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4. Driver Updates

4.1. All Architectures

General Driver/Platform Updates
  • Added the necessary PCI IDs to support the Intel E7221 Graphic Controller.
  • Added the necessary sub-device IDs to support the PCI-Express icom WAN adapter.
  • i2c-piix4 kernel module is now enabled to support the AMD SBX00 SMBus.
  • The following kernel configuration flags are now enabled to enhance kernel panic handling for Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI):
    • CONFIG_IPMI_PANIC_EVENT — when a panic occurs, the IPMI message handler generates an IPMI event describing the panic to each interface registered with the message handler.
    • CONFIG_IPMI_PANIC_STRING — when a panic occurs, OEM events containing the panic string are generated.
    In addition to this, IPMI now supports the IBM Bladecenter QS21 and QS22.
  • The tlclk driver is now included to support the Intel MPCBL0050 systems.
  • Intel Dynamic Acceleration Technology is now supported on Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processors. This allows a core to run at a higher-than-normal frequency when all CPUs (as a whole) are operating below maximum power.
  • ioatdma: Added the necessary PCI IDs to support the DMA engine used in Unisys ES7000 systems.
Graphics/Audio
  • High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) audio is now supported on AMD ATI integrated chipsets.
  • The Intel Xorg driver now provides enhanced support for i915 (and later) chips. This driver is also the default driver now for such chips. If you prefer to use the older Xorg driver (originally used for i810 chips), replace Intel with i810 in the Driver line of /etc/X11/xorg.conf (under the "Device" section).
    Basic runtime multi-head support is provided by the intel Xorg driver. Selecting a resolution with the System => Preferences => Screen Resolution tool (gnome-display-properties) will set that resolution on all connected outputs.
    Video hotkey support (Fn+F7 on most laptops) in the "intel" Xorg driver will scan all output connectors (including ports for the built-in flat panel on laptops) to determine which of them have monitors attached. All connected output ports will then be enabled.
Network
  • bnx2x: driver added to provide support for bcm5710 hardware.
  • tg3: updated to version 3.86. This update enables support for BroadCom 5761 and 5784 devices.
  • sierra: updated to version 1.0.5. This update enables support for additional variants of Sierra Wireless MC8755 and MC8775 chipsets.
  • In this release, the Intel 82540 – 82547 network cards are supported by the e1000 driver, while the following network cards are supported by the e1000e driver:
    • Intel 82571 – 82573
    • Intel 82562
    • Intel 82566
    • Intel 80003eslan
    In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1, the e1000 driver supported all the aforementioned network cards.
    If your system contains a combination of both types of network cards, ethernet devices may be enumerated in a different order in this release. You may need to modify your network configuration after installation in order to remap each card's hardware address to specific device names if you need to preserve a particular order.
    Note that properly configured systems should not have device names changed on upgrade. To ensure this, the network configuration files (/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-[device name]) should contain the HWADDR parameter, binding the device name to a specific hardware address.
Storage
  • lpfc: updated to version 8.2.0.22. This update applies several devloss fixes, and enables support for the following:
    • 1, 2, 4, and 8GB auto-rate negotiation.
    • FC-SP DH-CHAP Authentication.
    • The latest HBAnyware configuration utility, which is also part of the driver master kit. This enables GUI-based driver configuration (including fibre channel and TCP/IP remote storage area network management), diagnostics (loopback and diagnostics dump) and FC-SP/Authentication Diffie-Hellman CHAP (DH-CHAP).
    • LPe1250, LPe1252, LPe12000 and LPe12002 (2, 4, and 8Gb capable HBAs).
    • NPIV virtual ports.
  • megaraid_sas: updated to version 3.15. This applies several upstream changes, most notably:
    • Added the following module parameters:
      • fast_load: enables the driver to load faster by skipping physical device check.
      • cmd_per_lun: sets the maximum number of commands per logical unit.
      • max_sectors: sets the maximum number of sectors per I/O command.
      • poll_mode_io: enables support for polling (i.e. reduced interrupt operations). When poll_mode_io is set, commands will also be completed from the I/O path.
    • Added support for hibernation.
    • SYNCHRONIZE_CACHE is now blocked by the driver.
  • aacraid: updated to version 1.1.5-2453. This applies several upstream changes, most notably:
    • Fixed a bug that caused aacraid to use an incorrect dma mapping mask during firmware assert recovery.
    • Added the capability to issue a hardware reset to the adapter via sysfs. In line with this, the following check features were also added:
      • check_interval — for checking adapter health
      • update_interval — for revising time intervals used by adapter
      • check_reset — for blocking adapter checks/resets
    • Added a SYNCHRONIZE_CACHE call to implement a more effective cache flushing schedule. This helps reduce application stalls resulting from multiple applications issuing I/O commands to the storage device.
    • Replaced all if/else packet formations with platform function calls.
    • VPD inquiry pages are now supported. This ensures that when an array is created, the metadata stored on the physical device is issued a unique serial number. This serial number remains constant throughout array morphing or migration to other controllers.
  • qla2xxx: updated to version 8.02.00-k5. This update to qla2xxx adds support for the following:
    • EHAFT, a QLogic host bus adapter mechanism that provides activity information about fibre channel devices.
    • N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV), which allows multiple N_Port IDs to share a single physical N_Port. This allows you to tie virtualized guests to fibre-channel identifiers, allowing those guests to migrate between hosts while retaining their access in the storage area network.
    • 8GB fibre-channel devices.
    This update also applies several improvements provided from upstream.
  • mpt fusion: updated to version 3.04.05. This update provides several changes, most notably:
    • On-the-fly logging (via the sysfs shost attribute) is now supported.
    • Added new sysfs shost attributes that provide the following:
      • board_name
      • board_assembly
      • board_tracer
      • unique_id
      • version_bios
      • version_fw
      • version_product
      • version_mpi
      • version_nvdata_default
      • version_nvdata_persistent
      • debug_level
      • io_delay
      • device_delay
    • task_abort calls are no longer sent to hidden RAID components and volumes.
    • Changes related to fibre channel:
      • Brocade, a rebranded FC949E fibre channel controller, is now supported.
      • Link speeds are now displayed when the driver is loaded and whenever the link speed changes.
      • High-priority request queueing is now used instead of the handshake/doorbell system when sending management requests for SAS or fibre channel.
    • Changes related to parallel SCSI:
      • ATTO UL4D, a rebranded SPI 1030 controller, is now supported.
      • mptspi_target_destroy is now declared as static.

4.2. x86 Architectures

General Driver/Platform Updates
  • All PCI-X configuration registers (up to 4096 bytes) are now accessible.
  • The maximum length of the kernel command line is now 2,048 bytes. To use this increased maximum length, upgrade the grub package.
  • The following chipsets are now supported through the EDAC driver:
    • Intel 3000
    • Intel 3010
    • Intel 5000 (Greencreek/Blackford)
  • The Intel Tolapai chipset (SATA, I2C) is now supported.
Graphics/Audio
  • The Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format (S/PDIF) port on the Dell D/Dock Expansion Station is now supported by the Dell M4300 and M6300 Precision Workstations. This allows digital audio output through the S/PDIF port on the Dell D/Dock Expansion Station when either the M4300 or M6300 is docked.

4.3. x86-64 Architectures

General Driver/Platform Updates
  • The maximum length of the kernel command line is now 2,048 bytes. To use this increased maximum length, upgrade the grub package.
  • The following chipsets are now supported through the EDAC driver:
    • Intel 3000
    • Intel 3010
    • Intel 5000 (Greencreek/Blackford)
Graphics/Audio
  • The Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format (S/PDIF) port on the Dell D/Dock Expansion Station is now supported by the Dell M4300 and M6300 Precision Workstations. This allows digital audio output through the S/PDIF port on the Dell D/Dock Expansion Station when either the M4300 or M6300 is docked.

4.4. PowerPC Architectures

Graphics/Audio
  • The Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format (S/PDIF) port on the Dell D/Dock Expansion Station is now supported by the Dell M4300 and M6300 Precision Workstations. This allows digital audio output through the S/PDIF port on the Dell D/Dock Expansion Station when either the M4300 or M6300 is docked.

4.5. ia64 Architecture

Graphics/Audio
  • The Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format (S/PDIF) port on the Dell D/Dock Expansion Station is now supported by the Dell M4300 and M6300 Precision Workstations. This allows digital audio output through the S/PDIF port on the Dell D/Dock Expansion Station when either the M4300 or M6300 is docked.