CHAPTER 27

Physical Memory Test (pmem)

The pmem test checks the physical memory of the system. The pmem test locates parity errors, hard and soft error correction code (ECC) errors, memory read errors, and addressing problems. The pseudo driver mem(7) is used to read the physical memory.

pmem Options

FIGURE 27-1 pmem

The amount of memory shown in the Configuration field is the total physical memory probed by the SunVTS kernel. It reflects the amount of physical memory found, rounded up to the nearest megabyte. The test options enable you to choose the amount of memory to be read.

FIGURE 27-2 pmem

In the case of UltraSPARC servers, the configuration field lists the banks of memory on each cpu or memory board separately. When physical mapping is used pmem test is registered for each cpu or memory board separately.

pmem Test Modes

TABLE 27-1 pmem

Test Mode	Description
Connection Test	In this mode, 1 percent of the memory is read; pmem also informs the user of how much physical memory is available. For sun4m, sun4u, and UltraSPARC servers, the test reports the ECC errors that have occurred since it was last invoked. The test reports ECC errors for a particular CPU or memory board when physical mapping is selected, otherwise it provides the SIMM number of the ECC memory error.
Functional Test	In Functional test, the amount of memory to be read can vary; the default is 100 percent. For UltraSPARC servers, this test mode reports all ECC errors that have occurred since the system was brought online
Online Mode	Provides a means to run pmem through SyMON. In Online mode, the following Functional Test description applies: A variable amount of memory is read in Online mode; the default is 100 percent. For UltraSPARC servers, the ECC error reporting is the same as for the Connection test.

pmem Command Line Syntax

/opt/SUNWvts/bin/pmem standard_arguments [-p=n] [-i=n] [-w=n] [size=n]
[bdinfo=n]

TABLE 27-2 pmem

Argument	Explanation
size=number	Specifies the percentage of memory to be read.
bdinfo=number	For UltraSPARC servers, indicates board number information. For example, if board 0 and board 5 have memory and you want the test to read the memory on these two boards, then bdinfo=33 (2**5 + 2**0).

pmem Error Messages

TABLE 27-3 pmem

	Error Message	Probable Cause(s)	Recommended Action
6003	number intermittent errors on text. text would indicate the SIMM locations
6004	Symbol text not found in kernel image. text will indicate the name of the symbol not found in the kernel image
6005	number persistent errors on text SIMM(s). text would indicate the SIMM locations	SIMM(s), check the SIMM location	Call your Sun service representative.
8000	kvm_open() failed: error_message
8001	sysinfo(SI_PLATFORM) failed: error_message
8002	Symbol text not found in kernel image. text will indicate the name of the symbol not found in the kernel image
8003	Couldn't open file /dev/ mem: error_message
8004	Unable to read pointer to memlist structure
8005	Unable to read "size" and "address" in memlist
8006	llseek() to address address failed (error_message)
8007	read() at address address failed (error_message)
8008	sysconf(_SC_NPROCESSORS_O NLN) failed: error_message

TABLE 27-3 pmem(Continued)

	Error Message	Probable Cause(s)	Recommended Action
8009	llseek to address address failed (error_message)
8010	llseek to address address [text] failed (error_message)	This message is seen on UltraSPARC servers only. The text indicates to which board and bank the physical address address maps.
8011	read() at address address [text] failed (error_message)	This message is seen on UltraSPARC servers only. The text indicates to which board and bank the physical address address maps.