OK1110_113 / FW1110.20 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 the IBM Power System E1180 (9080-HEU) server only.

Release notes for OK1110_113 / FW1110.20

Read the following important information before installing this Service Pack.

After applying this firmware, the system should not be backleveled to an older level, as this can cause one of the service processors to fail. If the system needs to be moved back to the older level, it should be rebooted to the P side, not backleveled.

Service Pack Summary: Concurrent Service Pack

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 Virtual HMC appliance that runs on x86 with hypervisors KVM, XEN, VMWare ESXi.

ppc64 or ppc64le - Describes the Linux code that is compiled to run on Power-based Hardware appliance or PowerVM based LPARS (Logical Partitions).

The Minimum HMC Code level for this firmware is: HMC V11.1.1110.0 (V11R1M1110).
The Minimum HMC Code level for vHMC is: V11.1.1110.0 (V11R1M1110). 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-CR2
x86 - KVM, XEN, VMWare ESXi (7.0.2 and 8.0.3)
ppc64le - vHMC on PowerVM (POWER9, POWER10 and Power11 systems)

For information concerning HMC releases and the latest PTFs, go to 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

IPv6 Support and Limitations

IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) is supported in the System Management Services (SMS) in this level of system firmware. There are several limitations that should be considered.

When configuring a network interface card (NIC) for remote IPL, only the most recently configured protocol (IPv4 or IPv6) is retained. For example, if the network interface card was previously configured with IPv4 information and is now being configured with IPv6 information, the IPv4 configuration information is discarded.

A single network interface card may only be chosen once for the boot device list. In other words, the interface cannot be configured for the IPv6 protocol and for the IPv4 protocol at the same time.

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 an 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 is at https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power11/9080-HEU?topic=resources-memory

SBE Updates

These Power servers contain SBEs (Self Boot Engines) that are used to boot the system. SBE is internal to each of the Power 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 an SBE change. If there is an SBE change and the 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 onto the IPL. If there is an SBE change and the system firmware update is disruptive, the SBE update will cause an additional 3-5 minutes per processor chip in the system to be added onto 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 the system boot should 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 is updated in the 1110.10 service pack. The code update process will take longer.

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 Information and Description" 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:

01O?xxxx_yyy_zzz

where:

"?" is the second letter in the system type (OK, OF, OB for Power 11)
xxxx 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 (xxxx). For example, 01O?1110_040_040 and 01O?1120_040_040 are different service packs.

An installation is disruptive if:

The release levels (xxxx) are different.
Example: Currently installed release is O?1110_040_040, new release is O?1120_040_040.
The service pack level (yyy) and the last disruptive service pack level (zzz) are the same.
Example: O?1110_040_040 is disruptive, no matter what level of O?1110 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 O?1110_040_040 and new service pack is O?1110_050_045.

An installation is concurrent if:

The release level (xxxx) 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 O?1110_040_040, new service pack is O?1110_041_040.

Firmware Information and Description

Filename	01OK1110_113_066.rpm
Size	201508784
Checksum	18123
sha256sum	84b70d233802608fbebe4fde79e6b669945c588a5743bf5166165a54c3f05209

Note: The Checksum can be found by running the AIX sum command against the rpm file (only the first 5 digits are listed).
Example: sum 01OK1110_113_066.rpm

OK1110 For Impact, Severity and other Firmware definitions, please refer to this Glossary of firmware terms.
OK1110_113_066 / FW1110.20	Impact: Security Severity: HIPER System firmware changes applicable to all systems A security problem was fixed for CVE-2025-38556. A security problem was fixed for CVE-2026-22796 A problem was fixed where, in rare cases, first failure capture data may not be able to be collected from the Virtualization Management Interface or Runtime Processor Diagnostics. The probability of encountering this problem can be reduced by using a 256 MB Logical Memory Block size. A problem was fixed for the display of Resource Group information from the Management Console. The problem occurs if any single Resource Group encounters an error during the query process causing the results to contain no information for that Resource Group or any subsequent Resource Groups. A problem was fixed where application of an activation CoD key via the service processor's ASMI interface during system IPL could cause a Hypervisor task to fail with an B7000602 SRC. The failed task would block all activation keys from being accepted when applied via ASMI until the system is re-IPL'd. A change was made for multiple misleading logs with SRC BA180005, which may be logged when an LPAR is booted. The fix replaces the log with checkpoint CA00E15C, which indicates a boot driver is loaded for an OEM NVMe adapter. A problem was fixed for an OS crash that can occur after an LPM. The problem can occur after many iterations of LPM for an LPAR OS that supports an inband HMC to OS communication (RMC Connection). A problem was fixed when deleting a resource group. The problem only occurs when dedicated cores are disabled on a system using Power Enterprise Pool 2.0. A change was made to enhance the affinity scores generated for Resource Groups. A problem was fixed for possible improper placement of partitions during a Dynamic Platform Optimization operation that includes partitions in two or more Resource Groups. A problem was fixed where firmware code downgrade may fail with error SRC BD8DC201. CVE-2024-13176 is fixed by bumping up the openssl version A problem was fixed where FSP may be guarded after the code update and the system failed to boot. A problem was fixed where the system will failover and boot all processing units instead of deconfiguring the processing unit and booting from the same FSP.

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: (OK1110_066)

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 must download the new firmware level to a USB flash memory device or ftp server.

Installing the Firmware

The method used to install new firmware depends 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: 01O?xxxx_yyy_zzz

where:

"?" is the second letter in the system type (OK, OF, OB for Power 11)
xxxx is the release level

If the release level will stay the same, this is considered an update. (Example: Level O?1110_040_040 is currently installed and you are attempting to install level O?1110_041_040.)

If the release level will change, this is considered an upgrade. (Example: Level O?1110_040_040 is currently installed and you are attempting to install level O?1120_050_050.)

Instructions for installing firmware updates and upgrades are at:
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power11/9080-HEU?topic=support-getting-fixes.

IBM i Systems

For information concerning IBM i Systems, go to Fix Central.

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 controller mode. Additional information is at:
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power11/9080-HEU?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>)." Additional information is at:
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power11/9080-HEU?topic=support-getting-fixes.

Firmware History

The complete Firmware Fix History (including HIPER descriptions) for this Release level can be reviewed at:
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7240038

[{"Type":"MASTER","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB68","label":"Power HW"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU070","label":"IBM Infrastructure"},"Product":{"code":"SSVEKM0","label":"IBM Power E1180 (9080-HEU)"},"ARM Category":[{"code":"a8m3p000000F982AAC","label":"FSP-\u003EUpdate \/ Upgrade Firmware"}],"Platform":[{"code":"PF025","label":"Platform Independent"}],"Version":""}]

Tips