Software/Hardware Mismatch Problems - IBM EXP15 Hardware Maintenance Manual

Software/Hardware Mismatch Problems

If a failure appears to be the result of a defective FRU, but
you don't find a problem, there might be a software and
hardware mismatch. These problems might be
intermittent, and they are usually difficult to diagnose.
If you are experiencing this type of problem, and the
operating system is of the "direct driver" variety, which
bypasses the BIOS interface, such as:
AIX
Netware
SCO UNIX
Some "windowing" interfaces
Other Unix-based software
the most-likely cause of the problem is a mismatch
between the software and the hardware.
The following information is provided to help you resolve
these problems:
Software Can Be Sensitive to the Hardware
Direct-driver software is sensitive to variations in hardware
design. The resulting incompatibilities are usually
addressed with a revision (sometimes referred to as a
patch), to the direct-driver software. Make certain the
software is current and that all known revisions are
installed. The IBM on-line bulletin board (sometimes
referred to as PCPROD), and other software tools sources,
such as Novell Netware, should be referenced by the
software support personnel for any revisions provided by
the appropriate software vendor.
The most-likely cause of these types of problems, when
direct-driver software is involved, is the failure to obtain the
latest revisions from the software vendor.
Software Installation
It is very important to follow the vendor's installation
procedures. The software should not be migrated from
another system, unless the installation instructions indicate
that migration is supported (especially from a different
model in the product line).
Important
Migrating adapters from slower systems to faster
systems might cause problems. This is due to
device-specific, system-specific, or time-dependent
software code, that controls these devices.
132
IBM Netfinity EXP15, EXP200, EXP500 HMM