Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 needs an update to support Intel(r) Xeon(r) Processor 5100, 5200, 5300 and 5400 Series microprocessors.

Asset ID:	1-73-1019068.1
Update Date:	2010-09-16
Keywords:

Solution Type FAB (standard) Sure

Solution 1019068.1 : Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 needs an update to support Intel(r) Xeon(r) Processor 5100, 5200, 5300 and 5400 Series microprocessors.

1. Impact

On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 (RHEL4) GA through RHEL4.5, it is possible for the memory management data of a process to be modified while the process is still active on another processor, causing the system to hang.

2. Contributing Factors

The following Intel(r) Xeon(r) processor families currently support greater than 36-bits physical addressing and therefore may be impacted by this issue...

   Dual-Core Intel(r) Xeon(r) 5100 series (Woodcrest G-step)
   Dual-Core Intel(r) Xeon(r) 5200 series (Wolfdale-DP)
   Quad-Core Intel(r) Xeon(r) 5300 series (Clovertown G-step)
   Quad-Core Intel(r) Xeon(r) 5400 series (Harpertown)
   Dual-Core Intel(r) Xeon(r) 7200 series
   Quad-Core Intel(r) Xeon(r) 7300 series

which includes the following Sun Xoptions and part numbers...

   X4510A   371-3066   3.0 GHz CPU, Xeon 5160, Dual Core, 80W
   X4511A   371-2649   1.86 GHz CPU, Xeon E5320, Quad-Core, 80W
   X4512A   371-2650   1.60 GHz CPU, Xeon L5310, Quad Core, 50W
   X4513A   371-2652   2.33 GHz CPU, Xeon E5345, Quad Core, 80W
   X4514A   371-2653   2.66 GHz CPU, Xeon X5355, Quad Core, 120W
   X4515A   371-3843   3.00 GHz CPU, Xeon X5365, Quad Core, 120W
   X4516A   371-3948   3.33 GHz CPU, Xeon X5260, Dual Core, 80W
   X4518A   371-3950   2.33 GHz CPU, Xeon E5410, Quad Core, 80W
   X4519A   371-3949   2.83 GHz CPU, Xeon E5440, Quad Core, 80W
   X4520A   371-3952   3.16 GHz CPU, Xeon X5460, Quad Core, 120W
   X6350A   371-3066   3.0 GHz CPU, Xeon 5160, Dual Core, 80W
   X6351A   371-2650   1.60 GHz CPU, Xeon L5310, Quad Core,50W
   X6352A   371-2649   1.86 GHz CPU, Xeon E5320, Quad-Core, 80W
   X6353A   371-2652   2.33 GHz CPU, Xeon E5345, Quad Core, 80W
   X6354A   371-2653   2.66 GHz CPU, Xeon X5355, Quad Core, 120W
   X6356A   371-4032   2.0 GHz CPU, Xeon L5335, Quad Core, 50W
   X6390A   371-3948   3.33 GHz CPU, Xeon X5260, Dual Core, 80W
   X6391A   371-3950   2.33 GHz CPU, Xeon E5410, Quad Core, 80W
   X6392A   371-3949   2.83 GHz CPU, Xeon E5440, Quad Core, 80W
   X6393A   371-3952   3.16 GHz CPU, Xeon X5460, Quad Core, 120W
   X6370A   371-3455   2.93 GHz CPU, Xeon E7220, Dual Core, 80W
   X6371A   371-3456   1.86 GHz CPU, Xeon L7345, Quad Core, 50W
   X6372A   371-3457   2.13 GHz CPU, Xeon E7320, Quad Core, 80W
   X6373A   371-3458   2.40 GHz CPU, Xeon E7340, Quad Core, 80W
   X6374A   371-3459   2.93 GHz CPU, Xeon E7350, Quad Core, 130W

Previous CPU steppings of the 5100 and 5300 series support 36-bit physical addressing. All future Intel(r) Xeon(r) processor families are planned to support greater than 36-bits physical addressing.

3. Symptoms

The issue described above can potentially lead to stale TLB entries. Processor prefetching using these stale TLB entries can lead to different errors like Machine Check Exception (MCE) or application failures, and general system hangs.

4. Root Cause

The fix within the kernel is to always reload Control Register 3 (CR3), which contains the base address of the page table hierarchy, when the memory manager updates a process's memory management data. This reloads the TLB list and flushes out any stale entries.

5. Corrective Action

Workaround

No workaround available. See Final Resolution section below.

Resolution

Any customer that experiences this issue should contact Red Hat directly to either get Enterprise Linux 4.5 kernel-2.6.9-55-0.12.EL, or to get Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.6 or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

For Intel(r) Xeon(r) processors that support greater then 36-bit physical addressing, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.5 kernel-2.6.9-55-0.12.EL (released November 1, 2007) or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.6 (released November 14, 2007) or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 is required.

Identification of Affected Parts (how to):

To determine if your processors are affected, issue the command cat /proc/cpuinfo and look for the physical address size reported on the line that begins with 'address sizes'. Below is an example from an affected system:

Intel Processor

address sizes : 38 bits physical, 48 bits virtual

Any processor that shows support for 36-bit physical addressing or greater is affected. Note that in the above example this processor supports 38-bit physical addressing and is therefore affected.

6. Comments

Since these processors are not supported in RHEL3, 32-bit RHEL4 is unaffected and the patch for this issue was included in RHEL5 at the time it was launched, the issue will only be seen on 64-bit RHEL4. RHEL4.6 and RHEL4.5 with the errata kernel-2.6.9-55-0.12.EL contain the necessary fix for this problem. Red Hat strongly recommends that customers update to 4.6 or to the 4.5 errata kernel as soon as possible. Failure to implement these minimum Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions may lead to serious system errors.

For information about FAB documents, its release processes, implementation strategies and billing information, go to the following URL:

http://tns.central/fab

For Sun Authorized Service Providers go to:

http://tns.central/SPE/fab/

In addition to the above you may email:

[email protected]

Internal Contributor/submitter
[email protected]

Internal Eng Responsible Engineer
[email protected] Responsible Manager: [email protected]

Internal Services Knowledge Engineer
[email protected]

Internal Eng Business Unit Group
SG NSG (Network Systems Group)

Internal Sun Alert & FAB Admin Info
5-Mar-2008: Draft completed and sent to Ext Rvw.
7-Mar-2008: Awtg Contributer response on Ext Rvw feedback.
10-Mar-2008: Contributer provided final updates.
11-Mar-2008: Sent to Publish.
12-Dec-2009: Replaced Product with Swordfish Nomenclature

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