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Caveats to Read Before You Upgrade

These caveats make you aware of changes or potential problems that could significantly affect your installation.
Different caveats will be relevant for different types of users; scan the list for information that is applicable for you.
This is not a complete list of all known bugs, workarounds, or changes, which are documented in the release notes for each individual product. In addition to reviewing this list, you may want to check "Caveat and Release Note Updates" link at http://support.sgi.com/6.5/ for any late-breaking information.

All-Platform Caveats to Read Before You Upgrade

Confirm that the applications you rely on are supported
(This is also Step 3 of the Preparation Checklist.)

Here are some examples (not a complete list) of applications that either need to be upgraded or are not yet supported:
- REACT/Pro: Version 3.2 is incompatible with IRIX 6.5.2 or later releases. REACT/Pro users need to upgrade to version 4.0a to run frame scheduler applications on IRIX 6.5.2 or later.
- HIPPI: Version 3.2 or later is needed to run on IRIX 6.5.x releases.To find out how to upgrade, see www.sgi.com/software (under Software Solutions Areas, click Networking, then click HIPPI 3.2).
- ATM: Version 2.3.3 or later is needed to run on IRIX 6.5.4. The ATM overlay 2.3.3 is available from the /CDROM/dist/unbundled directory of IRIX 6.5.4 (2 of 2) Overlays CD, May 1999. This overlay requires that the base ATM 2.3.1 image be installed already, or with the overlay during the same install session. The ATM overlay 2.3.3 can be installed on IRIX 6.5.2, 6.5.3, and 6.5.4.
- Intranet Junction: Version 1.0.2 or later is needed to run on IRIX 6.5.x releases.
- ClearCase: See the RATIONAL Software site for information on purchasing a version of ClearCase that runs on IRIX 6.5.
- Sybase: Contact Sybase, Inc. for information on purchasing a version of Sybase that runs on IRIX 6.5.
Note: An application supported on any release in the IRIX 6.5 family will run on all subsequent IRIX 6.5 family releases. Additionally, the application will be compatible with all prior releases of the IRIX 6.5 family, as long as the application does not utilize a new feature from a later 6.5.x release.

If you have edited configuration files, check for changed versions at end of installation
Ideally, configuration file differences should be merged prior to restarting the system at the end of an installation. Before restarting the system at the end of your installation, use the Inst command "admin config changed" to find out which system configuration files were modified since installation. You can find out more about this command by entering"help config" at the Inst prompt. To avoid compatibility problems, merge configuration files if new versions were created. The "Updating Configuration Files" section of the versions(1M) man page describes configuration file updating, as does the online IRIX Admin: Software Installation and Licensing guide.
One example of a file that may need to be merged is the /etc/group file. If you have edited your /etc/group file, see the Default group file now reinstalled caveat under Caveats to Read After Upgrading.

Cumulative for 6.5 through 6.5.3, and still applicable for 6.5.4:

# mrmkfsrc /dev/dsk/dks0d1s0
# exit
(To exit csh and have the miniroot script try to remount root.)

Platform-Specific Caveats to Read Before You Upgrade

If you have an Indigo R4000, Indigo2, Octane, O2, Onyx 2, or Origin2000, please check the relevant caveats below before you begin your installation.
 

Indigo R4000 and Indigo2 R4000 Systems

 If the system you are upgrading has a separate filesystem for / and /usr, then the / filesystem must be at least 25MB in order to do the upgrade. Systems shipped with IRIX 4.0.x were shipped with separate / filesystems of approximately 16MB, which is too small for this version of IRIX. 

To check, use the command "df -k /"

If the df -k / output looks similar to

Filesystem Type kbytes use avail %use Mounted on
/dev/root efs 15275 9492 5783 62% /

the disk will need to be backed up, and repartitioned with the fx command before IRIX can be installed.

To do this, refer to the online book IRIX Admin: Software Installation and Licensing, Troubleshooting section, Using fx to Restore the Swap Partition, for how to do this with the fx command. However, before you begin this procedure, make sure you back up important data! And, instead of the last step, label/create/boot, use the command /repartition/root, then press Enter in answer to the prompt:

"fx/repartition/rootdrive: type of data partition = (xfs)"

Next, when you see

"Warning: you will need to re-install all software and restore user data from backups after changing the partition layout. Changing partitions will cause all data on the drive to be lost. Be sure you have the drive backed up if it contains any user data. Continue?" 

press Enter.

The kbytes number should be at least 25600 in order to install IRIX, and it is recommended that it be at least 40MB, particularly on systems that support running 64 bit address executables (systems where uname -s returns IRIX64, on systems running IRIX 6.2 and later). 
 

Indigo2 Systems

 		 The EISA Token Ring driver is not supported. 
 
Octane Systems Upgrade the flash prom after installation on diskless systems
On diskless systems, the installation may fail if the flash prom is too old. To upgrade it on an Octane, enter the following lines in a shell:

su
/usr/sbin/flash -P /usr/cpu/firmware

You can compare the before and after results of "/usr/sbin/flash -V" to confirm the revision change. Reboot afterward.
 
O2 Systems
  • Upgrade the flash prom after installation on diskless systems
    On diskless systems, the installation may fail if the flash prom is too old. To upgrade it on an O2, enter the following in a shell:

    su
    /sbin/flashinst -T -y -q /usr/cpu/firmware/ip32prom.image

You can compare the before and after results of "/sbin/flashinst -v" to confirm the revision change. Reboot afterward.
  • If you program device drivers for the O2 PCI expansion slot, you must use the routines (pciio_pio_*()) described in Chapter 22 of the 6.5 Device Driver Programmers Guide, under the section"PCI Drivers for the IP32 (O2) Platform," to perform PIO (Program IO) accesses. You must use the pciio_pio_* routines for all PIO access to the device, including the PCI config space. These routines were made available in 6.3 via patch2801 (if your PCI device driver is already using these routines then there is nothing more you need to do).  
     
Origin2000 Systems
  • System now reboots on panic without stopping at the PROM menu
    Rebooting on panic without stopping at the PROM menu is the new default behavior. You can stop the system during reboot by pressing the Esc key at the "Starting Up The System" message.

    If the system panics during the reboot, the system will go into a panic/reboot loop. If this should happen, press the Esc key to break the loop.

    If you do not want the system to reboot on panic, you can override the default reboot_on_panic variable with the PROM variable rebound. To do this, enter the following at the PROM prompt, accessed via option 5 at the PROM menu: 

    setenv rebound n
     

  • To get the MMSC version number, check the bottom line of the LCS control panel.
    MMSC version numbers for this version of IRIX operating system should be 1.2.E (or higher). Silicon Graphics recommends that you upgrade to version 1.2.E if your version is lower.

    A second way to get the version of all the MMSCs is to connect to the alternate console port on one MMSC and enter the following: 

    ^T track * ver 
     

  • Potential FLEXlm licensing problems
    The Flexible License Manager (FLEXlm) controls the use of certain software products that are asynchronous to the IRIX operating system. 

    A FLEXlm key is generated for each asynchronous software product, based on a unique system identifier. Because the Origin2000 system does not have a unique system identifier, the FLEXlm host ID of the first system module is used to create a FLEXlm key. 

    If an Origin2000 system is reconfigured, a different module with a different FLEXlm host ID could be located in the first position, causing a previously valid FLEXlm key to fail. 

    If a license key problem arises after a system has been reconfigured, a new license must be generated. Contact the vendor of the software product in question and give them the host ID number (the FLEXlm host ID of the first module) of the reconfigured system to generate a new key. 

     

Caveats to Read After You Upgrade

These caveats make you aware of changes or potential problems that could significantly affect your experience after your upgrade.
Different caveats will be relevant for different types of users; scan the list for information that is applicable for you.
This is not a complete list of all known bugs, workarounds, or changes, which are documented in the release notes for each individual product. In addition to reviewing this list, you may want to check "Caveat and Release Note Updates" at http://support.sgi.com/6.5/ for any late-breaking information.

New for 6.5.4:

Cumulative for 6.5 through 6.5.3, and still applicable for 6.5.4:

% su
# cd /dev
# ./MAKEDEV
# ioconfig -f /hw
# exit

ORIGIN2000 Caveats

The following caveats are for large (64+ processors) Origin2000 Systems.