Flash BIOS Update v1.14 (DOS) - IBM System x3850 M2 / x3950 M2

Download Description

• New IBM xSeries firmware and device driver file naming convention
• New firmware update file formats
• Extracting and using .iso image files to create a CD-ROM disc

Change history

Version 1.14, A3E168A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Updated onboard NIC PXE Rom code to latest level from vendor - v5.2.4

Version 1.13, A3E167A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fixed problem causing occasional merge failures when booting 3 Node configurations.
• Add setup option for enabling/disabling PCIE 512 Byte DMA prefetch

Version 1.12, A3E166A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fixed TPM BitLocker Drive Encryption problem found during certification testing
• Updated SMBIOS structure to show correct maximum possible memory size when system is fully populated with 8GB dimms.

Enhancements:

• Added additional entry to type 11 SMBIOS structure to indicate if IDE channel is enabled or disabled.
• Updated onboard NIC PXE Rom code to latest level from vendor
• Modified single bit memory error handling which runs during power up. Now single bit errors will be handled using same algorithm as those found during normal system operation (using Redundant Bit Steering vs disabling to handle first single bit error)

Version 1.11, A3E164A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fixed problem with Power capping not working on 7233/7234 with processors with SLxxx SSpec values.
• The symptom was POST message "CPU power information unavailable, Power Capping DISABLED", as well as Power Capping not working. Added all the SLxxx values for shipping processors.

Enhancements:

• Utilize a new bit in the ACPI FADT table that was introduced in the ACPI 3.0 specification. The bit is an indication to the operating system that the firmware has configured the system using physical destination mode. (This will help OS utilize all the cores on 6 core multi-node (>2 node) systems.)

Version 1.10, A3E162A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fixed problem booting CDROM remotely after mounting it from RSA's remote control function if the server is using a KVM dongle that functions as USB2
• Performing a mirrored memory hot replace can cause memory errors

Enhancements:

• Latest BIOS now supported on all 3950 M2 machine types (7141, 7144, 7233, 7234). All updates made for machine types 7233/7234 versions 1.07 to 1.10 (described below) are now included for 7141/7144
• Removed settings CMOS_SerialB and CMOS_RemoteConsoleComPort from ASU (Advanced Setup Utility)
• Added settings CMOS_BMCSerialConfig and CMOS_BMCSerialShareConfig to ASU
• Added settings CMOS_BMCPwrExec, CMOS_ProcPrfrmStates, CMOS_HPET_PLANAR_ENABLE to ASU
• Improve error handling by lighting error LEDs if MetaRam memory is mistakenly hot added or hot replaced. (Memory Hot Add and Hot Replace are not supported for MetaRam 8GB DIMMs).

Dependencies:

• DSA version 1.11 (A3YT77A) or greater is required to avoid potential hangs when DSA loads (7141/7144)
• DSA version 1.04 (A3YT91A) or greater is required to avoid potential hangs when DSA loads (7233/7234)

Version 1.09, A3E159A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fixed issue where Redundant Bit Steer did not steer in some cases where mixed memory sizes were used on the same memory card.
• Fixed Windows boot hang for systems with full 1TB of RAM. Since chipset addressing limit is 1TB, reduced amount of memory reported to be 1TB-2GB to leave room for PCI card MMIO resources of up to 2GB.

Enhancements:

• Improved timing margins when using Meta-Ram 8GB memory DIMMS

Limitations:

Version 1.09 only supported on machine types 7233, 7234

Dependencies:

• DSA version 1.04 (A3YT91A) or greater is required to avoid potential hangs when DSA loads

Version 1.08, A3E158A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Removed code that updated CRTM automatically when flashing BIOS

Enhancements:

• Added change to increase PCIe performance (512 byte DMA prefetch)
• Added System Power Restore Policy selection via setup menu and ASU tools. Previously, Power Restore settings were not supported and the only policy was to restore the previous power state when AC power was lost and restored. Now, 3 settings are available (Always On, Always Off, and Retore Previous State.) These settings are enforced by BMC (see limitations below for BMC version requirements). These settings require BIOS to complete booting one time before taking effect.
• Added change to enable both Service Processor and Serial over LAN communication during POST
• Added support for SST Flash parts

Limitations:

Version 1.08 only supported on machine types 7233, 7234

• BMC version 4.03 (A3BT50A) or greater is required to support Power Restore Policy

Version 1.07, A3E157A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fixed issue where Remind button would not work in some cases
• Fixed issue of system error LED coming on for certain correctable PCIe errors
• Fixed issue of system not displaying blue screen after PCIe errors on Windows 2008 Enhancements:
• Added SATA CD support
• Added flash support for new machine types (7233, 7234)

Limitations:

Version 1.07 only supported on new machine types (7233, 7234)

Version 1.06, A3E146A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fixed issue where POST/BIOS would incorrectly disable all the DIMM(s) in card 1 if an error was detected during the POST/BIOS memory initialization and test procedures.
• Fixed the POST/BIOS Help Text associated with the Advanced Settings/CPU Settings. Now the help text matches what the preferred default settings are per the IBM performance team.

Enhancements:

• Added support for 8GB Metaram DIMMs.

Limitations:

Dependencies:

• FPGA version 1.20 (A3UD20A) or greater is required in conjunction with using this BIOS version.
• BMC version 3.39 (A3BT39A) or greater is required in conjunction with using this BIOS version.
• RSA II version (A3EP24A) or greater is required in conjunction with using this BIOS version.

Version 1.05, A3E145A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fixed issue where user could configure 2 or more 2-chassis partitions; however, upon boot, all 4 systems would fail to merge within their respective partitions.
• Fixed issue where on some newer CPU planar boards, POST/BIOS would generate a "POST Communication with the TPM Chip Failed" message.

Enhancements:

• Support for 4 node configurations.
• Added AEM Support for dual core 2.93Ghz processors
• POST/BIOS USB code enahancements made to allow faster boot time for USB boot devices.
• This includes, but not limited to, faster boot time support for the Embedded Hypervisor and preboot DSA.
• Change made to POST/BIOS setup utility to prevent user from continuing to press keys when rebooting the RSA II in POST/BIOS setup. This prevents the RSA II from being rebooted multiple times in rapid sucession which can cause the RSA to incorrectly function and/or possibly completely lock up.
• Added support to send preboot DSA Vital Product Data (version, build date, and build ID) to RSA II to allow display on RSA II webpage for remote users.

Limitations:

Dependencies:

• FPGA version 1.20 (A3UD20A) or greater is required in conjunction with using this BIOS version.
• BMC version 3.39 (A3BT39A) or greater is required in conjunction with using this BIOS version.
• RSA II version (A3EP24A) or greater is required in conjunction with using this BIOS version.

Version 1.04, A3E130A

Problem(s) Fixed:

Enhancements:

• Added in F1 POST/BIOS Setup Configuration option to allow user to change PCIe Max Payload setting on a per slot basis.

Limitations:

Dependencies:

• FPGA version 1.18 (A3UD18A) or greater is required in conjunction with using this BIOS version.
• BMC version 2.31 (A3BT31A) or greater is required in conjunction with using this BIOS version.
• RSA II version (A3EP20A) or greater is required in conjunction with using this BIOS version.

Version 1.03, A3E129A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fix to allow adapters which use 2 BYTE Message Signaled Interrupts (MSI) to function properly in an operating system. Currently known adapters affected are the Intel adapters with the following part numbers (42C1750, 39Y6126 and 39Y6136).
• Fix to properly display a NMI text message on the local display if the "Force NMI" button is pressed during POST/BIOS execution.
• Fix to prevent operating system time drift seen in specific Linux distributions.
• Removed erroneous previous product information from Lflash/Wflash readme files.
• Fixed CPU SMBIOS structures to now order them according to physical hardware ordering.
• Fixed rare stale data condition discovered during Test.

Enhancements:

• Support for 8 GB memory DIMMs.
• Support for 2 node configurations.
• Support for VMWare Embedded Hypervisor
• Upgrade Broadcom PXE to version 3.7.4
• Disabled CPU prefetchers to maximize system performance.
• Change to increase system performance if a IBM ServeRaid MR10M SAS Controller card is installed.
• Added setup option to enable BMC to dump chipset RING data when a SPINT occurs. Note that this option should only be enabled if instructed to enable via technical support.

Limitations:

Dependencies:

• FPGA version 1.18 (A3UD18A) or greater is required in conjunction with using this BIOS version.
• BMC version 2.31 (A3BT31A) or greater is required in conjunction with using this BIOS version.
• RSA II version (A3EP20A) or greater is required in conjunction with using this BIOS version.

Version 1.02, A3E113A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fix to prevent intermittent system machine check (SPINT) when booting SLES 10.
• Fix to prevent error message when UUID is greater than 8 bytes.

Enhancements:

Limitations:

Dependencies:

Version 1.01, A3E112A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fix to prevent intermittent hang during POST/BIOS execution at checkpont DA on the lightpath LED display.
• Fix to allow a USB mouse to work in the LSI Megaraid WebBIOS Configuration Utility.

Enhancements:

Limitations:

Dependencies:

Version 1.01, A3E112A

Problem(s) Fixed:

• Fix to prevent intermittent hang during POST/BIOS execution at checkpont DA on the lightpath LED display.
• Fix to allow a USB mouse to work in the LSI Megaraid WebBIOS Configuration Utility.

Enhancements:

Limitations:

Dependencies:

Version 1.00, A3E111A

• Initial release