AlphaServer DS20 V7.3 Firmware

This document provides the release notes for the AlphaServer DS20 V7.3 firmware (as of April 2007). It is intended for administrators responsible for operating system installations, upgrades, and firmware maintenance.

Key features of the document include:

• Firmware Updates: Provides detailed procedures for updating console and I/O firmware using the Loadable Firmware Utility (LFU) via both the SRM and AlphaBIOS consoles.
• Operational Guidance: Explains how to manage device states, specifically addressing the "not connected" state for disks using the FFAUTO and FFNEXT environment variables to ensure successful booting.

• Technical Information:

  • Lists minimum required operating system versions (OpenVMS V7.1-2, Tru64 Unix V4.0F, Windows NT V4.0).
  • Explains usage of show bios and run bios commands for managing controller expansion ROMs.
  • Documents the use of user-defined environment variables (user_def1 and user_def2) for non-volatile storage accessible by the Tru64 UNIX OS.

• Known Issues and History: Contains a section on known anomalies and restrictions, such as the lack of support for bootable DVDs, along with a comprehensive change history detailing enhancements and bug fixes from firmware versions V6.7 through V7.3.