Re: [foxboro] AW51D Problem
- From: "Gillis, Dale" <Dale.Gillis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:42:09 +0300
Hi Kashif.
I had similar problems with a WP51D Box on our site. I tracked the
problem down to a mother board situation. That is I had 128 MB of ram
installed in it and some times it would do a panic stop and give mmu
messages etc. I noticed the box would sometimes report only seeing 64
MB of RAM. I decided to take 64 MB out of Mem Bank 1 in the box and let
it run. This made no difference so I swapped the Ram (64 for 64MB) and
let it run and again no difference. Then I proceeded to leave Bank 0
Empty and let Fill Bank 1 with the 64 MB (2 32 MB's). The box ran very
steady after that for weeks so I tried switching memory again in Bank 1
and it ran for weeks again flawlessly. So as a final Test I put the 64
MB back into Bank 0 to make total 128MB and the problem came back later
in the day with panic stops. I had a couple of 64MB DIMMS on site so I
put them in Bank 1 and let the Box run with Bank 0 still empty and it is
still functioning today.....hasn't been rebooted since Nov of 2005 but I
will have to soon as I know of some QF's needed for it. Hope this
helps.
Dale Gillis
-----Original Message-----
From: foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Kevin Fitzgerrell
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2007 8:23 PM
To: foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [foxboro] AW51D Problem
Kashif,
Perhaps you could post the other error messages around the panic
string, or email me a copy of the messages file - not enough info in
the string you sent to tell much more.
Sun has many kernel patches that help to address some of the panic
issues in UltraSparc II CPUs, but I'm not sure what has been
incorporated into Foxboro QFs. Are you current on QFs?
Please post or email me the entire output of the vmstat 10 10. Idle
time is related only to CPU usage, not to memory usage. 64mb ram
seems a bit low for an AW with several local and remote displays. Are
you running a historian on this also? For memory usage, I'm more
interested in the paging columns.
Given your history with this box of panics and freezing, I'd say you
need to either replace this workstation or replace some of it's
components. If you have the capabilities, consider a full load check
of the power supply. Check how clean the interior of the D box is.
Consider replacing the CPU, if that is unsuccessful, consider
replacing the mother board. If cost is an issue, the easiest solution
may be to purchase several spares from one of the many 3rd party
refurbishers of Sun workstations to use for components or as complete
replacements - my personal favorites have been anysystem.com, ames
scientific, and CCNY. All three of these companies have sold me good
refurb Sun equipment and given good warranty support when I had
problems with components.
When the box "freezes" can you rlogin from another workstation?
Regards,
Kevin FitzGerrell
On 7/12/07, Kashif Ijaz <kashifijaz93@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Dear Kevin
>
> The whole string is "panic[cpu0]/thread=3D3D0x609c65a0:trap" in the
> /var/adm/messages file.
>
> The vmstat 10 10 gives me around 88% idle time on nearly all attempts.
>
> When the display freezes, mouse does not move and you can do
absolutely =3D
> no
> action. Also the last screen with the last values of process
parameters =3D
> is
> frozen. Only resolution is to the turn the power to the box off and
then =3D
> on.
> We are using version 4.3 of I/A.
>
> Also there is no weight on the boxes.
>
> Regards,
>
> Kashif Ijaz
> Senior Design & Application Engineer
> INTECH Process Automation
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] =3D
> On
> Behalf Of Kevin Fitzgerrell
> Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2007 3:45 PM
> To: foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [foxboro] AW51D Problem
>
> Kashif,
>
> The information after the "Panic" is pretty important for determining
> what the problem is.
>
> If this has happened recently, take a look in the output of the dmesg
> command or in the /var/adm/messages* files and see what the whole
> panic string is. Alternatively, go to /opt/crash/{letterbug} and do
> "strings * | grep panic" and see what the panic strings have been.
> There were some CPU issues with Ultrasparc-II CPUs - you may be seeing
> cache or writeback data parity issues - these are CPU related. Other
> panic strings may point to memory problems.
>
> 64mb of ram seems small for an AW51D - can you email a copy of the
> output of vmstat 10 10
> in your reply?
>
> Your problem with the display freezing is likely a different issue.
> Many users have had an issue with the alarm manager causing the screen
> to stop taking mouse/kbd input. If the mouse moves but can't click
> anything, try to log in remotely and kill the alarm manager task. If
> the screen un-freezes then you know that's the issue. The alarm
> manager will restart the next time the alarm button is selected.
> There have been a number of Foxboro Helpful Hints and QFs that reduce
> the incidence of this problem but I don't know if it is completely
> resolved. What I/A version are you at?
>
> I've seen frequent other problems with the 51D series workstations -
> they seem to be significantly less sturdy than the other boxes in the
> 51A-51E range. I've had significantly more power supply, cpu and card
> failures in these boxes.
>
> If the boxes are being used on a desktop, ensure that they are not
> supporting a heavy monitor. Enough weight on the top of the case when
> used horizontally can cause the box to panic or shut down.
>
> Regards,
>
> Kevin FitzGerrell
> =3D20
> =3D20
>
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