Asset ID:	1-73-1000095.1
Update Date:	2014-12-30
Keywords:

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Solution Type  FAB (standard) Sure

Solution  1000095.1 :   Sun Fire X4100 and X4200 may encounter Unscheduled System Reboots due to Double-Bit Uncorrectable Memory errors.  


PreviouslyPublishedAs
200113

***Checked for relevance on 05-Jul-2012***

Bug Id
<BUG: 15303210>

Part

• Part No: 540-6497
• Part Description: 2GB ECC Registered DIMM Module

Impact

A small proportion of X4100 and X4200 systems have been experiencing unscheduled reboots.

Contributing Factors

The reboot could happen anytime there is heavy traffic between the CPU and DIMMs.

Symptoms

The BIOS Event Log (DMI) will show "Sync flood error" just prior to the reboot. The System event log (SEL) of the ilom if interrogated with ipmitool (available on Resource cd) will show messages similar to these:

e00 | 03/21/2006 | 04:58:39 | OEM #0xfb | f00 | 03/21/2006 | 04:58:49 | Memory | Memory Device Disabled | CPU 0 DIMM 0
1000 | 03/21/2006 | 04:58:55 | System Firmware Progress | Motherboard initialization

 

Root Cause

DDR1 memory on these platforms may have an issue dealing with going in or out of the PowerDown mode and trigger uncorrectable ECC errors that cause system reboots. BIOS 034 and earlier enables the PowerDown mode (self-refresh/low-power mode) on the DIMMs with the wrong topology setting for these systems.

Workaround
No workaround available - see Resolution section below

Resolution
Upgrade to BIOS 036 or later. Statistically, BIOS 036 reduces the probability of an unscheduled reboot with certain registered DIMMs and increases stability. BIOS 036 will disable the PowerDown mode per AMD's recommendation.

For BIOS 036 go to the MyOracle Support portal:

https://support.oracle.com

Select the Patches & Updates tab - Enter the following patch #

13848920 X4100 SW 1.5.4 - ILOM AND BIOS (Latest Patch)

Please note if you are upgrading your platform to the above patch there is a sequence to the ILOM & BIOS patch updates :

SW1.0 ==> SW1.1 ==> SW1.2 or SW1.2.1 --> SW1.3 --> SW1.4 --> SW1.5 --> SW 1.5.1 --> SW 1.5.2 --> SW 1.5.4

Key:
==> has to pre-flash and flash upgrade in that order
--> no pre-flash needed

Note - Upgrading from software release 1.0 to 1.1 and from 1.1 to 1.2 are mandatory. Any subsequent upgrades can skip a release, including directly to the latest release.

Comments

It is recommended that if a field engineer is doing a motherboard replacement or other FRU replacement, BIOS 036 or later should be loaded.
Upgrading to BIOS 036 or later should be the first step in resolving memory related issues.

Customers should be advised to upgrade their LSI firmware/MPT BIOS firmware if moving to BIOS 036.

Oracle supplied vendor DIMMs meet all of the JEDEC specs and are not faulty in their own right.

Refer to Product Notes 1.2.1 (819-1162-21) and Release Note Supplement 1.2.1 (819-4344-10) for further information.

Search the MOS Knowledge Portal for document : 1351568.1 for the current issues on this platform.

Previously Published As: 102619

Internal Escalation ID: 1-14109922, 1-13950402, 1-15145059, 1-15344836, 1-15612351, 1-15844911, 1-16558422, 1-17641524

Internal Contributor/submitter: frederick.jones@oracle.com
Internal Eng Business Unit Group: NSG (Network Systems Group)
Internal Eng Responsible Engineer: derek.tsai@oracle.com
Responsible Manager: beth.beasley@oracle.com
Internal Services Knowledge Engineer: Joe.Davis@Oracle.COM

Internal Kasp FAB Legacy ID: 102619

Internal Sun Alert & FAB Admin Info
Critical Category:
Significant Change Date:
Avoidance: Upgrade

Product_uuid
54e2ac49-df71-11d9-89e6-080020a9ed93|Sun Fire X4100 Server
c6e795ef-df6f-11d9-89e6-080020a9ed93|Sun Fire X4200 Server

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