Technical Bulletin #21
To: All Sites Using Solaris 2.5 or 2.5.1
From: Customer Support
Date: 2 May 1997
Subject: Technical Bulletin #21
Sun Patch for VOB Servers Prevents Data Corruption
ClearCase
customers using VOB servers running Solaris 2.5 or 2.5.1 should
check immediately for the following Sun patches:
- 103093-08 Solaris 2.5
- 103640-06 Solaris 2.5.1
These patches fix a serious problem on these
systems. A power failure or system panic can result in the
corruption of any file on the machine, including VOB
databases.
The problem is described in Sun Early Notifier Document
14161 (reproduced here).
SUN EARLY NOTIFIER
DocID: 14161
Date: Oct 1 1996 8:22:19AM
Synopsis: Data flushing problem in Solaris 2.5 and 2.5.1
A serious bug in Solaris 2.5 and 2.5.1 has been repaired with
appropriate patches. The problem was with the fsflush()
process, which was failing to remove data promptly from memory
and write it to disk, resulting in the corruption of some files.
The problem existed:
- only on Sun-4d and Sun-4m architecture systems
- only on Solaris 2.5 and 2.5.1 systems (the problem is fixed in
2.6, and 2.4 was never affected)
- only when the machine has been powered off or crashed in such
a way that the file systems are not properly sync'ed (e.g., a
power failure), so a "planned" shutdown/power-off could not cause
the problem
Several bug reports addressed the problem,
including 1231524, 1238938 and 1250177. The repair effort eventually
centered around bug ID 1251421, and information can be found in
SunSolve under that number.
Patch 103093 repairs this problem on Solaris 2.5, and Patch
103640 repairs the problem on Solaris 2.5.1.
PRODUCT AREA: any
PRODUCT: any
SUNOS RELEASE: any
Any Questions?
If you have any questions regarding the situations discussed in this Technical Bulletin, please contact Customer Support at support@rational.com or (781) 676-2450 in Massachusetts or 31-23-569-4310 in the Netherlands.