IBM xSeries x366/x460/x260 POST/BIOS Flash Disk Version 1.08 (Build ID ZUJT47B) Note: This Build ID ZUJTxxx supports the x366, x460 and x260 xSeries servers. See the change history to determine the correct version to use for each specific server. Some versions only support specific servers and/or more servers may be added to versions as IBM's test process progresses. Download the latest readme from the web to determine version-server support. Installation README File CONTENTS ________ 1.0 Overview 2.0 Change History 3.0 Installation and Setup Instructions 4.0 Configuration Information 5.0 Unattended Mode 6.0 Web Sites and Support Phone Number 7.0 Trademarks and Notices 8.0 Disclaimer 1.0 Overview 1.1 This README file contains the latest information about installing the IBM xSeries x366/x460/x260 POST/BIOS. 1.2 Limitations - NA 1.3 Enhancements - NA 1.4 Level of Recommendations and Prerequisites for the Update: - See the list of changes for information to determine whether or not you are affected by the enhancements and fixes. 1.5 Dependencies - CPLD version 1.05 is required with BIOS version 1.08 (ZUJT47B) to allow POST/BIOS to disable a potentially erroneous/always active interrupt signal from the memory cards. Please see the change history for more information regarding this interrupt. - BIOS version 1.04 (ZUJT36A) and higher is required when using RSA II firmware version 1.03 (ZUEP25A) and higher. Using a BIOS version of 1.03 or lower and/or in combination of RSA II version 1.03 or higher will result in a loss of RSA II related menus/information items and PCI Slot/Device information in the F1 POST/BIOS Setup Utility and/or a loss of communication between POST/BIOS and the RSA II. - BMC firmware version 1.5 (ZUBT22A) or higher is REQUIRED to be used with BIOS version 1.03 (ZUJT30A) and higher. Using a BMC version of 1.4 or lower and/or in combination of BIOS 1.03 or higher will result in a loss of RSA II related menus/information items and PCI Slot/Device information in the F1 POST/BIOS Setup Utility and/or a loss of communication between POST/BIOS and the RSA II. 2.0 Change History V1.08 - January 30, 2006 (Build ID ZUJT47B) - Supports x366,x460-1,2,4,8 node configurations -------------------------- - This version of POST/BIOS will disable the hot plug interrupt signal from the memory card(s) if the system has not been configured for "Full Array Memory Mirroring" mode (FAMM) or "Hot Add Memory Mode" (HAMM) in the Memory Array menu under Advanced Settings/Memory Settings in the Setup/Configuration Utility. In some cases, the memory board hot plug sensor may generate multiple interrupts which can result in POST CP B1 hangs, Operating System hangs, or cluster failovers regardless of the memory array setting. If FAMM or HAMM is enabled, one bank of the mirrored memory may power off/go offline if one or more memory sensors are defective. System users can also run diagnostics on the memory board hot plug sensor by going into the F2 Diagnostic Utility, select "Basic", and then select the "Active Memory Latch Test". This change requires CPLD version 1.05 to be installed as well to disable this interrupt. V1.08 - December 20, 2005 (Build ID ZUJT47A) - Supports x366, x460-1,2,4,8 node configurations -------------------------- - Fixed system POST/BIOS hang at CP DD when the primary node is attempting to merge with secondary node(s). This failure will only occur when the secondary node(s) have their planar SAS controller disabled in the Setup/Configuration Utility and all PCI slots on that node are populated with adapters which require regular Memory Mapped I/O resources and do not require Prefetchable Memory Mapped I/O resources. - Modified flash update utilities (DOS, lflash, wflash) to prevent auto-generation of a UUID which contains a leading byte of zero. A UUID which contains a leading byte of zero can prevent a system from trying to merge with other nodes in a multi-chassis configuration. - Updated video bios to no longer show message string "IBM RSA II powered by ATI." - Feature to now show the BMC build ID and build date along with the current version in the Setup/Configuration Utility. The new information can be seen by selecting Advanced Settings/Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) Settings. V1.07 - October 21, 2005 (Build ID ZUJT45A) - Supports x460-1,2,4,8 node configurations -------------------------- - Added in support for Dual-Core Intel Xeon MP processors. - Fix to properly route PIC mode interrupts for PCI slots for devices which utilize their Int B, Int C or Int D pins. - Fix to allow system boot from IBM 512MB and 1GB USB keys. - Fix to prevent one or more nodes in a 4/8 node configuration from booting as a standalone node if the system has recovered from an AC power loss or has been powered on with the power button within 2 minutes of applying AC power. - Fix to allow system to power off and/or reset if either all memory has been removed from the system or all memory has been disabled due to errors. - Fix to allow the RSA II adapter to properly illuminate the Blue LED after an AC power cycle. - Fix to prevent ServeRaid 8i Kernel Panic during POST/BIOS execution when the Adaptec SAS controller has been disabled in the Setup/Configuration Utility. - Fix to no longer display "Planar PCI device not responding or disabled by user" message when the user has selected to disable the planar ethernet and/or SAS controller in the Setup/Configuration Utility. This change will also prevent the front panel log LED from illuminating. - Fix for the BIOS/Diagnostics Flash Update Utility (flash2.exe) to not prompt the user for flash confirmation if unattended mode has been selected and multiple nodes have been detected. - Feature to add in enablement/disablement of PCI extended configuration space. Users can now be enable feature by going into the Setup/Configuration Utility / Advanced Settings / Advanced PCI Settings. - The default setting for the "Processor Hardware Prefetcher" feature is changed to "Disabled" as recommended by Intel for most servers. This setting will become "Disabled" if the user loads the default settings for all configuration settings or just the single line item setting. V1.06 - August 18, 2005 (Build ID ZUJT40A) - Supports only x366 -------------------------- - Added support for Intel CPU type F49. V1.05 - August 2, 2005 (Build ID ZUJT39A) - Supports x460-1,2,4,8 node configurations -------------------------- - Initial support for the IBM xSeries x260. - Added support for IBM xSeries x460 4 and 8 node configurations. V1.04 - July 4, 2005 (Build ID ZUJT36A) - Supports only x366 -------------------------- - Added support for 4GB DIMMs (IBM xSeries x366 only). V1.03 - May 13, 2005 (Build ID ZUJT30A) - Supports x366, x460-1,2 node configurations -------------------------- - Initial support for the IBM xSeries x460. V1.02 - March 31, 2005 (Build ID ZUJT26A) - Supports only x366 -------------------------- - Changed default setting for "RSA II Disable Periodic SMI Generation" to Enabled to prevent from RSA II from generating a 15 minute SMI. This periodic SMI is not currently used on the x366/x460 and should be defaulted to disabled. - Fix to prevent system from generating a NMI if a PCIX Correctable Threshold has been reached. The system will now properly generate a PFA alert if this condition occurs. - Fix to allow the Automatic BIOS Recovery feature to properly recover from a catastrophic POST/BIOS flash update failure. - Fix to modify the POST/BIOS USB CHS translation to be compatible with that used by most laptops. This will require specific USB keys which were bootable before on the x366/x460/x260 to be re-created. - Change to increase performance when running Windows Server 2003 and using the performance monitor application. This fix will also resolve a timer skew issue when running SAP. - Fix to properly send the BMC the correct system time during POST/BIOS operation between the hours of 19:00:00 and 00:00:00. - Fix to prevent a possible system hang when booting from a locally attached USB floppy device. V1.01 - March 7, 2005 (Build ID ZUJT23A) - Supports only x366 -------------------------- - Fix required to prevent system hang during Broadcom PXE ROM execution when Serial Over Lan session is active with the BMC. - Fix required to prevent intermittent "1602 System Management Adapter Communication" error when the RSA II adapter is installed and AC power has been applied. - Fix required to allow the RSA II "Vital Product Data" section of the web interface to properly show the system serial number and machine type. - Fix to prevent POST/BIOS from intermittently reporting and disabling memory DIMMs during memory configuration during repeated warm boot or AC cycles. V1.00 - March 1, 2005 (Build ID ZUJT21A) - Supports only x366 -------------------------- - Initial release 3.0 Installation and Setup Instructions The procedure to update the POST/BIOS is as follows: 3.1 Insert the "IBM xSeries x366/x460/x260 POST/BIOS Flash Disk" into drive A. 3.2 Start up or restart your IBM xSeries x366/x460/x260 server. 3.3 The system will boot off of the disk and present a window which allows you the option to flash various options. Choose "1 - Update POST/BIOS". 3.4 You will be asked if you would like to move the current POST/BIOS image to the backup ROM location. If you select 'Y', the current code will be flashed in to the backup bank immediately. 3.5 If the current system POST/BIOS supports the Asset Tag feature, you will be asked if you would like to change it. If you select 'Y', you will be able to enter a new number. 3.6 You will then be asked if you would like to save the current code to a disk. If you select 'Y', you need to have a formatted disk already available, or specify a fully qualified path and file name. 3.7 At this point, the image will be loaded from the disk, and you will be asked to choose which language you wish to use during POST and in Setup. If you select a choice other than English, the selected language will be merged into the image. There is also an option to Quit the flash update on this menu. 3.8 After this completes the system will update the flash ROM with the new code. When this is complete you will be prompted to remove the disk and hit return to reboot the system. 3.9 On the reboot immediately following the flash update the user MUST enter the BIOS Setup utility by pressing when prompted. Upon entering the Setup utility the user must select the "Load Default Settings" line item from the main "Configuration/Setup Utility" menu. Select to load the system default settings. The user must now exit the setup utility and select "Yes, save and exit the Setup Utility". The system will automatically reboot. 4.0 Configuration Information 5.0 Unattended Mode 5.1 Steps for unattended mode. 5.1.1 Modify CONFIG.SYS on the Flash Diskette to read: "SHELL=FLASH2.EXE /u /r [*** SEE NOTE BELOW ***] " *** Note: An optional parameter of "/a:" can be added to allow for storing a system asset tag number where "" is replaced with up to a 32 digit string. 5.1.2 Reboot the system with the Flash Diskette in Drive A: 6.0 Web Sites and Support Phone Number 6.1 IBM Support Web Site: http://www.pc.ibm.com/support 6.2 IBM Marketing Web Site: http://www.pc.ibm.com/ww/eserver/xseries/ 7.0 Trademarks and Notices 7.1 IBM and the e(logo) are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. 7.2 U.S. Government Users Restricted Rights - Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corporation. IBM web site pages may contain other proprietary notices and copyright information which should be observed. 8.0 Disclaimer THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. IBM DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND MERCHANTABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT. BY FURNISHING THIS DOCUMENT, IBM GRANTS NO LICENSES TO ANY PATENTS OR COPYRIGHTS.