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Advisory: (Revision) HP ProLiant Servers - Windows WHEA Logger Logs Frequent Event ID 47 Error and Linux Logs MCE Error With Intel Xeon E7 Family Processors Installed

SUPPORT COMMUNICATION - CUSTOMER ADVISORY

Document ID: c03282091

Version: 5

Advisory: (Revision) HP ProLiant Servers - Windows WHEA Logger Logs Frequent Event ID 47 Error and Linux Logs MCE Error With Intel Xeon E7 Family Processors Installed
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: 2012-04-12

Last Updated: 2014-10-13

DESCRIPTION

Document Version
Release Date
Details
5
10/13/2014
Updated Platforms that this issue could occur on
4
01/17/2014
Updated to add additional platform and details
3
11/11/2013
Updated with link to Intel PDF
2
11/06/2013
Updated with additional information
1
04/12/2012
Original document release

Certain ProLiant servers utilizing Intel Xeon E7 Family processors may experience Correctable Machine Check (CMC) Memory Errors. These CMC errors are not operating system-dependent and may occur with any operating system. With high-speed processor busses, it is normal for a low occurrence of CMC memory error events to occur. However, on rare occasions, a higher than expected number of CMC memory errors may be logged in the IA32_MC8_Status Model-Specific Register (MSR) or IA32_MC9_Status MSR of the processors across a single processor package.

Windows-based operating systems will log the following event in the System Event Log by Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA)-Logger as Correctable Machine Check memory errors:

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-WHEA-Logger
Date: 2/2/2012 9:30:02 AM
Event ID: 47
Task Category: None
Level: Warning
Keywords:
User: LOCAL SERVICE
Computer: %%
Description:
A corrected hardware error has occurred.
Component: Memory
Error Source: Corrected Machine Check
The details view of this entry contains further information

Linux-based operating systems will display events in the "mcelog" output or in the /var/log/mcelog if that log file exists. Customers will also notice "machine-check event logged" in the "dmesg" output. Although the errors are benign, these errors may "taint" the Linux kernel.

SCOPE

Any ProLiant server configured with Intel E7 8800, 4800, or 2800-series processors and any of the following operating systems:

  • Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
  • SLES 11
  • SLES 10
  • VMware ESX/ESXi 4.1
  • VMware ESXi 5
  • Windows Server 2008 SP2
  • Windows Server 2012
  • Windows Server 2012 R2

RESOLUTION

This is not an HP product-specific issue but rather a behavior of the Intel Xeon Processor E7 family, Intel has explained this design behavior in the following specification update:

The following sub-bullet is added to section 9.5.1.2. of the Intel Xeon Processor E7-8800/4800/2800 Product Families Datasheet:

http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/specification-updates/xeon-e7-8800-4800-2800-families-specification-update.pdf Non-HPE site

"Frequent transitions to package C3/C6 memory self-refresh during some idle workloads may increase the number of recoverable (corrected) SMI link events observed. While a low occurrence of recoverable events is normal for high speed processor busses, the rate of recoverable events may increase during some idle conditions due to the higher number of SMI link disable-enable transitions occurring."

As a workaround, the "Minimum Processor Idle Power Package State" utilized by the server can be modified from its default value of "Package C3 State" to the "No Package State." Modifying this setting will prevent the issue described in this advisory.

Note: Disabling Package C3 State may result in a loss of power savings when the system is idle.

Modifying "Minimum Processor Idle Power Package State - Package C3 State" Using the ROM-Based Setup Utility (RBSU):

Perform the following steps to modify the "Minimum Processor Idle Power Package State" using RBSU:

  1. Press the F9 key when prompted during POST to access RBSU.
  2. Select Power Management Options .
  3. Select Advanced Power Management Options .
  4. Select Minimum Processor Idle Power Package State and modify the setting from "Package C3 State" to "No Package State".
  5. Press the F10 key to exit RBSU. The server will restart automatically.

Modifying " Minimum Processor Idle Power Package State - Package C3 State " Using CONREP Utility:

Perform the following steps to modify the "Minimum Processor Idle Power Package State" using the CONREP tool from the HP Scripting Toolkit for Windows and Linux v9.50. The HP Scripting Toolkit for Windows and Linux v9.50 is available for download at the following URL under the "Downloads" tab:

http://www.hp.com/go/ProLiant/STK

For detailed information regarding using the CONREP utility, reference the User Guide contained in the HP Scripting Toolkit for Windows and Linux v9.50 at the following URL:

http://www.hp.com/go/ProLiant/STK

  1. Download the HP Scripting Toolkit for Windows or Linux v9.50.
  2. Create a text file named "conrep.dat" that contains the following information:

    <Conrep>
    <Section name="Intel_Minimum_Processor_Idle_Power_Package_State">No_Package_State</Section>
    </Conrep>

  3. Run the following command to apply the settings in the conrep.dat file:
    conrep -l -x <path to appropriate ProLiant server XML configuration file>

Note: The ProLiant server CONREP XML configuration files are located in the \Tools\conrep_xml directory of HP Scripting Toolkit. The directory is created after downloading HP Scripting Toolkit and executing the SoftPaq self-extracting file.

Disclaimer:
Note: One or more of the links above will take you outside the Hewlett-Packard web site. HP does not control and is not responsible for information outside of the HP web site.



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

NAVIGATION TIP : For hints on navigating HP.com to locate the latest drivers, patches, and other support software downloads for ProLiant servers and Options, refer to the Navigation Tips document .

SEARCH TIP : For hints on locating similar documents on HP.com, refer to the Search Tips document .

Hardware Platforms Affected: HPE ProLiant DL580 G7 Server, HPE ProLiant DL980 G7 Server, HPE ProLiant BL680c G7 Server Blade
Operating Systems Affected: VMware ESXi 5.0
Software Affected: Not Applicable
Support Communication Cross Reference ID: IA03282091
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Document title: Advisory: (Revision) HP ProLiant Servers - Windows WHEA Logger Logs Frequent Event ID 47 Error and Linux Logs MCE Error With Intel Xeon E7 Family Processors Installed
Document ID: emr_na-c03282091-12
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