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Troubleshooting
Problem
Corrected memory error events can be logged in the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 System Event Log as Microsoft Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA) Warning Event ID 47, or in Linux Machine Check Event (MCE) logs. There might be no related Predictive Failure Analysis (PFA) events in the Integrated Management Module (IMM) log, or Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) logs.
Resolving The Problem
Source
RETAIN tip: H202674
Symptom
Corrected memory error events can be logged in the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 System Event Log as Microsoft Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA) Warning Event ID 47, or in Linux Machine Check Event (MCE) logs.
There might be no related Predictive Failure Analysis (PFA) events in the Integrated Management Module (IMM) log, or Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) logs.
Affected Configurations
The system can be any of the following IBM servers:
- System x3400 M2, type 7836, any model
- System x3400 M2, type 7837, any model
- System x3400 M3, type 7378, any model
- System x3400 M3, type 7379, any model
- System x3500 M2, type 7839, any model
- System x3500 M3, type 7380, any model
- System x3550 M2, type 4198, any model
- System x3550 M2, type 7946, any model
- System x3550 M3, type 4254, any model
- System x3550 M3, type 7944, any model
- System x3620 M3, type 7376, any model
- System x3630 M3, type 7377, any model
- System x3650 M2, type 4199, any model
- System x3650 M2, type 7947, any model
- System x3650 M3, type 4255, any model
- System x3650 M3, type 7945, any model
- System x3690 X5, type 7148, any model
- System x3690 X5, type 7149, any model
- System x3850 X5, type 7145, any model
- System x3850 X5, type 7146, any model
- System x3950 X5, type 7145, any model
- iDataPlex dx360 M2 Server, type 6380, any model
- iDataPlex dx360 M2 Server, type 7321, any model
- iDataPlex dx360 M2 Server, type 7323, any model
- iDataPlex dx360 M3 Server, type 6391, any model
The system is configured with at least one of the following operating systems:
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter, any Service Pack
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, any Service Pack
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard, any Service Pack
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, any update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, any update
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10, any Service Pack
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, any Service Pack
This tip is not option specific.
The following system BIOS/UEFI levels are affected:
- Build ID: G0E140A and earlier levels
The system has the symptom described above.
Note: This does not imply that the network operating system will work under all combinations of hardware and software.
Please see the compatibility page for more information: http://www.ibm.com/systems/info/x86servers/serverproven/compat/us/
Solution
The fix is available in all Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) firmware releases since June, 2011.
The file is available by selecting the appropriate Product name, Product machine type, and Operating system on IBM Support's Fix Central web page, at the following URL:
For Linux distributions, the referenced UEFI fix works in conjunction with the 'mce=bios_cmci_threshold' option, available in Linux kernel version 3.7.
Check with your Linux vendor for the availability of this option.
Workaround
IBM Client Support personnel can refer to the IBM internal document RETAIN Tip H202601 (MIGR-5087275) for additional information.
Additional Information
Single bit memory errors are detected and automatically corrected by Error Correction Circuits (ECC) computer memory technology, with no impact on performance. IBM's UEFI tracks corrected memory errors and logs an event to the IMM if too many errors occur. The events are based on an platform-specific algorithm that is optimized for performance, reliability, and availability.
An advanced corrected error alerting architecture was introduced in Intel Nehalem processors that allows operating systems to enable the processor to alert them for corrected memory occurrences using Intel's Machine Check Architecture. Newer releases of operating systems, like Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, can enable these alerts.
If the Corrected Machine Check Interrupt (CMCI) alerts have been enabled by the operating system, and the CMCI threshold has been left at the default setting of '1,' then the operating system attempts to respond to and log every corrected error event. This can impact the operating system performance. Also, because the operating system is not aware of the platform-specific configuration, it might not be able to identify the specific, affected memory Dual In-Line Memory Module (DIMM).
The UEFI released in June, 2011, sets the operating system CMCI threshold during Power On Self Test (POST), to a value that insures that the optimized logging of any affected DIMM issue by the UEFI will take precedence over that of the operating system.
However, Linux kernels that enable CMCI logging will overwrite the UEFI CMCI threshold to a default value of '1' when the operating system starts. Windows Server honors the UEFI CMCI threshold setting and does not overwrite the UEFI setting.
Beginning with Linux kernel v3.7, a new MCE option is available that honors the UEFI CMCI threshold. To enable Linux to use UEFI-set thresholds, the kernel should be passed the 'mce=bios_cmci_threshold' option. This usually is done by adding this option in the start loader configuration (usually: '/start/GRUB/menu.lst').
Document Location
Worldwide
Applicable countries and regions
- Worldwide
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Document Information
More support for:
System x->System x iDataPlex dx360 M2 server->7323
Operating system(s):
Caldera, SurePOS, Windows
Document number:
858516
Modified date:
30 January 2019
UID
ibm1MIGR-5087324
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