Firmware Patch 112276-08 For Sun StorEdge T3+ WITHDRAWN, May Cause Data Loss

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Impact

Sun StorEdge T3+ firmware patch 112276-08 (firmware 2.01.05) has been withdrawn from SunSolve due to a very rare possibility of data loss. In 2.01.05 firmware, there is a possibility that the execution of the "vol verify fix" command could block access to a volume or slice that is part of a particular volume of the T3+ array.

Firmware Patch 112276-08 (firmware 2.01.05) has been WITHDRAWN and is no longer available from SunSolve.

Contributing Factors

This issue can occur with the following release:

• Sun StorEdge T3+ Array with firmware patch 112276-08 (firmware 2.01.05) and without firmware patch 112276-09 (firmware 2.01.06)

Note: Please reference the patch README installation instructions on how to determine the current firmware level.

Symptoms

The "vol verify fix" operation is recommended to be run once in at least 30 days to ensure the good health of T3+ volumes. This operation checks the parity of data blocks for RAID 5 volumes and mirror blocks for RAID 1 volumes. If the data and parity/mirror does not match, then it logs the information that a data and parity/mirror mismatch is seen on the corresponding T3 volume (if vol slicing is not enabled) or slice (if vol slicing is enabled). After the mismatch, it blocks the read and write access to the smallest element - slice (if vol slicing is enabled) or volume (if vol slicing is not enabled), which may result in data loss. After this it continues scanning the volume until the end.

Workaround

To work around the described issue until the patch can be applied:

A) Backout patch 112276-08 (firmware 2.01.05) and re-install 112276-07 (firmware 2.01.04).

Or, if this issue is already present:

B) Backup the data, remove the read/write blockage by deleting the affected volume or slice, recreate it, then restore the data from backup.

Resolution

This issue is addressed in the following release:

• Sun StorEdge T3+ Array with firmware patch 112276-09 (firmware 2.01.06) or later

Modification History


Date: 01-DEC-2003

• Resolution patch released
• Updated Contributing Factors and Resolution sections
• Re-release as "Resolved"

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