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Pix 515 does not recover from, Power Failure

When we have a power failure our PIX 515 (see below for specs and versions) does not recover. When power is restored. it just has a flashing network light. Power and ACT are both out. Doing a power cycle from the switch seems to make it recover. The unit had been running since June 21st and Sunday the power went out.

I cannot connect to the Console either, It appears to be non-responsive too.

Where do I go from here?

Thanks!

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PhoenixPICOBIOS 4.0 Release 6.0 Copyright 1985-1998 Phoenix Technologies Ltd. All Rights Reserved

Build Time: 04/27/99 17:08:34 Polaris BIOS Version 0.09 CPU = Pentium with MMX 200 MHz

640K System RAM Passed 63M Extended RAM Passed 0512K Cache SRAM Passed System BIOS shadowed per limit segment address: EFE5 PIX BIOS (4.0) #0: Tue May 18 16:29:54 PDT 1999 Platform PIX-515 Flash=i28F640J5 @ 0x300

Use BREAK or ESC to interrupt flash boot. Use SPACE to begin flash boot immediately. Reading 123392 bytes of image from flash.

PIX Flash Load Helper

Initializing flashfs... flashfs[0]: 9 files, 3 directories flashfs[0]: 0 orphaned files, 0 orphaned directories flashfs[0]: Total bytes: 15998976 flashfs[0]: Bytes used: 11330560 flashfs[0]: Bytes available: 4668416 flashfs[0]: Initialization complete.

Reading image flash:/pix705.bin Launching image flash:/pix705.bin ####################################################################################################################################

64MB RAM

Total NICs found: 3 mcwa i82559 Ethernet at irq 10 MAC: 0050.54fe.ef68 mcwa i82559 Ethernet at irq 7 MAC: 0050.54fe.ef69 mcwa i82559 Ethernet at irq 9 MAC: 0002.b3ad.7fda BIOS Flash=AT29C257 @ 0xfffd8000

Initializing flashfs...

Cisco PIX Security Appliance Software Version 7.0(5) Device Manager Version 5.0(5)

Compiled on Mon 10-Apr-06 14:40 by builders System image file is "flash:/pix705.bin" Config file at boot was "startup-config"

moonrazor up 3 mins 36 secs

Hardware: PIX-515, 64 MB RAM, CPU Pentium 200 MHz Flash i28F640J5 @ 0x300, 16MB BIOS Flash AT29C257 @ 0xfffd8000, 32KB

0: Ext: Ethernet0 : address is 0050.54fe.ef68, irq 10 1: Ext: Ethernet1 : address is 0050.54fe.ef69, irq 7 2: Ext: Ethernet2 : address is 0002.b3ad.7fda, irq 9

Licensed features for this platform: Maximum Physical Interfaces : 3 Maximum VLANs : 10 Inside Hosts : Unlimited Failover : Disabled VPN-DES : Enabled VPN-3DES-AES : Enabled Cut-through Proxy : Enabled Guards : Enabled URL Filtering : Enabled Security Contexts : 0 GTP/GPRS : Disabled VPN Peers : Unlimited

This platform has a Restricted (R) license.

Serial Number: 403480639

Reply to
Scott Townsend
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To clarify: when you say that you cannot connect to the console, is that problem also fixed by power cycling via the on/off switch ?

Reply to
Walter Roberson

Yes, If I connect a Terminal to the Console Port, I do not get anything, pressing return several times does not seem to do anything.

Turning off the power switch, then turning it back on I am able to see the Bootup sequence, etc on the console.

Thanks, Scott >>When we have a power failure our PIX 515 (see below for specs and >>versions)

Reply to
Scott Townsend

Hi Scott,

You may wish to investigate Cisco PIX Hardware Troubleshooting:

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Hope this helps.

Brad Reese BradReese.Com - Cisco Repair

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Hendersonville Road, Suite 17 Asheville, North Carolina USA 28803 USA & Canada: 877-549-2680 International: 828-277-7272 Fax: 775-254-3558 AIM: R2MGrant BradReese.Com - Cisco Power Supply Headquarters
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Reply to
www.BradReese.Com

Hmmmm... the only thing that comes to mind right at the moment is that if you had a loose power cord connector, then the physical push on the on/off switch just might jiggle the connector into a better place. That's long odds, though, and that sort of daft problem is much more likely for a PIX 501.

The only other thing that comes to mind at the moment is that when you powerfail, the power might come up very "dirty". Is the PIX 515 connected to any kind of power cleaner (e.g., power conditioner or UPS that is at least "single inversion"? (not cheapo UPS's -- those things put line power through untouched unless power is lost.)

Reply to
Walter Roberson

Thanks for the Link. Looks like from the 3 options, I'm experiencing a "PIX Hang"

"If you suspect a PIX hang, check to see if any specific event, such as a high load, may have caused the hang. In such a case, a reload normally clears the problem. "

How do I check for the Events?

Thanks, Scott Hi Scott,

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Reply to
Scott Townsend

This has happened at its Prior Location and now its new home. Both on APC SmartUPS backups. So I dont think it would be the Power Cord or the UPS.

It does have power, well unless the Network light is like some of the other NIC lights that will be on even if the unit is off.

Since I cant get the Connection working (Cant reach the Internet, but can reach the Remote side VPN) I'll pull the plug and see what happens.

Thanks, Scott >>Yes, If I connect a Terminal to the Console Port, I do not get anything,

Reply to
Scott Townsend

A few Pulls of the Plug could not simulate the failure.

I think in All cases, the UPS had lost power, then its batteries were drained. Could the UPS have sent it something dirty when the batteries Died?

The Power Light is OFF when this 'Hang' happens. A Flip of the power switch is all that it takes to restore it back to normal.

Thanks, Scott >>Yes, If I connect a Terminal to the Console Port, I do not get anything,

Reply to
Scott Townsend

Possibly, though I would have expected the brands you mentioned to be better built than to have such an obvious problem.

When a UPS is coming back up from dead battery, it just might deliver undervoltage for a period, especially a single-inversion UPS (as those effectively use the line to power the battery and power the outputs from the battery.)

Reply to
Walter Roberson

I had an old PIX motherboard with a similar "feature". I suspect a broken condensator on the board.

Reply to
Lutz Donnerhacke

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