Resolving The Problem

Source

RETAIN tip: H207695

Symptom

The Integrated Management Module (IMM) web browser window appears to be hung or times out due to a loss of communication with the IMM. Connecting to the IMM fails or the connection appears to drop for several seconds. An IMM remote console window reports a connection failure and closes.

This will occur under the following conditions:

• The IMM has been configured with the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) F1 Setup menu to use the "SHARED" Ethernet port (not the "DEDICATED" System Management port).
  
• Communication with the IMM is through the shared on-board Broadcom Ethernet Single-Port. The on-board Broadcom Ethernet Dual-Port is not shared.
  
• The server is going through Power On Self Test (POST) or is starting into an operating system.

The issue also can occur if the user manually performs any action that disrupts the Ethernet controller, port, or software (for example: the user issues an Ethernet port reset command in the operating system, disconnects the cable, etc.).

Affected Configurations

The system can be any of the following IBM servers:

• IBM Systems Solution for SAP HANA Appliance, type 7143, any model
• System x3690 X5, type 7147, any model
  
• System x3690 X5, type 7148, any model
  
• System x3690 X5, type 7149, any model
  
• System x3690 X5, type 7192, any model
  
• System x3850 X5, type 7143, any model
  
• System x3850 X5, type 7145, any model
  
• System x3850 X5, type 7146, any model
  
• System x3850 X5, type 7191, any model
  
• System x3950 X5, type 7143, any model
  
• System x3950 X5, type 7145, any model

This tip is not software specific.

This tip is not option specific.

The IMM remote console utility is affected.

Workaround

Perform one of the following three methods to recover:

1. If using the IMM remote console, reopen the remote console window.
2. If connecting to the IMM using a web browser or other application, either wait for the connection to re-establish or close and re-open the application.
3. In the UEFI F1 Setup menu, set the IMM network configuration to dedicated and connect to the IMM through the on-board System Management port next to the Broadcom Ethernet ports.

Additional Information

The described issue does not occur once the operating system is up and running or when there are no reported issues with the user's network.

During POST and operating system start up, the on-board Broadcom Ethernet port can reset or re-initialize a number of times when Broadcom firmware or UEFI or operating system device drivers are loaded, including when starting F2 Dynamic System Analysis (DSA) Preboot. Such resets or re-initializations will cause the connection to the IMM to become disconnected temporarily.

Certain operating system components and commands, such as 'netsched' or "service network restart," also can cause the shared Ethernet port to reset, resulting in a temporary IMM connection loss.

Once the operating system has completed loading all device drivers or adapter and port routines, the connection remains stable barring any external influences to the network itself.

Product Engineering (PE) recommends that users choose the dedicated System Management port because it is not subject to resets caused by cold or warm restarts, device driver and firmware loading, or software.

This is a permanent limitation of the shared IMM or Broadcom interface.