Field Notice: FN74067 - Supercapacitor Erroneously Marked as Inoperable - Software Upgrade Recommended
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Notice
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Products Affected
| Affected Product Name | Description | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| UCSX-X10C-RAIDF | UCS X10c Compute RAID Controller with LSI 3900 (Front) | |
| UCSX-X10C-RAIDF-D | UCS X10c Compute RAID Controller with LSI 3900 (Front) | |
| UCSX-X10C-RAIDF-D= | UCS X10c Compute RAID Controller with LSI 3900 (Front) | |
| UCSX-X10C-RAIDF= | UCS X10c Compute RAID Controller with LSI 3900 (Front) |
Defect Information
| Defect ID | Headline |
| CSCwf91291 | SuperCap unit in IMM/chassis-x/server-y/controller-1/BBU is marked bad |
Problem Description
Cisco UCS X-Series Compute Nodes will report a StorageRaidBatteryDegraded alarm due to a corrupted voltage reading that is not related to a supercapacitor hardware failure.
The supercapacitor module is marked inoperable, and the Write policy on any existing virtual drive will automatically switch from Write back to Write through.
Background
The supercapacitor module connects to the front mezzanine storage module board and provides power to the RAID controller if facility power is interrupted.
Under rare circumstances, Cisco UCS X-Series Compute Node RAID controllers read a corrupted voltage value and will mark the supercapacitor module as inoperable.
Problem Symptom
A Cisco UCS X-Series blade server will report the following alarm:
StorageRaidBatteryDegraded: Battery Backup unit <chassis>/<server>/board/controller-1/BBU-CVPM03 is inoperable and needs to be replaced.
When this fault is present, existing virtual drives will switch from a Write Back policy to a Write Through policy.
Workaround/Solution
Solution
A supercapacitor replacement will not resolve this issue. This issue is resolved only by upgrading firmware, as shown in the following table:
| Affected Cisco Product | Affected Release | First Fixed Release |
|---|---|---|
| UCSX-X10C-RAID Firmware | 52.23.0-4782 | 52.23.0-5117, 0x001C |
| Intersight Server Bundle | 5.0(4b), 5.1(0.230096), 5.2(0.230040) | 5.2(0.230092) |
| UCS Manager Software (Server bundle) | 4.3(2b) | 4.3(2c) |
To clear the alarm after the upgrade, complete the following steps to reset the controller to factory defaults:
1. Launch the KVM console.
2. Reboot the server and press F2 when prompted.
3. From the Advanced tab, choose BROADCOM <UCS X10c Compute RAID controller> Configuration Utility.
4. Choose Set Factory Defaults.
5. On the next screen, set Confirmed to Enabled.
6. Choose Yes.
7. Press F10 to save and exit.
Workaround
No workaround is available for this problem.
How to Identify Affected Products
All Cisco UCS X-Series servers that are equipped with the UCSX-X10C-RAIDF or UCSX-X10C-RAIDF-D RAID controllers that are running a firmware release earlier than the first fixed bundle release are susceptible to this defect.
For More Information
The specific RAID controller fixed firmware that is bundled into the release is as follows:
| Cisco Product | Fixed Firmware Release |
|---|---|
| UCSM Managed Mode | 4.3(2c) |
| Intersight Managed Mode | 5.2(0.230092) |
To verify that the reason for the supercapacitor alarm matches this issue, blade server technical support diagnostics files can be collected. For more information, see Intersight Help Center - Managing Technical Support.
The storage controller TTY log will report Safety Status: 0x40, as shown in the following example. The server must be powered on during technical support diagnostics file generation.
/var/log/tty_log_MRAID_202x-xxxx.txt
07/28/23 20:05:52.011: C1:BQ33100 Safety Status : 0x40
Revision History
| Version | Description | Section | Date |
| 1.0 | Initial Release | — | 2024-JAN-31 |
For More Information
For further assistance or for more information about this field notice, contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) using one of the following methods:
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