Power8 Power8 System Firmware Applies to:   9119-MHE and 9119-MME. 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 * 1.1 Minimum HMC Code Level * 1.2 AIX iFix Required * 2.0 Important Information * 3.0 Firmware Information * 3.1 Firmware Information and Description Table * 4.0 How to Determine Currently Installed Firmware Level * 5.0 Downloading the Firmware Package * 6.0 Installing the Firmware * 7.0 Firmware History ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.0 Systems Affected This package provides firmware for Power System E880 (9119-MHE ) and Power System E870 (9119-MME) servers only. The firmware level in this package is: * SC830_075 / FW830.11 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 V8 R8.3.0 (PTF MH01513) with Mandatory efix (PTF MH01514). Although the Minimum HMC Code level for this firmware is listed above,  HMC V8 R8.3.0 Service Pack 1 (PTF MH01540)with fix (PTF MH01574) or higher is recommended. 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. 1.2 AIX iFix Required For IBM Power System servers with the PCIe 2-port Async EIA-232 Adapter installed on AIX partitions, an AIX fix resolving the async port interrupt handling (APAR IV77596) must be installed before updating to the SC830_068 (FW830.10) or later level of firmware.  The ports on the adapter (feature code EN27/EN28, CCIN 57D4) may become un-usable with the installation of that firmware level due to an issue with how interrupts are handled.  Many JAS_RTS error log entries are written to the error log due to this issue. Prior to this APAR shipping in a future Service Pack, AIX intends to publish ifixes for the latest Service Packs on all active Technology Levels on our ftp server, inftp://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/ifixes/iv77596/ on or before Oct 13, 2015.  If you need an ifix other than the ones on this server, contact IBM support to request one for your specific situation. The procedure is intended to be performed by the customer.  In the event that the customer has questions or concerns with the procedure, you should contact IBM Support.  Please contact IBM Support:  US Support: 1.800.IBM.SERV WW Support (select your country):  http://www.ibm.com/planetwide/ 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: *     Number of logical partitions *     Partition environments of the logical partitions *     Number of physical and virtual I/O devices used by the logical partitions *     Maximum memory values given to the logical partitions 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://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/9119-MHE/p8hat/p8hat_lparmemory.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.0 Firmware Information 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: 01SCxxx_yyy_zzz * xxx is the release level * yyy is the service pack level * zzz is the last disruptive service pack level NOTE: Values of service pack and last disruptive service pack level (yyy and zzz) are only unique within a release level (xxx). For example, 01SC830_040_040 and 01SC840_040_045 are different service packs. An installation is disruptive if: * The release levels (xxx) are different.                  Example: Currently installed release is 01SC830_040_040, new release is 01SC840_050_050. * The service pack level (yyy) and the last disruptive service pack level (zzz) are the same.                  Example: SC830_040_040 is disruptive, no matter what level of SC830 is currently installed on the system. * The service pack level (yyy) currently installed on the system is lower than the last disruptive service pack level (zzz) of the service pack to be installed.             Example: Currently installed service pack is SC830_040_040 and new service pack is SC830_050_045. 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 SC830_040_040, new service pack is SC830_071_040. 3.1 Firmware Information and Description   Filename Size Checksum 01SC830_075_048.rpm 74858079 42576 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 01SC830_075_048.rpm SC830 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/SC-Firmware-Hist.html SC830_075_048 / FW830.11 11/11/15 Impact: Availability    Severity: HIPER System firmware changes that affect all systems * HIPER/Pervasive:  A problem was fixed for recovering from embedded MultiMediaCard (eMMC) flash NAND errors that caused the service processor to go to a failed state with SRC B1817212 on systems with a single service processor.  On systems with redundant service processors, the failed service processor would get guarded with a B151E6D0 or B152E6D0 SRC depending on which service processor fails. * HIPER/Pervasive: A problem associated with workloads using transactional memory on PowerVM was discovered and is fixed in this service pack. The effect of the problem is non-deterministic but may include undetected corruption of data. * DEFERRED:  A problem was fixed for memory on-die termination (ODT) settings to improve the signal integrity of the memory channel. * A problem was fixed for recovery from unaligned addresses for MSI interrupts from PCIe adapters.  The recovery prevents an adapter timeout caused by resource exhaustion.  With the fix, the resources for each bad interrupt are returned, allowing the PCIe adapter to continue to run for the normal traffic. * A problem was fixed for an Operations Panel SRC of B1504804 with no FRU callout.  A callout of the failed hardware has been added. * A problem was fixed to prevent recoverable power faults of short duration from causing the system to lose power supply redundancy.  Without the fix, the faulted state persisted for the recovered power fault, causing a problem with a system power off if other power supplies were lost at a later time. * A problem was fixed for a PCIe3 I/O expansion drawer (#EMX0) link failure with SRC B7006A8B .  The settings for the continuous time linear equalizers (CTLE) were adjusted to improve the incoming signal strength to improve the stability of the links.  The expansion drawer must be power cycled or the CEC can be re-IPLed for the fix to activate. * A problem was fixed for recovery from a processor local bus (PLB) hang on the service processor.  The errant PLB hang recovery would be seen in concurrent firmware updates that, on rare occasions, fail to do a side switch to activate to the new level of firmware.  On the management console, the error message would be HSCF010180E Operation failed ... E302F873 is the error code."  Other than the failed code level activation, the firmware update is successful.  If this problem occurs, the system can be set to the new firmware level by doing a power off from the management console and then doing a power on with side switch selected in the advanced properties. System firmware changes that affect certain systems * A problem was fixed for the System Feature Code for the E870 (9119-MME) being displayed as "EPBB" by IBM i "DSPSYSVAL QPRCFEAT"  when it should be "EPBA".  This created a problem for certain IBM i software packages whose license was tied to the System Feature Code.  This fix has a concurrent activation.  For FW830.10, a similar, non-concurrent fix for the feature codes was made but the System Feature Code, as seen in IBM i  partitions, did not update immediately. SC830_068_048 / FW830.10 09/10/15 Impact: Availability    Severity: HIPER New features and functions * The firmware code update process was enhanced with a feature to block a firmware "downgrade" to a level that is below the system's manufactured code level. System firmware changes that affect all systems * HIPER/Pervasive:DEFERRED:  A problem was fixed for a TCP/IP performance degradation on PCIe ethernet adapters with Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) over Converged Ethernet (RoCE).  By adjusting the system memory caching, a significant improvement was made to the data throughput speed to restore performance to expected levels.  This fix requires a system re-IPL to take effect.  This problem affects the E850 (8408-E8E), E870 (9119-MME), and E880 (9119-MHE) systems. * HIPER/Pervasive:  A problem was fixed for an ethernet adapter hanging on the service processor.  This hang prevents TCP/IP network traffic from the managment console and the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) browsers.  It makes it appear as if the service processor is unresponsive and can be confused with a service processor in the stopped state..  An A/C power cycle would recover a hung ethernet adapter. * HIPER/Pervasive:  A problem was fixed for missing the interrupts for processor local bus (PLB) time-outs..  This problem could hang the service processor or cause it to panic with a reset/reload of the service processor.  There is a possibility the reset of the service processor could take it to a stopped state where the service processor would be unresponsive.  In the service processor stopped state, any active partitions will continue to run but they will not be able to be managed by the management console.  The partitions can be allowed to run until the next scheduled service window at which time the service processor can be recovered with an AC power cycle or a pin-hole reset from the operator panel. * HIPER/Pervasive:  A problem was fixed for a system reset to clear the boot registers to prevent the reset from being mishandled as chip reset.   If a "system reset" is misinterpreted as a "chip reset", the boot of the service processor can go inadvertently to a stopped state and be unresponsive.  Pin-hole resets from the operations panel could also fail to the service processor stopped state.  In the service processor stopped state, any active partitions will continue to run but they will not be able to be managed by the management console.  The partitions can be allowed to run until the next scheduled service window at which time the service processor can be recovered with an AC power cycle or a pin-hole reset from the operator panel. * HIPER/Pervasive:  A problem was fixed so a corrupted file system partition table can be recovered and not have the service processor lose the ability to do P and T-side switches.  In error recovery situations, the loss of the side-switch option could present itself as an unresponsive service processor if it was needed to prevent a failure to the service processor stopped state. * HIPER/Pervasive:  A problem was fixed for a runaway interrupt request (IRQ) condition that caused the service processor to go to a stopped state.  In the service processor stopped state, any active partitions will continue to run but they will not be able to be managed by the management console.  The partitions can be allowed to run until the next scheduled service window at which time the service processor can be recovered with an AC power cycle or a pin-hole reset from the operator panel. * HIPER/Pervasive:  A problem was fixed for a dump partition full condition that caused the service processor to go to a stopped state.  In the service processor stopped state, any active partitions will continue to run but they will not be able to be managed by the management console.  The partitions can be allowed to run until the next scheduled service window at which time the service processor can be recovered with an AC power cycle or a pin-hole reset from the operator panel. * DEFERRED:  A problem was fixed for a PCIe3 I/O expansion drawer (#EMX0) link failure with SRC B7006A8B .  Data packet send retries were increased and link recovery was enabled to improve the stability of the links.  The CEC must be re-IPLed for the fix to activate. * A problem was fixed for a SRC 11002613 logged during a concurrent repair of a power supply.  This SRC was erroneously logged and did not represent a real problem. * A problem was fixed for an intermittent SRC B1504804 logged on a re-ipl of the CEC but that did not result in an IPL failure. * A problem was fixed for the capture of the registers for the Hostboot Self-Boot Engine (SBE) for SBE failures.  These registers had been missing from failure data for SBE failures, making these problems more difficult to debug. * A problem was fixed to remove an unnecessary delay in the system IPL to reduce the time needed to IPL by 30 seconds. * A problem was fixed for an unneeded error log with SRC B181DB04 that occurred in a failed IPL for a normal condition of lost PNOR flash access after a reIPL process had started and taken over the access. * A problem was fixed for an Advanced System Manager Interface (ASMI) error message of "Error in function 'connect", error code 111" when a browser attempted to connect before the service processor was ready.  The browser connection through the web server is now held off until the ASMI process is ready after a reset of the service processor or a AC power cycle of the system. * A problem was fixed for an incorrect call home for SRC B1818A0F.  There was no real problem so this call home should have been ignored. * A problem was fixed for a dump reIPL that failed with SRC B1818601 and B181460B after processor checkstops had terminated the system. * A problem was fixed for an infrequent service processor database corruption during concurrent firmware update that caused the system to terminate. * A problem was fixed for a failed PCI oscillator that was not guarded, causing repeated errors with SRC B15050A6 and B158E504 logged on each IPL of the system. * A problem was fixed for a local clock card (LCC)  failure with SRC 11001515 that was missing a part number and location code.  This information has been added for LCC faults so the FRU to replace is properly identified. * A problem was fixed for a defective PCI oscillator in the local clock card (LCC) with SRC BC58090F that caused a IPL failure for the node instead of failing over to the redundant LCC. * A problem was fixed for a service processor dump with error logs  B181E911 and B181D172 during an IPL.  The error logs were for the detection of defunct processes but otherwise the IPL was successful. * A problem was fixed for Digital Power Subsystem Sweep (DPSS) firmware updates that caused an error log with SRC B1819906 but otherwise was successful. * A problem was fixed for missing Keyword (KW) and Resource ID (RID) for SRC B181A40F. * A problem was fixed for a I2C bus lock error during a CEC power off that caused a ten minute delay for the power off and  errorlog SRCs  B1561314 and B1814803 with error number (errno) 3E. * A problem was fixed for the System Feature Code for the E870(9119-MME) being displayed as "EPBB" by IBM i "DSPSYSVAL QPRCFEAT"  when it should be "EPBA".  This created a problem for certain  IBM i software packages whose license was tied to the System Feature Code.  The System Feature Code, as seen in IBM i  partitions, does not update immediately with concurrent activation of the fix pack, but it will eventually change to the correct "EPBA" value within 24 hours.  If it is necessary to see the new System Feature Code value immediately,  a re-IPL of the system is needed. * A problem was fixed for concurrent firmware updates to a system that needed to be re-IPLed after getting a B113E504 SRC during activation of the new firmware level on the hypervisor.  The code update activate failed if the Sleep Winkle (SLW) images were significantly different between the firmware levels.  The SLW contains the state of the processor and cache so it can be restored after sleep or power saving operations. * A problem was fixed for System Power Control Network (SPCN) failover for a I/O module A/C power fault on the PCIe3  I/O expansion drawer (#EMX0).  A sideband failure on one I/O module was blocking SPCN commands for the entire drawer instead of SPCN failing over to a working I/O module.  The broken SPCN communications path prevented  concurrent maintenance operations on the expansion drawer. * A problem was fixed for a possible lack of recovery for an A/C power loss condition on the PCIe3  I/O expansion drawer (#EMX0).   If there was an outstanding problem on the expansion drawer and an A/C loss occurred while the earlier error was still unprocessed, the auto-recovery for the A/C power loss would not have happened. * A problem was fixed for a missing FRU call out for error SRC B7006A87  when unable to read the drawer module logical flash VPD for the PCIe3 I/O expansion drawer (#EMX0). * For a partition that has been migrated with Live Partition Mobility (LPM) from FW730 to FW740 or later, a problem was fixed for a Main Storage Dump (MSD) IPL failing with SRC B2006008.  The MSD IPL can happen after a system failure and is used to collect failure data.  If the partition is rebooted anytime after the migration, the problem cannot happen.  The potential for the problem existed between the active migration and a partition reboot. * A problem was fixed for partial loss of Entitlement for On/Off Memory Capacity On Demand (also called Elastic COD).  Users with large amounts of Entitlement on the system of greater than "65535 GB * Days" could have had a truncation of the Entitlement value on a re-IPL of the system.  To recover lost Entitlement, the customer can request another On/Off Enablement Code from IBM support to "re-fill" their entitlement. * A problem was fixed for a management console command line failure with a return code 0x40000147 (invalid lock state) when trying to delete SR-IOV shared mode configurations.  This could have occurred if the adapter slot had been re-purposed without involvement of the management console and was owned and operational at the time of the requested delete.  With the fix, the current ownership of the slot is honored and only the SR-IOV shared mode configuration data is deleted on the force delete. * A problem was fixed for an  incorrect restriction on the amount of "Unreturned"  resources allowed for a Power Enterprise Pool (PEP).  PEP allows for logical moving of resources (processors and memory) from one server to another.  Part of this is 'borrowing' resources from one server to move to another. This may result in "Unreturned" resources on the source server. The management console controls how many total "Unreturned" PEP resources can exist.  For this problem,  the user had some "Unreturned" PEP memory and asked to borrow more but this request was incorrectly refused by the hypervisor. * A problem was fixed for a PCIe3 I/O expansion drawer (#EMX0) error with SRCs  B7006A82 and B7004137 for a missing FRU location code.  The FRU location code for the Active Optical Cable (AOC)  was added to identify the failing drawer side. * A problem was fixed for a PCIe3 I/O expansion drawer (#EMX0)  failing to IPL when the IPL includes a FPGA update for the drawer.  The FPGA update is actually good but perceived as a failure when the FPGA resets as part of the update.  For the problem, a re-IPL of the system would have fixed the drawer. * A problem was fixed for Live Partition Mobility (LPM) to prevent a memory access error during LPM operations with unpredictable affects.  When data is moved by LPM, the underlying firmware code requires that the buffers be 4K aligned.  The fixes made now force the buffers to be 4K aligned and if there is still an alignment issue, the LPM operation will fail without impacting the system. * A problem was fixed for an On-Chip Controller (OCC) failure after a system dump with SRCs B18B2616 and BC822024 reported.  This resulted in the system running with reduced performance in safe mode, where processor clock frequencies are lowered to minimum levels to avoid hardware errors since the OCC is not available to monitor the system.   A re-IPL of the system would have resolved the problem. * A  performance problem was fixed for systems entering processor hang recovery prematurely with SRC B111E504 and PBCENTFIR(9) "PB_CENT_HANG_RECOV".  The ability of the L3 cache to prefetch memory was extended to speed the memory accesses and prevent a processor hang condition for applications running with lower memory affinity. * A problem was fixed for a processor error causing a Hostboot terminate instead of a deconfiguration of the bad hardware and continuation of the IPL.  The state of the processors was synchronized between the service processor and the Hostboot process to correct the error. * A problem was fixed for a USB Save and Restore of machine configuration to not lose the system name. * A problem was fixed for Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) help text for menu "I/O Adapter Enlarged Capacity" being missing with the system IPLed and partitions running.  The help text is now available for the system in the powered on state as well as in the powered off state. * A problem was fixed for an intermittent power supply error SRC 1100D008 with a flood of VPD SRC B1504804 with errno 3Es logged on a re-ipl of the CEC but that did not result in an IPL failure. * A problem was fixed for a LED intermittently not lighting for an enclosure with a fault. * A problem was fixed for an intermittent PSI link error with SRC B15CDA27 after a firmware update or reset/reload of the service processor. * A problem was fixed for PCIe3 adapters failing when requesting more than 32 Message Signaled Interrupts (MSI-X).  The adapter may fail to ping or cause OS tasks to hang that are using the adapter.  This problem was found specifically on the 10 Gb Ethernet-SR (Short Range) PCIe3 adapter with feature codes #5275 and #5769 and on the 56 Gb Infiniband (IB) Fourteen Data Rate (FDR) adapter with feature codes #EC32, #EC33, #EL3D, and #EL50 and CCIN 2CE7.  However, other PCIe adapters may also be affected. * A problem was fixed for IBM copyright statements being displayed on the System Management Services (SMS) menu after a repair or replacement of system hardware. System firmware changes that affect certain systems * HIPER/Pervasive:  For partitions with a graphics console and USB keyboard, a problem was fixed for a OS boot hang at the CA00E100 progress SRC.  For the problem, the hang can be avoided by issuing the boot command from the Open Firmware (OF) prompt. * HIPER/Pervasive:  On systems using PowerVM with shared processor partitions that are configured as capped or in a shared processor pool, there was a problem found that delayed the dispatching of the virtual processors which caused performance to be degraded in some situations.  Partitions with dedicated processors are not affected.   The problem is rare and can be mitigated, until the service pack is applied, by creating a new shared processor AIX or Linux partition and booting it to the SMS prompt; there is no need to install an operating system on this partition.  Refer to help document http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=nas8N1020863 for additional details. * DEFERRED:  A problem was fixed for Non-Volatile Memory express (NVMe) adapters, plugged into PCIe3 switches, mis-training to generation 1 instead of generation 3.   NVMe adapters attached directly to the PCIe3 slots trained correctly to the generation 3 specification. This fix requires a re-IPL of the system to correct the training of any mis-trained adapters. * On multiple-node systems, a problem was fixed for a missing location code, part, and serial number for a faulty symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) cable in the call home B1504922 error log. * On multiple-node systems, a problem was fixed for a two hour IPL hang in HostBoot caused by multiple B18ABAAB errors from more than one node.  The Hostboot process failed to go into its reconfiguration loop to do error recovery and continue the IPL. * On a system with redundant service processors,  a problem was fixed for an IPL failure for a bad service processor cable on the primary service processor with SRCs B1504904 and B18ABAAB logged.  The system should have did an error failover to the backup service processor and continued the IPL to get the partitions running. * On a system with redundant service processors where redundancy is disabled, a problem was fixed for an unrecoverable (UE) SRC B181DA19 being logged on a re-IPL after a checkstop error.  The error log did not interfere with the reIPL which was successful. * On multiple-node systems, a problem was fixed for extraneous error logs after a 12V power fault.  After termination, there were additional 110026Bx error log entries that should have been ignored. * On a system with redundant service processors, a problem was fixed for the isolation procedures for an Anchor card error and system VPD collection failure with termination SRC B181A40F .  FSPSP04 and FSPSP06 are no longer called out as part of reporting the VPD collection failure.  FSPSP30 has been updated with isolation steps for this problem and is called out and should be used for the problem isolation.  Retain tip H213935 also provides the FRU isolation steps.  Procedure FSPSP30 tries to replace the service processor first.  If that does not work, then the procedure has the Anchor card replaced. * On multiple-node systems, a problem was fixed to isolate a power fault during IPL to the specific node and guard the node, and allow the rest of the system to IPL.  Previously, the power fault would not be localized to the problem node and it caused the IPL of all the nodes of the system to fail. * On a system with redundant service processors, a problem was fixed for failovers to the backup service processor that caused an On-Chip Controller (OCC) abort.  This placed the CEC in a "safe" mode where it ran at reduced processor clock frequencies to prevent exceeding the power limits while not under OCC control. * On a system with an IBM i partition using Active Memory Sharing (AMS),  a problem was fixed for internal memory management errors caused by deleting a IBM i partition that had been powered off in the middle of a Main Storage Dump (MSD).  Until the fix is installed, if a MSD is interrupted for a IBM i partition that has AMS, the partition should be powered on and powered off normally before a delete of the partition is done to prevent errors with unpredictable affects.  This problem does not affect the S822 (8284-22A), S812L(8247-21L), S822L (8247-22L), S824L(8247-42L), and E850 (8408-E8E) models. * On a system with redundant service processors, a problem was fixed for a failover to the backup service processor during a power off of the CEC that caused a hypervisor time-out with SRC B182953C.  This error was caused by a delay in synchronizing the state of the hypervisor to the backup service processor but it did not prevent the power off from completing successfully. * On a system with redundant service processors, a problem was fixed for a firmware update causing an error log server dump with SRC B1818601.  The error log server restarted automatically to recover from the error and the firmware update was successful. SC830_048_048 / FW830.00 06/08/15 Impact:  New      Severity:  New New Features and Functions NOTE: * POWER8 (and later) servers include an ?update access key? that is checked when system firmware updates are applied to the system.  The initial update access keys include an expiration date which is tied to the product warranty. System firmware updates will not be processed if the calendar date has passed the update access key?s expiration date, until the key is replaced.  As these update access keys expire, they need to be replaced using either the Hardware Management Console (HMC) or the Advanced Management Interface (ASMI) on the service processor.  Update access keys can be obtained via the key management website:http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/ess/index.wss (http://www-304.ibm.com/servers/eserver/ess/index.wss). * Support for Little Endian (LE) Linux in PowerVM.  With PowerVM LE guest support, all three Linux on Power distribution partners (SUSE, Canonical, and Red Hat) with LE operating systems can run on the same IBM Power Systems. * Support for allowing the PowerVM hypervisor to continue to run after the service processor has become unresponsive with a SRC B1817212.  Any active partitions will continue to run but they will not be able to be managed by the management console.  The partitions can be allowed to run until the next scheduled service window at which time the service processor can be recovered with an AC power cycle or a pin-hole reset from the operator panel.  This error condition would only be seen on a system that had been running with a single service processor (no redundancy for the service processor). * Support for three and four node configurations of the E880 (9119-MHE) system. * Support for an increase of the maximum number of PCIe 3 I/O expansion drawers (#EMX0) that can be attached to an E870 /E880 node from two to four. * Support for Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) that enables the hypervisor to share a SR-IOV-capable PCI-Express adapter across multiple partitions. Twelve ethernet adapters are supported with the SR-IOV NIC capability, when placed in the P8 system  (SR-IOV supported in both native mode and through VIOS): - PCIe3  4-port 10GbE SR Adapter                           (F/C EN15 and CCIN 2CE3) - PCIe3  4-port 10GbE SR Adapter                         (F/C EN16 and CCIN 2CE3).  Fits E870/E880 system node PCIe slot. - PCIe3  4-port 10GbE SFP+ Copper Adapter                    (F/C EN17 and CCIN 2CE4) - PCIe3  4-port 10GbE SFP+ Copper Adapter                    (F/C EN18 and CCIN 2CE4).  Fits E870/E880 system node PCIe slot. - PCIe2  4-port (10Gb FCoE & 1GbE) SR and RJ45 SFP+ Adapter        (F/C EN0H and CCIN 2B93) - PCIe2 LP 4-port (10Gb FCoE & 1GbE) SR and RJ45  SFP+ Adapter        (F/C EN0J and CCIN 2B93) - PCIe2 LP Linux 4-port (10Gb FCoE & 1GbE) SR and RJ45 SFP+ Adapter       (F/C EL38 and CCIN 2B93) - PCIe2  4-port (10Gb FCoE & 1GbE) LR and RJ45 Adapter             (F/C EN0M and CCIN 2CC0) - PCIe2 LP 4-port (10Gb FCoE & 1GbE) LR and RJ45 Adapter              (F/C EN0N and CCIN 2CC0)  -PCIe2  4-port (10Gb FCoE & 1GbE) SFP+Copper and RJ45 Adapter        (F/C EN0K and CCIN 2CC1) - PCIe2 LP 4-port (10Gb FCoE & 1GbE) SFP+Copper and RJ45    Adapter        (F/C EN0L and CC IN 2CC1) - PCIe2 LP Linux 4-port (10Gb FCoE & 1Gb Ethernet) SFP+Copper and RJ45    (F/C EL3C and CCIN 2CC1) These adapters each have four ports, and all four ports are enabled with SR-IOV function. The entire adapter (all four ports) is configured for SR-IOV or none of the ports is. System firmware updates the adapter firmware level on these adapters to 10.2.252.16 when a supported adapter is placed into SR-IOV mode. Support for SR-IOV adapter sharing is now available for adapters in the PCIe3 I/O Expansion Drawer with F/C #EMX0. SR-IOV NIC on the Power P8 systems is supported by:     - AIX 6.1 TL9 SP4 and APAR IV63331, or later     - AIX 7.1 TL3 SP4 and APAR IV63332, or later     - IBM i 7.1 TR8, or later (Supported on S824/S814)     - IBM i 7.2  or later  (Supported on S824/S814)     - IBM i 7.1 TR9, or later (Supported on E870/E880)     - IBM i 7.2 TR1, or later  (Supported on E870/E880)             - Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5 or later ( Supported on E870/E880/S812L/S822/S822L/S814/S824/S824L except for adapters with F/Cs EN15/EN16/EN17/EN18)     - Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.6, or later (Supported on E850 and minimum level needed for adapters with F/Cs EN15/EN16/EN17/EN18)     - Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.1, or later     - SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1 or later  (Supported on S812L/S822/S822L/S814/S824/S824L)     - SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3 or later  (Supported on E870/E880)     - SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12, or later  (Supported on E850)     - Ubuntu 15.04 or later (Supported on E850/S812L/S822/S822L/S814/S824/S824L)      - VIOS 2.2.3.4 with interim fix IV63331, or later * Support for an upgrade from 8-core processors to 12-core processors for the E880 (9119-MHE) system. * Support for adjusting voltage regulators input voltage dynamically based on regulator slave failures to achieve the optimal voltage for system operation for normal and degraded conditions. System firmware changes that affect all systems * A problem was fixed to eliminate unneeded guard data from call home messages for the cases where there is no hardware error in the system. * On systems with redundant service processors, a problem was fixed in the run-time error failover to the backup service processor so it does not terminate on FRU support interface (FSI) errors.  In the case of FSI errors on the new primary service processor, the primary will do a reset/reload instead of a terminate. * A problem was fixed to call home guarded FRUs on each IPL.  Only the initial failure of the hardware was being reported to the error log. * Support was added to the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) USB menu to allow a system dump to be collected to USB with the power on to the system.  This allows the dump to be collected with the system memory state intact. * A problem was fixed for the service processor error log handling that caused SRC B150BAC5 errors when converting a error log entry from an object into a flattened array of bytes. * A problem was fixed that prevented a second management console from being added to the CEC.  In some cases, network outages caused defunct management console connection entries to remain in the service processor connection table,  making connection slots unavailable for new management consoles  A reset of the service processor could be used to remove the defunct entries. * A problem was fixed to eliminate a false error log and call home for a SRC1100154F fan fault caused by an unplugged power cable. * A problem was fixed for a highly intermittent IPL failure with SRC B18187D9 caused by a defunct attention handler process.  For this problem, the IPL will continue to fail until the service processor is reset. A problem was fixed for missing FRU information in SRC 11001515.   SRC 11001515 was logged indicating replacement of power supply hardware, but did not include the location code, the part number, the CCIN, or the serial number. * A problem was fixed for systems with a corrupted date of "1900" showing for the Update Access Key (UAK).  The firmware update is allowed to proceed on systems with a bad UAK date because the fix is in an emergency service pack.  After the fix is installed, the user should correct the UAK date, if needed, by using the original UAK key for the system.  On the Management Console,  enter the original update access key via the "Enter COD Code" panel. Or on the Advanced System Manager Interface (ASMI),  enter the original update access key via the "On Demand Utilities/COD Activation" panel. * A problem with concurrent PCIe adapter maintenance was fixed that caused On-Chip Controller (OCC) resets with SRCs logged of B18B2616 and BC822029, forcing the system into safe mode (processor voltage/frequency reduced to a "safe" level where thermal monitoring is not required).  Recovery from safe mode requires a system re-IPL. * A problem was fixed for I/O adapters so that BA400002 errors were changed to informational for memory boundary adjustments made to the size of DMA map-in requests.  These DMA size adjustments were marked as UE previously for a condition that is normal. System firmware changes that affect certain systems * On systems in PowerVM mode, a problem was fixed for unresponsive PCIe adapters after a partition power off or a partition reboot. * On systems using Virtual Shared Processor Pools (VSPP), a problem was fixed for an inaccurate pool idle count over a small sampling period. * On systems with partitions using shared processors, a problem was fixed that could result in latency or timeout issues with I/O devices. * On systems using PowerVM,  a problem was fixed for a hypervisor deadlock that results in the system being in a "Incomplete state" as seen on the management console.  This deadlock is the result of two hypervisor tasks using the same locking mechanism for handling requests between the partitions and the management console.  Except for the loss of the management console control of the system, the system is operating normally when the "Incomplete state" occurs. * On systems with memory mirroring enabled, a problem was fixed for PowerVM over-estimating its memory needs, allowing more memory to be used by the partitions. * On systems using PowerVM, a problem was fixed for the handling of the error of multiple cache hits in the instruction effective-to-real address translation cache (IERAT).  A multi-hit IERAT error was causing system termination with SRC B700F105.  The multi-hit IERAT is now recognized by the hypervisor and reported to the OS where it is handled. * On systems using PowerVM, a problem was fixed to allow booting off an iSCSI device.  For the failure, the partition firmware error logs had SRC BA012010 "Opening the TCP node failed." and SRC BA010013 "The information in the error log entry for this SRC provides network trace data."  The open firmware standard output trace showed SRC BA012014  "The TCP re-transmission count of 8 was exceeded. This indicates a large number of lost packets between this client and the boot or installation server" followed by SRC BA012010. * On systems using PowerVM, support was added for USB 2.0 HUBs so that a keyboard plugged into the USB 2.0 HUB will work correctly at the SMS menus.  Previously, a keyboard plugged into a USB 2.0 HUB was not a recognized device. 4.0 How to Determine The Currently Installed Firmware Level You can view the server's current firmware level on the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) Welcome pane. It appears in the top right corner. Example: SC830_123. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 USB flash memory device 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: SCxxx_yyy_zzz Where xxx = release level * If the release level will stay the same (Example: Level SC830_040_040 is currently installed and you are attempting to install level SC830_071_040) this is considered an update. * If the release level will change (Example: Level SC830_040_040 is currently installed and you are attempting to install level SC840_050_050) this is considered an upgrade. (http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/8286-42A/p8ha1/updupdates.htm) Instructions for installing firmware updates and upgrades can be found at http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/9119-MHE/p8ha1/updupdates.htm IBM i Systems: For information concerning IBM i Systems, go to the following URL to access Fix Central:  http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/ Choose "Select product", under Product Group specify "System i", under Product specify "IBM i", then Continue and specify the desired firmware PTF accordingly. 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/SC-Firmware-Hist.html