Is "BL860c" the same as "BL860c i2"?

[Tom Wolf_3]

Hello all.
This is probably an ignorant question but my detailed knowledge of blade servers is limited.

We are using BL860c and BL870c Integrity blade servers (running HP-UX 11.23 ia64).

The advisory below was released recently but it references BL860c i2 and BL870c i2 servers.
I'm not familiar with the "i2" suffix.

Does this advisory apply to the BL860c and BL870c servers we're using or does "i2" represent a differment model?

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Tom Wolf




SUPPORT COMMUNICATION - CUSTOMER ADVISORY

Document ID: c02104557

Version: 1

ADVISORY: Minimum version of EFI driver required in I/O cards for BL860c i2, BL870c i2, BL890c i2

NOTICE: The information in this document, including products and software versions, is current as of the Release Date. This document is subject to change without notice.

Release Date: 2010-04-26

Last Updated: 2010-04-26


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DESCRIPTION
System fails to boot with I/O cards that do not have the minimum version of EFI driver loaded (see list of affected cards below).

Symptoms : If the EFI driver for a mezzanine card is below the minimum required version, system will fail to boot and hang. It will not be possible to start the UEFI shell, boot from network, or boot from disk. This also prevents the card(s) from being updated using the system.

When Seen : When the EFI driver of a mezzanine card is below the minimum version required in a BL860c i2, BL870c i2, BL890c i2 Integrity Blade. Could be seen during upgrades or field replacements of existing I/O cards, or when moving cards between a legacy integrity (BL860c or BL870c) blade and a BL860c i2, BL870c i2, BL890c i2 blade. It is recommended that the card be upgraded before moving the card to a BL860c i2, BL870c i2, BL890c i2 blade. This may be done using either a BL860c or BL870c blade.

SCOPE
Affected I/O cards:

HP Smart Array P700m Controller (508226-B21)

HP NC364m Quad Port 1GbE BL-c Adapter (447883-B21)

HP NC360m Dual Port 1GbE BL-c Adapter (445978-B21)

HP NC532m Dual Port 10GbE Multifunction BL-c Adapter (467799-B21)

RESOLUTION
The following mezzanine cards are affected, and must be upgraded to the minimum required EFI driver versions before inserting into a BL860c i2, BL870c i2, BL890c i2 Integrity Blade server. Failure to do so will result in a system boot failure.

Card
Minimum EFI Driver Version Required

NC360m
3.8.17

NC364m
3.8.17

NC532m
Min required to boot: EFI 5.0.16 (5.0.10 in Hex), bootcode 5.0.11. Users must update to EFI 5.02.23 (or higher), and bootcode 5.02.51 before they start using their NC532m Mezzanine cards.

P700m
7.08


EFI drivers and update utilities can be downloaded from the HP Business Support Center: http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html .

Select “Download drivers and software (and firmware)” then search for the product number of the card.

For 508226-B21, select the desired operating system.

For 447883-B21, 445978-B21, and 467799-B21, select “Cross operating system (BIOS, Firmware, Diagnostics, etc.)”

Field Replacements

If one of the affected I/O cards needs to be replaced in the field, you must order a spares part appropriate for the BL860c i2, BL870c i2, and BL890c i2 Integrity Blade servers.

Card
Spare Part required

NC360m
615318-001

NC364m
615319-001

NC532m
615317-001

P700m
615316-001

[Tom Wolf_3]

Hello again, I wanted to add that I'm guessing we're using "legacy blades" and the "i2" suffix in the advisory refers to a newer model.

I'm also guessing the advisory is only applicable if we have the adapters mentioned in the advisory installed in our "legacy servers" but wanted to confirm this with the experts out there.

Thanks for your time.

[Daniel Bowers · Accepted solution]

The "i2" suffix is used by three new Integrity server blades that are based on the Itanium 9300 (Tukwila) processor.
http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/blades/components/c-class-integrity-bladeservers.html

The Advisory you listed only applies to these new blades (BL860c i2, BL870c i2, and BL890c i2 servers).

It doesn't apply to your BL860c or BL870c blades (no "i2"), which use Itanium 9000 or 9100 series processors.

[Torsten.]

The naming is similar to what you know from proliants - G2, G3, G4 ...


The "i2" are the second or next generation of Integrity blades, see also

http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13619_div/13619_div.html