Document fins/I0909-1


FIN #: I0909-1

SYNOPSIS: Minimum firmware and kernel patch revisions required for Sun Fire
          3800/4800/4810/6800 support

DATE: Dec/10/02

KEYWORDS: Minimum firmware and kernel patch revisions required for Sun Fire
          3800/4800/4810/6800 support


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- Sun Proprietary/Confidential: Internal Use Only -
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                            FIELD INFORMATION NOTICE
                  (For Authorized Distribution by SunService)



SYNOPSIS: Minimum firmware and kernel patch revisions required for 
          Sun Fire 3800/4800/4810/6800 support.


SunAlert:           Yes

TOP FIN/FCO REPORT: Yes 
  
PRODUCT_REFERENCE:  Sun Fire 3800/4800/4810/6800
 
PRODUCT CATEGORY:   Server / SW Admin


PRODUCTS AFFECTED:

Systems Affected:
-----------------  
Mkt_ID     Platform     Model      Description           Serial Number
------     --------     -----      -----------           -------------
  -	   S8	         ALL       Sun Fire 3800	       -
  -	   S12           ALL       Sun Fire 4800	       -	
  -	   S12i          ALL       Sun Fire 4810	       -
  -	   S24           ALL       Sun Fire 6800	       -


X-Options Affected:
-------------------
Mkt_ID       Platform   Model   Description                           Serial
Number
------       --------   -----   -----------                          
-------------
XCPUBD-4049     -   	  -     4x 900MHz 4 GB Memory 16 x 256MB DIMMs      -
XCPUBD-F4089   	-         -     4x 900MHz 8 GB Memory 32 x 256MB DIMMs      -
XCPUBD-F4169 	-         -     4x 900MHz 16 GB Memory 32 x 512MB DIMMs     -
XCPUBD-F4329 	-         -     4x 900MHz 32 GB Memory 32 x 1GB   DIMMs     -
XCPUBD-2029	-         -     2x 900MHz 2 GB Memory 8 x 256MB DIMMs       -
XCPUBD-2049 	-         -     2x 900MHz 4 GB Memory 16 x 256MB DIMMs      -
XCPUBD-2089 	-         -     2x 900MHz 8 GB Memory 8 x 1GB   DIMMs       -


PART NUMBERS AFFECTED:

Part Number     Description           Model
-----------     -----------           -----
     -               -                  -


REFERENCES:

FIN:   I0815-1 
       I0850-1 
       I0856-1 
       I0859-1 
       I0887-1
	
Patch: 112127: Hardware/PROM: Sun Fire 6800/4810/4800/3800 Systems 
                  flashprom update (5.12.7)
       112494: Hardware/PROM: Sun Fire 6800/4810/4800/3800 Systems 
                  Firmware Update (5.13.3)
       112494: Hardware/PROM: Sun Fire 6800/4810/4800/3800 Systems 
                  Firmware Update (5.13.4)
       112883: Hardware/PROM: Sun Fire 6800/4810/4800/3800 Systems 
                  Firmware Update		 
       108528: SunOS 5.8: kernel update patch
       112233: SunOS 5.9: Kernel Patch		 
       113689: SunVTS 5.1 patch
    
URL:
http://pts-americas.west//esg/msg/techinfo/platform/sun_fire/firmware-matrix
     http://sdpsweb.ebay/FIN_FCO/FIN/FINI0909-1_dir/customerlist.sxc
     http://sdpsweb.central/FIN_FCO/FIN/FINI0909-1_dir/customerletter.sdw

Sun Alert: 45527 
           46105
            

PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:

Product Engineering strongly recommends that minimum levels of firmware
and kernel patches be applied to Sun Fire 3800/4800/4810/6800
platforms.  This FIN will describe the minimum levels of support and
will request proactive system upgrades to attain those levels.  These
upgrades will increase system performance through reduced downtime and
improve identification of hardware or software faults through improved
diagnostic capabilities.

Firmware Support
----------------

At the present time, the minimum recommended firmware versions for Sun
Fire 3800/4800/4810/6800 support is 5.13.4 or 5.14.0.  For customers
using 5.12.5 or 5.12.6 who are unable to upgrade to the above firmware
versions due to customer concerns regarding significant version changes
while in a production environment, 5.12.7 is available.  

The 5.12.7/5.13.4/5.14.0 firmware versions contain 2 key software solutions 
required for proper field support.  

1. Correction of the core CPU voltage settings. 

   Earlier firmware version (5.12.5 / 5.12.6 / 5.13.0 / 5.13.1) have
   core CPU voltage settings that are below the recommended
   specifications for the UltraSPARC III Cu on a Sun Fire
   3800/4800/4810/6800 servers.  The correct CPU voltage settings are
   available in 5.12.7 and 5.13.2 and later firmware.  CPU board
   fallout for voltage related issues was eliminated in Operations
   testing with 5.13.2 firmware implementation (bug ID: 4702637).

   All server shipments from August 6, 2002 will have 5.13.2 (or
   greater) firmware versions installed.  5.13.3 and 5.13.4 have
   important bug fixes where 5.13.4 is the recommended upgrade path
   over 5.13.2. The bugs addressed in 5.13.3 include temporary false
   over-temperature error messages (bug ID: 4511960) and temporary
   false over-voltage error messages (bug ID: 4729601) that result 
   from increased I2C bus activity with dynamic FRU-ID implementation.

   As a result, only 5.13.4 will be recommended below if the customer 
   does not upgrade to 5.14.0.

2. JTAG Support for the latest release of the UltraSPARC® III Cu.

   A new version of the UltraSPARC III Cu (900 MHz CPU Mask 2.3) has
   released.  All system boards that use this new CPU version require
   System Controller firmware which recognizes the JTAG IDs of this new
   CPU version. These boards include X-Options, FRUs, and CPU boards
   shipped with the server.

   Firmware versions 5.12.7 or 5.13.2 (and higher), which incorporate
   support for this latest CPU version are required for recognition of 
   the JTAG ID of this latest CPU version.
  
   Firmware Support Table:
  
                  ------------------------------------------------
	         | 900 MHz Mask 2.2 | 900 MHz Mask 2.3 | 1050 MHz |
	         |==================+==================+==========|
   Required      | 5.12.5 or 5.12.6 | 5.12.7 or 5.13.2 | 5.13.2   |
  		  ------------------------------------------------
	
   CPU Version Identification:

   The UltraSPARC® III Cu CPU mask version is required to identify the 
   two versions of UltraSPARC® III Cu processor on X-Options, FRUs, or servers.

  
 
   CPU Mask version 2.2 correlates to the previous release, UltraSPARC® III Cu
   CPU Mask version 2.3 correlates to the current release, UltraSPARC® III Cu 
  
   Use the "showb -v" command to display CPU mask version.  CPU speed
will also 
   be displayed.

      -----------------------------------------------------------
     | Component | CPU Mask | Description                        |
     |===========+==========+====================================|
     | SB0/P0    | 2.2      | UltraSPARC-III+, 900MHz, 8M ECache |
     | SB0/P1    | 2.2      | UltraSPARC-III+, 900MHz, 8M ECache |
     | SB0/P2    | 2.2      | UltraSPARC-III+, 900MHz, 8M ECache |
     | SB0/P3    | 2.2      | UltraSPARC-III+, 900MHz, 8M ECache |
     | SB2/P0    | 2.3      | UltraSPARC-III+, 900MHz, 8M ECache |
     | SB2/P1    | 2.3      | UltraSPARC-III+, 900MHz, 8M ECache |
     | SB2/P2    | 2.3      | UltraSPARC-III+, 900MHz, 8M ECache |
     | SB2/P3    | 2.3      | UltraSPARC-III+, 900MHz, 8M ECache |
      ----------------------------------------------------------

   NOTE: If a new 900 MHz CPU board is inserted into a Sun Fire
	 3800/4800/4810/6800 servers and the CPUs are not registered as
	 above, check the System Controller's firmware version.  A
	 customer with 5.12.6 (or lower) firmware will not see the
	 above output for the latest version of the CPU.  The 4 CPUs
	 (CPU Mask 2.3) will not be registered.  An UltraSPARC III Cu
	 CPU with mask version 2.1 also exists. 

3. Additional bug solutions for 5.13.4 and 5.14.1 Firmware:

   Bug ID: 4728549, Starcat failure to boot: "Memory Address not
           Aligned"

   Bug ID: 4656908, System controller - The framemanager losses connection
           intermittently
           
   Bug ID: 4757134, New FDK power supplies and current generation of Tyco
           power supplies with Microcode 0x25 fail to power on after hotplug. 
           The power supply hotplug failure rate is ~10%.

Kernel Patch and Sun VTS Support
--------------------------------

At the present time, 108528 (KU-17) with 5.1 VTS patches is the
minimum kernel update recommended for Sun Fire 3800/4800/4810/6800
servers support.  As with the firmware described above, it is
recommended to upgrade to KU-17 or higher "at the earliest
opportunity."

Solutions found in KU-17 that are specific to the UltraSPARC® III and 
UltraSPARC® III Cu include:

1.   4466085 (Fast ECC Error at TL>0) functions properly for all US-III /
     US-III+ based platforms. KU-16 provides proper recovery for Fast ECC 
     and parity errors when TL>0.
     
2.   4686943 Data Corruption bug for Cheetah and Cheetah+ processors.
     Serengeti escalation: 540510
     
3.   Error message terminology is standardized across all platforms.  By
     default, all error messages are logged to /var/adm/messages.  Only
     uncorrectable error messages or other critical messages are logged 
     to the console.

4.   Correctable memory errors are tracked in order to identify which memory
     DIMMs may be failing.  At the time of a DIMM failure, an error message 
     is logged to both the /var/adm/messages and the console.
     

5.  SunVTS 5.1 is the recommended as the minimum SunVTS version for the
    Serengeti platform for the following test areas:

	. Support for both Solaris 9 and Solaris 8 update 7
	. Memory diagnostics - enhanced pmem and vmem tests
	. CPU diagnostics - CPU stress (Linpack), enhanced FPU & cache 
	  testing
	  
Special Considerations
----------------------  
 
Customers who have standardized firmware versions 5.12.5 or 5.12.6 for
UltraSPARC® III Cu support will be required to upgrade to firmware 5.12.7
or 5.13.4 (or higher).  Particular impact may be seen with the installation
of X-Options or FRUs with the latest 900 MHz CPU version, without 5.12.7 or
5.13.4, as these X-Options or FRUs will not be recognized by the System 
Controller.


IMPLEMENTATION:

           ---
          | X |   MANDATORY (Fully Proactive)
           ---


           ---
          |   |   CONTROLLED PROACTIVE (per Sun Geo Plan)
           ---


           ---
          |   |   REACTIVE (As Required)
           ---


CORRECTIVE ACTION:

The following recommendation is provided as a guideline for authorized
Sun Services Field Representatives who may encounter the above
mentioned problem.

Upgrade Sun Fire 3800/4800/4810/6800 systems with the following patches 
at the earliest opportunity.  

    1. Firmware:
    
       112127 Hardware/PROM: Sun Fire 6800/4810/4800/3800 Systems 
                 flashprom update (5.12.7)
       OR
       
       112494 Hardware/PROM: Sun Fire 6800/4810/4800/3800 Systems 
                   Firmware Update (5.13.4)
                   
       OR
       
       112883 Hardware/PROM: Sun Fire 6800/4810/4800/3800 Systems 
                 Firmware Update (5.14.0)
		 
    2. Kernel Patch:
    
       108528 SunOS 5.8: kernel update patch
    
       OR
       
       112233 SunOS 5.9: Kernel Patch
		 
    3. SunVTS Support:
    
       113689 SunVTS 5.1 patch
    
       NOTE: SunVTS 5.1 is supported on Solaris 9 and Solaris 8 2/02 and later.
       
Use the following customer list as help in identifying customer systems:

   http://sdpsweb.central/FIN_FCO/FIN/FINI0909-1_dir/customerlist.sxc

   NOTE: Save the StarOffice file to local disk using File -> Save As
-> Text
         from the Netscape browser menu.  Open the local spreadsheet file using

         StarOffice.
     
Also, please use this Customer Letter, required with all Mandatory FIN
implementations, to communicate this issue to your customers.

   http://sdpsweb.central/FIN_FCO/FIN/FINI0909-1_dir/customerletter.sdw 

Please reference the Sun Fire 3800/4800/4810/6800 Firmware Update Matrix 
for details on the latest firmware versions for this product line:

  
http://pts-americas.west//esg/msg/techinfo/platform/sun_fire/firmware-matrix/
 

COMMENTS:

None

============================================================================

Implementation Footnote:

i)   In case of MANDATORY FINs, Sun Services will attempt to contact    
     all affected customers to recommend implementation of the FIN. 
   
ii)  For CONTROLLED PROACTIVE FINs, Sun Services mission critical    
     support teams will recommend implementation of the FIN  (to their  
     respective accounts), at the convenience of the customer. 

iii) For REACTIVE FINs, Sun Services will implement the FIN as the   
     need arises.
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