IBM has identified a problem with HMC release 7.7.3 interacting in customer environments.
Due to some differences in code, customers are experiencing problems when:
- Two HMCs are attached to a system
- One is upgraded to 7.7.3, one remains downlevel
- Firmware is next upgraded on one or more managed systems to the 730 family of code
- Finally a Live partition mobility move is done
Admittedly this is a rare event for all of these things to happen exactly as it’s listed here, but it has happened.
At this moment, only the Power 795 has compelling issues driving an upgrade to the 730 family of microcode. If you don’t have a 795, you are probably not worrying about the HMC upgrade immediately.
The root cause is the change of the length of the field name for the Profile Name in 730. Version 7.7.3 HMCs know how to handle this, and 7.3.2 and lower do not.
We wish our customers to take the “safe route”, for the best systems availability. Please postpone any upgrade plans for HMC 7.7.3 until after this problem is fully resolved.
If you have questions about this, or need clarification please feel free to contact me, or IBM Support for more information.
