Sun Fire[TM] V1280/E2900/Netra[TM] 1280/1290 Server: Incorrect Firmware Upgrade Procedure Can Lead to Incompatible Firmware on System Boards

Asset ID:	1-72-1005021.1
Update Date:	2017-10-11
Keywords:

Solution Type Problem Resolution Sure

Solution 1005021.1 : Sun Fire[TM] V1280/E2900/Netra[TM] 1280/1290 Server: Incorrect Firmware Upgrade Procedure Can Lead to Incompatible Firmware on System Boards

Applies to:

Sun Fire E2900 Server - Version Not Applicable and later
Sun Netra 1280 Server - Version Not Applicable and later
Sun Netra 1290 Server - Version Not Applicable and later
Sun Fire V1280 Server - Version Not Applicable and later
All Platforms

Symptoms

There are specific procedures to follow when upgrading a Sun Fire[TM] 1280/E2900/Netra[TM] 1280/1290 from 5.13.00xx firmware to 5.17.0 or higher firmware. Failure to use the correct procedures may lead to the following error messages (on a fully populated platform) and could prevent the boards from being usable in the domain until this is corrected:

WARNING: Incompatible firmware detected. Please use flashupdate to update the firmware on the board /N0/SB0
WARNING: Incompatible firmware detected. Please use flashupdate to update the firmware on the board /N0/SB2
WARNING: Incompatible firmware detected. Please use flashupdate to update the firmware on the board /N0/SB4
WARNING: Incompatible firmware detected. Please use flashupdate to update the firmware on the board /N0/IB6

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Changes

Cause

The errors above are the result of doing the firmware upgrade procedure incorrectly when going from 5.13.x to 5.17.x or higher. They will result from attempting a single stepped flashupdate procedure shown below:

   lom> flashupdate -f <URL> all

Solution

To prevent the errors and problems as a result of them, ensure that you use the two step procedure when upgrading the platform firmware. The correct procedure is outlined in the Sun Fire Entry-Level Midrange System Administration Guide that is included with the 5.17.x or higher firmware (in the patch directory once uncompressed):

lom> flashupdate -f <URL> rtos scapp
lom> poweron all
lom> flashupdate -f <URL> systemboards

To RECOVER from this situation, downgrade the firmware to 5.13.x and then upgrade to 5.17.x or higher using the steps documented in Chapter 11 "Firmware Update Procedures" in the Sun Fire Entry-Level Midrange System Administration Guide which is included with the firmware patch.

Relief/Workaround

If the SCs are currently showing 5.17.x or higher and the boards in the platform are showing this firmware incompatibility error, it is possible to resolve the problems by simply flashing the SBs and I/O Boards again, this time using the correct "lw8xxx.flash" image file. To do this, you would do the following:

   lom> flashupdate -f <URL> systemboards

Since the SC is at 5.17.x or higher, it would use the lw8cpu.flash and lw8pci.flash image files to re-flash these boards and they will now be compatible and available for use on this platform.

Ultimately, this whole problem is avoidable by reading and following the directions included in the firmware patch. But, if you do encounter this issue in the field, it is completely recoverable.

Refereces

The following documents may be used in case of issues within the same argoument:

SunFire[TM] V1280, E2900 and Netra[TM] 1280, 1290: Lights Out Management (LOM) packages are missing (Doc ID 1004868.1)
Troubleshooting Sun Fire[TM] V1280/E2900 and Netra[TM] 1280/1290 Server Firmware upgrade fails when using lom -G (Doc ID 1005458.1)
Firmware Download and update procedure for Sun Fire[TM] v1280, 3800, 4800, 4810, 6800, E2900, E4900, E6900, and Netra 1280, 1290 systems. (Doc ID 1006281.1)
Sun Fire[TM] v1280/E2900 and Netra[TM] 1280/1290 server: How to flash firmware with lom -G [Video] (Doc ID 1003856.1)

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