Power5 Firmware

Applies to:  i5, OpenPower and p5 Servers

This document provides information about the installation of Licensed Machine or Licensed Internal Code, which is sometimes referred to generically as microcode or firmware.


Contents


1.0 Systems Affected

This package provides new firmware for i5, OpenPower and p5 Servers only.  Do not use on any other systems.

For 9119-590/595 and 9406-595 systems, the installation of this firmware level (including HMC, system firware and power code) must be completed by your IBM Service Representative (SSR).  Please contact your IBM SSR and request ECA604.


2.0 Cautions and Important Notes

The backleveling of firmware from any given release level to an earlier release level is not supported on Power5 systems. If you feel that it is necssary to backlevel the firmware on you system to an earlier release level, please contact your next level of support.

For 9110-510, 9111-520, 9113-550, 9123-710, 9124-720, 9405-520, 9406-520 and 9406-550 systems

IBM has identified a potential problem with the installation of the SF230_126 level of system firmware.  Although the probability is low, this level of firmware may prevent the machine from powering on. This problem will be corrected in the next service pack.

If you have already installed this level of firmware on these systems and encounter this problem, power the system off and retry the power on.  If this does not succeed, contact your next level of support.
 

For systems that are managed by an HMC

Attention:  Before installing firmware you should:


Note:  When attempting to install system firmware from CD media you may receive an HMC error approximately 10 seconds after starting the installation. Here are probable causes for this problem:


3.0 Firmware Information and Description

Support for Concurrent Firmware Maintenance

IBM introduced the Concurrent Firmware Maintenance (CFM) function on p5 systems in system firmware level 01SF230_126_120, which was released on June 16, 2005.  This function supports nondisruptive system firmware service packs to be applied to the system concurrently (without requiring an IPL to activate changes).

For systems that are not managed by an HMC, the installation of system firmware is always disruptive.

Note:  The concurrent levels of system firmware may, on occasion, contain fixes that are known as deferred. These deferred fixes can be installed concurrently, but will not be activated until the next IPL.  Deferred fixes, if any, will be identified in the "Firmware Update Descriptions" table of this document.  For deferred fixes within a service pack, only the fixes in the service pack  hich cannot be concurrently activated are deferred, all fixes which can be concurrently activated will be activated.

Note: Only upgrading within a release level can be done concurrently; updating to a new release level is a disruptive process.

Please note the following regarding the naming convention for system firmware that supports CFM.

System Firmware Level = 01SFxxx_YYY_ZZZ

  Firmware File Information 
Filename Size Checksum
01SF230_126_120.rpm 13141716 32626
 
Firmware Update Descriptions
01SF230
01SF230_126_120 Impact:  Function        Severity:  Hiper
  • Corrects a problem that causes the media bay to lose power, which makes the DVD drives in the bay inoperable on 9117-570 and 9406-570 systems.
  • Corrects a problem that causes the white power on/off button to intermittently fail to boot the system causing error code B181F12E, BG1701004, or B150F22FA to be generated on 9111-520, 9113-550, 9405-520, 9406-520 and 9406-550 systems.
  • Corrects a problem that causes various types of planar and RIO cable failures in the 7040-61D I/O subsystem to be reported on 9118-575, 9119-590, 9119-595 and 9406-595.
01SF230_120_120 Impact:  Function        Severity:  Hiper

New function:

  • Adds code to notify the user when the VPD card is not in its original system, and to prevent that system from booting. 
  • Adds support for i5/OS hosting virtual Linux and AIX partitions on i5 systems that are not managed by an HMC. 
  • Adds support for F/C 7910 on model 9118-575 systems the switch network interface  adapter, which provides the interface to the pSeries high performance switch (HPS). 
  • Adds support for F/C 7817 on 9119-590, 9119-595, and 9406-595 systems, the switch network interface (SNI) adapter, which provides the interface to the pSeries high performance switch (HPS). 
  • Adds support for concurrent firmware maintenance on systems managed by an HMC. 
  • Adds support for 32GB memory cards on 9119-590, 9119-595, and 9406-595 systems. 
Problems resolved:
  • LEDs on GX bus adapter cards remain on after the node is powered off for 9119-590, 9119-595, and 9406-595 systems. 
  • The service processor is not able to place a "call home" through a modem. 
  • On systems 9118-575, 9119-590, 9119-595, and 9406-595: a firmware upgrade from SF222_075 to SF225_096 fails with error code ACT01724 on the HMC. 
  • Corrects a problem that causes the default boot list and the stored boot list to be swapped in the system management services (SMS) code when booting an AIX or Linux partition. 
  • Corrects a highly intermittent problem that causes the service processor to perform a dump when an SRC is displayed on the control panel. 
  • On  9118-575, 9119-590, 9119-595, and 9406-595 systems, updates the firmware so that the system will continue to boot when certain types of failures occur on bus adapter cards. 
  • Corrects a problem on  9118-575, 9119-590, 9119-595, and 9406-595 systems which caused a reboot to fail with error code B7006900 under certain conditions. 
  • Corrects a problem with moving a CD-ROM device between two logical partitions using DLPAR commands on the HMC. 
  • On 9117-570 and 9406-570 systems:  Corrects a problem a that causes a DMA_ERR with error code 1000 0003 on the integrated Ethernet port. 
  • DS8000 storage subsystem:  multiple firmware fixes. 
  • Corrects a problem that causes the system clock to revert to December 31, 1969 and the system to crash with error code B7000103. 
  • On 9119-590 systems, corrects a problem that keeps large configurations (12 or more I/O drawers with both planars installed) from booting. 
  • Corrects a problem that prevents the 'lscfg -vp' command from reporting platform-specific data on all p5 systems.
  • Corrects a problem that intermittently causes a partition or the system to hang when the lsvpd or lscfg command is run on all p5 systems.
  • If two power supplies are installed, the system may fail to power on if one power supply fails in the 9110-510, 9111-520, 9113-550, 9117-570, 9123-xxx, 9124-xxx, 9405-520, 9406-520, 9406-550, 9406-570 systems.
  • Corrects a problem that prevents a virtual SCSI client from connecting to a virtual SCSI server adapter on 9118-575, 9119-590, and 9119-595 systems.

  •  

 



 

4.0 How to Determine Currently Installed Firmware Levels

Instructions for determining the current level of firmware can be found at http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/eserver/.

Select your country, then under Hardware select English.
In the left-hand panel, select
--> Service, support and troubleshooting
--> Service and support
--> Getting fixes
--> Firmware (Licensed Internal Code) fixes
--> Managing firmware (Licensed Internal Code) fixes
--> View existing firmware (Licensed Internal Code) levels


5.0 Downloading the Firmware Package

The firmware is located at the web site

       download.html

Follow the instructions on this web page. You must read and agree to the license agreement to obtain the firmware packages.

In the table for System Microcode, scroll down to the entry for 9110-510, etc.
 

Note: If your HMC is not internet connected you will need to download the new firmware level to a CD-ROM media or ftp server.

If you are using CD-ROM media you can download the system firmware files from this location p5 and i5 iso and create a CD-ROM to use with your HMC. The CD contains both the system and power subsystem firmware files.

Another method is to download the individual .rpm and .xml files from this location to an ftp server or CD-ROM media (both files are required).  If using CD-ROM media you then copy the .rpm and .xml files to the CD using a local CD-ROM burner utility.

For 9119-590/595, 9406-595, or 9118-575 models the ftp server or CD must contain both the system and power subsystem firmware files.You can obtain the .rpm and .xml files for the power subsystem by accessing this site other.html


6.0 Installing the Firmware

The method used to install new firmware will depend on the release level of firmware which is currently installed on your server. The release level can be determined by the prefix of the new firmware's filename.

Example: 01SFXXX_YYY_ZZZ

Where XXX =  release level

6.1 Updating the Firmware

Instructions for installing a firmware update (the release level will stay the same) can be found at http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/eserver/

Select your country, then under Hardware select English.
In the left-hand panel, select
--> Service, support and troubleshooting
--> Service and support
--> Getting fixes
--> Firmware (Licensed Internal Code) fixes
--> Applying firmware (Licensed Internal Code) fixes

Choose the options that match your server setup, and follow the instructions provided.

6.2 Upgrading the Firmware

Instructions for installing a firmware upgrade (the release level will change) can be found at http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/eserver/

Note: this method will require that the update be performed using CD media.

Select your country, then under Hardware select English.

In the left-hand panel, select
--> Service, support and troubleshooting
--> Service and support
--> Getting fixes
--> Firmware (Licensed Internal Code) fixes
--> Applying firmware (Licensed Internal Code) fixes
--> Upgrading to a new server firmware release

Choose the options that match your server setup, and follow the instructions provided.


7.0 Firmware Revision History

 
 
01SF225
01SF225_096_096 Impact:  Function   Severity:  Hiper
  • Fixed a problem in the service processor firmware that made it look like the T-side image was being lost after a "reset to factory configuration" was done using the ASMI menus. 
01SF225_080_080 Impact:  New        Severity:  New
  • Added support for 9118-575, 9110-510, and 9123-710.
 
01SF222
01SF222_081_081 Impact:  Function   Severity:  Hiper
  • Fixed a problem that caused FSCSI errors to show up erroneously in the AIX error log when an I/O adapter failed.
  • Fixed a problem that caused the processor runtime diagnostics to call out the wrong DIMM (or other memory component) when a memory failure occurred.
  • Fixed a problem that caused a platform dump to run out of storage space.
  • Fixed a problem that prevented the LEDs on I/O drawers from identifying or "rolling up" to the frame enclosure LED.
  • Fixed a problem that caused the service processor to generate error log entries every few seconds when attempting to service a recoverable CEC hardware error on systems that have processors with no memory associated with them.
01SF222_075_075 Impact:  Function   Severity:  Hiper
  • Fixed a problem with the AMSI menu option that allows system VPD keywords to be set.
  • Fixed a problem that kept the system from continuing to boot when an 8GB memory DIMM is deallocated because an uncorrectable error was generated by the DIMM during boot.
  • Fixed a problem that caused a partition's time to appear to drift (approximately 15 seconds/month) following a system IPL.
  • Support for partitions running i5/OS on p5 systems was added.
  • Fixed a problem that caused the default boot list and the stored boot list in the SMS menus to be swapped.
01SF222_071_071 Impact:  New        Severity:  New
  • Added support for systems 9119-590, 9119-595, and 9406-595.
 
01SF220
01SF220_051_051 Impact:  Function   Severity:  Hiper
  • Fixed a problem that kept feature code 1827, a UPS sense cable, from being detected. 
01SF220_049_049 Impact:  Function   Severity:  Hiper
  • Fixed a problem that kept the serial ports on the processor drawer from functioning in 9117-570 and 9406-570 systems with multiple processor drawers.
  • Fixed a problem that kept the user from accessing the advanced system management interface (ASMI) via the web interface.
01SF220_046_046 Impact:  Function   Severity:  Hiper
  • Fixed a problem that caused the kept the service processor from getting to standby when an Ethernet cable was not plugged into it.
01SF220_045_045 Impact:  Function   Severity: Hiper
  • Various corrections and updates.
01SF220_043_043 Impact:  New        Severity:  New 
  • Added support for new models:  9111-520, 9113-550, 9406-550, 9124-720, and 9117-570.