Re: AMD Opteron FPU Bug

HP just released the following advisory. Can any one elaborate on what the 
symptoms are. That is how to tell if the "Inconsistency" has occurred?

Thanks in advance,
David Knight




"Foiles, Neil" <[email protected]> 
05/01/2006 02:33 PM

To
"Foiles, Neil" <[email protected]>
cc

Subject
Advisory: CUSTOMER ATTENTION REQUIRED: CPU Frequency Margin Test Escape on 
Small Number of Single-Core 2.6-GHz and 2.8-GHz AMD Opteron Processors






SUPPORT COMMUNICATION - CUSTOMER ADVISORY
Document ID: c00659053
Version: 1
Advisory: CUSTOMER ATTENTION REQUIRED: CPU Frequency Margin Test Escape on 
Small Number of Single-Core 2.6-GHz and 2.8-GHz AMD Opteron Processors
NOTICE: The information in this document, including products and software 
versions, is current as of the Release Date. This document is subject to 
change without notice.
Release Date: 2006-04-28
Last Updated: 2006-04-28

DESCRIPTION
IMPORTANT: HP strongly recommends attention to the issue and the 
prescribed action detailed below. Neglecting to perform the prescribed 
action could potentially result in sub-optimal server performance, server 
lockups or failures, ungraceful server shutdowns, or data corruption or 
loss. By disregarding this notification, the customer accepts the risk of 
incurring future related events.
As described in the AMD Opteron Processor Model x52 and x54 Production 
Notice, "AMD has identified, and subsequently corrected, a test escape 
that occurred in a post-manufacturing product testing process for a 
limited number of single-core AMD Opteron� processor models x52 and x54. 
No other single-core AMD Opteron processsors and no dual-core AMD Opteron 
processors are affected." 
Single-core AMD Opteron x52 and x54 microprocessors (2.6-GHz and 2.8-GHz 
AMD Opteron processors) are shipped in the HP systems listed in the table 
below. 
The AMD Opteron Processor Model x52 and x54 Production Notice states: 
"A small number of these processors manufactured in 2005 and early 2006 
have been observed to produce inconsistent results in a non-production 
synthetic test environment with the convergence of the following three 
simultaneous conditions:
1.      The running of floating point-intensive code sequences (note: 
observed only in synthetic test environment), 
2.      Elevated CPU temperatures, and 
3.      Elevated ambient temperatures. 
Note: After thorough testing, these results have not been observed on 
systems running commercially available applications, such as Web servers, 
application servers, transaction processing servers, database servers or 
file print servers."
The AMD Opteron Processor Model x52 and x54 Production Notice can be 
accessed at the following location: 
www.amd.com/opteron/productionnotice 
SCOPE
Single-core 2.6-GHz and 2.8-GHz AMD Opteron processor models that could 
potentially be affected were shipped in the following ProLiant servers and 
HP Workstations:

Server or 
Workstation 
AMD Models Used 
ProLiant DL585 
Single-core 2.6-GHz AMD Opteron Model 852 and 
Single-core 2.8-GHz AMD Opteron Model 854 
ProLiant DL385 
Single-core 2.6-GHz AMD Opteron Model 252 and 
Single-core 2.8-GHz AMD Opteron Model 254 
ProLiant DL145 G2 
Single-core 2.6-GHz AMD Opteron Model 252 and 
Single-core 2.8-GHz AMD Opteron Model 254 
ProLiant BL25p 
Single-Core 2.6-GHz AMD Opteron Model 252 and 
Single-Core 2.8-GHz AMD Opteron Model 254 
ProLiant BL45p 
Single-Core 2.6-GHz AMD Opteron Model 852 and 
Single-Core 2.8-GHz AMD Opteron Model 854 
HP xw9300 Workstation 
Single-Core 2.6-GHz AMD Opteron Model 252 and 
Single-Core 2.8-GHz AMD Opteron Model 254 
HPxw25p Blade Workstation 
Single-Core 2.6-GHz AMD Opteron Model 252 
Note: HP systems that have been upgraded with single-core 2.6-GHz and 
2.8-GHz AMD Opteron processors could also potentially be affected.
RESOLUTION
All processors that are affected have been removed from HP inventory. HP 
is currently shipping no potentially affected systems, option kits, or 
spares kits. AMD and HP have implemented a screening process to identify 
processors that are affected by this manufacturing process issue.
HP is recommending that customers take the following measures in order to 
determine if further action is needed: 
1.      Determine if ProLiant servers or HP Workstations in your 
environment could be affected by identifying the number of HP systems that 
are configured with single-core 2.6-GHz or 2.8-GHz AMD Opteron processors. 

2.      Contact HP Customer Support with this information and request AMD 
Opteron CPU Verification. 
Determining ProLiant Servers and HP Workstations 
that Could Potentially be Affected 
Customers should first identify if they have systems that could 
potentially be affected. Systems could potentially be affected if they 
meet all of the following criteria: 
If the system is aProLiant DL145 G2, ProLiant DL385, ProLiant 585, 
ProLiant BL25p, ProLiant BL45p server, HP xw9300 Workstation, or HP xw25p 
Blade Workstation. 
Note: No other ProLiant servers and HP Workstations are affected, even 
though they may use an AMD processor, because only these servers and 
workstations use the specific models of AMD processors that could 
potentially be affected. 
If the processor is a single-core 2.6-GHz or 2.8-GHz Opteron processor. 
Note: Dual-core processors are not affected. ProLiant servers and HP 
Workstations with dual-core AMD processors are not affected. 
If the processor isOpteronmodel 252, model 254, model 852, or model 854.
Note: Other models of the Opteron processor are not affected. 
IMPORTANT: If you do not own one of the systems listed above or if your 
system does not include a 2.6-GHz or 2.8-GHz single-core Opteron processor 
model 252, model 254, model 852 or model 854, as described in the table 
above, your system is not impacted by this issue. 
Customers can obtain processor information using any of the following 
methods: 
Linux environment. On a ProLiant server or HP Workstation operating in a 
Linux environment, execute the command: cat /proc/cpuinfo and look for the 
processor model name field as shown in the following example: 
model name: AMD Opteron(tm) Processor 252
Microsoft Windows environment. On an HP system in a Microsoft Windows 
environment, view the CPU information presented in Device Manager by 
selecting the CPU in the hardware list as shown below. 
  
Note: For Linux and Microsoft Windows environments, verify the processor 
model, as well as the core frequency, as the processor may have 
downshifted to a slower core frequency in systems with AMD PowerNow 
support. 
HP Insight Diagnostics. ForProLiant servers, customers can also runHP 
Insight Diagnostics to obtain this information. 
HP Systems Insight Manager and SMH. For ProLiant servers, customers can 
also use server system management tools, such as HP Systems Insight 
Manager and the HP System Management Homepage (SMH), to obtain this 
information.
Visual Inspection. For processors that have not been installed in a 
system, use the part number laser-printed on the AMD Opteron processor to 
identify the processor information. Refer to the AMD Opteron Processor 
Quick Reference Guide, which is available on the AMD website at the 
following URL:
http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/opteron 
NOTE: Visual inspection can only be performed on processors that have not 
been installed in a system. For processors already installed in a system, 
the processor heat sink will cover the processor information; therefore, 
one of the other methods above must be used. 
If additional assistance is required to identify potentially affected 
processors, contact HP Customer Support.
Contacting HP Customer Support for AMD Opteron CPU Verification 
For customers with HP Systems that are potentially affected, contact HP 
using either of the following methods. Customers should provide HP 
Customer Support with the following information for systems that are 
potentially affected: model number, serial number, number of processors in 
each system, type of processor(s) in each system, as well as the location 
of the potentially affected system(s). 
An HP customer support representative will assist customers in scheduling 
an HP service representative to perform the AMD Opteron CPU Verification 
onsite, as discussed in more detail below.
Contact Customer Support at 1-800-HP-INVENT. 
OR 
For Service Outside North America, contact the appropriate HP Customer 
Support Center. A list of Customer Support Centers and appropriate phone 
numbers is available at the following URL: 
http://h10018.www1.hp.com/country/us/en/wwcontact.html 
 
AMD CPU Verification Tool 
AMD is providing HP with the AMD CPU Opteron Verification Tool, a rigorous 
software verification tool for identifying AMD Opteron x52 and x54 
processors that may be affected, in order to help customers identify any 
processors that may need replacement. The AMD CPU Verification Tool will 
also indicate which processors pass the verification test in order to 
avoid replacing processors unnecessarily. 
Even though this issue appears to affect only a small number of AMD 
Opteron processors, the AMD CPU Verification Tool has been designed to be 
aggressive to ensure that all potentially affected processors are flagged. 
As such, it will identify not only processors that are affected by the 
issue and need replacement, but it will also identify additional 
processors that may not be affected. Therefore, due to the aggressive 
nature of the AMD CPU Verification Tool, AMD and HP anticipate that the 
test could flag for replacement more processors than those that are 
actually affected by the issue. All processors that do not pass the CPU 
Verification process will be replaced. 

RECEIVE PROACTIVE UPDATES : Receive support alerts (such as Customer 
Advisories), as well as updates on drivers, software, firmware, and 
customer replaceable components, proactively via e-mail through HP 
Subscriber's Choice. Sign up for Subscriber's Choice at the following URL: 

http://www.hp.com/go/myadvisory 

 

SEARCH TIP : For hints on locating similar documents on HP.com, refer to 
the Search Tips document . 
To search for additional advisories related to Opteron based HP ProLiant 
Servers, use the following search string: 
+ProLiant +Advisory +Opteron
KEYWORDS : opteron, work station, workstation, processor, CPU

Hardware Platforms Affected: HP ProLiant DL585 Server series, HP ProLiant 
BL25p Server series, HP ProLiant DL385 Server series, HP ProLiant BL45p 
Server series, HP ProLiant DL145 G2 Server series, HP xw9300 Workstation, 
HP ProLiant DL585 Storage Server, HP ProLiant xw25p Blade Workstation
Operating Systems Affected: Not Applicable
Software Affected: Not Applicable
Support Communication Cross Reference ID: IA00659053
©Copyright 2006 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. 
Hewlett-Packard Company shall not be liable for technical or editorial 
errors or omissions contained herein. The information provided is provided 
"as is" without warranty of any kind. To the extent permitted by law, 
neither HP or its affiliates, subcontractors or suppliers will be liable 
for incidental, special or consequential damages including downtime cost; 
lost profits; damages relating to the procurement of substitute products 
or services; or damages for loss of data, or software restoration. The 
information in this document is subject to change without notice. 
Hewlett-Packard Company and the names of Hewlett-Packard products 
referenced herein are trademarks of Hewlett-Packard Company in the United 
States and other countries. Other product and company names mentioned 
herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Please note that all documentation provided in this e-mail is copyrighted 
material of HP. It is provided solely to complement our service efforts 
and provide further information for your reference. The documentation is 
provided "as is" without any warranties or representations of any kind. In 
particular, HP does not warrant that the materials are accurate, complete 
and up-to-date, and HP specifically disclaims all other warranties and 
conditions, in fact or in law, express or implied, including the 
warranties and conditions of merchantable quality, merchantability, 
fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual 
property of others.






Brian Long <[email protected]> 
Sent by: [email protected]
04/28/2006 08:49 AM
Please respond to
"Discussion of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 (Taroon)" 
<[email protected]>


To
[email protected], [email protected]
cc

Subject
AMD Opteron FPU Bug






http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/04/28/amd_opteron_fpu_bug/

I wanted to tell folks I just learned of the AMD FPU bug that will be
announced today.  This affects x52 and x54 CPUs.  You should work with
your AMD Opteron vendors to determine if you have the affected CPUs.
Later today the AMD announcement will come out and include a diagnostic
image which will determine if you have an affected CPU.

/Brian/
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       Brian Long                      |         |           |
       IT Data Center Systems          |       .|||.       .|||.
       Cisco Linux Developer           |   ..:|||||||:...:|||||||:..
       Phone: (919) 392-7363           |   C i s c o   S y s t e m s

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