ds10 v73 fw relnote

This document comprises the Release Notes for the AlphaServer DS10 V7.3 Console Firmware, released in April 2007. It details significant changes, firmware update procedures, console notes, known anomalies, and a historical overview of firmware revisions.

Key highlights include:

• V7.3 Console Changes:

  • Kgpsa driver fix: Addresses an issue where the console would fail to log into a fibre-channel fabric switch if the connection was moved, recommending an SDID of zero as a solution.
  • Wwidmgr enhancement: Increases the number of Nx (16) and WWIDx (8) console environmental variables to support more fibre-channel storage volumes for boot and crash dumps.
  • No changes to I/O Option Firmware are explicitly mentioned for this specific release note section.

• Operating System Requirements:

  • V7.3 requires a minimum of OpenVMS V7.1-2 + required patches and Tru64 Unix V4.0F.
  • The console firmware revisions for V7.3 are SRM V7.3-1 and AlphaBIOS V5.71.

• Firmware Update Procedure:

  • Provides step-by-step instructions for updating firmware from both the SRM Console and AlphaBIOS Console using the Loadable Firmware Utility (LFU) commands (update, list).
  • Critical Golden Rules: Update console firmware before installing or updating an operating system, and always re-initialize the system after OS shutdown before running the update utility. Users are warned not to load firmware older than what is currently installed.

• Console Notes and Restrictions:

  • show bios and run bios commands are serial console only.
  • Bootable DVDs are not supported on all Alpha systems due to memory architectural restrictions.
  • The run bios command from a graphics console through a KVM switch is not supported (requires serial console).
  • AlphaBIOS V5.70 requires HAL Revision G to avoid system hangs at boot time.
  • Other notes include behavior when halting VMS with specific graphics cards, reconfiguring Fibre Channel Switches, and messages from KGPSA devices.

• Firmware Change History: Details updates from previous versions, including V7.2 (June 2006), V7.1 (January 2006), V7.0 (June 2005), and V6.9 (November 2004), covering console enhancements (e.g., new SRM environment variables, driver setup time, increased SCSI targets), I/O option firmware revisions, and various bug fixes (e.g., WWIDMGR hang, long environmental variables).