Sun SPARC Enterprise M8000 Server
 
Sun SPARC Enterprise M4000 Server
 
Sun SPARC Enterprise M3000 Server
 
Sun SPARC Enterprise M9000-32 Server
 
Sun SPARC Enterprise M9000-64 Server
 
Sun SPARC Enterprise M5000 Server
 

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An attempt to update the XCP firmware may result in an error message  "This XSCF flash memory bank was switched by the XSCF board due to a previously encountered error condition".
This is due to the XSCF suffering a Watchdog Timeout event at some point in the past. Although further investigation is required this issue can sometimes be resolved without the need
for any hardware replacement.

In this Document

Symptoms

Changes

Cause

Solution

References

Created from <SR 3-10004249641>

Applies to:

Symptoms

The flashupdate command fails with the following message:

 This situation is usually accompanied by an MBU or XSCF component being marked degraded in showstatus.

Changes

Cause

Error message 

indicates that  a previous error, generally a watchdog timeout, on the XSCF  is preventing the firmware being updated.
The underlying hardware component marked degraded in showstatus will vary depending on the platform:

• M3000 the XSCF is located within the motherboard unit so MBU_A will be the degraded component
• M4000 and M5000 the XSCFU will be the degraded component
• M8000 and M9000 the XSCFU_B#0 or XSCFU_B#1  will be the degraded component

Solution

Further investigation by Oracle is required to determine the nature of the previous error and establish the  correct action plan.

An XSCF snapshot should be collected and an SR raised to allow this investigation. See Oracle Doc ID: 1008229.1  for instruction
on collecting an XSCF snapshot.

If the cause of the watchdog timeout can be addressed by software (i.e. a later version of XCP  than was on the XSCF at the time the
error occurred) or a environment configuration change then Oracle may advise that the status of the MBU_A or XSCFU  should  be cleared via
servicemode. Otherwise the XSCF may need to be repalced before the flashupdate can proceed.  The remainder of this document
explains the process for clearing the status.

Depending on the XCP version, this may require an Oracle Engineer connects to the XSCF to clear this fault. This can be performed
remotely via WebEx or Oracle Shared Shell without the need for an Oracle engineer to visit site.  See Oracle Doc ID: 1194226.1 for
more details on Oracle Shared Shell. See Oracle Doc ID: 1007101.1 for more details of the fault clearing process.
As of XCP 1116  clearfault command can be executed without needing to enter servicemode.
The clearfault command should still only be used at the direction of Oracle Support engineers

Be aware that, regardless of the XCP version, the fault will not be cleared until the next power cycle of the XSCF. Further details of
the  implications this has on the different platforms is below, however the status can be cleared at any time prior to the XSCF power cycle.
Consider scheduling the clearing of the fault in servicemode when you are available to partake in the remote session with an Oracle engineer
and schedule the domain outage and power cycle to a later time or date if necessary.

On M3000, M4000 and M5000 platforms

the XSCF is always powered on when the platform has power. Therefore to power cycle the XSCF
the entire platform needs to be power cycled. All domains on the platform must be shutdown. Remove all the power-cords from the platform
and then wait  for  60 seconds before re-inserting the power-cords.  Alternatively achieve the same result by turning the relevant power breakers
off/on, with a 60 second pause.

On M8000 and M9000 platforms

the XSCFU_B can be power-cycled by performing a dummy-replacement of the XSCF, i.e. use the replacefru
command to prepare the XSCF for replacement and then partially remove the XSCF from the platform and re-insert the XSCF.
The XSCF  should only be removed by an Oracle Field Engineer so this procedure would require an engineer visit.

Once the XSCF has been power cycled and the status  cleared the XCP  flashupdate process should be able to proceed.

References

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