Troubleshooting
Problem
If the 7063-CR1 HMC is powered off on or before the last day of a month, upon powering back on, the date and time can:
- Move ahead one full day
- Change to Jan 1st, 1970 or Jan 1st, <blank year> seen in the BMC GUI.
- Other incorrect time
For example:
1. The HMC is powered off on December 30th, 2019 and left in a powered down state.
2. The HMC is powered back up on January 1st, 2020.
3. The results will be the time moves ahead one day and will reflect January 2nd, 2020.
Symptom
The change in date and time can impact scheduled operations on the HMC.
The user might also notice the incorrect date on the HMC when inspecting log data or receiving notifications with an incorrect date.
For the case of a brand new installation, directly from manufacturing, if the date was changed to Jan 1st, 1970 (one of the possible incorrect values), it will impact the ability to log into the HMC. The user will be prompted repeatedly to change the password, due to expiration, and will be prevented from accessing the HMC.
For more details on this condition, 7063-CR1 HMC repeatedly prompts to change password on new arrivals from manufacturing for install at 940.
Cause
This problem happens on specific days. The correct date and time values are not being saved to the Runtime Clock (RTC). This occurs after powering off in a month with 31 days, when the previous month was less than 31 days, and leaving the HMC powered down while the new month roles over before powering back on.
Environment
HMC 7063-CR1
All BMC versions before 3.17 are impacted.
Diagnosing The Problem
If the date is off by one day (one day ahead), set to Jan 1st, 1970, or any other incorrect time, verify whether the HMC was powered off sometime in the previous month before powering on in the current month. The table below shows the impacted months. NOTE: The recorded month days are what is stored for the powered down month.
| Recorded Month | Powered Down Month | Powered On Month | Impacted? |
| November 2019 (30 days) | December 2019 (31 days) | January 2020 (31 days) | Yes |
| December 2019 (31 days) | January 2020 (31 days) | February (29 days) | No |
| January (31 days) | February (29 days) | March (31 days) | No |
| February (29 days) | March (31 days) | April (30 days) | Yes |
| March (31 days) | April (30 days) | May (31 days) | No |
| April (30 days) | May (31 days) | June (30 days) | Yes |
| May (31 days) | June (30 days) | July (31 days) | No |
| June (30 days) | July (31 days) | August (31 days) | Yes |
| July (31 days) | August (31 days) | September (30 days) | No |
| August (31 days) | September (30 days) | October (31 days) | No |
| September (30 days) | October (31 days) | November (30 days) | Yes |
| October (31 days) | November (30 days) | December (31 days) | No |
| November 2020 (30 days) | December 2020 (31 days) | January 2021 (31 days) | Yes |
Resolving The Problem
The problem is fixed in BMC level 3.17 or newer.
The following installation note applies to all BMC updates from any version earlier than 3.17.
If the BMC is at 3.17 or higher, and the procedure explained in the note below has been performed, it is not necessary to repeat it in future updates.
IMPORTANT INSTALLATION NOTE:
Following the update of the BMC, the user must reconfigure the BMC date/time under the Configuration menu, before starting the HMC operating system. Failure to do so may result in an incorrect time being set.
A reminder to manually configure the BMC date/time, will be displayed in red text below the login panel of the BMC until the user performs that operation.
NTP use: When configuring the date/time on the BMC, do not use the NTP option. If the use of NTP is wanted, it should be enabled on the HMC OS date and time configuration panel, not on the BMC.
Document Location
Worldwide
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Document Information
Modified date:
22 September 2021
UID
ibm11288780