CHAPTER 2

Board Hot-Plug Software Procedures

This chapter explains how to use the board hot-plug capability. For command information and examples, see Chapter 1, "OpenBoot 3.x Commands." Also see Chapter 3, "CPU Over Temperature Safeguard." The CPU over temperature feature ensures that the temperature on any CPU/memory board does not go above safe temperature operating range.

The board hot-plug procedures described in this chapter need to be followed by a system reboot.

The one known restriction is that you cannot detach an I/O board that has the central bit set.

Disabled System Board

A system board can become disabled (not used by the operating system) in three ways:

• A self-test detects a failure and disables the board.
• The board is disabled manually using disabled-board-list. In this case, the operator tells the system not to use the board. For example:

ok setenv disabled-board-list 72

The above command disables boards in slots 7 and 2. See "disabled-board-list" on page 8" for more information.

• The board was inserted while the operating system was running.

· To Swap Out a Disabled Board

1. Make sure that the board is disabled (not in use by the operating system, power light off).

2. Remove the disabled board.

   Caution - If the yellow light is on, use prtdiag to determine the cause before installing a new board.

3. Install a new board.

   a. Verify that system precharge is OK.

   b. Verify that hot-plug is available.

4. Reboot the system.

Activated System Board

The system board is activated when the following three conditions are met:

• The board is in place during system startup.
• The slot has not been disabled by disabled-board-list.
• The board passes self-test.

· To Swap Out an Activated Board

1. Halt the system.

2. Power off the system.

3. Remove and replace the board.

4. Reboot the system.

Disabling Hardware

By using the configuration-policy command, you can disable

• Component--Disables only the failing component.
• Board---Disables the board if any component on it fails.
• System--Stops the system at the POST menu if there is a failure.

Examples:

ok setenv configuration-policy board

or

# eeprom "configuration-policy board"

· To Disable a Defective Board

If you suspect a board is defective and want to request that the system disable the board, perform the following procedure.

1. Prohibit the system from using the board by using the setenv command at the ok prompt or the eeprom command at the # prompt. In the examples that follow 3 equals slot 3.

ok setenv disable-board-list 3

or

# eeprom "disable-board-list"=3

2. Reboot the system.

3. Remove the unused board and insert a new board.

4. Clear the disabled-board-list. See "disabled-board-list" on page 8 for more information.

5. Reboot the system.

Getting More Information

For additional information on Alternate Pathing, which is the ability to switch between two connections for disk and network adapters, see the Sun Enterprise Servers Alternate Pathing User's Guide (P/N 805-3532-10), which is part of the Solaris on Sun Enterprise Servers AnswerBook on the Supplement CD.