Asset ID:	1-75-1012214.1
Update Date:	2012-07-30
Keywords:

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Solution Type  Troubleshooting Sure

Solution  1012214.1 :   Troubleshooting Red State Exception Memory Errors  


PreviouslyPublishedAs
216842

Applies to:

Sun Fire V480 Server
Sun Fire V490 Server
Sun Fire V880 Server
Sun Fire V880z Visualization Server
Sun Fire V890 Server
All Platforms

Purpose

When scanning error messages from any of the message files you will usually see the failing DIMM(s) being printed out for you, but when decoding a Red State Exception you won't have this luxury.

Debugging Red State Exceptions (w/ CE/UE errors) you must be able to manually decode the bad DIMM(s) from the AFSR and AFAR data given in the Red State Exception error output. This output is printed to the ttya port or the rsc console logs at the time of error.

Last Review Date

September 19, 2011

Instructions for the Reader

Troubleshooting Details

Red State Exceptions (RSE):

Red State Exceptions are most often caused by hardware problems. In some isolated cases, software can cause a Red State Exception.

Note: <Document 1011888.1> How to set up and disable the RSC console on Sun Fire[TM] 280R, V480, V490, V880, V890 and V880z servers before proceeding, because a full "Red State Exception" output is needed. This document will assist you in how to capture this output.

Two common types of RSE's:

• Trap Level (TL)=5 with AFSR Error Bit(s) Set
• Trap Level (TL)=5 with Trap Type (TT) Code
  

In this troubleshooting document we will be focusing on the first type ( Trap Level (TL)=5 with AFSR Error Bit(s) Set ) since this is where you will see your CE/UE errors.

Trap Level (TL)=5 with AFSR Error Bit(s) Set:



Note: This document can also assist you in troubleshooting FATAL reset errors that see UEs. All you need to do is substitute Red State Exception with FATAL Reset in the above procedure.

On many occasions field and support engineers utilize the helpful Red State Exception decoder located at URL:

http://panacea.uk.oracle.com/twiki/bin/view/Tools/ToolDecodeRedStateDecoder

It must be noted that the Red State Exception Decoder Tool is only a reference , and is only as good as the algorithm used to decode Red State Exception outputs. This algorithm in itself is flawed as the decoder has no intellectual processing of all the errors together as one, it simply breaks out each individual error and tells you which CPU is suspect for replacement. THE RED STATE DECODER CANNOT TELL YOU IF THE RED STATE BEING REVIEWED HAS A MEMORY DIMM PROBLEM. For example if the Red State Exception output above was put into the decoder it would state that CPU3 is suspect and should be replaced, even though it has been proven above that the problem is not CPU related, but in fact a failing bank of DIMMs.

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