Sun Fire E6900 Server
 
Sun Fire 3800 Server
 
Sun Fire 6800 Server
 
Sun Netra 1280 Server
 
Sun Fire E4900 Server
 
Sun Fire 4800 Server
 
Sun Fire E2900 Server
 
Sun Netra 1290 Server
 
Sun Fire 4810 Server
 

GCS>Sun Microsystems>Servers>Midrange V and Netra Servers
 
GCS>Sun Microsystems>Servers>Entry-Level Servers
 
GCS>Sun Microsystems>Servers>Midrange Servers
 

Applies to:

Goal

• Sun Fire[TM] V1280, E2900, Netra[TM] 1280, 1290
• Sun Fire[TM] 3800, 4800, 4810,  6800, E4900, and E6900

Solution

Frequently Asked Questions

Utilize 1006136.1 for command and process instructions.

See 1003332.1 Sun Fire[TM] Midframe/Midrange Servers: CPU/Memory Board Dynamic Reconfiguration (DR) Considerations for details.

See 1011882.1  and make sure that DR is supported in your configuration.  More details on which Solaris OS releases support DR is listed further in this document.

See 1005025.1 for details.

See 1012186.1 for details

There is no current resolution (or work around) and the best that can be done is to minimize database down time.
The DBA has utilized the majority of physical memory for Oracle. Please shutdown Oracle, and DR will work.

Additional information on DR:

Dynamic Reconfiguration initial release FAQs (Some of this information is quite old, but still relevant):

Q1) When is DR(Dynamic Reconfiguration) available 

   A1) DR is available as of 02/04/02 in revenue release. (english-only)

                      (Minimum OS - Solaris[TM] 8  Release 02/02)     

Q2) Is DR available globally 

   A2) DR is available globally as of 03/04/02.

Q3) What is the cost of DR 

   A3) DR is a bundled feature of the Solaris operating system, so there is no additional charge to use this feature.

Q4) What are the interface choices for DR 

   A4) There are two interface choices: Command line interface and graphical user interface through Sun[TM] Management Center 3.0 Update 4 or later.

Q5) Is DR supported with Sun[TM] Cluster 3.x 

   A5) Yes, as of Q3FY02 (This is the January - March 2002 timeframe)

Q6) Are there any device drivers that do not support DR 

   A6) Yes, the HSI and the SAI drivers can not support DR. If you install these two device drivers in your system you will be unable to perform any DR operations in the system.  Please ask the vendor of the driver if it is  Sun Dynamic Reconfiguration safe. 

Q7) Is IPMP (IP MultiPathing) supported with DR 

   A7) Yes, IPMP combines multiple physical network interfaces to one logical interface allowing load balancing and failover capabilities between the physical interfaces.      

Q8) Is Sun StorEdge[TM] Traffic Manager supported with DR 

   A8) Yes, Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager (STMS) provides load balancing and failover functionality between multiple host bus connections to the same storage device.      

Q9) Is RCM (Reconfiguration Coordination Manager) supported with DR 

   A9) Yes, RCM provides a framework allowing software applications to interact with DR operations.

Q10) Will Oracle support DR 

   A10) Yes, Oracle 8 and Oracle 9i support DR.  Solaris 8 U3 and above provide dynamic/pageable intimate shared memory (aka DISM).  

ISM reduces kernel memory pointers as a performance enhancement by allowing processes to share the same memory address mappings.  The current implementation of  Solaris allows the applications using ISM to take precedence over relocating memory and therefore operating system operations such as DR must wait for memory to be released by the application before relocating the memory segment.

DISM allows dynamic resizing (shrink/grow) of the shared memory segment as demand requires.  The operating system does not have to lock down physical memory for the entire shared memory segment, nor does Solaris have to wait for the application to release memory prior to relocation.  

See Technical Instructions 1010363.1 and 1018855.1 for more information regarding ISM/DISM.

Oracle 8 utilizes ISM and therefore the DR process will have to wait for the memory to be released by the process using ISM before relocating the ISM segment.  In the case of a high-load Oracle 8 instance with a large amount of I/O in and/or out of buffer cache, the memory segment may never be released and therefore the DR operation may appear to hang indefinitely.

A fix for Oracle 8 is made available in Solaris 8 patches 117000-05 (or better) and 117350-05 (or better), and in Solaris 9 patch level 117171-08 (or better).  These kernel patches allow DR threads to take precedence over user application threads.  This allows DR to jump to the beginning of a queue for memory page requests thus forcing all pending readers and writers to wait until the page is relocated.

On the other hand, Oracle 9i can take advantage of DISM and therefore Solaris can relocate pages of the shared memory segment as necessary to perform the DR operation.       

Q11) Are any ISV's working with Sun to deliver ADR functionality 

   A11) Yes, currently we are working with software vendors on an agreement for ADR support for the SF 3800-E25000 product lines.      

Q12) How do I DR an I/O Assembly 

    A12) In order to guarantee the health of all I/O components introduced into the system, a CPU/Memory board, and a free domain is required on the system to attach (or reattach) a cPCI/PCI I/O assembly. After the I/O assembly is tested, the board can be moved into the desired active domain.      

Q13) What do I need to do to upgrade existing customers to support DR 

   A13) All existing customers will need to upgrade their OS to Solaris 8 (02/02) or newer.  They will also need firmware 5.12.6 or newer, and will need to ensure that all device drivers support DR functionality. In addition, Sun Fire 3800 customers who wish to use hot swap/dynamic reconfiguration with cPCI host adapter cards may need to update their cPCI I/O Assembly to F540-4591-03. If a Sun Fire 3800 customer has any assembly other than the F540-4591-03 or later, they will be able to perform all DR functions on CPU/Memory boards and I/O assemblies except hot swapping the cPCI host adapter cards.      

Q14) How can I identify which cPCI assembly is installed in my SF 3800 

   A14) There are two ways: If the system has firmware level 5.12.6 or newer installed, the system controller prints out warning messages to the console when a F540-4591-02 cPCI assembly is in the system. If firmware level 5.12.6 or newer is not installed, the assembly may be visually inspected to determine the revision level.  New assemblies (-03) have "Loosen screws before unlatching" printed on the two ejector handles.      

Q15) How can I get the newer F540-4591-03 cPCI I/O Assemblies 

   A15) Please contact your local service representative to schedule receipt of the new cPCI I/O Assembly in advance of your system upgrade.      

Q16) What are the requirements for DR 

   A16) Sun Fire[TM] 3800-F6900 DR Requirements:

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