ML 350

[gto]

Hello All,
We have 4 ml350's scattered around new england. I have worked with microsoft for a couple weeks now and HP support is useless. (they want to send a tech out to replace a power supply...i don't even think he understands what i tell him...4 servers...very far apart....the odds of 8 power supplies failing are pretty slim) The issue is that all of the servers reboot randomly. They all run w2k3 standard...all are pretty much the same hardware wise. Run Backup exec, mdaemon, mcafee, and are all dc's. The log gives nothing as to why this may be occurring. The microsoft support guy states hp management sometimes detects hardware issues and cuts the server to prevent damage...there is much more information but this should help to begin..
thanks in advance for any assistance
-Brian

[KarloChacon]

hi gto

Ml350 G5s?

if so yes they have issues with power supplies but before replacing any power supply we need to check the power source I mean UPS, there is also no problem with certain UPS Ml350 G5 does not support any UPS their power supplies are very sensitive so they need a special power supply.

"It has been noticed that this issue occurs when the server is connected to line-interactive UPS of other manufacturers. To fix this issue please use a higher end Online UPS. If an online UPS is used, the server stays up when the UPS switched to battery power.

The Online UPS takes incoming power, converts it to DC, conditions it, and converts it back to AC. This means the UPS is Online since there is no delay to switch to battery."

http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?admit=109447626+1214980895645+28353475&threadId=1187865

also
http://nam-en.apc.com/cgi-bin/nam_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=9265&p_created=1208350695&p_sid=Y18Q6v8j&p_accessibility=0&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MSZwX3Byb2RzPTAmcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9bWwzNTAgZzU*&p_li=&p_topview=1

regards

[Blazhev_1]

Hi,

will try to eliminate the known issues(only the Generation 5s can reboot so much, so I assume you have the G5s) :

The first of them is with the power supplies. There are special revisions which cause such problems - that's why the HP guy recommended you to replace and test.

2nd one is the combination between the BIOS version, the firmware of the E200i controller which is integrated on the systemboard and the MS Storport driver. Older/incompatible versions cause the system to hang/crash/freeze and then the mentioned feature reboots the servers in 10 minutes by default. The feature is called Automatic Server Recovery(ASR) and can be disabled for test purposes.

Troubleshooting you can do:

1) Firmware update of all components and BIOS :

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=15351&prodSeriesId=428936&prodNameId=428935&swEnvOID=181&swLang=8&taskId=135&swItem=MTX-8141ddd7398a47ba87134a90dd&mode=3

2) Update the MS Storport driver :

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941276/en-us

Let HP replace the power supplies of 2 servers and check if problem disappears.

Further you can check the Integrated management log(start - programs-HP System Tools-> IML Viewer or iLO) . If there is "Error: Server power removed" it should be the PSUs.
If there is "ASR detected by system ROM", there should be the other one.

Hope this helps.

Regards

[Blazhev_1]

you mentioned "reboot randomly", but just in case check also if it is not happening when a virus scan or a backup starts...

[gto]

thanks guys...few things to note. They are G5's they are plugged into minimum 1500va ups's. ASR has been disabled to allow logging in 2k3. I will try upgrading the storport driver and possibly the firmware...that concerns me as i am so far away...if something were to go wrong i wouldn't be able to quickly work on the issue.
thanks again you guys are great!
-brian

[Blazhev_1]

aer there any news?
just curious to know what happened :)