_ FCO RA9X-F005, Microcode does not handle invalid/illegal commands ______________________________________________________________________________ | CATEGORY PAGE 1 | | Digital Equipment Corp. FCO [F] OF 10 | |______________________________________________________________________________| | FIELD CHANGE ORDER NUMBER: RA9X-F005 | |______________________________________________________________________________| | | | Applicability: This FCO must be installed on all RA90 and RA92 disk drives.| |______________________________________________________________________________| | | | Problem/Symptom: All prior releases of microcode do not handle invalid and | | illegal commands properly. The drive can hang until power cycled. The drive | | Head offset table is not being utilized properly. Soft positioner errors | | may result. | |______________________________________________________________________________| | | | SOLUTION: Install this FCO in all RA9X drives. Revision V27 microcode sup- | | ports RA90X-F-003 FCO performing a "spin-up Retract" during a drive spin up. | |______________________________________________________________________________| | | | Quick Check: The drive microcode is revision V27 or higher. | | | |______________________________________________________________________________| | PRE/CO-REQUISITE FCO: N/A | MTTI HRS | | |.8 hr/4 | |________________________________________________________________|_____________| | TOOL/TEST EQUIPMENT: N/A | |______________________________________________________________________________| | FCO PARTS INFORMATION | |______________________________________________________________________________| | FCO KIT NO. | DESCRIPTION OF CONTENTS | EQ KIT VARIATION | |______________|____________________________________________| APPLICABILITY | | EQ-01643-01 | 1 70-27950-03 RA90/92 M.U.C. | | | | 1 FA-04979-01 FCO Document | N/A | |______________|____________________________________________|__________________| | FCO CHARGING INFORMATION | |______________________________________________________________________________| | WARRANTY/CONTRACT || NONWARRANTY/NONCONTRACT | |___________________________||_________________________________________________| | ON-SITE | OFF-SITE || ON-SITE | OFF-SITE | MATERIAL ONLY | |_____________|_____________||_____________|_____________|_____________________| |TRAVEL/| EQ | | EQ ||TRAVEL/| EQ | | EQ |ORDER-ADMIN,HANDLING | |INSTALL| KIT |INSTALL| KIT ||INSTALL| KIT |INSTALL| KIT |PKG,SHIPPING & EQ KIT| |_______|_____|_______|_____||_______|_____|_______|_____|_____________________| | DEC | DEC | DEC | DEC || CUST | CUST| CUST | CUST| CUST | |_______|_____|_______|_____||_______|_____|_______|_____|_____________________| | APPROVALS | |______________________________________________________________________________| | PSPE | DSHQ LOGISTICS | DS PRODUCT SAFETY | | John Kowall | Willie Ewing | Robert Brister | |___________________|____________________________|_____________________________| | PSPE MANAGER |This document is published | FCO RELEASE DATE | | Fred Harding |on multiple media including | 06 May 1992 | |___________________|Customer Services and MDS |_____________________________| | MICROMEDIA |Microfiche Libraries. It is| FCO REVISION | | Anne James Smith |also available electronical-| A | |___________________|ly via TIMA and the SSD |_____________________________| | POPULATION |CD-ROM. | PARTS AVAILABILITY | | 19,081 | | May 1992 | |___________________|____________________________|_____________________________| +---------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | FCO RA9X-F005 | d | i | g | i | t | a | l | | | | | | | | | | | PAGE 2 OF 10 +---------------------------+ | _________________________________|______________________________________ ***************************************************************** * Instruction for determining FCO applicability * ***************************************************************** The FCO is applicable if the drive microcode is below V27. There are several methods for determinating if microcode updating is necessary: SYSTEM LEVEL - Run the latest copy of LIFE. It will report the microcode level of all RAXX drives that are on line. NOTE: The current version of LIFE will properly report the current microcode revision, it will not report the proper FCO/EQ number. LIFE is being revised, and will require LIFE version 4.0, and Rules Database number 1.0 to report the proper FCO and EQ numbers. CONTROLLER LEVEL - From the HSC controller prompt type: SHOW DISK. All drives that are either on line or available will display the drive microcode level. DRIVE LEVEL - Select and execute the drive utility Test 45 (drive revision display utility). Note the scrolling display for DCD=xxx, where xxx is the current drive microcode version. Pressing the run switch will start and stop the display for easy reading. ***************************************************************** * FCO REWORK INSTRUCTIONS * ***************************************************************** Reference the RA90/RA92 service manual if necessary. 1. Have the drives to be FCO'd dismounted from the system. 2. Disable the A and B ports. Record which port if only one. 3. Spin down the drive(s). 4. Remove the front cover from the drive(s). 5. Load microcode V27 into the drive. A - Install MUC into the OCP. B - Select and run test 40. C - Remove MUC at completion of test. 6. Press the RUN switch to bring the drive READY. 7. Check that the air filter in either the door or front bezel is clean. 8. Replace the BEZEL or front door if this is the last drive to be updated in this cabinet. 9. Enable the proper port(s). 10. Return the drive(s) to the system. +---------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | FCO RA9X-F005 | d | i | g | i | t | a | l | | | | | | | | | | | PAGE 3 OF 10 +---------------------------+ | _________________________________|______________________________________ LARS CATEGORY F USA GIA EUROPE Activity - (a)Contract and Warranty W U Y (b)IN-DEC Contract K U Hardware Segment Code 111 111 Non Contract/Non Warranty F F F (c)RTD/Off-site Agreement F U Product Line 031 DEC Option RA90/92 RA90/92 RA90/92 Type of Call M M M Action Taken D D I Fail Area-Module-FCO-Comments RA9X-F005 RA9X-F005 RA9X-F005 Material Used EQ-01643-01 EQ-01643-01 EQ-01643-01 FCO with no material used EQ-RA90X-05 EQ-RA90X-05 EQ-RA90X-05 NOTE: EACH EQ REPORTED REPRESENTS 4 (four) DRIVES (a) Warranty Optimum, Warranty Standard and Warranty Basic (on-site) Agreements; * Note material (only) free of charge for all customers. (b) Applies to IN-DEC Area Only - Warranty Optimum, Warranty Standard and Warranty Basic (on-site) Agreements. (c) RTD=Return to Digital or Off-site Agreements; If Field Engineer On-site, use Activity Code "F". +---------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | FCO RA9X-F005 | d | i | g | i | t | a | l | | | | | | | | | | | PAGE 4 OF 10 +---------------------------+ | _________________________________|______________________________________ DIGITAL CUSTOMERS RA90/RA92 RELEASE NOTES FOR MICROCODE VERSION V27 These release notes describe RA90/RA92 disk drive microcode version V27 changes and recommendations. They contain a brief description of the enhancements contained within this code release. V27 Microcode Cartridge Part number (70-27950-03 REV. A1) Customer Notification Release Notes Digital Equipment Corporation +---------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | FCO RA9X-F005 | d | i | g | i | t | a | l | | | | | | | | | | | PAGE 5 OF 10 +---------------------------+ | _________________________________|______________________________________ March, 1992 The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Digital Equipment Corporation. Digital Equipment Corporation assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document. The software described in this document is furnished under a license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. No responsibility is assumed for the use or reliability of software on equipment that is not supplied by Digital Equipment Corporation or its affiliated companies. Restricted Rights: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subpara- graph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013. Copyright İMarch, 1992 by Digital Equipment Corporation All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A. The postpaid READER'S COMMENTS form on the last page of this document requests the user's critical evaluation to assist in preparing future documentation. The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation: DEC DIBOL UNIBUS DEC/CMS EduSystem VAX DEC/MMS IAS VAXcluster DECnet MASSBUS VMS DECsystem-10 PDP VT DECSYSTEM-20 PDT DECUS RSTS DECwriter RSX DIGITAL ii +---------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | FCO RA9X-F005 | d | i | g | i | t | a | l | | | | | | | | | | | PAGE 6 OF 10 +---------------------------+ | _________________________________|______________________________________ CONTENTS 1 OVERVIEW............................................. 1 2 MICROCODE AVAILABILITY............................... 1 3 PRE-INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS...................... 1 4 DRIVE IMPROVEMENTS WITH VERSION V27.................. 2 4.1 OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS.......................... 2 4.2 PERFORMANCE....................................... 3 4.3 MAINTENANCE CHANGES............................... 4 iii +---------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | FCO RA9X-F005 | d | i | g | i | t | a | l | | | | | | | | | | | PAGE 7 OF 10 +---------------------------+ | _________________________________|______________________________________ 1 OVERVIEW This RA90/RA92 microcode release notes document is to inform our customers, with RA90 and RA92 disk drives, of the changes in the new version V27 drive microcode update cartridge. This document contains a brief description of the benefits with implementation of this new RA90/92 revision of microcode. 2 MICROCODE AVAILABILITY RA90/RA92 drive microcode is provided to Digital Services Cus- tomer Engineers via an RA9X Microcode Update Cartridge. Version V27 microcode is installed in all RA92s now being shipped and in all new spare ECM's (Electronics Control Module) coming from our major stockrooms. 3 PRE-INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS The customer is not required to back up the data from each drive before allowing Digital Service the opportunity to do the upgrade. The microcode reload involves spinning down the drive for about 2 minutes while the microcode updating process is completed. This microcode is compatible with all revisions of the RA90 and RA92 drives. During the microcode update process the resident drive microcode is not overwritten until the code in the update cartridge is read and verified to be good. This eliminates the possibility of a drive becoming inoperable after a microcode update or reload. 1 +---------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | FCO RA9X-F005 | d | i | g | i | t | a | l | | | | | | | | | | | PAGE 8 OF 10 +---------------------------+ | _________________________________|______________________________________ 4 DRIVE IMPROVEMENTS WITH VERSION V27 4.1 OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS o A drive would hang if sent an illegal operation code (Error code "0B"). To clear this error a drive had to be powered down. The situation would present itself if a drives SDI cable was plugged into a tape port on an HSC controller during some reconfiguration work. This error will still be reported, which is correct, but will no longer hang the drive. o A drive would hang if sent an invalid command procedure (drive error code "47") from a crashed/hung HSC. This can occur during a host DAP command when an HSC is crashing. An HSC with software V5XX or V41X and below may do this causing some drives or a system to hang until the drives (system disk) are power cycled. With V27 installed, this error will still be reported but it will no longer hang the drives or the system. HSC software at V600 and above has fixed the invalid command, but the HSC software V41X and below is not fixed at this time. This makes version V27 drive code necessary if you are using HSC50 controllers. 2 +---------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | FCO RA9X-F005 | d | i | g | i | t | a | l | | | | | | | | | | | PAGE 9 OF 10 +---------------------------+ | _________________________________|______________________________________ 4.2 PERFORMANCE o Engineering has made improvements in the microcode that utilizes the drive head offset table during a seek to a new cylinder. This table puts the new head in the center of the track before the read head is turned on. Not using this table properly in the past has caused intermittent soft positioner errors. Initial testing has shown the reduction or elimination of the following errors as related to changes in the use of this table. These errors can also be caused by actual hardware and environment problems. Also, this microcode does not attempt to eliminate normally expected soft errors as is common to all moving head media. o Controller reported error codes: 2B, 48, 6B, CB, 8B/34, 8B/14, E8/34. o Drive reported error codes: 7C, 7F, 8B, 9A, 9B, 9C. While the overall RA90/RA92 performance of our customer in- stalled base has been excellent, we want to take this oppor- tunity to install V27 for additional drive improvement and customer satisfaction. o Provides improved drive performance. o Provides improvements in reliability. o Provides improvements in error reporting. o Reduce the possibility of a drive causing system hangs and customer down time. o V27 supports "all" RA9X drives and FRUs' (Field Replaceable Units). 3 +---------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | FCO RA9X-F005 | d | i | g | i | t | a | l | | | | | | | | | | | PAGE 10 OF 10 +---------------------------+ | _________________________________|______________________________________ 4.3 MAINTENANCE CHANGES o The drive cylinder position information was not being logged into the drive internal error silo properly. The drive stores 64 of the last events and or errors that were detected at the drive level. This information is useful for diagnosing drive problems on site and FRU problem diagnosing at our Digital repair facilities. o The drive microcode reports correctly a "3E" error code to the drive internal error silo but a "3F" error code to it's controller when the OCP is removed while power is applied to the drive. The "3F" error is not documented in any Digital Services literature because it was never to be implemented. 4 \\FCO_DOCS \\RA9X \^ RA9X \\RA9X-F005 \\MAY \\1992 \\KOWALL \\FA-04979-01 \\RA90 \\RA92 \\DRIVES