IBM HMC on Power Firmware
Applies to: 7063-CR1
This document provides information about the installation of Licensed Machine or Licensed Internal Code, which is sometimes referred to generically as microcode or firmware.
1.3 Fix level Information on IBM Power HMC Components and Operating systems |
9.0 Quick Start Guide for Re- installing the HMC Image on the 7063-CR1 system |
This package provides firmware for IBM HMC on Power 7063-CR1 with minimum HMC version level of V8R870.0 only.
The firmware level in this package is:
•V2.10
There are the following images:
.pnor (Power firmware image)
.bin (BMC image)
pUpdate (tool binary)
Details on the package binaries are included in section 3.1.
This section specifies the "Minimum ipmitool Code Level" required by the System Firmware to perform firmware installations and managing the system. Open Power requires ipmitool level v1.8.15 to execute correctly on the V1.00 or later firmware.
Verify your ipmitool level on your linux workstation using the following commands:
bash-4.1$ ipmitool -V
ipmitool version 1.8.15
If you need to update or add impitool to your Linux workstation , you can compile ipmitool (current level 1.8.15) for Linux as follows from the Sourceforge:
1.1.1 Download impitool tar from http://sourceforge.net/projects/ipmitool/ to your linux system
1.1.2 Extract tarball on linux system
1.1.3 cd to top-level directory
1.1.4 ./configure
1.1.5 make
1.1.6 ipmitool will be under src/ipmitool
You may also get the ipmitool package directly from your workstation linux packages such as Ubuntu 14.04.3:
sudo apt-get install ipmitool
The BMC Web GUI is a web-based application that works within a browser. Supported browser levels are shown below with Chrome being the preferred browser:
•Google Chrome Version 46.0.2490.71 m
•Mozilla Firefox version 41.0.3
For specific fix level information on key components of IBM HMC model 7063-CR1 and the HMC software, please refer to the documentation in the IBM Knowledge Center.
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/8247-21L/p8eav/p8eav_7063_kickoff.htm
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/POWER8/p8had/p8had_hmc7063cr1.htm
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.
Concurrent Firmware Updates not available for the Power HMC.
Concurrent system firmware update is not supported on the Power HMC 7063-CR1.
The Petitboot user interface is started early in the boot process. When you are presented with the Petiboot user interface, it will take up to an additional 30 seconds for the user interface to be populated with boot options as storage and network hardware are being initialized. During this time, Petitboot will show the status message "Info: Waiting for device discovery". When Petitboot device discovery is completed, the following status message will be shown "Info: Connected to pb-discover!".
Use the following information to determine whether your installation will be concurrent or disruptive.
For the HMC 7063-CR1, the installation of system firmware is always disruptive.
The xxx.pnor file updates the primary side of the PNOR. The yyy.bin updates the primary side of the BMC only. The golden sides are unchanged.
Filename | Size | Checksum |
P8DTU20170712_IBM_7063CR1_sign.pnor | 33554560 | 8353d79ae803160912e56eba68f31205 |
SMT_P8_121.bin | 33554432 | 3526734e5635d03596740a1a1629e769 |
pUpdate | 1058520 | 1ee81d8bdc4fd17339b4a85003ac2009 |
Note: The Checksum can be found by running the Linux/Unix/AIX md5sum command against the file (all 32 characters of the checksum are listed), ie: md5sum xxx.pnor.
After a successful update to the firmware level V2.10 , the PNOR components and BMC should be at the following levels. The ipmitool "fru" command can be used to display FRU ID 47 and the ipmitool "mc info" command can be used to display the BMC level.
Note: FRU information for the PNOR level does not show the updated levels via the fru command until the system has been booted once at the updated level.
PNOR firmware levels from FRU ID 47 inventory list for driver:
FRU Device Description : System Firmware (ID 47)
$ ipmitool -I lanplus -H xxx -U yyy -P zzz fru print 47
Product Name : OpenPOWER Firmware
Product Version : open-power-IBM-P8DTU-7063CR1-20170712-prod
Product Extra : op-build-ad9fef8
Product Extra : hostboot-7fdfb37
Product Extra : occ-301b535
Product Extra : skiboot-5.4.2
Product Extra : linux-4.4.24-openpower1-35b47a0
Product Extra : petitboot-v1.4.0-47380de
Product Extra : p8dtu-xml-6fe2e88
BMC Level:
Display BMC firmware level using the "ipmitool mc info | grep Firmware" command:
Firmware Revision : 1.21
V2.10 | |
V2.10 | Impact: New Severity: New New features and functions for 7063-CR1: GA Level
Support the HMC appliance with 4x8GB memory configuration by allowing system to IPL with partial failure of memory DIMMs.
Support for resonant clocking was enabled to reduce power consumption of the processors for an approximate 10W per processor socket savings.
The Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) installation process was enhanced to provide more status log information and to show percentage-based download progress information.
Support was added for an On-Chip Controller (OCC) Soft User Power Cap. Previously, if the User Power Cap was being exceeded and could not be maintained, the OCC placed the system into Safe mode (a power mode with reduced processor frequencies).. With the Soft User Power Cap feature, the Safe mode is not used when the User Power Cap is exceeded. Instead, the OCC will log an error and continue to try to maintain the User Power Cap.
System firmware changes that affect all systems
A problem was fixed for a missing device discovery message and overly verbose output messages during the boot. It is now less verbose during the boot-only error-level messages are printed during Petitboot bootloader initialization. This means that there will be fewer messages printed as the system boots. Additionally, the Petitboot user interface is started earlier in the boot process. This means that the user will be presented with the user interface sooner, but it may still take time, potentially up to 30 seconds, for the user interface to be populated with boot options as storage and network hardware is being initialized. During this time, Petitboot will show the status message "Info: Waiting for device discovery". When Petitboot device discovery is completed, the following status message will be shown "Info: Connected to pb-discover!".
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
On systems with maximum memory configurations (where every DIMM slot is populated; size of DIMM does not matter), a problem has been fixed for systems losing performance and going into Safe mode (a power mode with reduced processor frequencies intended to protect the system from over-heating and excessive power consumption). This happened because of On-Chip Controller (OCC) time out errors when collecting Analog Power Subsystem Sweep (APSS) data, used by the OCC to tune the processor frequency. This problem occurs more frequently on systems that are running heavy workloads. Recovery from Safe mode back to normal performance can be done with a reboot of the system.
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OS levels supported by the 7063-CR1 servers:
- HMC V8R870.0 or later
The HMC stack runs on an embedded Linux distribution. The HMC on Power version V8R870.0 or later is supported on the 7063-CR1.
Notice: Enhanced HMC GUI is supported only (no classic GUI ) on HMC V8R870.0 and later.
The below link is to a guide on how to use the HMC to perform management and partition tasks for IBM Power servers:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/POWER8/p8hdx/p8_workingwithconsoles_op.htm
Use the following steps in the below link to navigate the HMC GUI to determine the HMC level:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/8247-21L/p8hai/p8hai_viewcodelevel_enh.htm
Use the ipmtool "fru" command or the BMC Web GUI FRU option to look at product details of FRU 47.
ipmitool -I lanplus -H <bmc host IP address> -P admin -U ADMIN fru print 47
Follow the instructions on Fix Central. You must read and agree to the license agreement to obtain the firmware packages.
The updating and upgrading of system firmware depends on several factors, such as the current firmware that is installed, and what operating systems is running on the system.
These scenarios and the associated installation instructions are comprehensively outlined in the firmware section of Fix Central, found at the following website:
http://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/
Any hardware failures should be resolved before proceeding with the firmware updates to help insure the system will not be running degraded after the updates.
The pUpdate utility is provided with the firmware update files from IBM Fix Central. It can be used to perform out-of-band updates by selecting the "-i lan" parameter on the command invocation. The code update needs to be done in two steps: 1) Update the BMC firmware and 2) Update the CEC PNOR for the hostboot and the OPAL components. It is recommended that the BMC be updated first unless otherwise specified in the firmware install instructions.
If a network connection can be made to the BMC, an out-of-band update can be done with the following LAN invocation from a Linux companion system:
BMC update: " pUpdate -f bmc.bin -i lan -h xx.xx.xx.xx -u ADMIN -p ADMIN -r y" where bmc.bin is the name and location of the BMC image file, xx.xx.xx.xx is the IP address of the BMC.
PNOR update: "pUpdate -pnor pnor.bin -i lan -h xx.xx.xx.xx -u ADMIN -p ADMIN " where pnor.bin is the name and location of the PNOR image file and xx.xx.xx.xx is the IP address of the BMC.
For more details on how to use the pUpdate utility, refer to the following link:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/POWER8/p8eit/p8eit_update_firmware_pupdate.htm
You can use diagnostic utilities to diagnose adapter problems.
For more details on how to use the diagnostic utilities, refer to the following link:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/POWER8/p8eit/p8eit_diags_kickoff.htm
Another method to update the system firmware is by using the baseboard management controller (BMC).
The system firmware is a combination of the BMC firmware and the PNOR firmware. To update the system firmware, update both the BMC firmware and the PNOR firmware by using the BMC.
Note: System firmware update from the BMC Web GUI is only supported on Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers.
Complete the following steps to update the BMC firmware:
1. Log in to the BMC by entering the user name and password. Then, press Enter.
2. From the Maintenance list on the BMC dashboard, select Firmware Update.
3. In the Firmware Update window, select Enter Update Mode. Click OK.
4. In the Firmware Upload window, choose the .bin file from your local system folder and click Upload Firmware. Wait for the file to be uploaded. Then, click OK.
5. The existing and new versions of the BMC firmware are displayed. Ensure that the Preserve Configuration check box is selected and the Preserve SDR check box is not selected. Click Start Upgrade.
Note: You cannot perform other activities by using the BMC interface until the firmware update is complete.
6. The upgrade progress of the firmware update is displayed. After the firmware update is complete, the system is restarted.
7. After the restart of the system is complete, verify the firmware revision level in the System menu of the BMC dashboard.
Complete the following steps to update the PNOR firmware:
1. Log in to the BMC by entering the user name and password. Then, press Enter.
2. From the Maintenance list on the dashboard, select PNOR Update.
3. In the PNOR Upload window, choose the .pnor file from your local system folder and click Upload PNOR. Wait for the file to be uploaded. Then, click OK.
4. The existing and new dates of the PNOR firmware are displayed. Click Start Upgrade.
Note: You cannot perform other activities by using the BMC interface until the PNOR update is complete.
5. The progress of the PNOR update is displayed. After the PNOR update is completed, the system must be restarted to finish installation of the new PNOR firmware.
For more information on updating the firmware using the BMC, refer to the following link:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/POWER8/p8eit/p8eit_update_firmware_bmc.htm
System I/O devices have firmware that can be updated. Please see the tables below for minimum level of firmware.
Updated firmware, when released, will include firmware update instructions.
Details regarding the I/O firmware levels for the 7063-CR1 (referenced in the linked information as 8001-12C , which has identical hardware) can be found in the link below.
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/wikis/home?lang=en#!/wiki/W51a7ffcf4dfd_4b40_9d82_446ebc23c550/page/IBM%20Power%208001-12C%20and%208001-22C%20IO%20Firmware
Here are FAQs for OS related dependencies, limitations, and usage for the 7063-CR1 (or 8001-12C) systems and I/O devices:
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/wikis/home?lang=en#!/wiki/W51a7ffcf4dfd_4b40_9d82_446ebc23c550/page/IBM%20Power%20LC%20readme
All references in the linked documents to 8001-12C apply equally to 7063-CR1.
The latest firmware, tools and how-to notes are available here:
ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/driver/P8DTU/
The service processor, or baseboard management controller (BMC), provides a hypervisor and operating system-independent layer that uses the robust error detection and self-healing functions that are built into the POWER8 processor and memory buffer modules. Open power application layer (OPAL) is the system firmware in the stack of POWER8 processor-based Linux-only servers.
The service processor, or baseboard management controller (BMC), is the primary control for autonomous sensor monitoring and event logging features on the Power HMC.
The BMC supports the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) for system monitoring and management. The BMC monitors the operation of the firmware during the boot process and also monitors the OPAL hypervisor for termination. The firmware code update is supported through the BMC and Intelligent Platform Monitoring Interface (IPMI) and the BMC Web GUI The GUI console is accessed using a web browser with a "http:" connection to port. See section 1.2 for the supported browsers that can be used with BMC Web GUI.
The Open Power Abstraction Layer (OPAL) provides hardware abstraction and run time services to the running host Operating System.
For the 7063-CR1 servers, only the OPAL bare-metal installs of the Hardware Management Console are supported.
Find out more about OPAL skiboot here:
https://github.com/open-power/skiboot
The Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) is an open standard for monitoring, logging, recovery, inventory, and control of hardware that is implemented independent of the main CPU, BIOS, and OS. The 7063-CR1 HMC provides one 10M/100M baseT IPMI port.
The ipmitool is a utility for managing and configuring devices that support IPMI. It provides a simple command-line interface to the service processor. You can install the ipmitool from the Linux distribution packages in your workstation, sourceforge.net, or another server (preferably on the same network as the installed server). For example, in Ubuntu, use this command:
$ sudo apt-get install ipmitool
For installing ipmitool from sourceforge, please see section 1.1 "Minimum ipmitool Code Level".
For more information about ipmitool, there are several good references for ipmitool commands:
1.The man page
2.The built-in command line help provides a list of IPMItool commands:
# ipmitool help
3.You can also get help for many specific IPMItool commands by adding the word help after the command:
# ipmitool channel help
4.For a list of common ipmitool commands and help on each, you may use the following link:
www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/linuxonibm/liabp/liabpcommonipmi.htm
To connect to your host system with IPMI, you need to know the IP address of the server and have
a valid password. To power on the server with the ipmitool, follow these steps:
1. Open a terminal program.
2. Power on your server with the ipmitool:
ipmitool -I lanplus -H bmc_ip_address -P ipmi_password power on
3. Activate your IPMI console:
ipmitool -I lanplus -H bmc_ip_address -P ipmi_password sol activate
Petitboot is a kexec based bootloader used by IBM POWER8 systems for doing the bare-metal installs on the 8001 servers.
After the POWER8 system powers on, the petitboot bootloader scans local boot devices and network interfaces to find boot options that are available to the system. Petitboot returns a list of boot options that are available to the system. If you are using a static IP or if you did not provide boot arguments in your network boot server, you must provide the details to petitboot. You can configure petitboot to find your boot with the following instructions:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/linuxonibm/liabp/liabppetitbootadvanced.htm
You can edit petitboot configuration options, change the amount of time before Petitboot automatically boots, etc. with these instructions:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/linuxonibm/liabp/liabppetitbootconfig.htm
After you select to boot the ISO media for the Hardware Management Console, the installer wizard for that Linux distribution walks you through the steps to set up disk options, your root password, time zones, and so on.
You can read more about the petitboot bootloader program here:
https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/geoff/petitboot/petitboot.html
This guide helps you re-install HMC on the 7063-CR1.
1.) Create the virtual drive on the 7063-CR1 system, if needed.
Follow the steps in this procedure in the unlikely event that you need to re-create the virtual drive on the IBM 7063-CR1 Hardware Management Console.
About this task
This procedure assumes that:
The system was erroneously shipped without an already created and pre-loaded virtual disk
The existing virtual disk is somehow damaged and needs to be re-created.
Link to procedure: https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/8286-41A/p8ej8/p8ej8_recreate_drive.htm
2.) Use the HMC media to update or re-install the HMC. If the virtual disk had to be created in step 1, the HMC recovery media will be needed to re-install the HMC.
Follow the steps in the link below for upgrading the level of the HMC to obtain and install the recovery media:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/TI0003M/p8hai/p8hai_upgrades_enh.htm
Date | Description |
09/18/2017 | New for HMC model 7063-CR1 for V2.10 release |
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