Description

Due to a rare race condition, upgrading to Sun System Firmware 9.3.0.f. may cause the following issues for SPARC M5-32/M6-32 Physical Domain (PDoms):

1. PDoms that are running will become unresponsive immediately after the upgrade.
2. PDoms that are not powered up at the time of the upgrade will not be able to power up, stalling at 'Step 6 of 9'.

If the race condition triggers this issue, then the system will hang and require a power cycle to resolve the issue.

Note: The risk of experiencing this issue is a one off event triggered by the upgrade to 9.3.0.f. If a system survives the upgrade without this issue occuring, then it is safe from this issue going forward. 

Occurrence

This issue can occur on the following platforms:

SPARC Platform:

• SPARC M5-32/M6-32 with Sun System Firmware version 9.3.0.f (as delivered in patch 20229461)

To determine the firmware version on the system, execute the following ILOM command from the active SP:

    -> show /System system_fw_version
        /System
            Properties:
                system_fw_version = Sun System Firmware 9.3.0.f 2015/01/13 20:12

Note: x86 systems and all other SPARC servers are not impacted by this issue. 

Symptoms

If the described issue occurs, the PDom may experience one of the following after the completion of a successful upgrade:

1. If the PDom is powered on and running prior to the upgrade it may become unresponsive.

2. If the PDom is not powered on, the first attempt to start the PDom may stall after step 6 and result in random characters being printed on the console similar to the example below:

    -> start /HOST
    ...
    2015-05-17 09:38:39     SP> NOTICE:  Start Host in progress: Step 6 of 9
    2015-05-17 09:38:39  0:0:0> NOTICE:  Scalability links trained
    2015-05-17 09:38:39  8:0:0> NOTICE:  Scalability links trained

    UUnnUUUeenUUUnUUnxenUnUexnnenUpeUnxnexpeexenexnepecxpxepexxpeexxepepxtecppcxpe
    ceepecpctetpeceetdeteccteccUe cedtteUtdcnUtncte tdTtdeedenUUeUUetedeTx reTded nndxed drpTadTr nx TnUUUe TepTrepT anerp raUd
    enxUUTnUrxneraxepcTeTrxa:TanpappcxTrar:teppnneraceppp:ep rpte:prUapea eeeUUnt

Workaround

This issue is addressed on the following platforms:

SPARC Platform:

• SPARC M5-32/M6-32 with Sun System Firmware version 9.4.2.e (as delivered in patch 21342656) or later

Patches

<Patch:21342656>

History

21-Jul-2015: Document released, status Resolved

Questions regarding this document should be addressed to
sunalertpublication_us-grp@oracle.com and copy the
internal contributor/responsible engineer listed below.

Internal Contributor/Submitter: madhumita.kedlaya@oracle.com
Internal Eng Responsible Engineer: shankar.venkoba.rao@oracle.com
Oracle Knowledge Analyst: jeff.folla@oracle.com
Internal Eng Business Unit Group: Systems RPE
Internal Associated SRs: 3-10756310191, 3-10684043714, 3-10692423591
Internal Resolution Patches: 9.3.0.f

References

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