HP NetServer AA 4000 Instruction Manual

HP NetServer AA 6200
Solution
Release Notes
(Release 3.0 Service Pack 1)
HP Part Number 5971-0814
Printed in October 2000

Notice
ii
The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.
Hewlett-Packard makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not
limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
Hewlett-Packard shall not be liable forerrors contained hereinor forincidental orconsequential
damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.
Hewlett-Packard assumes no responsibility for the use or reliability of its software on
equipment that is not furnished by Hewlett-Packard.
This document contains proprietary information that is protected by copyright. All rights are
reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated to another
language without the prior written consent of Hewlett-Packard Company.
TRADEMARK NOTICE
Assured Availability, ComputeThru, Computing for the long run, Constant Computing,
Endurance, Marathon Assured, MIAL, SplitSite, and the Marathon logo are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Marathon Technologies Corporation in the United States and/or
other countries.
BackOffice, the BackOffice logo, Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows, and Windows NT are either
registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other
countries.
All other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective companies or
organizations.
SOFTWARE REVISION
The revision of the software that this document supports is Revision 3.0.1–SP.EA.

iii
Contents
About This Product. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
HP NetServer AA Solution Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Additional Documentation on the Customer Support Web Site . . . . . . . 2
Platform Support and System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
CE Dual Processor Support and CPU Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Platform Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Motherboard Requirement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Memory Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Marathon Interface Card (MIC) Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Operating System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
HP NetServer AA Solution Enhancements in Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 . . . 5
Support for 4 Gigabytes of Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Endurance_APP_DATA Environment Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Installation Verification Procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Endurance Manager Support for Windows 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Redirected Gigabit Ethernet Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Endurance Performance Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Operating the Endurance Performance Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Redirected Ethernet Card Replacement without Server Reboot . . . . . . 7
Acrobat Reader Version 4 Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
New Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
MtcCEX Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
MtcMon Fault Handler Status Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
MtcMon Status Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
IVP Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Changed Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
MtcEthP Status Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
MtcMon FRU Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
MtcScsiP Status Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Contents
iv
Maintenance Improvements – Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 . . . . . . . . . . 11
Features Introduced in HP NetServer AA Solution Release 3.0 . . . . . . . . 12
CE Dual Processor Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Extended BIOS and Embedded Testing Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Redirected Video Support and the CE Desktop Application. . . . . . . . 12
Point-to-point Fiber Interconnects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Endurance Manager Support for Windows 95/98 Clients . . . . . . . . . 13
Endurance Manager Non-privileged Operational Mode . . . . . . . . . . 13
Automatic Derivation of MAC Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Operational Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Service Pack Installation Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Known Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
General Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Known Third-Party Vendor and Application Limitations . . . . . . . . . . 16
Documentation Errata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

1
HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
About This Product
These Release Notes document HP NetServer AA Release 3.0 Service Pack 1. This Service
Pack is a complete HP NetServer AA Solution software kit, containing all files needed to
perform an HP NetServer AA Solution server installation.
The following revisions are associated with this Service Pack.
HP NetServer AA Solution Documentation
HP NetServer AA Solution Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 documentation is available in both
online and hardcopy format, with selected documents available in one format or theother, while
other documents are available in both formats. The online documentation is located in the \Docs
directory on the HP NetServer AA Solution CD. Use Acrobat Reader to read and/or print it.
If you currently have HP NetServer AA Solution Release 3.0 installed at your site and plan to
upgrade to Release 3.0 Service Pack 1, first install the latest HP NetServer AA Solution online
documentation located on the CD from which you will install your software. Once the online
documentationis installed,youcan view (and/or print)the Upgrade and Downgrade Procedures
or, if you are reading this document online, access them by clicking on the link in Table 1-1.
Component Description
Hardware MIC Adapter Revision 4.2
Firmware MIC BIOS Revision 4.0.53–SP
MIC MicroCode Revision 4.0.81–SP
MIC FPGA Revision 4.2.53–SP
Software English versions: Endurance Software Revision 3.0.1–SP.EA *
Endurance Manager Revision 3.0.52–SP.EA
Japanese versions: Endurance Software Revision 3.0.1–SP.JA *
Endurance Manager Revision 3.0.52–SP.EA
* To confirm the revision of your software, from Endurance Manager select
View Revision Levels.

HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
2
The complete documentation for HP NetServer AA Solution Release 3.0 Service Pack 1
includes the following:
†This documentation applies to Release 3.0 and Release 3.0 Service Pack 1.
Additional Documentation on the Customer Support Web Site
This document contains complete andtimely information about the productas ofitspublication.
However, you should consult the HP NetServer AA Solution Web page at
http://netserver.hp.com/netserver/products/highlights_assured_avail.asp
to obtain the most recent updates to information about the release.
Table 1-1 HP NetServer AA Solution Documentation
Document or Manual Format Release
README.txt Online only Release 3.0 Service Pack 1
HP NetServer AA 6200 Solution Release
Notes (Release 3.0 Service Pack 1) Online and hardcopy Release 3.0 Service Pack 1
HP NetServer AA Solution
Administrator’s Guide Online and hardcopy Release 3.0 †
HP NetServer AA Solution Installation
Guide Online and hardcopy Release 3.0 †
HP NetServer AA Solution Messages Online only Release 3.0 Service Pack 1
HP NetServer AA Solution Upgrade/
Downgrade Procedures (Release 3.0
Service Pack 1)
Online only, as well as on the HP
NetServer Web site Release 3.0 Service Pack 1
Glossary Online and hardcopy in
HP NetServer AA Solution
Administrator’s Guide
Release 3.0 †
Online Help Online only Release 3.0 †

3
HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
Platform Support and System Requirements
CE Dual Processor Support and CPU Requirement
Release 3.0 of the HP NetServer AA Solution server introduced support for the use of two
processors inthe CEs, which are required for the server to boot.If your server is configured with
only one CPU in the CEs, the server will not boot. Also, use of the /onecpu switch in the
boot.ini file has no effect; even if you set this switch, your server will boot both CPUs in the
CE.
In addition, all processors in the CEs must be the same model (for example, Pentium®III or
Pentium III XeonTM) and speed. These requirements also apply to Release 3.0 Service Pack 1.
Platform Support
Starting with Release 3.0, the HP NetServer AA Solution server includes support for Pentium
III or Pentium III Xeon processors on the CEs and IOPs. However, use of the Pentium III serial
number (PSN) is not supported in applications on the CEs.
Motherboard Requirement
Starting with HP NetServer AA Solution Release 3.0, the motherboards on all computers (CEs
and IOPs) must be capable of supporting two or more processors.
Memory Requirement
Starting with Release 3.0, the HP NetServer AA Solution server requires a minimum of 256 MB
of memory in the CEs and IOPs. In addition, starting with Release 3.0 Service Pack 1, HP
NetServer AA Solution server can support up to 4 gigabytes of memory in the CEs.
Marathon Interface Card (MIC) Requirement
Starting with Release 3.0, the HP NetServer AA Solution server requires the new high
performance version of the Marathon Interface Card (MIC): version 4.2. For best performance
in the IOPs, HPrecommends configuring the MIC with its own interrupt if possible, rather than
sharing an interrupt. Also, you should install the MIC in a primary PCI bus, and not on a
secondary bridge chip.

HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
4
Operating System Requirements
In addition to the installation requirements listed in the HP NetServer AA Solution Installation
Guide, the operating system versions that can be used for HP NetServer AA Solution 3.0
Service Pack 1 are restricted to those described in Table 1-2. Note that international customers
other than those in Japan should use the English version of HP NetServer AASolutionsoftware
(HP NetServer AA Solution software revision 3.0.1-SP.EA).
Table 1-2 HP NetServer AA Solution Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 Supported Operating
System Versions
Note: HP concurs with Microsoft in recommending the use of Service Pack 6a, which
includes the latest updates to Windows NT 4.0.
Windows NT®Version HP NetServer AA
Solution
Component
Required Windows NT Service
Packs
English Language Version — HP NetServer AA Solution Software and Documentation
Windows NT Server 4.0
(US and language variations) CEs and IOPs Windows NT Service Pack 6 and 6a
Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition
(US and language variations) CEs and IOPs Windows NT Service Pack 6 and 6a
Windows NT Server, Terminal Server
Edition (US and language variations) CEs and IOPs Windows NT Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 5 and 6
Japanese Language Version of Windows NT and HP NetServer AA Solution Documentation
Windows NT Server 4.0 CEs and IOPs Windows NT Service Pack 6a
Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition CEs and IOPs Windows NT Service Pack 6a
Windows NT Server, Terminal Server
Edition CEs and IOPs Windows NT Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 4 and 5

5
HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
HP NetServer AA SolutionEnhancements in Release 3.0
Service Pack 1
Release 3.0Service Pack 1includes a number ofenhancementsto the Release 3.0 HP NetServer
AA Solution software.
Support for 4 Gigabytes of Memory
Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 includes support for 4 gigabytes of memory in the CEs.
Endurance_APP_DATA Environment Variable
Beginning with Release 3.0, HP NetServer AA Solution uses a new installation path to comply
with Microsoft’s direction that programs install within the \Program Files path for
compliance with Windows 2000. Due to this installation path change, customers who had
written scripts to take advantage of the previous HP NetServer AA Solution installation path
might find that their scripts no longer work as expected.
Starting in Release 3.0 Service Pack 1, HP recommends the use of the ENDURANCE_APP_DATA
environment variable to compensate scripts for the new installation path. Using this
environment variable, scripts can locatethe HP NetServer AASolution utilities on any language
variation of Windows NT. To take advantage of this capability, take the following steps:
Installation Verification Procedure
Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 introduces an Installation Verification Procedure for Ethernet
bindings. Each time an IOP boots, this procedure runs automatically, evaluating the server’s
Ethernet bindings and reporting its findings to the event log on the local IOP.
Step Action Notes
1 Verify the existence of a system environment variable to
each IOP and the CE environment. The Endurance installation process automatically adds the variable
%ENDURANCE_APP_PATH%. This
variable reflects the path
“c:\Program Files\Marathon
Endurance”.
2 Edit each script so that the first non-comment line is:
if NOT “%ENDURANCE_APP_PATH%”==““set
path=%ENDURANCE_APP_PATH%;%path%

HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
6
You can also run the installation verification procedure manually whenever you want to re-
evaluate the Ethernet bindings. To run the procedure, open an MS-DOS command window and
type mtcivp. The results will be written to the event log on the IOP from which you run the
procedure. To view the data on the screen as well as in the event logs, use the verbose form of
the command. To do so, type mtcivp /verbose.
The messages about these findings constitute a new class of HP NetServer AA Solution
messages, the IVP messages. These unprefixed messages are described in Chapter 3 in HP
NetServer AA Solution Messages. They are also listed in these Release Notes in the section IVP
Messages.
Endurance Manager Support for Windows 2000
Starting with Release 3.0 Service Pack 1, Endurance Manager can be installed and run on
computers with the Windows 2000 Professional operating system.
Redirected Gigabit Ethernet Support
Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 includes gigabit Ethernet support for redirected network adapters.
Refer to the Supported Configurations List on the HP NetServer Web site at
http://netserver.hp.com/netserver/products/highlights_assured_avail.asp
for information about the adapters that are qualified to take advantage of this support.
Endurance Performance Monitor
Although HP NetServer AA Solution has multiprocessing on the CEs, the standard Windows
NT Performance Monitor allows you to view only one CE processor (Processor 0). However,
Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 includes the Endurance Performance Monitor, a plug-in for the
standard Windows NT Performance Monitor that enables it to display the activity of the second
CE processor. In Release 3.0 Service Pack 1, the Endurance Performance Monitor is
implemented in English only.
The HP NetServer AA Solution plug-in adds the Endurance Processor object to the existing set
of supported objects, thus enabling the monitoring of the HP NetServer AA Solution server’s
use of Processor 1. The Endurance Processor object contains the % Processor 1 Time counter.

7
HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
You can run the Endurance Performance Monitor plug-in on either the CE or an IOP in an HP
NetServer AA Solution server running Release 3.0 Service Pack 1. The standard Windows NT
Performance Monitor must already be installed on the server before running the Endurance
Performance Monitor plug-in.
The HP NetServer AA Solution software installation process automatically installs the
Endurance Performance Monitor. During HP NetServer AA Solution installation, the following
files are installed in the folder \Program Files\Marathon Endurance:
•MTCPERF.DLL
•MTCIPERF.EXE
•MTCUPERF.EXE
Operating the Endurance Performance Monitor
You can use the Endurance Performance Monitor counter with all the standard capabilities of
the Windows NT Performance Monitor, such as charting and logging.
To operate the Endurance Performance Monitor plug-in to track performance on both CE
Processors:
Redirected Ethernet Card Replacement without Server Reboot
Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 introduces the capability of replacing redirected Ethernet cards
without having to reboot the entire server.
Step Action Notes
1 Launch the Windows NT Performance
Monitor.
2Select the Endurance Processor object.
3 Select the % Processor 1 Time counter. The % Processor 1 Time counter is updated once
every .75 seconds. For accurate readings, in the
Chart Options dialog box, do not set the Update
Time Interval value to less than 1 second.
4 Select the standard Processor object, %
Processor Time counter, Instance 0. Use this selection to monitor the CE Processor 0.

HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
8
HP NetServer AA Solution no longer requires that physical and logical addresses of a pair of
redirected Ethernet cards be recorded identically on the two IOPs. Because of this, it is possible
to swap out a failed adapter on one IOP, correct its configuration, and reboot only that IOP
instead of the entire server.
To replace a redirected Ethernet card while the server remains operational, follow these steps:
Acrobat Reader Version 4 Support
The Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 HP NetServer AA Solution CD includes Acrobat Reader
version 4. Acrobat Reader is the program used to read the online documentation. During the
installation of HP NetServer AA Solution software, if you choose to install Acrobat Reader
because it is not yet installed on your system, the version installed will be Acrobat Reader 4. If
you have AcrobatReader version 3 alreadyinstalledon your system, you may use that software
to read the online manuals; you need not install version 4. However, the installation process
prompts you to indicate whether you want to install Acrobat 4.0, which is contained on the HP
NetServer AA Solution CD.
New Messages
Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 includes a number of new messages. A new class of messages, the
Installation and Verification Procedure messages, is introduced in this Service Pack. A new
MtcCEX blue screen message, a new MtcMon Fault Handler status message, and new MtcMon
status messagesrelated to memory changes are also includedin Release 3.0 Service Pack 1. The
following sections list the new messages in the Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 online HP NetServer
AA Solution Messages manual. Refer to the manual for complete message documentation.
Step Action Notes
1 Remove the failed Ethernet card andreplace
it with a new adapter. The server remains operational while you replace the adapter in one IOP.
2 On the IOP in which you replaced the
adapter, reconfigure the configuration to the
new NIC address.
3 Reboot the IOP in which you replaced the
adapter.
4 Wait for the mirror copy to finish. When the mirror copy completes, the entire server,
including both IOPs, is again operational.

9
HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
MtcCEX Message
Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 introduces the following new MtcCEX message. Refer to the online
manual HP NetServer AA Solution Messages for complete documentation.
MtcCEX: Expected dual-processor boot, only one processor
started.
MtcMon Fault Handler Status Message
Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 introduces the following new MtcMon Fault Handler status
message. Refer to the online manual HP NetServer AA Solution Messages for complete
documentation.
IOPn.MtcMon Fault Handler status: The joining IOP encountered an
error or operator action that caused it to shut down before it
completed the joining process.
MtcMon Status Messages
Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 introduces the following new MtcMon status messages relating to
ECC and parity memory errors. Refer to the onlinemanual HP NetServer AA SolutionMessages
for complete documentation.
IOPn.MtcMon status: CEx did not obtain the memory controller
type. The presence of ECC or parity memory cannot be determined.
IOPn.MtcMon status: CEx failed to inhibit IPMI global
interrupts.
IOPn.MtcMon status: CEx has provided platform device
information. Chipset: vendor chipset. Memory mode: mode. IPMI
found: Y/N
IOPn.MtcMon status: No ECC or parity memory detected on CEx.
Chipset: vendor chipset. Memory mode: mode. IPMI found: Y/N
IVP Messages
Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 introduces a new class of messages, the Installation and Verification
Procedure (IVP) messages. The installation and verification procedure, which runs
automatically on first installing HP NetServer AA Solution and at every reboot of the HP
NetServer AA Solution server, evaluates the Ethernet bindings and reports any errors in those
bindings to the event logs of the affected IOP. Refer to the online manual HP NetServer AA
Solution Messages for complete documentation of the following new messages.
Datagram Service is not bound to any adapter.

HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
10
Datagram Service is not installed.
Datagram Service should be bound to the same adapter as the IOP
Link Driver.
Datagram Service should be bound to the same adapters as the
Ethernet Provider.
Datagram Service should not be bound to the Virtual Network
Provider.
Ethernet Provider and the IOP Link Driver should not be bound to
the same adapter.
Ethernet Provider is not bound to any adapter.
Ethernet Provider is not installed.
Ethernet Provider should not be bound to the Virtual Network
Provider.
IOP Link Driver is not bound to any adapter.
IOP Link Driver is not installed.
IOP Link Driver should not be bound to more than one adapter.
IOP Link Driver should not be bound to the Virtual Network
Provider.
MAC address for the redirected rail number n in the
configuration is incorrect.
Number of redirected rails and Ethernet bindings should be
equal.
Unable to read netcard information from the Registry.
Changed Messages
The following sections list messages that have changed in Release 3.0 Service Pack 1.
MtcEthP Status Message
The following MtcEthP message haschanged in Release 3.0 Service Pack 1.Refer to the online
manual HP NetServer AA Solution Messages for complete message documentation.
IOPn.MtcEthP status: Error in Ethernet Provider NIC bindings in
the Control Panel.

11
HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
MtcMon FRU Messages
The following MtcMon FRU messages have changed in Release 3.0 Service Pack 1. Refer to
the online manual HP NetServer AA Solution Messages for complete message documentation.
IOPn.MtcMon FRU: The MIC on Compute Element CEx has detected a
misconnected cable on its IOPy port, or the CEx MIC has had its
ID set incorrectly.
IOPn.MtcMon FRU: The MIC on I/O Processor IOPx has detected a
misconnected cable on its CEy port, or the CEy MIC has had its
ID set incorrectly.
MtcMon Status Messages
The following MtcMon status messages have changed in Release 3.0 Service Pack 1. Refer to
the online manual HP NetServer AA Solution Messages for complete message documentation.
IOPn.MtcMon status: The CE CPUx feature sets do not match. CE1
CPU ID register set = 0xy. CE2 CPU ID register set = 0xz.
IOPn.MtcMon status: The CE CPUx model and/or family types are
not compatible. CE1 CPU ID register = 0xy. CE2 CPU ID register =
0xz.
IOPn.MtcMon status: The CE CPUx stepping IDs do not match. CE1
CPU ID register = 0xy. CE2 CPU ID register = 0xz.
MtcScsiP Status Message
The following MtcScsiP status message has changed in Release 3.0 Service Pack 1. Refer to
the online manual HP NetServer AA Solution Messages for complete message documentation.
IOPn.MtcScsiP status: Mirror set copy from IOPn to IOPn for
DISKx has halted. The local IOP was unable to send a packet to
the other IOP, or the other IOP did not send an expected packet.
Maintenance Improvements – Release 3.0 Service Pack 1
HP NetServer AA Solution 3.0 Service Pack 1 includes the following maintenance
improvements to Release 3.0.
1. (HF-3.0.0-RL-01) —MIC BIOS platform support enhancements. Fix MIC hangs on power
up.
2. (HF-3.0.0-RL-02) —Miscellaneous CE divergence. RCC2-HE chipset support. Routine
CE divergence on IBM Netfinity CEs.

HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
12
Features Introduced in HP NetServer AA Solution
Release 3.0
Release 3.0 of the HP NetServer AA Solution server introduced the following features that
enhance the HP NetServer AA Solution product line:
•CE Dual Processor Support
•Extended BIOS and Embedded Testing Capabilities
•Redirected Video Support and the CE Desktop Application
•Point-to-point Fiber Interconnects
•Endurance Manager Support for Windows 95/98 Clients
•Endurance Manager Non-privileged Operational Mode
•Automatic Derivation of MAC Addresses
CE Dual Processor Support
Release 3.0 introduced support for the use of two processors in the CE. Refer to CE Dual
Processor Support and CPU Requirement in this document for further information about CE
dual processor requirements.
Extended BIOS and Embedded Testing Capabilities
An embedded MIC BIOS testing capability was introduced in Release 3.0. This embedded
capability verifies that the HP NetServer AA Solution interconnects are functioning, and it
enables you to view changes in the BIOS settings. Refer to Chapter 7 in HP NetServer AA
Solution Administrator’s Guide for complete documentation of MIC BIOS testing.
Refer to Chapter 2 in HP NetServer AA Solution Messages for complete documentation of
messages associated with MIC BIOS testing.
Redirected Video Support and the CE Desktop Application
Starting with Release 3.0, once the CEs pass POST and the text phase of the Windows NT boot
process, CE video display is redirected onto the IOPs. Monitors are required for the CEs during
flashing of the MICs and for BIOS setup. Refer to Chapter 3 in HP NetServer AA Solution
Administrator’s Guide for complete documentation of video redirection and the use of the CE
Desktop application.

13
HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
Point-to-point Fiber Interconnects
Release 3.0 of the HP NetServer AA Solution server introduced fiber connections throughout
the server. Refer to Chapter 2 in the HP NetServer AA Solution Installation Guide for
information about cabling the HP NetServer AA Solution server.
Endurance Manager Support for Windows 95/98 Clients
Beginning with Release 3.0, Endurance Manager can be installed and run on computers with
Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT operating systems. Also, as described in the
section Endurance Manager Support for Windows 2000, starting with Release 3.0 Service Pack
1, Endurance Manager can be installed and run on computers with the Windows 2000
Professional operating system.
In addition, Endurance Manager can be used to monitor HP NetServer AA Solution 4000
servers.
Endurance Manager Non-privileged Operational Mode
The Release 3.0 Endurance Manager introduced the capability of non-privileged users to
monitor the HP NetServer AA Solution server, using the various Show commands.
Administrative privileges are required to invoke any commands that perform actions.
Note: This capability is not supported when monitoring HP NetServer AA Solution
4000 servers.
Automatic Derivation of MAC Addresses
Starting with Release 3.0, Ethernet MAC addresses are related to the unique ID number of the
kit you install. The addresses are automatically derived from that number.
Operational Information
Service Pack Installation Requirement
Prior to Release 3.0 Service Pack 1, whenever you installed or uninstalled any Windows NT
Service Pack, or if you reinstalled the Windows NT operating system, including adding
Windows NT hot fixes, it was necessary to reinstall HP NetServer AA Solution software and
reapply any applicable HP NetServer AA Solution hot fixes before you rebooted the server.
Beginning with Release 3.0 Service Pack 1, you no longer need to do so.

HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
14
General Information
The following features are typical behavior of the HP NetServer AA Solution server. They are
described here so that you do not interpret them as unexpected system behavior.
•If you press the Reset button on the only active CE, or if you simultaneously press the
Reset button on both active CEs, the IOPs shut down and reboot. This is normal recovery
under these conditions.
•Network connections may be lost temporarily during CE synchronization if the CE has
256 MB of RAM or larger. Note that this 256 MB limit is the worst case scenario. It is
likely that the actual number will be greater, as a result of protocol adaptations to network
activity.
To avoid network connectivity loss during CE synchronization, you can:
- Disable automatic synchronization.
- Use a script to schedule CE synchronization (and possible loss of network
connectivity) at a convenient time.
Known Limitations
General Limitations
•HP NetServer AA Solution Release 3.0 Service Pack 1 supports up to 4 gigabytes of
memory on the CEs.
•As an integral part of the HP NetServer AA Solution fault tolerant environment, IOPs are
dedicated I/O processors that have an expected level of performance which must be
maintained.
IOPs are intended to be used for running applications that monitor and manage the HP
NetServer AA Solution server. If you run other utilities or applications that place a
particularly heavy load on the IOPs, it is possible that server elements (especially IOPs)
may be deconfigured if they can no longer provide the expected level of performance.
This could reduce overall system availability. Moreover, some of these other applications
might not run as expected in the IOP environment. Consequently you should not install
and run applications other than those that monitor and manage the server on the IOPs;
instead, you should install them on the CEs.
•Starting with Release 3.0, HP NetServer AA Solution does not support VGA mode on the
CE.

15
HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
•Do not use system BIOS features on CEs that require a local keyboard. Examples of these
features include screen blanking, power saving modes, and security modes, such as the use
of passwords or a security timer.
•Installation of the Release 3.0 or 3.0 Service Pack 1 Endurance System Manager software
is not supported on an HP NetServer AA Solution 4000 CE or IOP.
•When installing CE software from an offline IOP, it is possible that setup may fail, and the
following popup error message may be displayed: "Setup was unable to
determine what version of Windows NT the CE is using." If it occurs, this
failure occurs immediately after the screen entitled "Select CE’s Windows NT drive
and directory."
If you encounter this error, do not continue with the installation. To correct the problem,
perform thefollowingprocedure to increase the amount of space allocated for the Windows
NT Registry in the IOP:
1. From the Task Bar, select Start Settings Control Panel System.
2. Select the Performance tab.
3. In the Virtual Memory section, click the Change... button.
4. In the Registry Size section, set Maximum Registry Size to 16 MB, or twice the
value shown in the Current Registry Size section, whichever is larger.
5. Unload all CE registry hives, if any, that are loaded in the IOPs Registry, as
follows:
a. Run the Windows NT Registry editor program REGEDT32.EXE.
1.) From the Task Bar, select Start Run. Type regedt32.
2.) Click OK.
b. In the window entitled "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE on Local Machine" check
for the Registry key named "SOFTWARE_HIVE" under the root key
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE". If the key does not exist, proceed to step step 6.
c. If the key does exist, select it (by clicking on it). Then unload the related CE
Registry hive using the menu option File Unload Hive.
6. Reboot the IOP, and reinstall the HP NetServer AA Solution software.

HP NetServer AA Solution Release Notes
16
Known Third-Party Vendor and Application Limitations
•Applications with the following characteristics cause loss of CE synchronization in the HP
NetServer AA Solution server:
- Pentium hardware performance counters
Applications or drivers must not use Pentium hardware performance counters. These
counters are typically used by specialized software products aimed at measuring the
internal performance or efficiency of the Pentium processor. Windows NT does not
export any services which directly use these counters.
- I/O devices that are connected directly to the CEs
Applications that install device drivers which directly check for local devices on the
CE may locate a product-key device, such as a dongle or specialized data acquisition
hardware. When these drivers run, they typically cause divergence when they access
specific I/O port addresses.
•Some remote control applications replace standard video drivers with their own video
drivers. Any remote control applications that replace the HP NetServer AA Solution video
drivers cannot be run on the CEs.
•Applications using the following features do not work or may have unintended results on
the HP NetServer AA Solution server:
- The feature that extracts and displays Pentium III serial number information is
disabled in the HP NetServer AA Solution server.
- These display functions:
- Color requirement other than 256 colors
- Resolutions greater than 1024x768
- Video BIOS (INT 10) calls
- Color mouse pointers
Animated mouse pointers are not recommended.
- Full screen DOS mode
Direct Draw interfaces
- Features that replace a kernel mode driver
The Microsoft Intellipoint software cannot be installed on the CEs because it replaces
the keyboard-mouse redirector (MtcKmR.sys) with an IntelliPoint kernel mode
driver (msi8042.sys). If the Microsoft Intellipoint software is installed, the keyboard
and mouse will not work.