Version 20.01.25

The DGX Firmware Update container version 20.01.25 is available.

  • Package name:nvfw-dgx2_20.01.25_200207.tar.gz

  • Run file name: nvfw-dgx2_20.01.25_200207.run

  • Image name: nvfw-dgx2:20.01.25

Highlights and Changes in this Release

  • This release is supported with the following DGX OS software -

    • DGX OS 4.3 or later

    • EL7-19.11 or later

  • Updated the BMC

    • Added LDAPS (secure LDAP) support.

    • Resolved network connection getting lost when connected to virtual media.

    • Resolved an issue where occasionally the BMC UI would stop responding.

  • Fixed unnecessary string “Update status: Not Available” appearing after restoring PSU firmware.

  • See DGX-2 System Firmware Changes for the list of changes in individual components.

Contents of the DGX-2 System Firmware Container

This container includes the firmware binaries and update utilities for the firmware listed in the following table.

Component

Version

Key Changes

BMC

1.05.12

See BMC Release Notes for the list of changes.

Change to the Update Process

Originally, only certain firmware components, such as the SBIOS, required rebooting the system after performing the update.

In order to ensure that all DGX-2 services continue running, you must reboot the DGX-2 after any firmware update for any component or group of components.

Updating Components with Secondary Images

Some firmware components provide a secondary image as backup. The following is the policy when updating those components:

  • SBIOS: Only the primary image is updated. To update both images, follow the instructions at Special Instructions for PSU, SBIOS, and BMC Firmware Updates.

  • BMC: Only the primary image is updated. To update the secondary (backup) image, include the --update-backup-bmc option in the update command.

  • FPGA: Only the primary image is updated.

Special Instructions for PSU, SBIOS, and BMC Firmware Updates

Before updating the PSU, SBIOS, or the BMC, refer to the following special instructions for guidance to ensure the updates are successful.

PSU Updates

SBIOS Updates

  • If the current BMC is version 1.05.7, then BMC should be updated before updating the SBIOS.

  • If the current SBIOS is a version earlier than 0.22 (such as 0.13 or 0.17), then you need to update the SBIOS from the BMC dashboard. See Updating the SBIOS Using the BMC Dashboard for instructions.

  • To update both primary and secondary SBIOS (after updating the BMC) using the container, do the following (assumes the primary SBIOS is the current, active SBIOS).

    1. Update the active SBIOS using the firmware update container.

    2. Designate booting from the secondary (inactive) SBIOS on the next boot.

      sudo ./nvfw-dgx2_20.01.25_200207.run sbios_slot --switch-nextboot-slot

    3. Reboot the DGX-2 to switch to the secondary SBIOS.

      telinit 1
umount /raid
sync
ipmitool chassis power cycle

    4. Update the secondary (now active) SBIOS.

    5. Designate booting from the primary SBIOS on the next boot (to restore the primary SBIOS as the active SBIOS).

      sudo ./nvfw-dgx2_20.01.25_200207.run sbios_slot --switch-nextboot-slot

    6. Reboot the DGX-2 to switch back to the primary SBIOS.

      telinit 1
umount /raid
sync
ipmitool chassis power cycle

BMC Updates

Known Issues

SBIOS Intel ME Setting Version Does Not Get Updated

Issue

The Intel ME firmware has changed since SBIOS 0.17, but updating the SBIOS from 0.17 does not update the ME firmware.

Resolution

To update the Intel ME firmware, do not update the SBIOS using the firmware update container. Instead, use the BMC dashboard. See Updating the SBIOS from the BMC Dashboard for instructions.

After updating the SBIOS, verify that the Intel ME setting version has been updated by issuing the following.

# sudo dmidecode --type 11

//output
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.0.0 present.

Handle 0x0055, DMI type 11, 5 bytes
OEM Strings
      String 1: 4.0.4.313.1

Verify that the last digit in String 1 is “1” as in the example output.

note:: The Intel ME setting version is stored in the SBIOS, and available for viewing, only with SBIOS version 0.24 and later.

EEPROM Checksum Mismatch

Issue

BMC version 1.05.7 introduced an issue that could cause corruption in the BMC EEPROM. This is indicated by an EEPROM checksum mismatch error message when attempting to update any firmware.

You can also verify EEPROM corruption by issuing the following .. code:: text

sudo ./nvfw-dgx2_20.01.25_200207.run show_version

and then viewing the output for the error message.

note:: This error may be reported if a corrupt SBIOS produces a watchdog timeout during boot. In this case, the error message is erroneous. See the section Watchdog Timeout Due to Corrupt SBIOS for instructions on confirming and then resolving the SBIOS corruption.

Resolution

The DGX-2 Firmware Update Container version 20.01.25 includes logic to detect and repair the corruption. Perform the following steps to repair the EEPROM corruption.

  1. If the BMC is not already updated, then update the BMC.

  2. Review the “current” and “next” boot SBIOS by issuing the following.

    sudo ./nvfw-dgx2_20.01.25_200207.run sbios_slot --get-nextboot-slot

  3. Perform actions based on the NextBoot and Currently Booted from slots

    • If the NextBoot slot and Currently Booted From slot are different, then reboot the system using ipmitool.

      telinit 1
umount /raid
sync
ipmitool chassis power cycle

    • If the NextBoot slot and Currently Booted From slot are the same, then switch the NextBoot slot and then reboot as follows.

      sudo ./nvfw-dgx2_20.01.25_200207.run sbios_slot --switch-nextboot-slot
telinit 1
umount /raid
sync
ipmitool chassis power cycle

  4. Switch the NextBoot slot again and reboot to return to the original SBIOS.

    sudo ./nvfw-dgx2_20.01.25_200207.run sbios_slot --switch-nextboot-slot
telinit 1
umount /raid
sync
ipmitool chassis power cycle

  5. Verify the version strings in the primary and secondary slots are restored to their correct values.

    sudo ./nvfw-dgx2_20.01.25_200207.run show_version

Watchdog Timeout Due to Corrupt SBIOS

Issue

If an SBIOS is corrupt, the system will not be able to boot from it. In this case, when attempting to boot from the corrupt SBIOS, a watchdog timeout occurs and then the system boots from the alternate SBIOS. If the system is then rebooted, the system will attempt to boot from the original SBIOS, timeout again, then boot from the alternate SBIOS.

To confirm that a watchdog timeout has occurred,

  1. Issue the following.

    sudo ./nvfw-dgx2_20.01.25_200207.run show_version
sudo cat /var/log/nvidia-fw.log | grep "EEPROM detection status 1" -n1

  2. Inspect byte 14 from the last EEPROM struct entry in the output.

    If byte 14 (bold-italicized in the following example) is 01, then a watchdog timeout has occurred.

    {EEPROM struct :00 00 16 00 00 18 00 01 03 01 03 01 22 01 01 a5}

Resolution

If the SBIOS is corrupted, you can re-flash the SBIOS from the BMC dashboard. See Updating the SBIOS from the BMC Dashboard for instructions.

VBIOS Not Updated on DGX KVM Host

DGX-1 Known Issue

Issue

On a DGX-2 System that has been converted to a DGX KVM host, the VBIOS will not get updated if the GPU is being used by a guest GPU VM.

Explanation

All guest GPU VMs must be stopped before running the container to update the VBIOS. To stop the VMs, run the following from the KVM host for each guest GPU VM.

virsh shutdown <vm-domain>

Backup SBIOS Version at 0.0

Issue

The BMC dashboard incorrectly reports the backup SBIOS version to be 0.0.

Explanation

Due to a limitation in the BMC software, the software does not know the version of the backup SBIOS since it has not been run.