Exalytics Server Unexpectedly Shuts Down After Applying Patchset (PS) PS5 Firmware Update (Patch 18391569)

Asset ID:	1-72-1990982.1
Update Date:	2015-05-15
Keywords:

Solution Type Problem Resolution Sure

Solution 1990982.1 : Exalytics Server Unexpectedly Shuts Down After Applying Patchset (PS) PS5 Firmware Update (Patch 18391569) - No BIOS Changes Made on Server

Applies to:

Oracle Exalytics Software - Version 1.0.0.0.0 to 1.0.0.5.0 [Release 1.0]
Exalytics In-Memory Machine X3-4 - Version All Versions and later
Information in this document applies to any platform.

Symptoms

As part of the Exalytics PatchSet 5 Upgrade process there is a step to upgrade the ILOM Firmware. This is done via <Patch 18391569> Sun Server X2-4 SW 1.4.2 Firmware.

The patch readme states that the patch includes:

Oracle ILOM: 3.1.2.24.d_r86253
BIOS: 16.04.02.00
CPLD: 17
Pc-Check: 6.30s

Immediately after the firmware update completed, the ILOM disconnected and the host shut down and had to be manually rebooted. Once the server was back up, the ILOM version shows expected version in the console, (3.1.2.24.d), but the BIOS version remains unchanged.
The option to delay the BIOS update was not checked during the upgrade process and behavior is unexpected.

Cause

In this case, the patch readme is misleading. A BIOS update is not part of the 3.1.2.24 b or 3.1.2.24d patch. There are firmware updates included, but the BIOS remains unchanged. ILOM and server reboots are expected as part of firmware updates. This is described in "Update the Server SP or CMM Firmware Image" in the Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) 3.1 Documentation Collection.

Internal, unpublished documentation bugs against the ILOM Users Guide and the Exalytics Installation Guide were filed to help clarify this behavior:

<Bug 20565163> Host shutdown even BIOS was not updated during ILOM firwmare upgrade

<Bug 20671945> - ADDITIONAL NOTE IN UPGRADE FIRMWARE

Solution

During the Firmware upgrade process, you will see the following options in the ILOM firmware update page:

Preserve Configuration
Delay BIOS Upgrade

If you select the option, to "Delay BIOS Upgrade" the server will not be rebooted automatically.

If this option, is not checked, the server will automatically reboot.

This will happen irrespective of whether the patch includes a BIOS update.

NOTE: The server will do an automatic reboot and this can take some time. Time delays of up to 10 minutes have been observed on Exalytics bare metal machines.

References

<BUG:20671945> - ADDITIONAL NOTE IN UPGRADE FIRMWARE
<BUG:20565163> - HOST SHUTDOWN EVEN BIOS WAS NOT UPDATED DURING ILOM FIRWMARE UPGRADE

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