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OpenVMS ALPMC01_071 Alpha V7.1 MCDRIVER/PMDRIVER ECO Summary
TITLE: OpenVMS ALPMC01_071 Alpha V7.1 MCDRIVER/PMDRIVER ECO Summary
 
NOTE:  An OpenVMS saveset or PCSI installation file is stored
       on the Internet in a self-expanding compressed file.
       The name of the compressed file will be kit_name-dcx_vaxexe
       for OpenVMS VAX or kit_name-dcx_axpexe for OpenVMS Alpha.
 
       Once the file is copied to your system, it can be expanded
       by typing RUN compressed_file.  The resultant file will
       be the OpenVMS saveset or PCSI installation file which
       can be used to install the ECO.
 
*OpenVMS] ALPMC01_071 Alpha V7.1 MCDRIVER/PMDRIVER ECO Summary
 
Copyright (c) Compaq Computer Corporation 1998.  All rights reserved.


Modification Date: 25-SEP-1998
Modification Type: Updated Documentation to include V7.1-1Hx support.


          ********************** WARNING! **********************
          *                                                    *
          *  *BEFORE* installing this ECO kit on your system,  *
          *  please study the installation instructions in the *
          *  Installation Notes section below.  If the kit is  *
          *  not properly installed, disk corruption may       *
          *  occur.                                            *
          *                                                    *
          ******************************************************          


OP/SYS:     OpenVMS Alpha 

COMPONENT:  MCMSG.EXE
            SYS$MCDRIVER.EXE
            SYS$PMDRIVER.EXE

SOURCE:     Compaq Computer Corporation

ECO INFORMATION:

     ECO Kit Name:  ALPMC01_071 
     ECO Kits Superseded by This ECO Kit:  None 
     ECO Kit Approximate Size:  1296 Blocks
     Kit Applies To:  OpenVMS Alpha V7.1 through V7.1-1H2
     System/Cluster Reboot Necessary:  Yes

     Installation Rating:  2 - To be installed by all customers using 
                               the following feature(s):

         To be installed by all customers with Memory Channel 
         VMSclusters experiencing periodically high error rates, 
         high connection failure rate, or high Virtual Circuit 
         closure rate, or those customers that have greater than 
         4 node Memory Channel VMSclusters.

         Note that while these new Memory Channel drivers can 
         withstand higher error rates and connection and Virtual 
         Circuit failures, the cause of this high failure rate 
         should be addressed and fixed.  The fact that these new 
         drivers recover from this condition should not be used 
         as a solution because it is really only masking the
         real problem.

     NOTE:  In order to receive the full fixes listed in this kit,
            the following remedial kits also need to be installed:

            ALPCPU101_071 will need to be installed in order to
            provide Memory Channel support for the following systems:

              - AS1000a-5/266
              - AS800-5/333
              - AS800 5/400
              - AS1000 5/266

     New Functionality and Hardware Support Added:

       This kit introduces support for 8-node MEMORY CHANNEL
       OpenVMS Cluster systems and CCMAA-BA MEMORY CHANNEL
       Adapters.



ECO KIT SUMMARY:

An ECO kit exists for MCDRIVER and PMDRIVER on OpenVMS Alpha V7.1 through
V7.1-1H2. This kit addresses the following problems: 

  o  An OpenVMS Cluster node, connected by the MEMORY CHANNEL
     cluster interconnect, might be set permanently offline, stall,
     or crash when the MEMORY CHANNEL cluster experienced an
     abnormally high error rate during reinitialization of the
     MEMORY CHANNEL nodes.

     In an OpenVMS Cluster system that uses the MEMORY CHANNEL
     cluster interconnect, each MEMORY CHANNEL port reinitializes
     the other MEMORY CHANNEL ports whenever one of the following
     events occurs:

       +  Hardware error specific to MEMORY CHANNEL

       +  Error on a device served over the MEMORY CHANNEL

       +  SCS connection over the MEMORY CHANNEL is lost

       +  Virtual circuit over the MEMORY CHANNEL is lost

     During this reinitialization, an abnormally high error rate or
     other type of high fault insertion rate can cause a MEMORY
     CHANNEL port to lose synchronization with the other MEMORY
     CHANNEL ports.

     When a MEMORY CHANNEL port is no longer synchronized with the
     other MEMORY CHANNEL  ports, one of the following events may
     happen:

       +  The unsynchronized MEMORY CHANNEL port is set 
          permanently offline.

       +  A node, which is waiting for data structure updates
          from the node with the unsynchronized MEMORY CHANNEL
          port, stalls.  The data structure updates cannot be
          delivered because the sending node's MEMORY CHANNEL
          port is no longer synchronized with the other MEMORY
          CHANNEL ports.

       +  The node with the unsynchronized MEMORY CHANNEL
          port can crash due to corrupted MEMORY CHANNEL data
          structures.  An additional sympathetic crash can also
          occur.

          A node that is stalled and a node whose MEMORY CHANNEL port
          is set permanently offline cannot rejoin the MEMORY CHANNEL
          cluster without a reboot.

          If a second OpenVMS Cluster interconnect is present, the node
          can failover to that interconnect and continue to participate
          in an OpenVMS Cluster system.   However, it cannot use the
          MEMORY CHANNEL cluster interconnect until it is rebooted.

          The drivers in this kit prevent the problems associated with
          an abnormally high error rate during reinitialization of
          MEMORY CHANNEL nodes from occurring.

            o  Some MEMORY CHANNEL messages were difficult to read
               because the formatting was flawed

          The formatting problems have been fixed.  In addition,
          timestamps have been added to all error messages.


INSTALLATION NOTES:

     ______________________________ CAUTION _____________________________

     Do not install these new drivers on a node in a MEMORY CHANNEL
     cluster while other nodes are running the original OpenVMS Version
     7.1 MEMORY CHANNEL drivers.  Attempting to use these new drivers in
     a cluster with the original drivers can stall the cluster and can
     also cause disk corruption.
     ___________________________________________________________________

     These new drivers are not compatible with the original OpenVMS
     Version 7.1 MEMORY CHANNEL drivers.  This kit does not support a
     rolling upgrade if MEMORY CHANNEL is the only cluster interconnect.

  o  SINGLE CLUSTER INTERCONNECT:

     If Memory Channel is the only cluster interconnect, OpenVMS 
     Engineering recommends the following installation procedure.

       1)  Shut down the entire cluster.
 
       2)  Reboot one node.  Install the kit on that node.
           Doing this will insure that SYS$SPECIFIC: does
           not contain any older versions of the Memory Channel
           driver.

           Rename SYS$COMMON:[SYS$LDR]SYS$MCDRIVER.EXE to
           SYS$COMMON:[SYS$LDR]SYS$MCDRIVER.EXE_MESSAGE_ONLY.

           Rename SYS$COMMON:[SYS$LDR]SYS$MCDRIVER_NEW.EXE to
           SYS$COMMON:[SYS$LDR]SYS$MCDRIVER.EXE;.

       3)  Shut down this node.

       4)  Repeat steps 2 through 3 for all remaining Memory
           Channel capable nodes of the cluster.  Following
           this procedure will insure that SYS$SPECIFIC: does
           not contain any older versions of the Memory
           Channel driver.

       5) The cluster can now be rebooted.

  o  MULTIPLE CLUSTER INTERCONNECT:

     If each node in the VMScluster has another interconnect to 
     support cluster traffic, the following procedure is recommended.

     To prevent any interaction between the V7.1 SSB Memory Channel
     driver and the driver in this kit, each node will require two
     reboots.

       6)  Install this kit on one of the Memory Channel capable nodes
           in the VMScluster.  Doing this will insure that SYS$SPECIFIC:
           does not contain any older versions of the Memory Channel
           driver.

       7)  Reboot this node.  The use of the Memory Channel will 
           be disabled on this node, and a warning message will be
           displayed, instructing that these INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
           should be read.  The use of this interim driver will cause 
           cluster communication to fail over to another available
           cluster interconnect.

     NOTE:  Steps 6 and 7 must be performed on every Memory Channel 
            capable node before moving onto step 8.

       8)  On one node:

           Rename SYS$COMMON:[SYS$LDR]SYS$MCDRIVER.EXE to
           SYS$COMMON:[SYS$LDR]SYS$MCDRIVER.EXE_MESSAGE_ONLY.

           Rename SYS$COMMON:[SYS$LDR]SYS$MCDRIVER_NEW.EXE to
           SYS$COMMON:[SYS$LDR]SYS$MCDRIVER.EXE.

       9)  REBOOT this node.

      10)  Repeat steps 8 through 9 for all remaining nodes in
           the cluster.

     After these steps are completed, all nodes will be back up 
     and running cluster communication traffic over the MEMORY 
     CHANNEL.   

In order for the corrections in this kit to take effect, the system must
be rebooted.  If the system is a member of a VMScluster, the entire
cluster should be rebooted. 

Files on this server are as follows:
»alpmc01_071.README
»alpmc01_071.CHKSUM
»alpmc01_071.CVRLET_TXT
»alpmc01_071.a-dcx_axpexe
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