UEFI booting system with Chelsio adapter fails to boot

Troubleshooting

Problem

Systems that are set to Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) boot with one or more Chelsio adapters can enter a state where they fail to boot properly. Observed symptoms include: The system restarts continuously. The system has a 'Fatal Error Handling' message on the F1 prompt screen, and hangs.

Resolving The Problem

Source

RETAIN tip: H212768

Symptom

Systems that are set to Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) boot with one or more Chelsio adapters can enter a state where they fail to boot properly.

Observed symptoms include:

The system restarts continuously.
The system has a 'Fatal Error Handling' message on the F1 prompt screen, and hangs.

Affected configurations

The system can be any of the following IBM servers:

System x3650 M4 HD, type 5460, any model
System x3850 X6, type 3837 (4-socket, 3 year warranty), any model
System x3850 X6, type 3839 (4-socket, 4 year warranty), any model
System x3950 X6, type 3837 (8-socket, 3 year warranty), any model
System x3950 X6, type 3839 (8-socket, 4 year warranty), any model

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

Chelsio T520-LL-CR Dual-Port (SFP+) 10 Gb Ethernet PCI-E 3.0 Adapter, option 46W0609, any replacement part number
Chelsio T540-CR Quad-Port (SFP+) 10 Gb Ethernet PCI-E 3.0 Adapter, option 46W0615
Chelsio T580-LP-CR Dual-Port (QSFP+) 40 Gb Ethernet PCI-E 3.0 Adapter, option 46W0620

This tip is not software specific.

The 1.0.0.68 firmware for the Chelsio adapter is affected.

The system has the symptom described above.

Solution

This is a permanent restriction.

Workaround

The restart condition can be avoided by disabling the Legacy Option Read Only Memory (ROM) execution using the UEFI F1 Setup menu or the Advanced Settings Utility (ASU).

ASU command examples:

An IBM System x3650 M4 HD with the Chelsio adapter installed in slot 3:

	./asu64 set DevicesandIOPorts.Slot3Riser1Slot3LEGACYOPROM "Disable" --host <IMM IP> --user <IMM USERNAME> --password <IMM PASSW0RD>

An IBM System x3850 X6 with the Chelsio adapter installed in slot 7:

	./asu64 setNode1.Legacy_Slot7 "Disable" --host <IMM IP> --user <IMM USERNAME> --password <IMM PASSW0RD>

The system will need to be restarted for the changes to take effect.

Additional information

The UEFI boot driver for the Chelsio adapters is currently broken. System attempts to use the legacy boot driver as a UEFI boot driver with Legacy support either hang or issue error messages with continuous restarts.

Disabling the Legacy option ROM execution causes the Chelsio adapter to be skipped during the search through boot devices, avoiding the issue.

Document Location

Worldwide

Operating System

System x:Operating system independent / None

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Tips

UEFI booting system with Chelsio adapter fails to boot - IBM System x