InfoDoc ID   Synopsis   Date
42861   Q & A about Dynamic Reconfiguration (DR) on Sun Fire 3800 - 6800   5 Feb 2002

Status Issued

Description

Q.) When is DR available?

    A.) 02/04/02 in revenue release. (english-only)      

Q.) Is DR available globally?

    A.) DR will be available globally on 03/04/02.      

Q.) What is the cost of DR?

A.) DR is a feature of Solaris 8 (02/02), so there is no charge.

Q.) What are the interface choices for DR?

    A.) There are two interface choices: Command line interface and graphical user 
        interface through Sun Management Center 3.0 Update 4.      

Q.) Is DR supported with Sun Cluster 3.x?

    A.) It will be available in Q3FY02
      

Q.) Are there any device drivers that do not support DR?

    A.) Yes, the HSI and the SAI drivers can not support DR. If you install these 
    two device drivers in your system you will be unable to perform any DR 
    operations in the system.      

Q.) Is IPMP (IP MultiPathing) supported with DR?

    A.) Yes, IPMP combines multiple physical network interfaces to one logical 
    interface allowing load balancing and failover capabilities between the physical 
    interfaces.      

Q.) Is Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager supported with DR?

    A.) Yes, Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager provides load balancing and failover 
    functionality between multiple host bus connections to the same storage device.      

Q.) Is RCM (Reconfiguration Coordination Manager) supported with DR?

A.) Yes, RCM provides a framework allowing software applications to interact with DR operations.

Q.) Will Oracle support DR?

    A.) Yes, the combination of Solaris 8 and Oracle9i supports DR. On Solaris 8, 
    dynamic/pageable ISM (DISM) is available.  This enables Oracle9i to share virtual 
    memory resources among processes sharing the segment, and at the same time enables 
    memory paging. The operating system does not have to lock down physical memory for 
    the entire shared memory segment.      

Q.) Are any ISV's working with Sun to deliver ADR functionality?

    A.) Yes, currently we are working with software vendors on an agreement for ADR 
    support for the SF 3800-15000 product lines.      

Q.) How do I DR an I/O Assembly?

     A.) In order to guarantee the health of all I/O components introduced into the 
     system, a CPU/Memory board, and a free domain is required on the system to attach 
     (or reattach) a cPCI/PCI I/O assembly. After the I/O assembly is tested, the board 
     can be moved into the desired active domain.      

Q.) What do I need to do to upgrade existing customers to support DR?

    A.) All existing customers will need to upgrade their OS to Solaris 8 (02/02). 
    They will also need the latest firmware (5.12.6), and will need to ensure that all 
    device drivers support DR functionality. In addition, Sun Fire 3800 customers who 
    wish to use hot swap/dynamic reconfiguration with cPCI host adapter cards may need to 
    update their cPCI I/O Assembly to F540-4591-03. If a Sun Fire 3800 customer has any 
    assembly other than the F540-4591-03 or later, they will be able to perform all DR 
    functions on CPU/Memory boards and I/O assemblies except hot swapping the cPCI host 
    adapter cards.      

Q.) How can I identify which cPCI assembly is installed in my SF 3800?

    A.) There are two ways: If the system has firmware level 5.12.6 installed, the 
    system controller prints out warning messages to the console when a F540-4591-02 
    cPCI assembly is in the system. If firmware level 5.12.6 is not installed, the 
    assembly may be visually inspected to determine the revision level. New assemblies 
    (-03) have "Loosen screws before unlatching" printed on the two ejector handles.      

Q.) How can I get the newer F540-4591-03 cPCI I/O Assemblies?

    A.) Please contact your local service representative to schedule receipt of the 
    new cPCI I/O Assembly in advance of your system upgrade.      

Q.) What are the requirements for DR?

A.) Sun Fire 3800-6800 DR Requirements:

	Solaris 8 OS (02/02)
	Firmware (5.12.6)
	Sun Management Center 3.0 Update 4 provided with Solaris OS Release 02/02
	All installed device drivers must support DR.      

For additional information, please visit:

http://www.sun.com/servers/midrange/dr_sunfire.html

INTERNAL SUMMARY:

This Q&A information came from the announcement for Serengeti DR from ESP product marketing

SUBMITTER: Bill Shearer APPLIES TO: Hardware, Operating Systems/Solaris/Solaris 8, Hardware/Sun Fire , Hardware/Sun Fire /3800, Hardware/Sun Fire /4800, Hardware/Sun Fire /4810, Hardware/Sun Fire /6800 ATTACHMENTS:


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