Sun Storage T3/T3+ PCU Battery Fails With "SHELF LIFE EXPIRED" Error

Asset ID:	1-72-1004908.1
Update Date:	2015-12-01
Keywords:

Solution Type Problem Resolution Sure

Solution 1004908.1 : Sun Storage T3/T3+ PCU Battery Fails With "SHELF LIFE EXPIRED" Error

Applies to:

Sun Storage T3 Array - Version Not Applicable to Not Applicable [Release N/A]
Sun Storage T3+ Array - Version Not Applicable to Not Applicable [Release N/A]
All Platforms
Checked for relevance on 27-AUG-2013.

Symptoms

A Sun Storage T3/T3+ PCU (Power Cooling Unit) battery has been failed, as reported by "fru stat"

POWER STATUS STATE SOURCE OUTPUT BATTERY TEMP FAN1 FAN2

------ ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ----- ----- -----

u1pcu1 ready enabled line normal fault normal normal normal

Running the 'refresh -s' command reports a "SHELF LIFE EXPIRED" error for that PCU.

                 PCU1               PCU2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
U1              SHELF LIFE EXPIRED    Normal
U2              Normal               Normal

The array's "syslog" file also has repeated warnings for the PCU as below

BTSD[1]: W: u1pcu1: Replace battery, battery has been on the shelf for more than two years.

Cause

"SHELF LIFE EXPIRED" should normally only be seen when a replacement PCU is inserted into an array that has been "on the shelf" (unused) for too long.If a PCU has been unused for over 2 years since its manufacture then on insertion into an array it will flag this as a "SHELF LIFE EXPIRED" error and should be replaced again with an alternative replacement PCU.

The cause for above symptoms can be any of the the following

I) There is a known bug for T3+ arrays, which means that if NTP is enabled on a T3+ array it is possible for a PCU's "Battery Warranty Date" to be cleared. This can lead to incorrect "SHELF LIFE EXPIRED" errors being reported. If this is the case, there will be a entry in the T3 "syslog" immediately prior to the first warning, e.g.

BTSD[1]: N: u1pcu1: Warranty date was cleared.
BTSD[1]: W: u1pcu1: Replace battery, battery has been on the shelf for more
than two years.

II)Due to a another known bug any "SHELF LIFE EXPIRED" error will not be cleared automatically when it should, unless the T3+ array is on firmware greater than or equal to 2.1.5.

Solution

To resolve the issue service intervention is needed.

Please contact Oracle Support.

The resolution for Cause I) and II) explained below.

Resolution steps for Cause I)

To correct this, use the ".id write" command to write the original "Battery Warranty Date" back to the PCU :

.id write bwdate uXpcuY YYYYMMddhhmmss

Where YYYYMMddhhmmss is the "Battery Warranty Date" date/time in the format : year-month-day-hour-minute-second

There is no way to determine what the original "Battery Warranty Date" was once the bug has occurred - if it has not been recorded elsewhere, it will need to be estimated (it will be the date that PCU or its battery was last replaced, or if it has never been replaced, the date the array was first powered on).

To prevent a re-occurrence, disable the use of NTP on the array via the command

ntp poll off

The bug "4948319" will not be fixed in any version of the T3+ 2.X array firmware. The fix is to upgrade to a version of the T3+ 3.x array firmware, which has different battery management code.

For more details, reference SUN BUG -> 4948319 T3B spurious "Warranty date was cleared" events seen when NTP is enabled

Resolution steps for Cause II)

Due to bug (ID 4733406) any "SHELF LIFE EXPIRED" error will not be cleared automatically when it should, unless the T3+ array is on firmware greater than or equal to 2.1.5. If the array is on a lower level of firmware, then next, to actually clear the error message, re-write the existing "Battery Install Week" field back to the same PCU. It can be determine by the command :

.id read uXpcuX

and is a field 8 digits long, in the format wwwwYYYY. To re-write this same field back to the PCU, use the command :

.id write bweek uXpcuX wwwwYYYY

For more details, reference SUN BUG -> 4733406 T3 battery errors with "SHELF LIFE EXPIRED" even after PCU replacement

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