in new Release 1.1.1 systems and offer practically the same functionality and performance as their predecessors, but with more up-to-date internal components such as faster CPUs and slightly larger system disks. The new storage appliance uses the exact same disk shelf as the previous model, thus offering the same amount of usable space.

Sun Server X4-2 expansion nodes can be installed in Release 1.0.x base racks, provided the software stack is updated to Release 1.1.1 or a future release. Sun Server X4-2 and Sun Server X3-2 compute nodes can be used within the same rack in the same Oracle VM server pool. The only functional implication is that virtual machines cannot be live-migrated between both server types because they belong to separate CPU compatibility groups. In that situation, a virtual machine would need to be shut down on one server and restarted on the other server.

Oracle Auto Service Request

Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance is qualified for Oracle Auto Service Request (ASR). ASR is a customer-installable software feature for support purposes. It is integrated with My Oracle Support and helps resolve problems faster by automatically opening service requests when specific hardware failures occur. Using ASR is optional: the components are available in the Release 1.1.1 software image but you must install and configure them in order to enable ASR for your appliance.

Details about the installation, configuration and usage of ASR can be found in the chapter Automating Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance Service Requests of the Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance Administrator's Guide.

Improved Diagnostics

The collection of diagnostic data for troubleshooting has been improved significantly in the Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance Release 1.1.1 software. Dedicated command line tools are now installed on the management and compute nodes. They collect specific Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance logs and related files, or Oracle VM troubleshooting data, depending on the selected command line arguments. The health status of each server, its configuration and its main components can be retrieved through the ILOM.

The new diagnostic functionality offers customers and field service engineers the same level of troubleshooting capability and serviceability as with other Oracle Engineered Systems. Details about the new diagnostic tools can be found in the section Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance Diagnostics Tool of the Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance Administrator's Guide.

Bugs Fixed in Release 1.1.1

The following table lists bugs that have been fixed in Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance Release 1.1.1.

Table 2.1 List of Fixed Bugs

Bug ID	Description
17895011	“Backup to storage appliance fails because too many old backups exist” A new mechanism is in place to delete stale, unused backup data after it is exported successfully. It is no longer required to manually clean up the backups on the ZFS storage appliance.
17607389	“Network View tab partially displayed in Internet Explorer” Display issues with the Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance Dashboard in Internet Explorer 8 and 9 have been resolved.
17192103	“Compute node falls through PXE boot and cannot be provisioned” The Reprovision button in the Dashboard was implemented to recover compute nodes that failed during provisioning. Further enhancements to the reprovisioning functionality now help detect compute nodes in error state and automatically clean up their configuration. Reprovisioning has been made unavailable for correctly provisioned, running compute nodes.
17389234	“Compute node installed but provisioning failed; network not set correctly” The reprovisioning functionality has an improved mechanism to detect the point at which provisioning failed. As a result, it can clean up the compute node configuration in Oracle VM and allow the provisioning to start over. Reprovisioning has been made unavailable for correctly provisioned, running compute nodes.
17430135	“Reprovision button does not work after compute node is discovered in Oracle VM” The reprovisioning functionality can detect compute nodes in error state and automatically clean up their configuration in Oracle VM. Manual clean-up in Oracle VM should no longer be required. Reprovisioning has been made unavailable for correctly provisioned, running compute nodes.