RHEL5 U5 may fail to boot with multiple raid configured

Troubleshooting

Problem

The system may fail to boot after an installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (RHEL5) Update 5 (U5). This issue occurs when the system is configured with multiple Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) arrays using an IBM ServeRAID-BR10il SAS/SATAController v2, Option 49Y4731.

Resolving The Problem

Source

RETAIN tip: H197727

Symptom

Affected configurations

The system may be any of the following IBM servers:

System x3200 M3, type 7327, any model
System x3200 M3, type 7328, any model
System x3250 M3, type 4251, any model
System x3250 M3, type 4252, any model
System x3250 M3, type 4261, any model

The system is configured with at least one of the following:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, update 5

The system is configured with one or more of the following IBM options:

ServeRAID-BR10il SAS/SATA Controller v2, option 49Y4731, CRU 49Y4737

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/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us/

Solution

This behavior will be corrected in a future release of the IMM firmware.

The target date for this release is scheduled for fourth quarter 2010.

The file is or will be 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:

	http://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/systemx/groupView?query.productGroup=ibm%2FSystemx

Workaround

The user should configure the bootloader configuration during the OS installation by performing the steps below:

Boot the system using the Operating System (OS) installation DVD.
Select the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) to use for this installation on the Partitioning page. Select "Review and modify partitioning layout." Press Next.
Select "Configure advanced boot loader options" on the Bootloader page. Press Next.
Select "Change Drive Order" and change the drive order. The first order should be the HDD for OS installation.

The remaining steps are the same.

Additional information

If multiple RAID arrays are configured with ServeRAID-BR10il on the system, then the user needs to make sure that the OS bootloader has been installed on the HDD for OS installation. Otherwise, the system may fail to boot.

Document Location

Worldwide

Operating System

System x:All operating systems listed

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Tips

RHEL5 U5 may fail to boot with multiple raid configured - IBM System x