4 BIOS Issues

This section describes important operating notes and known BIOS issues for Oracle Server X7-2L.

• Do Not Use the Network Adapter iSCSI Configuration in BIOS
  
• Power Cycle the Server After Changing the Disk Freeze Lock Option
  
• RAID Setting Lost If You Update BIOS Without Preserving BIOS Configuration
  
• System BIOS Fast Boot Might Not Work Correctly When Updating System Software
  
• System BIOS Update Fails When Upgrading Oracle ILOM
  
• Unable to Recover Boot Order After Setting /HOST boot_device in BIOS
  

Do Not Use the Network Adapter iSCSI Configuration in BIOS

Important Operating Note

There are two locations within the Oracle Server X7-2L system BIOS where you can configure iSCSI settings:

• Advanced → iSCSI Configuration

• Advanced → Broadcom NetXtreme 25G Gigabit Ethernet → iSCSI Boot Configuration Menu

System iSCSI settings should be configured only in Advanced → iSCSI Configuration. Do not use the network adapter iSCSI configuration option to configure iSCSI settings for the system.

Power Cycle the Server After Changing the Disk Freeze Lock Option

Important Operating Note

A power cycle must be performed on the server after changing the Disk Freeze Lock option in the system BIOS. The Disk Freeze Lock option updates in the BIOS after you select Save & Exit in the BIOS Setup Utility, but the drive remains frozen/locked until a power cycle is performed.

RAID Setting Lost If You Update BIOS Without Preserving BIOS Configuration

Bug ID: 26437207

Issue: When you update BIOS without preserving the BIOS configuration, the PCH SATA Configuration reverts to the default setting, which is AHCI. If you configured the PCH SATA M.2 SSD as RAID and installed an OS on the SATA M.2 SSD before, the system hangs in the next boot.

Affected Software: System BIOS

Workaround: Open the BIOS Setup Utility and set the M.2 devices to RAID. In the BIOS Advanced > PCH SATA Configuration set Configure SATA as to RAID. Select Save & Exit in the BIOS Setup Utility to preserve the settings.

System BIOS Fast Boot Might Not Work Correctly When Updating System Software

Bug ID: 27146850

Issue: The System BIOS Fast Boot feature might not work correctly when updating to a new software release. This issue might occur when updating from system software release 1.0.2 to 1.1.x. This issue is benign and does not cause any problems during the software update.

Affected Software: System BIOS

Workaround: Do not preserve the BIOS configuration when updating to a new software release.

System BIOS Update Fails When Upgrading Oracle ILOM

Bug ID: 28301562

Issue: When upgrading from Oracle ILOM 4.0.3.22 to version 4.0.3.24, after you select "preserve BIOS config" for software 4.0.3.22, select "delay BIOS" after the software 4.0.3.24 bring up, and enter the reset /System command, the service processor (SP) does not force the host to power off and flash the BIOS to the newer version.

Affected Software: Oracle ILOM 4.0.3.24 and system BIOS

Workaround: When upgrading from Oracle ILOM 4.0.3.22 to version 4.0.3.24, select the "preserve BIOS config" and "no delay BIOS" options. If you choose to select the "delay BIOS" option, either power cycle or power off the host after the upgrade to flash the BIOS to a newer version.

Unable to Recover Boot Order After Setting /HOST boot_device in BIOS

Bug ID: 28540668

Issue: After installing a new operating system, when you move a boot device up in the Boot Options Device Priority List temporarily using the IPMItool or the Oracle ILOM command set /HOST/ boot_device=pxe|disk, the temporarily elevated boot device will remain as the first boot device in the Boot Options Device Priority List in the BIOS Setup Utility. You will be unable to recover the previous original boot order.

Affected Software: Oracle ILOM 4.0.4.21 and system BIOS

Workaround:

Note:

Restore Defaults setting in the BIOS Setup Utility does not correct this issue.

Before starting the workaround, back up the BIOS configuration as an XML file, then use that XML file later to restore the BIOS configuration. For information refer to "Backing Up and Restoring Hardware and Firmware Configurations" in the Oracle X7 Series Servers Administration Guide at https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23161_01/html/E75413/index.html

Option 1:

To avoid further effects from this issue, reset the BIOS to factory defaults using either the Oracle ILOM command-line interface (CLI) or web interface.

From the CLI:

Type:

- > cd /System/BIOS
- > set reset_to_defaults=factory
Set 'reset_to_defaults' to 'factory'

Wait until /System/BIOS reset_to_defaults changes from factory to none. The reset_to_defaults value reverts back to none after the factory default settings have been applied to the host BIOS.

From the web interface:

1. Navigate to System Management → BIOS.

2. In the Reset Defaults To Factory list box, select Factory.

3. Click Save to save the settings.

Option 2:

After installing a new operating system, update Oracle ILOM using the CLI or web interface without preserving the BIOS configuration.

For more information about updating Oracle ILOM without preserving the BIOS configuration, refer to the "Backing Up, Restoring, or Resetting the Oracle ILOM Configuration in the Oracle ILOM Administrator's Guide for Configuration and Maintenance Firmware Release 4.0.x at https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E81115_01 .