Power7 System Firmware

Applies to:   8202-E4D;  8205-E6D;  8231-E1D;  8231-E2D;  8246-L1D;  8246-L2D;  8246-L1T; 8246-L2T, 8268-E1D and 8493-SV6.

This document provides information about the installation of Licensed Machine or Licensed Internal Code, which is sometimes referred to generically as microcode or firmware.


Contents


1.0 Systems Affected

This package provides firmware for Power 710 (8231-E1D, 8268-E1D), Power 720 (8202-E4D), Power 730 (8231-E2D), Power 740 (8205-E6D, 8493-SV6), PowerLinux 7R1 (8246-L1D, 8246-L1T) and PowerLinux 7R2 (8246-L2D, 8246-L2T) servers only.

The firmware level in this package is:

1.1 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 level for this firmware is:  HMC V7 R7.7.0 (PTF MH01343) with Mandatory efix (PTF MH01345).

Although the Minimum HMC Code level for this firmware is listed above,  HMC V7 R7.9.0 Service Pack 2  (PTF MH01451) with ifix (PTF MH01505) or higher is recommended.

Important: To prevent vulnerability to POODLE security issues, the HMC should be updated to the above recommended level,  prior to installing this server firmware level.


For information concerning HMC releases and the latest PTFs,  go to the following URL to access Fix Central:
http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/

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):
http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/flrt/home

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.

2.0 Important Information

F/C 5260, 5899, and EL11 (4-Port Gigabit Ethernet PCI-Express Adapter) added to a system running AL770 system firmware

If a 4-Port Gigabit Ethernet PCI-Express Adapter (F/C 5260, 5899, or EL11) is taken from an existing system and installed in an 8202-E4D, 8205-E6D, 8231-E1D, 8231-E2D, 8246-L1D, 8246-L2D, 8246-L1T, or 8246-L2T system running AL770 system firmware, there is a potential issue with the adapter microcode.  To resolve this issue, install the latest Ethernet adapter firmware, version 10050160 (or higher), feature codes 5260, 5899, EL11.

This adapter firmware addresses a problem that causes IBM i network install to fail (with SRC B2006110) on partitions running with AL770 system firmware on the models listed above.  This fix is also recommended for partitions running AIX, VIOS, and Linux operating systems.


Downgrading firmware from any given release level to an earlier release level is not recommended.

If you feel that it is necessary to downgrade the firmware on your system to an earlier release level, please contact your next level of support.

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 only supported on HMC Managed Systems only.

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:
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 can be found at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/topic/p7hat/iphatlparmemory.htm


3.0 Firmware Information and Description 

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 Update Descriptions" 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:

01ALXXX_YYY_ZZZ

NOTE: Values of service pack and last disruptive service pack level (YYY and ZZZ) are only unique within a release level (XXX). For example, 01AL720_067_045 and 01AL770_098_032 are different service packs.

An installation is disruptive if:

Example: Currently installed release is AL710, new release is AL720 Example: AL720_120_120 is disruptive, no matter what level of AL720 is currently installed on the system Example: Currently installed service pack is AL720_120_120 and new service pack is AL720_152_130

An installation is concurrent if:

The release level (XXX) 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 AL720_126_120,  new service pack is AL720_143_120.

Firmware Information and Update Description

 
Filename Size Checksum
01AL770_101_032.rpm
41679716 32940

Note: The Checksum can be found by running the AIX sum command against the rpm file (only the first 5 digits are listed).
ie: sum 01AL770_101_032.rpm

AL770
For Impact, Severity and other Firmware definitions, Please refer to the below 'Glossary of firmware terms' url:
http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/sas/f/power5cm/home.html#termdefs

The complete Firmware Fix History for this Release Level can be reviewed at the following url:
http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/server/firmware/AL-IOCp-Firmware-Hist.html
AL770_101_032 / FW770.51

04/21/15
Impact: Security         Severity:  HIPER

System firmware changes that affect all systems
  • On systems using Virtual Shared Processor Pools (VSPP), a problem was fixed for an inaccurate pool idle count over a small sampling period.

    A problem was corrected for a defect in an earlier service pack (AL770_098) that potentially caused an undetected corruption of firmware when the fix was concurrently activated. If the earlier service pack(AL770_098) was concurrently installed, a platform IPL will mitigate potential future exposure to the problem.
AL770_098_032 / FW770.50

01/12/15
Impact: Security         Severity:  HIPER

New Features and Functions

  • Support was added for using the Mellanox ConnectX-3 Pro 10/40/56 GbE (Gigabit Ethernet) adapter as a network install device.
System firmware changes that affect all systems
  • A problem was fixed for the Advanced System Manager Interface (ASMI) to change the Dynamic Platform Optimizer (DPO) VET capability setting from "False" to "True".  DPO is available on all systems to use without a license required.  Even though the VET for DPO was set to "False", it did not interfere with the running of DPO.
  • A problem was fixed for memory relocation failing during a partition reboot with SRC B700F103 logged.  The memory relocation could be part of the processing for the Dynamic Platform Optimizer (DPO), Active Memory Sharing (AMS) between partitions, mirrored memory defragmentation, or a concurrent FRU repair.
  • A security problem was fixed for the Network Time Protocol (NTP) client that allowed remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted packet containing an extension field.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number is CVE-2009-1252.
  • A security problem was fixed in the OpenSSL (Secure Socket Layer) protocol that allowed a man-in -the middle attacker, via a specially crafted fragmented handshake packet, to force a TLS/SSL server to use TLS 1.0, even if both the client and server supported newer protocol versions. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number for this problem is CVE-2014-3511.
  • A security problem was fixed in OpenSSL for formatting fields of security certificates without null-terminating the output strings.  This could be used to disclose portions of the program memory on the service processor.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number for this problem is CVE-2014-3508.
  • Multiple security problems were fixed in the way that OpenSSL handled Datagram Transport Layer Security (DLTS) packets.  A specially crafted DTLS handshake packet could cause the service processor to reset.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue numbers for these problems are CVE-2014-3505, CVE-2014-3506 and CVE-2014-3507.
  • A security problem was fixed in OpenSSL to prevent a denial of service when handling certain Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) ServerHello requests.  A specially crafted DTLS handshake packet with an included Supported EC Point Format extension could cause the service processor to reset.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number for this problem is CVE-2014-3509.
  • A security problem was fixed in OpenSSL to prevent a denial of service by using an exploit of a null pointer de-reference during anonymous Diffie Hellman (DH) key exchange.  A specially crafted handshake packet could cause the service processor to reset.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number for this problem is CVE-2014-3510.
  • A security problem in GNU Bash was fixed to prevent arbitrary commands hidden in environment variables from being run during the start of a Bash shell.  Although GNU Bash is not actively used on the service processor, it does exist in a library so it has been fixed.  This is IBM Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) issue #2211.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue numbers for this problem are CVE-2014-6271, CVE-2014-7169, CVE-2014-7186, and CVE-2014-7187.
  • A problem was fixed for the Advanced System Manager Interface (ASMI) that allowed possible cross-site request forgery (CSRF) exploitation of the ASMI user session to do unwanted tasks on the service processor.
  • A problem was fixed for I/O adapters so that BA400002 errors were changed to informational for memory boundary adjustments made to the size of DMA map-in requests.  These DMA size adjustments were marked as UE previously for a condition that is normal.
  • A security problem was fixed in OpenSSL for memory leaks that allowed remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out of memory on the service processor). The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue numbers are CVE-2014-3513 and CVE-2014-3567.
  • A security problem was fixed in OpenSSL for padding-oracle attacks known as Padding Oracle On Downgraded Legacy Encryption (POODLE).  This attack allows a man-in-the-middle attacker to obtain a plain text version of the encrypted session data. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number is CVE-2014-3566.  The service processor POODLE fix is based on a selective disablement of SSLv3 using the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) "System Configuration/Security Configuration" menu options.  The Security Configuration options of "nist_sp800_131a", "nist_compat", and "legacy" for affects the disablement SSLv3 and determines the level of protection from POODLE.  The management console also requires a POODLE fix for APAR MB03867(FIX FOR CVE-2014-3566 FOR HMC V7 R7.7.0 SP4 with PTF MH01482) to eliminate all vulnerability to POODLE and allow use of option 1 "nist_sp800_131a" as shown below:
    -1) nist_sp800_131a (SSlv3 disabled):  This highest level of security protection does not allow service processor clients to connect using SSLv3, thereby eliminating any possibility of a POODLE attack.  All clients must be capable of using TLS v1.2 to make the secured connections to the service processor to use this option.  This requires the management console be at a minimum level of HMC V7 R7.7.0 SP4 with POODLE PTF MH01482.
    -2) nist_compat (default mode - SSLv3 enabled for HMC):  This medium level of security protection disables SSLv3 (TLS v1.2 must be used instead) for the web browser sessions to ASMI and for the CIM clients and assures them of POODLE-free connections.  But the older management consoles are allowed to use SSLv3 to connect to the service processor.  This is intended to allow non-POODLE compliant HMC levels to be able to connect to the CEC servers until they can be planned and upgraded to the POODLE compliant HMC levels.  Running a non-POODLE compliant HMC to a service processor in this default mode will prevent the ASMI-proxy sessions from the HMC from connecting as these proxy sessions require SSLv3 support in ASMI.
    -3) legacy (SSLv3 enabled):  This basic level of security protection enables SSLv3 for all service processor client connection.  It relies on all clients being at POODLE fix compliant levels to provide full POODLE protection using the TLS Fallback Signaling Cipher Suite Value (TLS_FALLBACK_SCSV) to prevent fallback to vulnerable SSLv3 connections.  This legacy option is intended for customer sites on protected internal networks that have a large investment in older hardware that need SSLv3 to make browser and HMC connections to the service processor.  The level of POODLE protection actually achieved in legacy mode is determined by the percentage of clients that are at the POODLE fix compliant levels.

    Note:  If it is needed to downlevel the system and remove this fix, before doing the firmware update the ASMI Security Configuration should be set to either "nist_compat" or "legacy" to assure that all service processor clients are enforced to the same security level.  An ASMI Security Configuration of "nist_sp800_131a" will  be undefined at the earlier firmware level, causing a mixed-mode of security levels for the clients.
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
  • HIPER/Pervasive:  On systems using PowerVM firmware, a performance problem was fixed that may affect shared processor partitions where there is a mixture of dedicated and shared processor partitions with virtual IO connections, such as virtual ethernet or Virtual IO Server (VIOS) hosting, between them.  In high availability cluster environments this problem may result in a split brain scenario.
  • A problem was fixed  for DASD backplane 5V or 1.2V regulator pgood power faults (SRC 11002634 and SRC 1100262F) so that the call out specified the location code for the part as Un-P3 instead of Un-P2.  This fix pertains only to Power 710 Express 8231-E1B, 8231-E1C, and 8231-E1D systems and Power 730 Express 8231-E2B, 8231-E2C, and 8231-E2D systems.
  • On systems that have Active Memory Sharing (AMS) partitions and deduplication enabled, a problem was fixed for not being able to resume a hibernated AMS partition.  Previously,  resuming a hibernated AMS partition could give checksum errors with SRC B7000202 logged and the partition would remain in the hibernated state.
  • On systems that have Active Memory Sharing (AMS) partitions, a problem was fixed for Dynamic Logical Partitioning (DLPAR) for a memory remove that leaves a logical memory block (LMB) in an unusable state until partition reboot.
  • On systems with a F/C 5802 or 5877 I/O drawer installed, a problem was fixed for a hypervisor hang at progress code C7004091 during the IPL or hangs during serviceability tasks to the I/O drawer.
  • A problem was fixed that could result in unpredictable behavior if a memory UE is encountered while relocating the contents of a logical memory block during one of these operations:
    - Using concurrent maintenance to perform a hot repair of a node.
    - Reducing the size of an Active Memory Sharing (AMS) pool.
    - On systems using mirrored memory, using the memory mirroring optimization tool.
    - Performing a Dynamic Platform Optimizer (DPO) operation.
  • On systems using Virtual Shared Processor Pools (VSPP), a problem was fixed for an inaccurate pool idle count over a small sampling period.
  • A problem was fixed for systems in networks using the Juniper 1GBe and 10GBe switches (F/Cs #1108, #1145, and #1151) to prevent network ping errors and boot from network (bootp) failures.  The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) table information on the Juniper aggregated switches is not being shared between the switches and that causes problems for address resolution in certain network configurations.  Therefore, the CEC network stack code has been enhanced to add three gratuitous ARPs (ARP replies sent without a request received) before each ping and bootp request to ensure that all the network switches have the latest network information for the system.
  • On systems using the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) to share physical I/O resources among client logical partitions, a problem was fixed for memory relocation errors during page migrations for the virtual control blocks.  These errors caused a CEC termination with SRC B700F103.  The memory relocation could be part of the processing for the Dynamic Platform Optimizer (DPO), Active Memory Sharing (AMS) between partitions, mirrored memory defragmentation, or a concurrent FRU repair.
  • On a system with a Linux partition, a problem was fixed for the Linux "lsslot" command so that it is able to the find the F/C EC41 and EC42 PCIe 3D graphics adapter installed in the CEC, instead of showing the slot as "empty".  The Linux graphics adapter worked correctly even though it showed as "empty".
AL770_092_032 / FW770.41

09/26/14
Impact: Availability         Severity:  SPE

System firmware changes that affect all systems
  • A problem was fixed that was introduced by AL770_090 / FW770.40, which caused a service processor reset/reload and a SRC B1818601 error log during an IPL when adjusting the speeds of the system fans.  This problem would normally have a successful recovery with a good IPL of the system unless two other reset/reloads of the service processor had occurred within the last 15 minutes.
This Service Pack (AL770_092 / FW770.41), contains all of the Hiper fixes as provided by the previous Service Packs.
AL770_090_032 / FW770.40

06/26/14
Impact: Security         Severity:  HIPER

New Features and Functions

  • Support for PCIe2 3D Graphics Adapter that accelerates and enhances the Linux system unit video.
    Feature code #EC41 supports Power 720 (8202-E4D), Power 740 (8205-E6D),  Power 710 (8231-E1D, 8268-E1D), Power 730 (8231-E2D),  PowerLinux 7R1 (8246-L1D, 8246-L1T) and PowerLinux 7R2 (8246-L2D, 8246-L2T). 
    Feature code #EC42 supports Power 720 (8202-E4D) and  Power 740 (8205-E6D).
System firmware changes that affect all systems
  • HIPER/Pervasive:  A security problem was fixed in the OpenSSL (Secure Socket Layer) protocol that allowed clients and servers, via a specially crafted handshake packet, to use weak keying material for communication.  A man-in-the-middle attacker could use this flaw to decrypt and modify traffic between the management console and the service processor.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number for this problem is CVE-2014-0224.
  • HIPER/Pervasive:  A security problem was fixed in OpenSSL for a buffer overflow in the Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) when handling invalid DTLS packet fragments.  This could be used to execute arbitrary code on the service processor.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number for this problem is CVE-2014-0195.
  • HIPER/Pervasive:  Multiple security problems were fixed in the way that OpenSSL handled read and write buffers when the SSL_MODE_RELEASE_BUFFERS mode was enabled to prevent denial of service.  These could cause the service processor to reset or unexpectedly drop connections to the management console when processing certain SSL commands.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue numbers for these problems are CVE-2010-5298 and CVE-2014-0198.
  • HIPER/Pervasive:  A security problem was fixed in OpenSSL to prevent a denial of service when handling certain Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) ServerHello requests. A specially crafted DTLS handshake packet could cause the service processor to reset.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number for this problem is CVE-2014-0221.
  • HIPER/Pervasive:  A security problem was fixed in OpenSSL to prevent a denial of service by using an exploit of a null pointer de-reference during anonymous Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman (ECDH) key exchange.  A specially crafted handshake packet could cause the service processor to reset.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number for this problem is CVE-2014-3470.
  • A problem was fixed that caused frequent SRC B1A38B24 error logs with a call home every 15 seconds when service processor network interfaces were incorrectly configured on the same subnet.  The frequency of the notification of the network subnet error has been reduced to once every 24 hours.
  • A problem was fixed that caused an intermittent loss of TTY serial port access to the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) after a power off of the system.
  • Help text for the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) "System Configuration/Hardware Deconfiguration/Clear All Deconfiguration Errors" menu option was enhanced to clarify that when selecting "Hardware Resources" value of "All hardware resources", the service processor deconfiguration data is not cleared.   The "Service processor" must be explicitly selected for that to be cleared.
  • Help text for the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) "System Configuration/Power Management/Power Supply Idle Control" menu option was enhanced to clarify that an idle power supply is in a low power state and not powered off.  The new help text states  "Power supply idle mode helps to reduce overall power usage when the system load is very light by having one power supply deliver all the power while the second is in a low power state".
  • A problem was fixed that caused the slot index to be missing for virtual slot number 0 for the dynamic reconfiguration connector (DRC) name for virtual devices.  This error was visible from the management console when using commands such as "lshwres -r virtualio --rsubtype slot -m machine" to show the hardware resources for virtual devices.
  • A problem was fixed that prevented a HMC-managed system from being converted to manufacturing default configuration (MDC) mode when the management console command "lpcfgop -m <server> -o clear" failed to create the default partition.  The management console went to the incomplete state for this error.
  • A problem was fixed that caused the Utility COD display of historical usage data to be truncated on the management console.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a "code accept" during a concurrent firmware installation from the HMC to fail with SRC E302F85C.
  • A problem was fixed for a Live Partition Mobility (LPM) suspend and transfer of a partition that caused the time of day to skip ahead to an incorrect value on the target system.  The problem only occurred when a suspended partition was migrated to a target CEC that had a hypervisor time that was later than the source CEC.
  • A problem was corrected that resulted in B7005300 error logs.
  • A  security problem was fixed in the service processor TCP/IP stack to discard illegal TCP/IP packets that have the SYN and FIN flags set at the same time.  An explicit packet discard was needed to prevent further processing of the packet that could result in an bypass of the iptables firewall rules.
  • A problem was fixed that prevented guard error logs from being reported for FRUs that were guarded during the system power on.  This could happen if the same FRU had been previously reported as guarded on a different power on of the system.  The requirement is now met that guarded FRUs are logged on every power on of the system.
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
  • On systems with a F/C 5802 or 5877 I/O drawer installed, a problem was fixed that occurred during Offline Converter Assembly (OCA) replacement operations. The fix prevents a false Voltage Regulator Module (VRM) fault and the logging of SRCs 10001511 or 10001521 from occurring.    This resulted in the OCA LED getting stuck in an on or "fault" state and the OCA not powering on.
  • On a system with partitions with redundant Virtual Asynchronous Services Interface (VASI) streams,  a problem was fixed that caused the system to terminate with SRC B170E540.  The affected partitions include Active Memory Sharing (AMS), encapsulated state partitions, and hibernation-capable partitions.  The problem is triggered when the management console attempts to change the active VASI stream in a redundant configuration.  This may occur due to a stream reconfiguration caused by Live Partition Mobility (LPM); reconfiguring from a redundant Paging Service Partition (PSP) to a single-PSP configuration; or conversion of a partition from AMS to dedicated memory.
  • A problem was fixed for Live Partition Mobility (LPM) migrations from Power7+ systems that use the nest accelerator (NX) for compression and encryption usage that caused the migrated partition to revert to software compression instead of using the NX hardware.  Some operating system negotiated functions may not operate correctly and could impact performance.
    For a partition with a 256MB Real Memory Offset (RMO) region size that has been migrated from a Power8 system to  Power7 or Power6 using Live Partition Mobility, a problem was fixed that caused a failure on the next boot of the partition with a BA210000 log with a CA000091 checkpoint just prior to the BA210000.  The fix dynamically adjusts the memory footprint of the partition to fit on the earlier Power systems.
  • On a system with a disk device with multiple boot partitions, a problem was fixed that caused System Management Services (SMS) to list only one boot partition.  Even though only one boot partition was listed in SMS, the AIX bootlist command could still be used to boot from any boot partition.
  • On systems that require in-band flash to update system firmware, a problem was fixed so in-band update would not fail if the Permanent (P) or the Temporary (T) side of the service processor was marked invalid.   Attempting to in-band flash from the AIX or Linux command line failed with a BA280000 log reported.  Attempting to in-band flash from the AIX diagnostics menus also failed because the flash menu options did not appear in this case.
  • On systems that have a boot disk located on a SAN,  a problem was fixed  where the SAN  boot disk would not be found on the default boot list  and then the boot disk would have to be selected from SMS menus.  This problem would normally  be seen for new partitions that had tape drives configured before the SAN boot disk.
AL770_076_032 / FW770.32

04/18/14
Impact: Security         Severity:  HIPER

System firmware changes that affect all systems
  • HIPER/Pervasive:  A  security problem was fixed in the OpenSSL Montgomery ladder implementation for the ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) to protect sensitive information from being obtained with a flush and reload cache side-channel attack to recover ECDSA nonces from the service processor.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number is CVE-2014-0076.  The stolen ECDSA nonces could be used to decrypt the SSL sessions and compromise the Hardware Management Console (HMC) access password to the service processor.  Therefore, the HMC access password for the managed system should be changed after applying this fix.
  • HIPER/Pervasive:  A  security problem was fixed in the OpenSSL Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) to not allow Heartbeat Extension packets to trigger a buffer over-read to steal private keys for the encrypted sessions on the service processor.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number is CVE-2014-0160 and it is also known as the heartbleed vulnerability.  The stolen private keys could be used to decrypt the SSL sessions and and compromise the Hardware Management Console (HMC) access password to the service processor.  Therefore, the HMC access password for the managed system should be changed after applying this fix.
  • A  security problem was fixed for the Lighttpd web server that allowed arbitrary SQL commands to be run on the service processor.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number is CVE-2014-2323.
  • A security problem was fixed for the Lighttpd web server where improperly-structured URLs could be used to view arbitrary files on the service processor.  The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures issue number is CVE-2014-2324.
AL770_063_032 / FW770.31

01/14/14
Impact: Serviceability         Severity:  SPE

New Features and Functions

  • Support was added for a new Smart Analytics system, 8493-SV6. The IBM 8493 Smart Analytics System model SV6 is derived from the Power 740 model 8205-E6D.
System firmware changes that affect all systems
  • A firmware code update problem was fixed that caused a system failure with SRC B7000103 when the allowed resource usage was exceeded for the partition universal unique identifier (UUID) processing during a code update.
  • A firmware code update problem was fixed that caused the Hardware Management Console (HMC) to go to "Incomplete State" for the system with SRC E302F880 when assignment of a partition universal unique identifier (UUID) failed for a partition that was already running.  This problem happens for disruptive code updates from pre-770 levels to 770 or later levels.
AL770_062_032 / FW770.30

12/10/13
Impact: Availability         Severity:  SPE

New Features and Functions

  • Support was added to upgrade the service processor to openssl version 1.0.1 and for compliance to National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST) Special Publications 800-131a.  SP800-131a compliance required the use of stronger cryptographic keys and more robust cryptographic algorithms.
  • Support was added in Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) to facilitate capture and reporting of debug data for system performance problems.  The  "System Service Aids/Performance Dump" menu was added to ASMI to perform this function.
  • Support was added to the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) to provide a menu for "Power Supply Idle Mode".  Using the "Power Supply Idle Mode"  menu, the power supplies can be either set enabled to save power by idling power supplies when possible or set disabled to keep all power supplies fully on and allow a balanced load to be maintained on the power distribution units (PDUs) of the system.  Power supply idle mode enabled helps to reduce overall power usage when the system load is very light by having one power supply deliver all the power while the second power supply is maintained in a low power state.
  • Support was added to the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) to provide a menu for "Memory Low Power State Control" to enable or disable the custom memory buffer low power mode.  If set to disabled, it disables low power mode (a power-saving feature) to speed memory and improve performance for some workloads.  The "Memory Low Power State Control" menu is not available on the MTM 9117-MMC system because its memory does not have a low power state option.
  • Support was added for the IBM Flash 90 (#ES09) PCIe 2.0 x8 eMLC adapter with 900GB storage and 350,00 IOPS read performance.  The system recognizes the PCI device as one needing additional cooling and increases the fan speeds accordingly.
  • Support was added in Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) for saving and restoring network settings using a USB flash drive.
  • Support was dropped for Secured Socket Layer (SSL) protocol version 2 and SSL weak and medium cipher suites in the service processor web server (Lighttpd) .  Unsupported web browser connections to the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) secured port 443 (using https://) will now be rejected if those browsers do not support SSL version 3.  Supported web browsers for Power7 ASMI are Netscape (version 9.0.0.4), Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 7.0), Mozilla Firefox (version 2.0.0.11), and Opera (version 9.24).
  • Support was added in Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) "System Configuration/Firmware Update Policy" menu to detect and display the appropriate Firmware Update Policy (depending on whether system is HMC managed) instead of requiring the user to select the Firmware Update Policy.  The menu also displays the "Minimum Code Level Supported" value.
System firmware changes that affect all systems
  • The firmware was enhanced to display on the management console the correct number of concurrent live partition mobility (LPM) operations that is supported.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a 1000911E platform event log (PEL) to be marked as not call home.  The PEL is now a call home to allow for correction.  This PEL is logged when the hypervisor has changed the Machine Type Model Serial Number (MTMS) of an external enclosure to UTMP.xxx.xxxx because it cannot read the vital product data (VPD), or the VPD has invalid characters, or if the MTMS is a duplicate to another enclosure.
  • When powering on a system partition, a problem was fixed that caused the partition universal unique identifier (UUID) to not get assigned, causing a B2006010 SRC in the error log.
  • For the sequence of a reboot of a system partition followed immediately by a power off of the partition, a problem was fixed where the hypervisor virtual service processor (VSP) incorrectly retained locks for the powered off partition, causing the CEC to go into recovery state during the next power on attempt.
  • A problem was fixed that caused the system attention LED to be lit without a corresponding SRC and error log for the event.  This problem typically occurs when an operating system on a partition terminates abnormally.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a memory leak of 50 bytes of service processor memory for every call home operation.  This could potentially cause an out of memory condition for the service processor when running over an extended period of time without a reset.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a L2 cache error to not guard out the faulty processor, allowing the system to checkstop again on an error to the same faulty processor.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a HMC code update failure for the FSP on the accept operation with SRC B1811402 or FSP is unable to boot on the updated side.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a built-in self test (BIST) for GX slots to create corrupt error log values that core dumped the service processor with a B18187DA.  The corruption was caused by a failure to initialize the BIST array to 0 before starting the tests.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a SRC B7006A72 calling out the adapter and the I/O Planar.
  • A problem was fixed during resource dump processing that caused a read of an invalid system memory address and a SRC B181C141.  The invalid memory reference resulted from the service processor incorrectly referencing memory that had been relocated by the hypervisor.
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
  • On systems running AIX or Linux, a problem was fixed that caused the operating system to halt when an InfiniBand Host Channel Adapter (HCA) adapter fails or malfunctions.
  • On systems running AIX or linux, a hang in a Live Partition Mobility (LPM) migration for remote restart-capable partitions was fixed by adding a time-out for the required paging space to become available.  If after five minutes the required paging space is not available, the start migration command returns a error code of 0x40000042 (PagingSpaceNotReady) to the management console.
  • On systems running Dynamic Platform Optimizer (DPO) with no free memory,  a problem was fixed that caused the Hardware Management System (HMC) lsmemopt command to report the wrong status of completed with no partitions affected.  It should have indicated that DPO failed due to insufficient free memory.  DPO can only run when there is free memory in the system.
  • On systems with partitions using physical shared processor pools, a problem was fix that caused partition hangs if the shared processor pool was reduced to a single processor.
  • On systems with a ethernet PCI-Express adapter under a PLX switch, an extended error handling (EEH) problem was fixed in run-time abstraction services (RTAS)  that caused fundamental resets of the adapter to fail during error recovery, leaving the adapter in a non-pingable state and off the network.  Besides failure to ping, the other symptom is that an AIX OS command of "enstat -d entX" where X is the adapter number will fail with the following message:  "enstat -0909-004, Unable to get statistics on device entX, errno=11".
  • On systems with a F/C 5802 or 5877 I/O drawer installed, the firmware was enhanced to guarantee that an SRC will be generated when there is a power supply voltage fault.  If no SRC is generated, a loss of power redundancy may not be detected, which can lead to a drawer crash if the other power supply goes down.  This also fixes a problem that causes an 8 GB Fiber channel adapter in the drawer to fail if the 12V level fails in one Offline Converter Assembly (OCA).
  • On systems managed by an HMC with a F/C 5802 or 5877 I/O drawer installed, a problem was fixed that caused the hardware topology on the management console for the managed system to show "null" instead of "operational" for the affected I/O drawers.
  • On Power7+ systems,  a problem was fixed that caused a system checkstop during hypervisor time keeping services.
  • On systems with a F/C 5802 or 5877 I/O drawer installed, a problem was fixed that where a Offline Converter Assembly (OCA) fault would appear to persist after a OCA micro-reset or OCA replacement.  The fault bit reported to the OS may not be cleared, indicating a fault still exists in the I/O drawer after it has been repaired.
AL770_052_032 / FW770.21

08/07/13
Impact: Availability         Severity:  SPE

System firmware changes that affect all systems

  • A problem was fixed that caused a migrated partition to reboot during transfer to a VIOS 2.2.2.0, and later, target system. A manual reboot would be required if transferred to a target system running an earlier VIOS release. Migration recovery may also be necessary.
  • A problem was fixed that can cause  Anchor (VPD) card corruption and  A70047xx SRCs to be logged.  Note: If a serviceable event  with SRC A7004715 is present or was logged previously, damage to the VPD card may have occurred. After the fix is applied, replacement of the Anchor VPD  card is recommended in order to restored full redundancy. 
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
  • On systems running Dynamic Platform Optimizer (DPO) ,  a problem was fixed that caused an incorrect placement of dedicated processors for partitions larger than a single chip.  When this occurs, the performance is impacted over what would have been gained with proper placement.
AL770_048_032 / FW770.20

05/17/13
Impact: Availability         Severity:  SPE

New Features and Functions

  • Support for the 8268-E1D systems.
System firmware changes that affect all systems
  • A problem was fixed that caused a service processor reset/reload with SRC B181720D due to a memory leak.
  • The Hypervisor was enhanced to allow the system to continue to boot using the redundant data chip on the anchor (VPD) card, instead of stopping the Hypervisor boot and logging SRC B7004715,  when the primary data chip on the anchor card has been corrupted.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a service processor dump to be generated with SRC B18187DA "NETC_RECV_ER" logged.
  • A problem was fixed that caused the date and time to be incorrect in AIX if a partition is remotely restarted on a different system from the one on which it was hibernated.
  • A problem was fixed that caused a performance loss after a configuration change, such as un-licensing a processor, because the Hypervisor is unable to dispatch a partition to a shared processor.
  • A problem was fixed that may cause inaccurate processor utilization reporting.
System firmware changes that affect certain systems
  • On systems running Active Memory Sharing (AMS) partitions, a problem was fixed that caused the system to hang after an AMS partition was deleted or mobilized, combined with either an AMS pool resize or relocation of AMS pool memory.
  • On systems with I/O towers attached, a problem was fixed that caused multiple service processor reset/reloads if the tower was continuously sending invalid System Power Control Network (SPCN) status data.
  • On 8202-E4D and 8205-E6D systems with the PCIe expansion card feature code (F/C) 5610 or F/C 5685 installed, a problem was fixed that caused the wrong FRU part number (74Y8565 instead of 74Y5221) to be called out when the fan on the expansion card failed.
  • On systems managed by a management console, a problem was fixed that was caused by an attempt to modify a virtual adapter from the management console command line when the command specifies it is an Ethernet adapter, but the virtual ID specified is for an adapter type other than Ethernet.  The managed system has to be rebooted to restore communications with the management console when this problem occurs; SRC B7000602 is also logged.
  • On systems running Dynamic Platform Optimization (DPO), a problem was fixed that caused the current DPO score for a partition to be incorrect.  When this occurs, it looks like DPO would not improve performance when in fact it would improve the performance.  Also, on systems running Dynamic Platform Optimization (DPO), in which there are no processors in the shared processor pool, a problem was fixed that caused the Hypervisor to become unresponsive (the service processor starts logging time-out errors against the Hypervisor, and the HMC can no longer talk to the Hypervisor) during a DPO operation.
AL770_038_032 / FW770.10

03/21/13
Impact:  Availability      Severity:  SPE

System firmware changes that affect certain systems
  • On systems running Active Memory Sharing (AMS) partitions, a problem was fixed that caused the system to hang after an AMS partition was deleted or mobilized, combined with either an AMS pool resize or relocation of AMS pool memory.
  • On systems running Active Memory Sharing (AMS) partitions, a problem was fixed that may arise due to the incorrect handling of a return code in an error path during the logical partition migration (LPM) of an AMS partition.
  • On systems running Active Memory Sharing (AMS) partitions, a timing problem was fixed that may occur if the system is running Dynamic Platform Optimization (DPO).
AL770_032_032 / FW770.00

02/20/13
Impact:  New      Severity:  New

New Features and Functions

  • Support for the 8202-E4D and 8205-E6D systems.
  • Support for the 8231-E1D and 8231-E2D systems.
  • Support for the 8246-L1D, 8246-L2D, 8246-L1T, and 8246-L2T systems.
  • Support for version 2 of the EnergyStar standard.

4.0 How to Determine Currently Installed Firmware Level

For HMC managed systems:  From the HMC, select Updates in the navigation (left-hand) pane, then view the current levels of the desired server(s).

For standalone system running IBM i without an HMC: From a command line, issue DSPFMWSTS.

For standalone system running IBM AIX without an HMC: From a command line, issue lsmcode.

Alternately, use the Advanced System Management Interface (ASMI) Welcome pane. The current server firmware  appears in the top right corner. Example: AL710_yyy.


5.0 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 will need to download the new firmware level to a CD-ROM or ftp server.


6.0 Installing the Firmware

The method used to install new firmware will depend 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: ALXXX_YYY_ZZZ

Where XXX = release level

HMC Managed Systems:

Instructions for installing firmware updates and upgrades on systems managed by an HMC can be found at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/index.jsp?topic=/p7ha1/updupdates.htm

Systems not Managed by an HMC:

p Systems:
Instructions for installing firmware on systems that are not managed by an HMC can be found at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/index.jsp?topic=/p7ha5/fix_serv_firm_kick.htm

IBM i Systems:
See "IBM Server Firmware and HMC Code Wizard":
http://www-912.ibm.com/s_dir/slkbase.NSF/DocNumber/408316083

NOTE: For all systems running with the IBM i Operating System, the following IBM i PTFs must be applied to all IBM i partitions prior to installing AL770_101:
NOTE: For all systems running with the IBM i Operating System and without an HMC attached, the following IBM i PTFs must be applied to all IBM i partitions in addition to the PTFs listed above, prior to installing AL770_101:
These PTFs can be ordered through Fix Central.

7.0 Firmware History

The complete Firmware Fix History for this Release Level can be reviewed at the following url:
http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/server/firmware/AL-IOCp-Firmware-Hist.html