Power7 System Firmware

Applies to: 8248-L4T, 8408-E8D, 9109-RMD, 9117-MMC and 9179-MHC

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 firmware for Power 750 (8408-E8D), Power 760 (9109-RMD),  Power 770 (9117-MMC), Power 780 (9179-MHC) and PowerLinux 7R4 (8248-L4T) servers only.

The firmware level in this package is:

1.1 Minimum HMC Code Level

This section is intended to describe the "Minimum HMC Code Level" required by the System Firmware to complete the firmware installation process. When installing the System Firmware, the HMC level must be equal to or higher than the "Minimum HMC Code Level" before starting the system firmware update.  If the HMC managing the server targeted for the System Firmware update is running a code level lower than the "Minimum HMC Code Level" the firmware update will not proceed.

The Minimum HMC Code level for this firmware is:  HMC V7 R7.7.0 Service Pack 1  (PTF MH01346).

Although the Minimum HMC Code level for this firmware is listed above,  HMC level V7 R7.7.0 Service Pack 2 (PTF MH01354) with PTF MH01367 (Fix for Service Pack 2), or higher is suggested for this firmware level.

For information concerning HMC releases and the latest PTFs,  go to the following URL to access Fix Central.

http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/

For specific fix level information on key components of IBM Power Systems running the AIX, IBM i and Linux operating systems, we suggest using the Fix Level Recommendation Tool (FLRT):
http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/flrt/home

NOTES:
                -You must be logged in as hscroot in order for the firmware installation to complete correctly.
                - Systems Director Management Console (SDMC) does not support this System Firmware level.

2.0 Important Information

Downgrading firmware from any given release level to an earlier release level is not recommended.
If you feel that it is necessary to downgrade the firmware on your system to an earlier release level, please contact your next level of support.

IPv6 Support and Limitations

IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) is supported in the System Management Services (SMS) in this level of system firmware. There are several limitations that should be considered.

When configuring a network interface card (NIC) for remote IPL, only the most recently configured protocol (IPv4 or IPv6) is retained. For example, if the network interface card was previously configured with IPv4 information and is now being configured with IPv6 information, the IPv4 configuration information is discarded.

A single network interface card may only be chosen once for the boot device list. In other words, the interface cannot be configured for the IPv6 protocol and for the IPv4 protocol at the same time.

Concurrent Firmware Updates

Concurrent system firmware update is only supported on HMC Managed Systems only.

Memory Considerations for Firmware Upgrades

Firmware Release Level upgrades and Service Pack updates may consume additional system memory.
Server firmware requires memory to support the logical partitions on the server. The amount of memory required by the server firmware varies according to several factors.
Factors influencing server firmware memory requirements include the following:
Generally, you can estimate the amount of memory required by server firmware to be approximately 8% of the system installed memory. The actual amount required will generally be less than 8%. However, there are some server models that require an absolute minimum amount of memory for server firmware, regardless of the previously mentioned considerations.

Additional information can be found at:
  http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/topic/p7hat/iphatlparmemory.htm

3.0 Firmware Information and Description

Use the following examples as a reference to determine whether your installation will be concurrent or disruptive.

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 and/or Partition-Deferred. Deferred fixes can be installed concurrently, but will not be activated until the next IPL. Partition-Deferred fixes can be installed concurrently, but will not be activated until a partition reactivate is performed.  Deferred and/or Partition-Deferred fixes, if any, will be identified in the "Firmware Update Descriptions" table of this document. For these types of fixes (Deferred and/or Partition-Deferred) within a service pack, only the fixes in the service pack which cannot be concurrently activated are deferred.

Note: The file names and service pack levels used in the following examples are for clarification only, and are not necessarily levels that have been, or will be released.

System firmware file naming convention:

01AMXXX_YYY_ZZZ

NOTE: Values of service pack and last disruptive service pack level (YYY and ZZZ) are only unique within a release level (XXX). For example, 01AM720_067_045 and 01AM740_067_053 are different service packs.

An installation is disruptive if:

Example: Currently installed release is AM710, new release is AM720 Example: AM720_120_120 is disruptive, no matter what level of AM720 is currently installed on the system Example: Currently installed service pack is AM720_120_120 and new service pack is AM720_152_130

An installation is concurrent if:

The release level (XXX) is the same, and
The service pack level (YYY) currently installed on the system is the same or higher than the last disruptive service pack level (ZZZ) of the service pack to be installed.

Example: Currently installed service pack is AM720_126_120,  new service pack is AM720_143_120.

Firmware Information and Update Description

 
Filename Size Checksum
01AM770_052_032.rpm 43538649 52359

Note: The Checksum can be found by running the AIX sum command against the rpm file (only the first 5 digits are listed).
ie: sum 01AM770_052_032.rpm

AM770
For Impact, Severity and other Firmware definitions, Please refer to the below 'Glossary of firmware terms' url:
http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/sas/f/power5cm/home.html#termdefs

The complete Firmware Fix History for this Release Level can be reviewed at the following url:
http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/server/firmware/AM-IOC-Firmware-Hist.html
AM770_052_032 / FW770.21

08/07/13
Systems 8408-E8D; 8248-L4T; 9109-RMD; 9117-MMC and 9179-MHC ONLY
Impact: Availability         Severity:  SPE

System firmware changes that affect all systems

  • A problem was fixed that caused a migrated partition to reboot during transfer to a VIOS 2.2.2.0, and later, target system. A manual reboot would be required if transferred to a target system running an earlier VIOS release. Migration recovery may also be necessary.
  • A problem was fixed that can cause  Anchor (VPD) card corruption and  A70047xx SRCs to be logged.  Note: If a serviceable event  with SRC A7004715 is present or was logged previously, damage to the VPD card may have occurred. After the fix is applied, replacement of the Anchor VPD  card is recommended in order to restored full redundancy. 
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
  • On systems running Dynamic Platform Optimizer (DPO) ,  a problem was fixed that caused an incorrect placement of dedicated processors for partitions larger than a single chip.  When this occurs, the performance is impacted over what would have been gained with proper placement.
AM770_048_032 / FW770.20

05/17/13
Systems 8408-E8D; 8248-L4T; 9109-RMD; 9117-MMC and 9179-MHC ONLY
Impact: Availability         Severity:  SPE

New Features and Functions

  • Support for the 8248-L4T.
  • Support for 9117-MMC and 9179-MHC with Dynamic Platform Optimization (DPO).

System firmware changes that affect all systems

  • A problem was fixed that caused a service processor reset/reload with SRC B181720D due to a memory leak.
  • The Hypervisor was enhanced to allow the system to continue to boot using the redundant data chip on the anchor (VPD) card, instead of stopping the Hypervisor boot and logging SRC B7004715,  when the primary data chip on the anchor card has been corrupted.
  • The firmware was enhanced to support up to 4200 virtual adapters.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a service processor dump to be generated with SRC B18187DA "NETC_RECV_ER" logged.
  • The firmware was enhanced to make the Capacity on Demand (CoD) menu option available on the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) menus when logged in as admin or celogin.
  • The firmware was enhanced to make SRC B15738F8 ("FRUM_ERC_UNEXPECTED_HOTPLUG_ADD") informational instead of predictive.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a platform dump generation to fail after a system checkstop with SRCs B181B8A2 and B114E504 ("Processor cleanup failure").
  • A problem was fixed that caused the date and time to be incorrect in AIX if a partition is remotely restarted on a different system from the one on which it was hibernated.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a performance loss after a configuration change, such as un-licensing a processor, because the Hypervisor is unable to dispatch a partition to a shared processor.
  • A problem was fixed that may cause inaccurate processor utilization reporting.
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
  • On systems running Active Memory Sharing (AMS) partitions, a problem was fixed that caused the system to hang after an AMS partition was deleted or mobilized, combined with either an AMS pool resize or relocation of AMS pool memory.
  • On systems with I/O towers attached, a problem was fixed that caused multiple service processor reset/reloads if the tower was continuously sending invalid System Power Control Network (SPCN) status data. 
  • A problem was fixed that was caused by an attempt to modify a virtual adapter from the management console command line when the command specifies it is an Ethernet adapter, but the virtual ID specified is for an adapter type other than Ethernet.  The managed system has to be rebooted to restore communications with the management console when this problem occurs; SRC B7000602 is also logged.
  • On systems running Dynamic Platform Optimization (DPO), a problem was fixed that caused the current DPO score for a partition to be incorrect.  When this occurs, it looks like DPO would not improve performance when in fact it would improve the performance.  Also, on systems running Dynamic Platform Optimization (DPO), in which there are no processors in the shared processor pool, a problem was fixed that caused the Hypervisor to become unresponsive (the service processor starts logging time-out errors against the Hypervisor, and the HMC can no longer talk to the Hypervisor) during a DPO operation.
AM770_038_032 / FW770.10

03/21/13
Systems 8408-E8D and 9109-RMD ONLY
Impact:  New      Severity:  New

New Features and Functions

  • Support for the 8408-E8D and 9109-RMD systems.

4.0 How to Determine Currently Installed Firmware Level

For HMC managed systems:  From the HMC, select Updates in the navigation (left-hand) pane, then view the current levels of the desired server(s).

Alternately, use the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) Welcome pane. The current server firmware  appears in the top right corner. Example: AM760_yyy.

5.0 Downloading the Firmware Package

Follow the instructions on Fix Central. You must read and agree to the license agreement to obtain the firmware packages.

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

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: AMXXX_YYY_ZZZ

Where XXX = release level


HMC Managed Systems:

Instructions for installing firmware updates and upgrades on systems managed by an HMC can be found at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/index.jsp?topic=/p7ha1/updupdates.htm

Systems not Managed by an HMC:

Power Systems:
Instructions for installing firmware on systems that are not managed by an HMC can be found at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/index.jsp?topic=/p7ha5/fix_serv_firm_kick.htm


IBM i Systems:
See "IBM Server Firmware and HMC Code Wizards":
http://www-912.ibm.com/s_dir/slkbase.NSF/DocNumber/408316083

NOTE: For all systems running with the IBM i Operating System, the following IBM i PTFs must be applied to all IBM i partitions prior to installing AM770_052:
These PTFs can be ordered through Fix Central.

7.0 Firmware History

The complete Firmware Fix History for this Release Level can be reviewed at the following url:
http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/server/firmware/AM-IOC-Firmware-Hist.html

8.0 Change History

Date
 Description
August 19, 2013 - Updated Fix list to indicate Support for MTM 8248-L4T in level AM770_048_032 / FW770.20.