Description

SPARC T7/S7/M7 and T8/M8 Servers with System Firmware 9.8.5.a or 9.8.5.b installed may experience an unexpected HOST outage or silent data corruption.

Note: Firmware versions 9.8.5.a and 9.8.5.b have been WITHDRAWN and are no longer available for download.

Occurrence

This issue can occur on the following platforms:

SPARC Platform

• SPARC T7-1/T7-2/T7-4 Servers with Firmware version 9.8.5.a
• SPARC S7-2/S7-2L Servers with Firmware version 9.8.5.a
• SPARC Netra S7-2 with Firmware version 9.8.5.a
• SPARC M7-8/M7-16 Servers with Firmware version 9.8.5.a or 9.8.5.b
• SPARC T8-1/T8-2/T8-4 Servers with Firmware version 9.8.5.a or 9.8.5.b
• SPARC M8-8/M8-16 Servers with Firmware version 9.8.5.a or 9.8.5.b

To determine the firmware version installed on the system, use the following ILOM command:

    -> show /HOST sysfw_version

      /HOST
      Properties:
      sysfw_version = Sun System Firmware 9.8.5.a 2018/03/29 18:19
 

Symptoms

If the described issue occurs, T7/S7/M7/T8 and M8 Servers may expose the HOST to unexpected outage when the Hypervisor (HV) aborts.
The potential for silent data corruption also exists. Oracle encourages all customers to take immediate action to eliminate
these risks.

A Hypervisor (HV) abort has occurred when an event log message similar to the following appears:

    -> show /SP/logs/event/list
    ...
    11268 Mon Apr 30 21:36:19 2018 System Log minor
    Host: Error Standby
    11267 Mon Apr 30 21:36:17 2018 System Log major
    HV Abort: PC = 0xba43424
    ...

Workaround

System firmware upgrade is the preferred resolution. Downgrading the system firmware is a workaround that should only be used if an upgrade is not possible. Check the appropriate server Administration Guides for details about "Updating the Firmware" in the "Managing the Platform" chapter. Downgrading system firmware is performed using the same steps as a system firmware upgrade.

Links to available Firmware are provided on the following Oracle Technology Network web page:

• http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/systems/patches/firmware/release-history-jsp-138416.html

Note: If a System Firmware upgrade is not possible, Oracle encourages downgrading the firmware to the most recent prior available version (as listed below). These versions include critical security fixes.

Firmware Version 9.8.4.b

• SPARC T7-4
• SPARC M7-8/M7-16
• SPARC S7-2/S7-2L/Netra S7-2
• SPARC T8-2/T8-4
• SPARC M8-8

Firmware Version 9.8.4.c

• SPARC T7-1
• SPARC T8-1

Firmware Version 9.8.4.d

• SPARC T7-2

Note: The HOST *must* be stopped (powered off) and restarted in order for the downgraded firmware to be deployed to the HOST hardware. All HOSTs on multi-domain servers must be stopped and restarted. HOST is synonymous with the term PDomain.

Resolution

This issue is addressed on the following platforms:

SPARC Platform

• SPARC T7/S7/M7/T8 and M8 Servers with Firmware version 9.8.5.c or later

Links to available 9.8.5.c patches for each of the servers are provided on the following Oracle Technology Network web page:

• http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/systems/patches/firmware/release-history-jsp-138416.html

History

03-May-2018: Document released, status Workaround
15-May-2018: Updated Resolution, issue is now resolved.

Internal Section: Comments:

Questions regarding this document should be addressed to
sunalertpublication_us_grp@oracle.com and copy the
submitter/responsible engineer listed below.

Internal Contributor/Submitter: david.lafko@oracle.com
Internal Eng Responsible Engineer: david.finberg@oracle.com
Oracle Knowledge Analyst: jeff.folla@oracle.com
Internal Eng Business Unit Group: Systems Server OS
Internal Associated SR IDs:
Internal Pending Patches:
Internal Resolution Patches:

References

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