********************************************************************* * IBM ServeRAID Firmware and BIOS Update * * README.TXT * * Version $$MAJORVERSION$$.$$MINORVERSION$$ * ********************************************************************* CONTENTS ________ 1.0 Overview 2.0 Change history 2.1 ServeRAID Family 4.70 to 4.80 2.2 ServeRAID Family 4.50 to 4.70 2.3 ServeRAID Family 4.40 to 4.50 2.4 ServeRAID Family 4.30 to 4.40 2.5 ServeRAID Family 4.00 to 4.30 3.0 Installation and setup instructions 3.1 Updating the BIOS and firmware 4.0 Troubleshooting tips 5.0 Web Site and Support Phone Number 6.0 Trademarks and Notices 7.0 Disclaimer 1.0 Overview _____________ NOTE: This README provides information needed to install and configure an IBM ServeRAID-4H Ultra160 SCSI controller, IBM ServeRAID-4M Ultra160 SCSI controller, IBM ServeRAID-4Mx Ultra160 SCSI controller, IBM ServeRAID-4L Ultra160 SCSI controller, and IBM ServeRAID-4Lx Ultra160 SCSI controller (hereafter referred to as IBM ServeRAID-4 Ultra160 SCSI controllers). Follow each step in this README to ensure that your ServeRAID controllers have the latest software levels. The ServeRAID 4.80 release of code contains the following levels of firmware: o Firmware level 4.80 for the ServeRAID-4 Ultra160 SCSI Controllers o Firmware level 3.83 for the ServeRAID-3H/3HB Ultra2 SCSI Controller and the ServeRAID-3L Ultra2 SCSI Controller o Firmware level 2.88 for the ServeRAID-II Ultra SCSI Controller o Firmware level 2.88 for the integrated ServeRAID Controller on the IBM PC Server 330 and IBM Netfinity 5500 system boards o Firmware Level 2.25 for the ServeRAID Adapter Creating logical drives requires the "IBM ServeRAID Support" CD. This CD comes with your ServeRAID controller or you can download an ISO image from the IBM Support Web site. Refer to the documentation that came with your CD-ROM writer for details on how to create a CD from an ISO image. If a CD writer is not available and the CD is lost, defective, or destroyed, contact the IBM HelpCenter for a replacement "IBM ServeRAID Support" CD. 2.0 Change History __________________ 2.1 ServeRAID Family 4.70 to 4.80 __________________________________ o Support for new operating systems: + Caldera OpenLinux 3.1 + Caldera Open UNIX 8.0 + Microsoft Windows XP Professional + Novell NetWare 6.0 + SuSE Linux 7.1 + Turbolinux 6.5 o A new Configuration wizard for ServeRAID configuration that provides an easier-to-use interface, better access to status indicators, and enhanced functionality that eliminates potential configurations that are not valid. o New and expanded context-sensitive online assistance that is displayed within the ServeRAID Manager interface rather than in a separate window. o Reporting of physical drive field replaceable unit (FRU) information within events. IBM service representatives use the FRU information to identify the physical drive model replacement without opening the server cover. o Enhanced functionality in the ServeRAID Manager to include accessibility features and functions so that the Manager is directly accessible without regard to the ability of the user. o Enhanced functionality in the ServeRAID Manager to establish a compatibility baseline, so that future releases will be able to connect and manage this release. o Added ability to set online physical drives to the defunct state. o Fixed problem with data coming from the serial port when using the IBM ServeRAID Support CD. o Fixed problem when starting the "IBM ServeRAID Support" CD and an Adaptec 29160 is installed in a higher priority 32-bit PCI slot than the ServeRAID controller. o Fixed problem with controller timeouts when writing large sequential blocks of data, such as a database initialization. o Fixed spurious interrupts on SCO OpenServer. o Fixed problem when configuring for a cluster where user could enter more than 12 characters for the controller names. The maximum length for controller names is 12 characters. o Fixed intermittent problem where hot-swap rebuild did not start. o Fixed problem in NetWare 5.1 when issuing IPSSEND CREATE on ServeRAID-3 controllers. Output displays an error message that says: "Could not send the command to the controller." 2.2 ServeRAID Family 4.50 to 4.70 __________________________________ o Support for the new IBM ServeRAID-4Mx Ultra160 SCSI controller and the IBM ServeRAID-4Lx Ultra160 SCSI controller. o Fixed problem with hard disk drives that were intermittently marked defunct in IBM xSeries 240 servers that were installed with a pair of ServeRAID controllers that were: o Configured for failover AND o Both installed in hot-swap PCI slots. o Fixed problem with FlashCopy that caused systems with heavy input/output (I/O) activities to hang. If a logical drive was undergoing both of the following: o Extremely heavy system I/O activities o A FlashCopy operation the ServeRAID controller resources were significantly reduced. When controller resources are scarce, the following can occur: o The ServeRAID controller resets o The system hangs. o Fixed problem that occurred when installing the IBM ServeRAID Cluster Solution. The IBM ServeRAID Windows NT Cluster Solution program (the cluster wizard) did not detect IPS shared resource. o Fixed problem where, during disk-stress testing, the ServeRAID-4M controller installed in an IBM OS/2 system stopped responding. o In a TPC-C benchmark cluster, IBM ServeRAID software version 4.30.04 outperformed version 4.70 by 4%. When the maximum number of flushes is set to either 12 or 16 for TPC-C for 64 KB stripe-unit size, the performance will improve to the normal range. For more information about TPC-C, visit the following address: http://www.tpc.org/information/benchmarks.asp o The time stamp function that was introduced in Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 has been fixed. o Removed call to the unsupported ZwOpenKey function during crash dump. o Fixed intermittent problem associated with synchronizing a logical drive after importing spanned arrays. o Fixed problem where, after restoring the ServeRAID controller to the factory-default settings, the hard disk drive light remained on. o Improved rebuild time when background input/output (I/O) is in progress. o Improved recovery from 0311 unrecoverable storage disk media errors. o For Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, fixed problems where, when called during a crash dump, the scsiportgetbusdata function returned bad data. o Fixed problem where, after completing multiple hot-add operations to add ServeRAID controllers to the server, one or more of the ServeRAID controllers might stop responding. o For Microsoft Windows 2000 installed on xSeries 370 or Netfinity 8500R servers, fixed intermittent blue screen on servers with more than 4 GB of RAM installed. o For Microsoft Windows 2000, fixed blue screen that occurred after disabling any of the ServeRAID device drivers. o For Microsoft Windows 2000, when the ServeRAID failover device driver is installed, Windows 2000 might fail to recognize the physical drives attached to other SCSI controllers. o Removed the feature that determines the friendly slot number. This feature is unreliable when using Microsoft Windows 2000. o The IBM Hot Plug for Windows NT 4.0 Package (version 4.2) has added support for the ServeRAID-4M, ServeRAID-4Mx, ServeRAID-4L, and ServeRAID-4Lx controllers. Download this software from the IBM Support Web site at http://www.ibm.com/pc/support. o Fixed problem where the IPSSEND SYNCH command would stop at 99%. This problem occurred when a logical drive was undergoing a synchronization operation and the logical drive contained a bad stripe. 2.3 ServeRAID Family 4.40 to 4.50 __________________________________ o Support for OS/2 SMP and OS/2 e-business. o Added support for uninstalling the IBM ServeRAID Failover Virtual Adapter in Windows 2000. o Fixed the BIOS error reporting function to the service processor. o Fixed intermittent failure during startup of Windows NT. Previously, a blue screen occurred after loss of power to the server. o Fixed failure to rebuild hot-spare physical drive. 2.4 ServeRAID Family 4.30 to 4.40 __________________________________ o Fixed ServeRAID problem associated with loading (booting) from a SCSI CD-ROM drive. This problem affected only ServeRAID-3, ServeRAID-II, and ServeRAID controllers. o Fixed tape backup problems associated with Microsoft Windows 2000. o Fixed system diagnostic problems associated with ServeRAID-4M and ServeRAID-4L controllers. o Fixed diskette drive access problem. This problem occurred when a Netfinity Fibre Channel PCI Adapter or a Netfinity FAStT Host Adapter was installed in the server. 2.5 ServeRAID Family 4.00 to 4.30 __________________________________ o Support for the new IBM ServeRAID-4M Ultra160 SCSI controller and the IBM ServeRAID-4L Ultra160 SCSI controller o ServeRAID Manager has the following new features: - Enhanced reporting and troubleshooting for defunct drives - Setting a physical drive marked with a PFA to defunct. This new action makes drive replacement easier. - Starting the IBM ServeRAID Hot Replace Wizard from a remote connection. This feature is useful when replacing a controller in a server that does not have a monitor attached. 3.0 Installation and setup instructions ________________________________________ NOTE: If your operating system is already installed on a ServeRAID controller, update the ServeRAID device driver before updating the BIOS and firmware. Refer to the IBM ServeRAID-4 Ultra160 SCSI Controller Device Driver Installation Instructions (4DEVDRV.PDF) in the /BOOKS directory on the "IBM ServeRAID Support" CD. 3.1 Updating the BIOS and firmware ___________________________________ NOTES: o The ServeRAID-4 controller does not support SCSI CD-ROM drives. o To install a ServeRAID-4 controller in a server with one or more existing ServeRAID controllers, do the following: * Update the BIOS and firmware on the existing controllers using the ServeRAID 4.80 software. * Install the ServeRAID-4 controller in the server. 1. Insert the "IBM ServeRAID Support" CD into the CD-ROM drive or insert the "IBM ServeRAID BIOS and Firmware Update (1 of 2)" diskette into the diskette drive; then, turn on the server. NOTE: When starting the "IBM ServeRAID Support" CD in startable (bootable) CD mode, the ServeRAID ROM Update Wizard might hang if the ServeRAID BIOS level is 3.50 or earlier. To prevent this potential problem, update the ServeRAID BIOS and firmware with the "IBM ServeRAID BIOS and Firmware Update" diskette. 2. Wait for the IBM ServeRAID ROM Update Wizard to start and follow the instructions on the screen. 4.0 Troubleshooting tips ________________________ o If you start a server with the IBM ServeRAID Support CD in the CD-ROM drive, the following warning message might display: You passed an undefined mode number. Press to see video modes available, to continue or wait 30 secs Press the Space bar to continue starting the IBM ServeRAID Support CD. Then, the following message displays and the CD starts: Uncompressing Linux... Ok, booting the kernel. o If you start a server with the IBM ServeRAID Support CD in the CD-ROM drive and a "boot:" prompt appears, then one of following might be preventing the CD from starting: o The Caps Lock or Scroll Lock is set. o The Shift or Alt keys are held. Press at the boot prompt to continue starting the IBM ServeRAID Support CD. o If you start a server with the IBM ServeRAID Support CD in the CD-ROM drive, and you are unable to eject the CD after exiting the ServeRAID Manager, do the following: 1. Power down the server. 2. Power the server back on. 3. Press the eject button on the CD-ROM. o If you experience problems with SCSI CD-ROM drives connected to a ServeRAID-4 controller, do one of the following: o Use a ServeRAID-3HB or ServeRAID-3L controller instead. o Install an IDE CD-ROM drive in your server. The ServeRAID-4 controller does not support SCSI CD-ROM drives. o If you are installing a ServeRAID-4 controller into a server with one or more existing ServeRAID controllers, and the server fails to start and displays POST code EF10, do the following: 1. Remove the ServeRAID-4 controller from the server. 2. Update the BIOS and firmware on the existing controllers using the ServeRAID 4.80 software. 3. Install the ServeRAID-4 controller in the server. o On a Netfinity server, if your operating system fails to start three times consecutively, the system BIOS will turn off the processor cache. When this happens the "IBM ServeRAID Support" CD behaves unexpectedly. To correct this problem, enter the system BIOS and re-enable the processor cache (or load the default settings). Refer to your system documentation for instructions on entering the system BIOS. o The Caps Lock key is disabled when using the ServeRAID Manager program in startable-CD (bootable-CD) mode. 5.0 Web Sites and Support Phone Number _______________________________________ o You can download new and updated files for the IBM ServeRAID and Clustering products from the IBM Support Web site: http://www.ibm.com/pc/support/ o With the original purchase of an IBM hardware product, you have access to extensive support coverage. During the IBM hardware product warranty period, you may call the IBM Personal Computer HelpCenter (1-800-772-2227 in the U.S.) for hardware product assistance covered under the terms of the IBM hardware warranty. 6.0 Trademarks and Notices ___________________________ The following terms are trademarks of the IBM Corporation in the United States or other countries or both: Active PCI OS/2 Warp HelpCenter PC Server IBM Predictive Failure Analysis Netfinity ServeRAID Netfinity Manager ServerGuide OS/2 UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries and is licensed exclusively through The Open Group. Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both. Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. 7.0 Disclaimer _______________ THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. IBM DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND MERCHANTABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT. BY FURNISHING THIS DOCUMENT, IBM GRANTS NO LICENSES TO ANY PATENTS OR COPYRIGHTS. Note to U.S. Government Users -- Documentation related to restricted rights -- Use, duplication or disclosure is subject to restrictions set forth in GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corporation.