Experiencing problems accessing BMC after installing OSA IPMI Mapping Layer - IBM BladeCenter and System x

Resolving The Problem

Source

RETAIN tip: H194263

Symptom

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (WS03), non-R2, installed on the affected servers can experience system management limitations when running tool applications that require an Integrated Platform Management Interface (IPMI) driver to communicate with the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC).

When the appropriate OSA or Microsoft IPMI driver is installed in WS03 non-R2, WS03 R2, or WS08 non-R2 Operating Systems (OSes) in scaled Machine Type 7141, 7233 multi-node configurations, the following limitations exist:

• Director Client will not send system management information or alerts to the Director Server from the secondary nodes. This limitation is avoided by installing the RSA II driver along with the Director agent installed (see
  workaround).
• IBM Dynamic System Analysis (DSA) cannot gather Integrated Management Module (IMM)/IPMI logs and configuration information from, and performs diagnostics on, the server.
• Advanced Settings Utility (ASU) cannot gather information on, and configure the server's system settings.

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (WS08) non-R2 includes the Microsoft IPMI driver and installs it automatically, but it is not able to communicate with multiple Baseboard Management Controllers (BMC) or IMMs within a server, such as is present in a multi-node configuration.

When the OSA or Microsoft IPMI driver is installed in WS03 non-R2, WS03 R2, or WS08 non-R2 Operating Systems (OS) in scaled Machine Type 7141, 7233 multi-node configurations, the following limitations exist:

• Director Client will not send system management information or alerts to the Director Server from the secondary nodes.
• DSA cannot gather IMM/IPMI logs and configuration information from, and performs diagnostics on, the secondary nodes.
• ASU cannot gather information on, and configure the server's system settings on the secondary nodes.
• The IBM firmware update utility for Windows, WFlash, which is used standalone, as well as by UpdateXpress System Pack Installer(UXSPi), Bootable Media Creator, and Director, cannot update the system firmware in secondary nodes.

Machine Type 8872, 8874, 8878, and 8878 servers require the RSA II driver to be installed when connected in a multi-node configuration to avoid the limitations above.

Affected configurations

The system may be any of the following IBM servers:

• BladeCenter LS22, Type 7901, any model
• BladeCenter LS42, Type 7902, any model
• System x3850 M2, Type 7141, any model
• System x3850 M2, Type 7144, any model
• System x3850 M2, Type 7233, any model
• System x3850 M2, Type 7234, any model
• System x3850 X5, Type 7145, any model
• System x3850 X5, Type 7146, any model
• System x3950 E, Type 8874, any model
• System x3950 E, Type 8879, any model
• System x3950 M2, Type 7141, any model
• System x3950 M2, Type 7144, any model
• System x3950 M2, Type 7233, any model
• System x3950 M2, Type 7234, any model
• System x3950 X5, Type 7145, any model
• System x3950, Type 8872, any model
• System x3950, Type 8878, any model
• iDataPlex dx320 Server, Type 6388, any model
• xSeries 460, Type 8872, any model
• xSeries MXE-460, Type 8874, any model

The system is configured with at least one of the following:

• Advanced Settings Utility, any version
• IBM Director, any version
• IBM Dynamic System Analysis (DSA) 2.11, any edition
• IBM Dynamic System Analysis (DSA) 2.12, any edition
• IBM Dynamic System Analysis (DSA) 2.20, any edition
• IBM Dynamic System Analysis (DSA) 2.30, any edition
• IBM Dynamic System Analysis (DSA) 3.00, any edition
• IBM Dynamic System Analysis (DSA) 3.10, any edition
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Server for 32-bit Servers, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Server for 64-bit Servers, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, Datacenter Edition, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, EE x64, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, x64 Edition, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Datacenter 32-bit, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Datacenter 64-bit, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Enterprise 32-bit, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Enterprise 64-bit, any service pack
• ServerGuide Release 8.1, any release
• UpdateXpress Service Pack Installer, version 1.20

This tip is not option specific.
The system has the symptom described above.

Note: This does not imply that the network operating system will work under all combinations of hardware and software. Please see the compatibility page for more information: http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us/

Solution

For single-node (non-scaled, standalone) server configurations, one of the following procedures can be done:

1. Upgrade WS03 R2 to SP 2, then manually install the IPMI driver using instructions provided in the Additional information section. This Fix is currently available.
   
   
2. For WS03 non-R2, install the OSA IPMI Driver and IBM Mapping Layer, available at the following URLs:
   
   http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=psg1MIGR-5069608
   
   http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=psg1MIGR-5069605

Note: Do not install the OSA IPMI driver and IBM Mapping Layer in WS03 R2 OSes. If it is inadvertently installed, remove it per instructions in the Additional information section, and install the Microsoft IPMI driver.

Support for the OSA IPMI driver and IBM Mapping Layer in WS03 on the affected single node servers, that also support WS03 as described in the ServerProven web site, is targeted for Second Quarter 2010.

For scaled multi-node server configurations, upgrade the OS to WS08 R2 or later. This Fix is currently available.

Note: Non-scaled single-node and scaled multi-node designations refer to hardware configurations, and should not be confused with OS cluster nodes.

Workaround

For scaled multi-node configurations running WS03, the following workarounds can be performed:

1. For IBM Director system management, use Director agent version 5.20.3, which sends IPMI commands to the BMC through the RSA II driver for full multi-node support.
   
   
2. For non-Director system alert capability, connect the secondary node RSAs to the network used for system management, and then configure the RSAs for alerts.
   
   
3. Flash secondary nodes by booting them standalone to media created by Bootable Media Creator, available at the following URL:
   
   http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=psg1TOOL-BOMC
   
   
4. Boot secondary nodes standalone to Standalone DSA media to obtain system configuration information and collect logs. Standalone DSA is available at the following URL:
   
   http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=psg1MIGR-5081438

Additional information

Beginning in January 2008, all IBM tools, including DSA v2.11 and up, UpdateXpress Service Pack installer (UXSPi), and IBM Director, converted to be tested and supported with the Microsoft IPMI driver in servers that have system management hardware based on BMC and RSA II. Previously, these tools had been tested and supported with the OSA IPMI driver with IBM Mapping Layer.

Microsoft began IPMI support in WS03 R2 SP2. SP2 for both WS03 and WS03 R2 were released on a common CD, and while the IPMI driver files are copied to both versions after upgrading to SP2, the IPMI driver is not automatically installed. Microsoft does not provide the IPMI driver support in WS03 non-R2. Microsoft only provides IPMI driver support in WS03 R2.

Refer to the IBM ServerProven for Windows web site to determine supported OS versions for the affected servers.

System x ServerProven for Windows:

http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/info/x86servers/serverproven/compat/us/nos/microsoft.html

System Management Hardware Architectures

Multi-node and single node servers that have IMM instead of RSA II may not have the above limitations because IBM Tools use "LAN over USB" instead of the IPMI driver to communicate in-band with the BMC component of the IMM. With LAN over USB, the IMM in each node presents itself in the OS as a LAN over USB device, which precludes the need for an IPMI driver. The IPMI driver is only required for authentication if the tools cannot authenticate to the IMM. By default the tools will try USERID/PASSW0RD. The user can also use the --user and --password options to provide the credentials. If either of those work, only the LAN Over USB interface is used. The IPMI driver is only needed if the default account is changed and the proper credentials are not provided to the tools. If they do not have or do not want to use an IPMI driver, then they simply need to provide the credentials to the tools.

Multi-node servers 8872, 8874, 8878, and 8879 have the BMC and RSA II system management architecture, but they use the RSA II driver to pass IPMI commands to the BMC. These servers do not have the limitations described above.

WS03 R2 IPMI Driver Installation Instructions

WS03 R2 Service Pack (SP) 2 includes the Microsoft IPMI driver, but because the IPMI driver needs to be manually installed, an IPMI driver may not be initially available until it is installed.

WS03 R2 installation instructions and information are in the ServerGuide README file, and are provided below for reference:

If the OSA driver and IBM mapping layer were inadvertently installed on a WS03 R2 installation, they should be removed in the order below to avoid conflicts:

1. Remove the OSA IPMI driver with the "Uninstall Programs" function in the Windows Control Panel.
2. Uninstall the IBM mapping layer with the "uninstall" option that is included in the latest version of the IBM mapping layer installation program.

The Microsoft IPMI driver (ipmidrv.sys) and ipmidrv.inf file are included in Microsoft WS03 SP2 (32-bit and 64-bit) installations. When SP2 is installed, the files are copied to the \windows\systems32\ipmi directory but the driver is not installed. The Control Panel/Add Hardware function should be used to manually install the driver as follows:

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Click Add Hardware.
3. Click Next at the welcome screen. Be patient while the wizard searches for the hardware but does not find it.
4. Select "Yes, I have already connected the hardware" and click Next.
5. Scroll down to "Add a new hardware device", select it and click Next.
6. Select "Install the hardware that I manually select from a list" and click Next.
7. Select "Show all devices" and click Next.
8. Click Have Disk.
9. Browse to \Windows\System32\Ipmi, select ipmidrv.inf and click Open.
10. Select either Microsoft Device.
11. Click Next to continue.
12. Click Finish.

WS08, WS08 R2 IPMI Driver Information

WS08 installs the IPMI driver automatically when the operating system is installed, but, like WS03 and WS03 R2, it is unable to recognize more than one BMC in a system. WS08 R2 is the first version that recognizes multiple BMCs in a system, which allows visibility of the BMCs in scaled secondary nodes to the IPMI driver in the primary node of a multi-node configuration. This affects those servers that require an IPMI driver.

Refer to the IBM ServerProven compatibility to determine the supported OS version for scaled and non-scaled platforms.

The IBM ServerProven compatibility site is available at the following URL:

http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us/