04/04/95 5GB 8mm Tape Drive Install Problem SPECIAL NOTICES Information in this document is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of this writing. Please send feedback by fax to "AIXServ Information" at (512) 823-4009. Please use this information with care. IBM will not be responsible for damages of any kind resulting from its use. The use of this information is the sole responsibility of the customer and depends on the customer's ability to eval- uate and integrate this information into the customer's operational environment. +----------------------------------------------------------+ | | | NOTE: The information in this document has NOT been | | verified for AIX 4.1. | | | +----------------------------------------------------------+ PROBLEM DESCRIPTION 8mm 5GB Tape Drive IPL File Corruption Problem A problem has been discovered when a system is booted with an 8mm 5GB tape drive (7208-011 and feature codes 6144, 6147, 6148, 6149; also generic Exabyte 5GB tape drives). This problem exists both with the IBM version and generic Exabyte version 5GB tape drives. There is an incompatability between the microcode on this tape drive and the microcode on some RISC System/6000 SCSI controllers. This problem only occurs during a boot from this tape drive; and even then it will only occur if attached to certain levels of the SCSI controller. The symptom is that the system will appear to boot success- fully but will have file corruption. Some corruption can be detected as check sum errors, some may be detected as opera- tional errors, and some may not be detectable at all. If you have ever installed from an AIX software distribution tape or from a mksysb tape using the 8MM 5GB tape drive, it is possible that files have been corrupted. Only files that are in rootvg could be corrupted. Therefore, if you have your applications or application data in rootvg, it could possibly be corrupted. In this case, you will need to take action to correct and to prevent any additional file cor- ruption. If you have an 8mm 5GB tape drive and you are using it for boot purposes, check the SCSI controller to which the tape drive is attached. You can do this by executing the AIX command "lscfg -v | pg" and then viewing the results on the display screen. Press Enter to page down and press the 5GB 8mm Tape Drive Install Problem 1 04/04/95 minus key and Enter to page up. Look for the part number for the embedded controllers under the heading "sio0"; look for the part number of the SCSI adapter cards under the heading "scsiX" where X is any number. If your controller is listed below, then please order the proper Engineering Change Announcement (ECA) from this list by calling 1-800-IBM-SERV. NOTE: Have your machine type and serial number available when you call. +----------------------------------------------------------+ | | | o If the SCSI controller is a microchannel adapter | | card P/N 71F0913 or P/N 00G2362 or P/N 00G1887, | | order ECA 104. | | | | o If the SCSI controller is embedded in the I/O planar | | of a 7012 Model 340 or 350 and the I/O planar is P/N | | 51G8631 or P/N 32G0163, order ECA 105 for Model 340 | | and ECA 106 for model 350. (See Note 1 below) | | | | o If the SCSI controller is embedded in the I/O planar | | on a 7015 Model 970 or 980 and the I/O planar is P/N | | 43G2216 or P/N 52G1265, order ECA 107 for model 970 | | and ECA 108 for model 980. (See Note 1 below) | | | +----------------------------------------------------------+ Figure 1. Affected SCSI Controllers If you use the tape drive on multiple systems, you would want to order the proper ECA for any card/planar to which you are likely to attach the tape drive. If you apply the ECA to an embedded controller, that ECA will cause the boot to perform properly from any adapter used in that machine. If the SCSI controller you are using is not on the list above, you should not have this problem. NOTE 1: The fix for the embedded controllers is a two-part fix. One part is the hardware included in the ECA. The other part is If you are not comfortable with editing the files, then please order the PTF as soon as possible by | calling 1-800-CALL-AIX. STEPS TO TAKE A set of three diskettes A VPD module An IPL ROS module Labels for the CPU Planar Label for an 8mm AIX install tape The IPL ROS includes part of the fix for the problem. The VPD and new labels are for record-keeping (so this machine will be distinguishable from one that hasn't been updated). The diskettes are install diskettes for booting up without exposure to data corruption (they contain downloadable SCSI controller microcode which fixes the problem). 5GB 8mm Tape Drive Install Problem 2 04/04/95 1. Replace the VPD module, IPL ROS, and labels on the CPU Planar. For details on the installation procedure, refer to the instructions included with the parts. NOTE: With the new VPD, the CPU ID of your machine will change. This may cause problems with certain software applications which rely on a certain CPU ID to operate. If this is the case, the applications will have to be updated somehow. If this is not possible or desirable at this time, you may postpone replacing the VPD. The machine will still operate with the old VPD. 2. Here are the rules for determining potential data cor- ruption: o If you have never installed or restored from a mksysb using a 5 GB tape, you will have no data cor- ruption. o If you have installed or restored from a mksysb using a 5 GB tape, some of your files may be cor- rupted: - System files may be corrupted in either case. - Application files may be corrupted only if they meet two conditions: they reside in rootvg, and they were restored from a mksysb tape. If either of these conditions is not met, the application files will not be corrupted. 3. If you meet any of the conditions for potential cor- ruption, you will need to reinstall the system. Boot from the included install diskettes using the standard BOSboot diskette procedure. At the appropriate prompt, select the option to install AIX from the tape and use your original AIX tape. Additionally, if any of your applications have been exposed to corruption, you will need to reinstall them as well. Note that, even if you have not seen the problem, you should apply the hardware fixes and the following soft- ware fixes to avoid seeing the problem in the future. 4. After the system has been reinstalled, edit the files: a. /usr/lib/boot/tape.proto 1) Search for the string: 8d77 2) Add two lines FROM microcode d--- 777 0 0 8d77.32.04 ---- 777 0 0 /etc/microcode/8d77.32.04 $ TO 5GB 8mm Tape Drive Install Problem 3 04/04/95 microcode d--- 777 0 0 8d77.32.04 ---- 777 0 0 /etc/microcode/8d77.32.04 8d77.44.54 ---- 777 0 0 /etc/microcode/8d77.44.54 8d77.42.54 l--- 777 0 0 /etc/microcode/8d77.44.54 $ Note the lower-case "L" on the third line. b. /sbin/rc.boot 1) Search for the string: Tape 2) Add one line (a few lines down from Tape) FROM showled 0x510 # Run config manager for phase 1 boot /etc/cfgmgr -f showled 0x511 TO showled 0x510 #Run config manager for phase 1 boot /etc/cfgmgr -f /etc/cfgmgr -s > /dev/null 2>&1 showled 0x511 5. Affix the label to your AIX install tape. This will ensure that in the future, if another system is installed with this tape, that the new diskettes will be used, thus preventing any data corruption on install. 6. If you have had any problems with this procedure or have any further questions, contact the U.S. Customer Service | Center at 1-800-CALL-AIX. 5GB 8mm Tape Drive Install Problem 4 04/04/95 READER'S COMMENTS Please fax this form to (512) 823-4009, attention "AIXServ Informa- tion". You may also e-mail comments to: elizabet@austin.ibm.com. These comments should include the same customer information requested below. Use this form to tell us what you think about this document. If you have found errors in it, or if you want to express your opinion about it (such as organization, subject matter, appearance) or make sug- gestions for improvement, this is the form to use. If you need technical assistance, contact your local branch office, point of sale, or 1-800-CALL-AIX (for information about support offer- ings). These services may be billable. Faxes on a variety of sub- jects may be ordered free of charge from 1-800-IBM-4FAX. Outside the U.S. call 415-855-4329 using a fax machine phone. When you send comments to IBM, you grant IBM a nonexclusive right to use or distribute your comments in any way it believes appropriate without incurring any obligation to you. NOTE: If you have a problem report or item number, supplying that number may help us determine why a procedure did or did not work in your specific situation. 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