Field Notice: FN - 70471 - PII35 - Certain Prisma II SuperQAM 1.2 GHz 1550 Transmitters May Experience Low MER - BIOS/Firmware Upgrade Recommended

Notice

THIS FIELD NOTICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND DOES NOT IMPLY ANY KIND OF GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY, INCLUDING THE WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY. YOUR USE OF THE INFORMATION ON THE FIELD NOTICE OR MATERIALS LINKED FROM THE FIELD NOTICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CISCO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE OR UPDATE THIS FIELD NOTICE AT ANY TIME.

Revision History

Products Affected

Defect Information

Problem Description

A low Modulation Error Rate (MER) has been observed on certain Prisma II SuperQAM (SQAM) 1.2GHz transmitters due to a wavelength deviation issue.

Background

A defect has been identified in the firmware of suspected units that have a reference voltage defined as the external voltage, instead of the internal voltage, of the chip causing a wavelength deviation. As a result, this leads to observation of a low MER on the SQAM transmitters.

The issue is isolated to a particular vendor for the SQAM transmitters, with SQAM Type # 1072. The issue is present in Firmware Version 1.01.04. The impacted serial numbers all start with WW and are SQAM Type # 1072.

The issue is fixed in Firmware Version 1.01.05.

Problem Symptom

MER is generally driven by the device noise floor or the cable plant noise floor. Degraded MER can be caused due to various factors and typically there is no alert on the system.

In this particular case, low MER is caused by a wavelength deviation issue on the Prisma II device. The way to isolate the low MER issue is to replace the device with a known good unit and if the low MER issue clears, the suspect unit needs to be updated.

Workaround/Solution

Cisco recommends that the firmware on the impacted units be upgraded to Version 1.01.05 as instructed in this section.

1. Use the Product ID (PID), firmware version, and serial number to determine if the device is affected.
2. Perform the action listed in the Action column.

* Release 2.05.50 includes firmware Version 1.01.05 that has the fix.

Prisma II Software Upgrade Program Installation Guide - refer to page 10

Prisma II Release 2.05.50 XML File

Prisma II Release 2.05.50 Software Download

How To Identify Affected Products

The affected products can be identified by serial numbers that begin with WW and have a module type of 1072.

The serial number can be found on the unit packaging, the unit itself, and remotely via the Local Craft Interface (LCI).

The firmware version can be pulled remotely with the LCI. Refer to page 158 of the Cisco Prisma II Platform Installation and Configuration Guide for LCI instructions.

The firmware version (shown as software revision), serial number, and module type are shown in this LCI example.

PID

The location of the PID on the product label is shown in this example.

Serial Number

The location of the serial number label is shown in this example.

Serial Number Validation

This field notice provides the ability to determine if the serial number(s) of a device is impacted by this issue. In order to verify the serial number(s), use the Serial Number Validation Tool.

For More Information

If you require further assistance, or if you have any further questions regarding this field notice, please contact the Cisco Systems Technical Assistance Center (TAC) by one of the following methods:

• Open a service request on Cisco.com
• By email
• By telephone

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