p410i controller firmware update gives NVRAM checksum error after reboot?

[Mark Ostroski]

The newest storage controller firmware for the p410i (v2.50) is listed as a critical/required update. While updating my G6 servers, I see that I receive an error message after reboot when I run "hpacucli ctrl all show detail":

"NVRAM Status: Bootstrap NVRAM image failed checksum test, but a backup image was found and successfully restored. A system restart is needed."

After rebooting again the error goes away, the firmware version remains 2.50, and the server seems to run just fine. The NVRAM checksum error is troubling to me. This has occurred each time I've applied the update to a server (DL380 G6).

Does this occur for anyone else? Is there an explanation?

[Mark Ostroski]

Here are full details of what happens when I apply the update:

[root@linuxhost tmp]# md5sum -c CP011721.md5
CP011721.scexe: OK
[root@linuxhost tmp]# ./CP011721.scexe
Firmware CD Supplemental Update / Online ROM Flash Component for
Linux - Smart Array P212, P410, P410i, P411, and P712m
* Version of rom to be flashed: 2.50
* Number of controllers: 1
* The version of existing Array ROM is 1.66
* 1 controller(s) will be flashed
* This operation may take about 2 minutes
Flash ROMs Now? (Yes/No): Yes
Flashing 1 controller(s), please wait....
Success: Product 3245103c at controller position 0
with old version 1.66 has been updated with new version 2.50.
ROM Flash complete. New firmware will take effect when the
server is rebooted.
As part of the reboot process, you should power cycle the server
and any
external drive arrays.

I then rebooted the server. This message appeared on the console:
"Copyrig HP Smart Array P410i Controller (512MB, v2.50) 1
Logical Drive>
1708-Slot 0 Drive Array Controller - Bootstrap NVRAM restored
from backup. System restart required."

When I could log back in, I checked hpacucli to see the same
results on this server as well:


Smart Array P410i in Slot 0 (Embedded)
Bus Interface: PCI
Slot: 0
Serial Number: 50123456789ABCDE
Cache Serial Number: PAAVP9SXRQKN
RAID 6 (ADG) Status: Disabled
Controller Status: Check the NVRAM status
Chassis Slot:
Hardware Revision: Rev C
Firmware Version: 2.50
Rebuild Priority: Medium
Expand Priority: Medium
Surface Scan Delay: 15 secs
Queue Depth: Automatic
Monitor and Performance Delay: 60 min
Elevator Sort: Enabled
Degraded Performance Optimization: Disabled
Inconsistency Repair Policy: Disabled
Post Prompt Timeout: 0 secs
Cache Board Present: True
Cache Status: OK
Accelerator Ratio: 25% Read / 75% Write
Drive Write Cache: Disabled
Total Cache Size: 512 MB
No-Battery Write Cache: Disabled
Cache Backup Power Source: Batteries
Battery/Capacitor Count: 1
Battery/Capacitor Status: OK
SATA NCQ Supported: True
NVRAM Status: Bootstrap NVRAM image failed checksum test, but
a backup image was found and successfully restored. A system
restart is needed.

I opened an HP hardware support case... first level support urged me to ignore the error, I think mainly because I have also reported that the server seems ok after a second reboot. No explanation for the problem was provided.

[Glenn Matthys]

I've had the same issue on 3 servers with a P410i controller. After a reboot and power cycle the controllers work fine.

[Mark Ostroski]

I had about 20 servers to update. I had one of them this weekend that failed to come up properly after reboot.

The firmware applied successfully but after reboot the orange failure lights appeared on both hard drives and the system did not recognize the RAID volume. It cycled through the reboot loop looking for bootable media as if the server were not configured.

Thankfully, the system came back to life after I manually reset the power. The RAID volume was then recognized and the system booted with no errors.

This update makes me nervous.