MM1050_101 / FW1050.50 Release Notes

Fix Readme

Abstract

This document provides information about the installation of Licensed Machine or Licensed Internal Code, which is sometimes referred to generically as microcode or firmware.

This package provides firmware for IBM Power System E1050 (9043-MRX) server only.

Release notes for MM1050_101 / FW1050.50.

Read the following important information prior to installing this Service Pack.

If you have already installed 1050.50 and have (or plan to have) adapters configured in SR-IOV shared mode, update to the new 1050.51 level either concurrently or disruptively to prevent potential system incomplete states from the management console.
1050.50 is archived because of install problems hit at some customer sites.

Note: For Power10 systems with SR-IOV Shared Mode configurations, please read this notification prior to updating Server Firmware to this level:
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7243145

Service Pack Summary: This is a Concurrent Service Pack.

FW1050.10 implements a new Update Access Key (UAK) Policy. See description at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7131459

When installing the FW1030 (or later) firmware to a system that previously was at a FW1020 level, you need to complete the upgrade then perform the upgrade again consecutively. This to ensure both the T (temporary, also known as current) and P (permanent, also known as backup) are equal. This was previously known as the "Accept" process that was performed automatically. This will be addressed in a newer release/PTF of the HMC to automatically do the accept. Improvements in FW1030.00 and higher to the eBMC will cause any IPL from a backup side that is at a FW1020 firmware level to fail. An AC power cycle would be required to recover from this condition.

For systems with Power Linux partitions, support was added for a new Linux secure boot key. The support for the new secure boot key for Linux partitions may cause secure boot for Linux to fail if the Linux OS for SUSE or RHEL distributions does not have a secure boot key update. The affected Linux distributions as follows need the Linux fix level that includes "Key for secure boot signing grub2 builds ppc64le" : 1) SLES 15 SP4 - The GA for this Linux level includes the secure boot fix. 2) RHEL 8.5- This Linux level has no fix. The user must update to RHEL: 8.6 or RHEL 9.0. 3) RHEL 8.6 4) RHEL 9.0. Please note for this firmware level, any Linux OS partition not updated to a secure boot fix level will fail to secure boot.

Content

Minimum HMC Code Level

This section is intended to describe the "Minimum HMC Code Level" required by the System Firmware to complete the firmware installation process. When installing the System Firmware, the HMC level must be equal to or higher than the "Minimum HMC Code Level" before starting the system firmware update. If the HMC managing the server targeted for the System Firmware update is running a code level lower than the "Minimum HMC Code Level" the firmware update will not proceed.

The Minimum HMC Code levels for this firmware for HMC x86, ppc64 or ppc64le are listed below.

x86 - This term is used to reference the legacy HMC that runs on x86/Intel/AMD hardware for the Virtual HMC that can run on the Intel hypervisors (KVM, XEN, VMWare ESXi).

ppc64 or ppc64le - describes the Linux code that is compiled to run on Power-based servers or LPARS (Logical Partitions)

The Minimum HMC Code level for this firmware is: HMC V10R3M1050 (PTF MF71420).
The Minimum HMC Code level for vHMC is: HMC V10R3M1050. Download of the Power Hardware Management Virtual Appliance (vHMC) install images for x86 hypervisors and PowerVM are available at the Entitled Systems Support site (ESS).

The Minimum HMC level supports the following HMC models:
HMC models: 7063-CR1 and 7063-CR2
x86 - KVM, XEN, VMWare ESXi (6.0/6.5)
ppc64le - vHMC on PowerVM (POWER8,POWER9, and POWER10 systems)

For information concerning HMC releases and the latest PTFs, go to the following URL to access Fix Central.

For specific fix level information on key components of IBM Power Systems running the AIX, IBM i and Linux operating systems, we suggest using the Fix Level Recommendation Tool (FLRT).

NOTES:
- You must be logged in as hscroot in order for the firmware installation to complete correctly.
- Systems Director Management Console (SDMC) does not support this System Firmware level.

Important Information

Update system firmware shows system disruption acknowledgement checkbox regardless of concurrency
In HMC V10R3 1060, when updating system firmware, the last step of the process always includes a checkbox that states "I acknowledge that system disruption will occur." regardless of the concurrency of the selected target level. In addition, if the checkbox is not checked, the update process will not proceed, even if just concurrent target levels were selected. This leads to confusion as concurrent levels should never incur disruption. See this page for more information on handling this issue.

FW1030 (and newer) needs to be installed twice when upgrading from FW1020 firmware levels
When installing the FW1030 (or newer) firmware to a system that previously was at a FW1020 level, you need to complete the upgrade then perform the upgrade again consecutively. This to ensure both the T (temporary, also known as current) and P (permanent, also known as backup) are equal. This was previously known as the "Accept" process that was performed automatically. This will be addressed in a newer release/PTF of the HMC to automatically do the accept.
Improvements in FW1030.00 and higher to the eBMC will cause any IPL from a backup side that is at a FW1020 firmware level to fail. An AC power cycle would be required to recover from this condition.

Concurrent Firmware Updates

Concurrent system firmware update is supported on HMC Managed Systems only.

Ensure that there are no RMC connections issues for any system partitions prior to applying the firmware update. If there is a RMC connection failure to a partition during the firmware update, the RMC connection will need to be restored and additional recovery actions for that partition will be required to complete partition firmware updates.

Memory Considerations for Firmware Upgrades

Firmware Release Level upgrades and Service Pack updates may consume additional system memory.
Server firmware requires memory to support the logical partitions on the server. The amount of memory required by the server firmware varies according to several factors.
Factors influencing server firmware memory requirements include the following:

Number of logical partitions
Partition environments of the logical partitions
Number of physical and virtual I/O devices used by the logical partitions
Maximum memory values given to the logical partitions

Generally, you can estimate the amount of memory required by server firmware to be approximately 8% of the system installed memory. The actual amount required will generally be less than 8%. However, there are some server models that require an absolute minimum amount of memory for server firmware, regardless of the previously mentioned considerations.

Additional information can be found at: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power10/9105-42A?topic=resources-memory

SBE Updates

Power10 servers contain SBEs (Self Boot Engines) and are used to boot the system. SBE is internal to each of the Power10 chips and used to "self boot" the chip. The SBE image is persistent and is only reloaded if there is a system firmware update that contains a SBE change. If there is a SBE change and system firmware update is concurrent, then the SBE update is delayed to the next IPL of the CEC which will cause an additional 3-5 minutes per processor chip in the system to be added on to the IPL. If there is a SBE change and the system firmware update is disruptive, then SBE update will cause an additional 3-5 minutes per processor chip in the system to be added on to the IPL. During the SBE update process, the HMC or op-panel will display service processor code C1C3C213 for each of the SBEs being updated. This is a normal progress code and system boot should be not be terminated by the user. Additional time estimate can be between 12-20 minutes per drawer or up to 48-80 minutes for maximum configuration.

The SBE image was last updated in FW1050.40.

Firmware Information

Use the following examples as a reference to determine whether your installation will be concurrent or disruptive.

For systems that are not managed by an HMC, the installation of system firmware is always disruptive.

Note: The concurrent levels of system firmware may, on occasion, contain fixes that are known as Deferred and/or Partition-Deferred. Deferred fixes can be installed concurrently, but will not be activated until the next IPL. Partition-Deferred fixes can be installed concurrently, but will not be activated until a partition reactivate is performed. Deferred and/or Partition-Deferred fixes, if any, will be identified in the "Firmware Update Descriptions" table of this document. For these types of fixes (Deferred and/or Partition-Deferred) within a service pack, only the fixes in the service pack which cannot be concurrently activated are deferred.

Note: The file names and service pack levels used in the following examples are for clarification only, and are not necessarily levels that have been, or will be released.

System firmware file naming convention:

01VHxxx_yyy_zzz

xxx is the release level
yyy is the service pack level
zzz is the last disruptive service pack level

NOTE: Values of service pack and last disruptive service pack level (yyy and zzz) are only unique within a release level (xxx). For example, 01MM1010_040_040 and 01MM1010_040_040 are different service packs.

An installation is disruptive if:

The release levels (xxx) are different.
Example: Currently installed release is 01MM1010_040_040, new release is 01MM1020_050_050.
The service pack level (yyy) and the last disruptive service pack level (zzz) are the same.
Example: MM910_040_040 is disruptive, no matter what level of MM910 is currently installed on the system.
The service pack level (yyy) currently installed on the system is lower than the last disruptive service pack level (zzz) of the service pack to be installed.
Example: Currently installed service pack is MM1020_040_040 and new service pack is MM1020_050_040.

An installation is concurrent if:

The release level (xxx) is the same, and
The service pack level (yyy) currently installed on the system is the same or higher than the last disruptive service pack level (zzz) of the service pack to be installed.

Example: Currently installed service pack is MM1020_040_040, new service pack is MM1020_041_040.

Firmware Information and Description

Filename	01MM1050_101_052.img
Size	279408928
Checksum	26253
md5sum	92aa7bb559393e20c58ed106ffd3bacc

Filename	01MM1050_101_052.tar
Size	163164160
Checksum	64148
md5sum	1283f681a0a7e6c0655ed573b2d3c16a

Note: The Checksum can be found by running the AIX sum command against the img file (only the first 5 digits are listed). ie: sum 01MM1050_101_052.img

MM1050 For Impact, Severity and other Firmware definitions, please refer to the below 'Glossary of firmware terms' url: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6555136
MM1050_101_052 / FW1050.50	Impact: Security Severity: HIPER System firmware changes that affect all systems Security problems were fixed for CVE-2025-0395. A security problem was fixed for CVE-2025-2884. A change was made to ensure that the DHCP NTP servers list will be displayed to the customer. A problem was fixed for changing the Secure Boot setting for a partition where the Secure Boot setting for the partition will not take effect on the first partition boot after changing the setting. The Secure Boot setting will take effect on subsequent partition boots if the setting remains unchanged. The fix will allow for the Secure Boot setting to take effect on the first partition boot after changing the Secure Boot setting. A problem was fixed in the firmware for systems that are managed by both an HMC and Novalink that would prevent one of the management consoles from managing the system. This may cause one of the management consoles to display the system as in recovery state. A problem was fixed where the Hypervisor may never boot to Standby or Runtime while doing a firmware update for an attached NED24 NVMe expansion drawer. This fix prevents the problem from occurring for future NED24 NVMe expansion drawer updates provided with later firmware levels. A problem was fixed which may prevent the Platform Keystore (PKS) consumer passwords from getting reset during a partition reboot. This issue can be avoided by not disabling PKS while the partition is running. In the event that this problem is encountered, rebooting the partition again while PKS is enabled should solve this problem. If that also does not work, a re-initialization of the partition or a full CEC reboot will reset this state. An enhancement was made to provide a daily TPM health check to allow for advance notification of a TPM failure so that it can be addressed before performing operations dependent on it such as LPM, Disruptive System Dumps, etc. The first two times this daily TPM health check fails, a new informational SRC will be posted: B700900D. After 3 failures, the TPM will be marked as failed and the existing serviceable TPM failure SRC will be posted instead. New RSA-3072 grub signing certificates for RHEL and SUSE were added in order to support common criteria compliance for those distributions on POWER. A problem was fixed for booting a Linux LPAR with Secure Boot option set to "Enabled and Enforced." The LPAR does not boot, but stops at the SMS menus. The problem occurs if there are multiple SBAT entries in the SBAT variable. The LPAR can be recovered by using the HMC to shutdown the LPAR, changing the Secure Boot option from "Enabled and Enforced" to "Disabled" or "Enabled and Log only," then reactivating the LPAR. A problem was fixed for a possible IBM i active LPM operation hang when there are insufficient anyOS licenses on the target server. A problem was fixed for a possible system or partition hang following a core hardware failure. An SRC BC13E504 log will also be produced because of the core hardware failure. A problem was fixed for a potential partition hang that could occur after a partition crash during Live Partition Mobility, Dynamic Platform Optimization (DPO), memory guard recovery, or memory mirroring defragmentation operation. As a workaround, the partition with the failure can be rebooted. A problem was fixed where error log was not created with the correct FRU call out if system type is not supported. A problem was fixed where external chassis was not appearing on ASMI. A problem was fixed where user cannot direct connect to BMC eth0/eth1 when gateway is set to non zero address. A problem was fixed where one bit flip error in the VPD ECC may corrupt the VPD. A problem was fixed where a user with read-only privilege was able to enable/disable the toggle buttons in the Network page of ASMI. A problem was fixed where read-only user toggles Lamp test in Inventory and LEDs page in ASM GUI and sees System table entries disappear. A problem was fixed where the ASM GUI "User ID attribute" and "Group ID attribute" fields under LDAP were not updating to the default values when saved as blank. A problem was fixed where the BMC rebooted unexpectedly resulting in error log SRC - BD8DC201. A problem was fixed where the user sees an incorrect error message while creating a BMC dump in ASM GUI. A problem was fixed where the user was not being notified that changes made on the ASM Resource Management->Memory page would take effect after the next reboot. A service procedure change was made for unrecoverable system failures reporting SRC BxxxE510 and Hex Word 8 ranging from 06B90010 to 06B90015. A problem was fixed where certain multiple DIMM errors in quick succession could cause an unnecessary repair action.

How to Determine The Currently Installed Firmware Level

You can view the server's current firmware level on the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) Overview page under the System Information section in the Firmware Information panel. Example: (ML1020_079)

Downloading the Firmware Package

Follow the instructions on Fix Central. You must read and agree to the license agreement to obtain the firmware packages.

Note: If your HMC is not internet-connected you will need to download the new firmware level to a USB flash memory device or ftp server.

Installing the Firmware

The method used to install new firmware will depend on the release level of firmware which is currently installed on your server. The release level can be determined by the prefix of the new firmware's filename.

Example: MMxxx_yyy_zzz

Where xxx = release level

If the release level will stay the same (Example: Level MM1020_040_040 is currently installed and you are attempting to install level MM1020_041_040) this is considered an update.
If the release level will change (Example: Level MM1020_040_040 is currently installed and you are attempting to install level MM1030_050_050) this is considered an upgrade.

Instructions for installing firmware updates and upgrades can be found at https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power10/9105-42A?topic=9105-42A/p10eh6/p10eh6_updates_sys.htm

IBM i Systems:
For information concerning IBM i Systems, go to the following URL to access Fix Central:
https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/

Choose "Select product", under Product Group specify "System i", under Product specify "IBM i", then Continue and specify the desired firmware PTF accordingly.

HMC and NovaLink Co-Managed Systems (Disruptive firmware updates only):
A co-managed system is managed by HMC and NovaLink, with one of the interfaces in the co-management master mode.
Instructions for installing firmware updates and upgrades on systems co-managed by an HMC and Novalink is the same as above for a HMC managed systems since the firmware update must be done by the HMC in the co-management master mode. Before the firmware update is attempted, one must be sure that HMC is set in the master mode using the steps at the following IBM KnowledgeCenter link for NovaLink co-managed systems:
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power10/9105-42A?topic=environment-powervm-novalink

Then the firmware updates can proceed with the same steps as for the HMC managed systems except the system must be powered off because only a disruptive update is allowed. If a concurrent update is attempted, the following error will occur: " HSCF0180E Operation failed for <system name> (<system mtms>). The operation failed. E302F861 is the error code:"
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power10/9105-42A?topic=9105-42A/p10eh6/p10eh6_updates_sys.htm

Firmware History

The complete Firmware Fix History (including HIPER descriptions) for this Release level can be reviewed at the following url:
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6955263

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