Sun Fire[TM] 12K, 15K, E20K, E25K: OpenBoot[TM] Prom no Longer Accepts Shortened Disk Boot Device Paths in System Management Services (SMS) 1.4.1

Asset ID:	1-72-1007591.1
Update Date:	2011-01-24
Keywords:

Solution Type Problem Resolution Sure

Solution 1007591.1 : Sun Fire[TM] 12K, 15K, E20K, E25K: OpenBoot[TM] Prom no Longer Accepts Shortened Disk Boot Device Paths in System Management Services (SMS) 1.4.1

Applies to:

Sun Fire 12K Server - Version: Not Applicable and later   [Release: N/A and later ]
Sun Fire 15K Server - Version: Not Applicable and later    [Release: N/A and later]
Sun Fire E20K Server - Version: Not Applicable and later    [Release: N/A and later]
Sun Fire E25K Server - Version: Not Applicable and later    [Release: N/A and later]
All Platforms

Symptoms

Symptoms

After upgrading from SMS 1.3 to 1.4.1 several domains no longer booted off their boot disk aliases.

The aliases seemed to be truncated from:

/pci@7c,700000/pci@1/scsi@2/disk@0,0:a
     to
/pci@7c,700000/pci@1/scsi@2/disk

- SMS 1.3

Jul  6 14:34:18 2004 Sun Fire[TM] 15000, using IOSRAM based Console
Jul  6 14:34:18 2004 Copyright 1998-2002 Sun[TM] Microsystems, Inc.  
All rights reserved.
Jul  6 14:34:18 2004 OpenBoot[TM]  4.7.6, 8192 MB memory installed, Serial#11471147.
...
Jul  6 14:46:43 2004 {1a0} ok nvalias disk /pci@1bd,600000/pci@1/scsi@2,1/disk
Jul  6 14:46:46 2004 {1a0} ok boot disk
Jul  6 14:46:47 2004 Boot device: /pci@1bd,600000/pci@1/scsi@2,1/disk File and args:
Jul  6 14:47:06 2004 ^MSunOS Release 5.8 Version Generic_108528-27 64-bit

-> "SMS 1.3" supports shortened boot paths for disks

- SMS 1.4.1

Jul  6 17:42:54 2004 {100} ok nvalias disk-full /pci@7c,700000/pci@1/scsi@2/disk@0,0:a
Jul  6 17:43:15 2004 {100} ok nvalias disk /pci@7c,700000/pci@1/scsi@2/disk
Jul  6 17:43:24 2004 {100} ok boot disk
...
Jul  6 17:46:19 2004 Boot device: /pci@7c,700000/pci@1/scsi@2/disk  File and args:
Jul  6 17:46:20 2004 Can't read disk label.
Jul  6 17:46:20 2004 Can't open disk label package
Jul  6 17:46:20 2004 Evaluating:
Jul  6 17:46:20 2004
Jul  6 17:46:20 2004 Can't open boot device
...
Jul  6 17:47:02 2004 {100} ok boot disk-full
Jul  6 17:47:02 2004 Boot device: /pci@7c,700000/pci@1/scsi@2/disk@0,0:a  File and args:
Jul  6 17:47:11 2004 ^MSunOS Release 5.9 Version Generic_112233-12 64-bit

-> "SMS 1.4.1" cannot handle shortened boot paths for disk

Cause

Shortened aliases are no longer supported. SMS' OBP has changed its behavior.

Solution

Normal operating practice says to specify full device paths, even if using "show-disks" and ^Y is more comfortable.
1) Boot off a fully specified device path:

 setenv boot-device /pci@7c,700000/pci@1/scsi@2/disk@0,0:a

2) Redefine device aliases with fully specified device paths:

 nvalias disk /pci@7c,700000/pci@1/scsi@2/disk@0,0:a

Additional Information

Using nvalias for disks in OBP (in general), see the OpenBoot 4.x Command Reference Manual for details.
Using nvalias for disks in SMS, see Chapter 5 of the SMS 1.6 Installation Guide.
Document 1010006.1 Creating a boot device alias.

Previously Published As 77359

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