April 25, 2007
NOTICE:
THIS FIELD NOTICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND DOES NOT IMPLY ANY KIND OF GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY, INCLUDING THE WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY. YOUR USE OF THE INFORMATION ON THE FIELD NOTICE OR MATERIALS LINKED FROM THE FIELD NOTICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CISCO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE OR UPDATE THIS FIELD NOTICE AT ANY TIME.
Products Affected
|
Product |
|---|
|
CDE - CDE200 |
|
CDE - CDE300 |
|
CDE - CDE400 |
Problem Description
When a single bit error occurs in the memory of a Content Delivery Engine (CDE) it will cause the Linux OS to lock up (drops you into the kernel debug (KDB)). This issue was attributed to BIOS being set incorrectly.
Background
In the default BIOS setting, the system will generate a System Management Interrupt (SMI) on single bit errors. An SMI causes the system to lock up and wait for a System Management OS to take control, but the System Management OS does not support this level of functionality.
By using a Non Maskable Interrupt (NMI) on this event, the system will not hang in this condition.
In either of these cases (SMI or NMI mode), data integrity is preserved by the Error Correction Code (ECC) routines in the memory Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMMs) so no data corruption is actually experienced.
The Engineering Development team has found that modifying the BIOS configuration to be in NMI mode fixes this issue.
Problem Symptoms
System Management OS on a CDE will hang or go into KDB mode.
Workaround/Solution
Edit the BIOS to reflect NMI under the "ECC Error Type" by following the steps below:
-
During POST, hit the "DEL" key to enter Setup.
-
Under the "Advanced" menu, select "Advanced Chipset Control".
-
Under the "ECC Error Type", change the setting to "NMI".
-
Use "F10" to save and continue the boot process.
Revision History
|
Revision |
Date |
Comment |
|---|---|---|
|
1.0 |
25-APR-2007 |
Initial Public Release |
For More Information
If you require further assistance, or if you have any further questions regarding this field notice, please contact the Cisco Systems Technical Assistance Center (TAC) by one of the following methods:
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