setboot(1M)

NAME

setboot — display and modify boot variables in stable storage

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

The setboot command displays and sets boot variables in stable storage (also known as nonvolatile memory). Any user can display the values; only a superuser can change them.

On all systems, the variables are: primary path, alternate path, autoboot flag, and autosearch flag. If SpeedyBoot is installed, the variables expand to include: early CPU tests, late CPU tests, memory initialization (on Itanium(R)-based systems), full memory tests, processor hardware tests (on PA-RISC), platform dependent tests (on Itanium-based systems), IO Hardware tests (on Itanium-based systems), chipset tests (on Itanium-based systems), and central electronic complex tests (on PA-RISC).

With no options, setboot displays the current values for the primary and alternate boot paths and the autoboot and autosearch flags. If SpeedyBoot is installed, setboot -v also displays the status of the CPU, memory, hardware, and electronics tests.

SpeedyBoot

The SpeedyBoot firmware and software extensions allows a superuser to control which firmware tests are executed by the system during the boot process. The tests settings can be specified both for all subsequent boots and for the next one only. They are described in the The Tests section below.

The -v, -t, and -T options of the setboot command provide the user interface to the firmware tests. Currently -t options is not supported on Itanium-based system architecture.

SpeedyBoot augments the test control that is available on systems that have the Boot Console Handler (BCH). By turning off some or all of the boot tests, you can shorten boot time appreciably. However, in the event of a system panic or boot failure, all tests are executed on the subsequent boot.

SpeedyBoot Tests

The SpeedyBoot tests and the possible display values on a PA-RISC platform are summarized in the following table:

Test	Current	Supported	Default	NEXT BOOT
`all`	`on\|off\|partial`	`yes\|no\|partial`	`on\|off\|partial`	`on\|off\|partial`
`SELFTESTS`	`on\|off\|partial`	`yes\|no\|partial`	`on\|off\|partial`	`on\|off\|partial`
`early_cpu`	`on\|off`	`yes\|no`	`on\|off`	`on\|off`
`late_cpu`	`on\|off`	`yes\|no`	`on\|off`	`on\|off`
`FASTBOOT`	`on\|off\|partial`	`yes\|no\|partial`	`on\|off\|partial`	`on\|off\|partial`
`full_memory`	`on\|off`	`yes\|no`	`on\|off`	`on\|off`
`PDH`	`on\|off`	`yes\|no`	`on\|off`	`on\|off`
`on\|off`
`CEC`	`on\|off`	`yes\|no`	`on\|off`	`on\|off`
`on\|off`

The SpeedyBoot tests and the possible display values on a Itanium-based platform are summarized in the following table:

Test	Current	Default
`all`	`on\|off\|partial`	`on\|off\|partial`
`SELFTESTS`	`on\|off\|partial`	`on\|off\|partial`
`early_cpu`	`on\|off`	`on\|off`
`late_cpu`	`on\|off`	`on\|off`
`FASTBOOT`	`on\|off\|partial`	`on\|off\|partial`
`Platform`	`on\|off`	`on\|off`
`Full_memory`	`on\|off`	`on\|off`
`Memory_init`	`on\|off`	`on\|off`
`IO_HW`	`on\|off`	`on\|off`
`Chipset`	`on\|off`	`on\|off`

The Columns

Test: The keyword names of the tests that can be controlled by SpeedyBoot. See The Tests section below.
Current: The current enablement of each test. on means the test is normally executed on each boot. off means the test is normally omitted on each boot. partial means some of the subtests are normally executed on each boot. On Itanium-based platform any test modified using the -T option will be reflected in Current.
Supported: Whether the test is supported by the system firmware. yes means the test is supported. no means the test is not supported. partial means some of the subtests are supported. On Itanium-based Platform this Column is not supported.
Default: The default values for each test. on, off, and partial are the same as for Current.
NEXT BOOT: The values for each test that will be used on the next boot. If they are different from Current, the Current values will be reestablished after the next boot. on, off, and partial are the same as for Current. On Itanium-based Platform this Column is same as that of Current and hence not displayed separately.

The Tests

These are keywords for the hardware tests that are executed by processor-dependent code (PDC) or firmware upon a boot or reboot of the system.

all

All the listed tests.

SELFTESTS

Includes the early_cpu and late_cpu tests. This is equivalent to the SELFTESTS option in the boot console handler (BCH) service menu. The difference is that setboot can control the subtests separately, while BCH cannot.

early_cpu

When on, run firmware, cache, and CPU-specific tests. Performed out of firmware. When off, skip the tests.

late_cpu

When on, run firmware, cache, and CPU-specific tests. Performed out of memory and therefore faster than the early_cpu tests. When off, skip the tests.

FASTBOOT

Includes the full_memory and PDH tests on PA-RISC Platform. Includes the Platform and Full_memory tests on Itanium-based Platform. This is equivalent to the FASTBOOT option in the boot console handler (BCH) service menu. The difference is that setboot can control the subtests separately, while BCH cannot.

Note: When FASTBOOT is on, the tests are performed, and vice versa.

full_memory

When on, run write/read-write/read tests on all memory locations. When off, only initialize memory. Supported only on PA-RISC Platform.

Platform

When on, enables general platform hardware tests. When off, do not. Supported only on Itanium-based Platform.

Full_memory

When on, Enables full destructive memory tests. When off, do not. Supported only on Itanium-based Platform.

PDH

Processor-dependent hardware. When on, test a checksum of read-only memory (ROM). When off, do not. Supported only on PA-RISC Platform.

CEC

Central electronic complex. When on, test low-level bus converters and I/O chips. When off, do not. CEC is not available on all systems. Supported only on PA-RISC Platform.

Memory_init

When on, Enables full destructive memory tests. When off, do not. Supported only on Itanium-based Platform.

IO_HW

IO Hardware. When on, Enables system firmware, or EFI drivers to perform all the tests of IO hardware(boot devices only). When off, do not. Supported only on Itanium-based Platform.

Chipset

When on, Enables Chipset tests. When off, do not. Supported only on Itanium-based Platform.

Options

The setboot command supports the following options:

(none)

Display the current values for the primary and alternate boot paths and the autoboot and autosearch flags. See example 2 in the EXAMPLES: General section.

-p primary-path

Set the primary boot path variable to primary-path. See ioscan(1M) for the correct format.

-h HA_alternate-path

Set the High Availability alternate boot path variable to HA_alternate-path. See ioscan(1M) for the correct format. High Availability alternate boot path is supported only on Itanium-based architecture and for PA-RISC systems that support hardware partitions.

-a alternate-path

Set the alternate boot path variable to alternate-path. See ioscan(1M) for the correct format.

-s on|off

Enable or disable the autosearch sequence. The interpretation of Autoboot and Autosearch has changed for systems that support hardware partitions. Refer to the WARNINGS section. -s option is not supported on Itanium-based architecture.

-b on|off

Enable or disable the autoboot sequence. The interpretation of Autoboot and Autosearch has changed for systems that support hardware partitions. Refer to the WARNINGS section.

-v

Display the current values for the primary and alternate boot paths and the autoboot and autosearch flags and a status table of the SpeedyBoot tests. See example 1 in the EXAMPLES: SpeedyBoot section.

-t testname=value

Change the value for the test testname in stable storage to value for all following boots. -t option is not supported on Itanium-based architecture. The changes are reflected in the Current" and NEXT BOOT columns of the setboot -v display.

testname can be one of the following keywords, as described above in the DESCRIPTION: SpeedyBoot Tests section.

all
SELFTESTS
early_cpu
late_cpu
FASTBOOT
full_memory
PDH
CEC

value can be one of:

on: Enable the test.
off: Disable the test.
default: Reset the test to the system default, which is shown in the Defaults column of the setboot -v display.

-T testname=value

Change the value for the test testname to value for the next system boot only. The change does not modify stable storage, so the permanent values are restored after the boot.

testname can be one of the keywords described above in the "DESCRIPTION: SpeedyBoot Tests" section. and value are the same as for the -t option.

RETURN VALUE

The setboot command returns one of:

0: Successful completion
1: Failure

DIAGNOSTICS

The setboot command returns the following error messages:

" bootpath " is not a proper bootpath

The boot path bootpath is not in correct format. See ioscan(1M) for the proper hardware path format.

cannot open /dev/kepd - message

setboot cannot open the kernel pseudo driver file /dev/kepd. The message explains why.

cannot set autoboot/autosearch flags

The autoboot or autosearch flag could not be set.

cannot set type boot path

setboot can't set the specified boot path. type may be primary, HA_alternate, or alternate.

error accessing boot path - message

The message explains why. For example, you may not have permission (not be superuser) to change parameters.

error accessing firmware - message

The firmware could not be read or written. The message explains why.

Invalid Arguments Passed to the invoked PDC routine

This is an internal error.

test not found in /etc/setboot_tests file

The test you specified is not defined for your system.

The firmware of your system does not support querying or changing SELFTEST and FASTBOOT settings except through the boot-time console interface, ie, BCH menu. Invoked PDC routine [option] not implemented. (On PA-RISC Platform only.)

or

The firmware of your system does not support querying or changing the SpeedyBoot settings. (On Itanium-based Platform only.)

You have specified a SpeedyBoot option (-t, -T, or -v) and your system does not have the firmware to support it. Currently, Itanium-based platform does not support -t options.

Unknown error errornum encountered by setboot(1M)

An unexpected error, number errornum, was encountered while setboot was processing SpeedyBoot parameters.

Warning: Autoboot flag must be on for autosearch flag to have effect

If the autoboot flag is off, automatic searching for a bootable system cannot occur, even if the autosearch flag is on.

warning: invalid data in /etc/setboot_tests

The /etc/setboot_tests file contains tests that are not supported by setboot on your system. Do not modify this file.

EXAMPLES

General

1.

Set the primary path to 2/4.1.0 and enable the autoboot sequence:

setboot -p 2/4.1.0 -b on

2.

Display the boot paths and auto flags:

setboot

displays

Primary bootpath : 2/0/1.6.0
HA Alternate bootpath : 2/0/1.6.1
Alternate bootpath : 2/0/2.0.0

Autoboot is ON (enabled)
Autosearch is ON (enabled)

SpeedyBoot

1.

Display all current stable storage values.

setboot -v

on PA-RISC architecture displays:

Primary bootpath : 10/0.0.0
HA Alternate bootpath : 10/0/1.6.1
Alternate bootpath : 10/12/5.0.0

Autoboot is ON (enabled)
Autosearch is OFF (disabled)

TEST            CURRENT     SUPPORTED     DEFAULT     NEXT BOOT
----            -------     ---------     -------     ---------
all             partial     partial       partial     partial
  SELFTESTS     partial     yes           on          partial
    early_cpu   off         yes           on          off
    late_cpu    on          yes           on          on
  FASTBOOT      partial     yes           on          partial
    full_memory off         yes           on          off
    PDH         on          yes           on          on
  CEC           off         no            off         off

on Itanium-based architecture displays:

Primary bootpath : 10/0.0.0
HA Alternate bootpath : 10/0/1.6.1
Alternate bootpath : 10/12/5.0.0

Autoboot is ON (enabled)

TEST            CURRENT        DEFAULT
----            -------        -------
all             partial        partial
  SELFTESTS     off            on
    early_cpu   off            on
    late_cpu    off            on
  FASTBOOT      on             on
    Platform    on             on
    Full_memory on             on
  Memory_init   on             on
  IO_HW         off            off
  Chipset       on             on

2.

Enable full_memory and PDH tests and have those tests executed on all subsequent reboots.

setboot -t FASTBOOT=on

3.

Disable the late processor tests and have those tests skipped on all subsequent reboots. If early CPU tests are on when this command is executed, the SELFTESTS state in BCH stays on while setboot -v shows it as partial.

setboot -t late_cpu=off

4.

Reset all tests to the machine-shipped default values.

setboot -t all=default

5.

Reset only the FASTBOOT (full_memory and PDH) tests to their default values.

setboot -t FASTBOOT=default

6.

Cause the early and late CPU tests to be executed on the next system boot. The previously set test values take effect again after the single boot.

setboot -T SELFTESTS=on

7.

Cause all tests to be skipped on the next reboot. The previously set test values will take effect for subsequent reboots.

setboot -T all=off

WARNINGS

The setboot command fails under the following circumstances:

The number of writes to the stable storage exceeds the number allowed by the architecture implementation.
Hardware failure.

The implementation does not have memory for the alternate boot path, in which case, this variable is neither readable nor writable.

The interpretation of Autoboot and Autosearch has changed for systems that support hardware partitions. The firmware interprets the bits in combination and not individually as done before. In order to approximate the traditional behavior of setboot, the user input for the autoboot and autosearch flags is internally mapped to the right combination to achieve the desired behavior. This mapping should be transparent to the user of setboot, but might show up when accessing the firmware using means other than setboot.

For the primary path, the boot action corresponds to the Autoboot and Autosearch flags in the following manner:

AutoBoot	AutoSearch	Boot Action
`off`	`off`	Go to the BCH and prompt the user.
`on`	`off`	Attempt the primary path; on failure
		go to BCH.
`on`	`on`	Attempt the primary path; on failure
		try next path.
`off`	`on`	Skip the primary path and try alternate path.
		If the alternate paths are not configured to
		boot or fail, go to BCH.

Additionally, systems with hardware partitions support a boot action for each path. However the boot action for the paths other than the primary path cannot be set using setboot. Instead, these must be set through the Boot Console Handler using the pf command. The default boot action for the hardware partitions is to "skip this device and try next path". The case where both the autosearch and autoboot flags are on, will not work as expected until the path flags for the alternate paths are set appropriately through the BCH. In the default case, specifying setboot -b on -s on will not cause an alternate path to be automatically booted when the primary path fails, instead the user will be prompted.

DEPENDENCIES

If SpeedyBoot is not installed on a system, options -v, -t, and -T will produce a diagnostic error. Currently -t option is not supported on Itanium-based architecture.

AUTHOR

setboot was developed by HP.

FILES

/dev/kepd: Special device file used by the setboot command.
/etc/setboot_tests: Definitions of tests which can be viewed or controlled with the -v, -t, and -T options.

setboot(1M)

Technical documentation

» Table of Contents

» Index

NAME

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

SpeedyBoot

SpeedyBoot Tests

The Columns

The Tests

Options

RETURN VALUE

DIAGNOSTICS

EXAMPLES

General

SpeedyBoot

WARNINGS

DEPENDENCIES

AUTHOR

FILES

SEE ALSO