Memory problem w/ recent kernels on 2x Opteron with 12 GB RAM

["Rafael J. Wysocki" <rjw@sisk.pl>]

Hi,

I'm currently seeing a memory problem on a NUMA-enabled dual-Opteron 250 box
with the 2.6.12.5 and 2.6.13-rc* (up to 7) kernels.  Namely, the box has 12 GB of
RAM, 8 GB of which is installed on the first node.  The whole memory is detected
but then only the first 8 GB of it is made available (minus some hardware-related
holes), as though the memory on the second node were discarded for some
reason.

I have observed that the latest Fedora Core 3 kernel (based on 2.6.12) is also
affected by this issue, but the "out-of-the-box" FC3 kernel, based on 2.6.9, is not.

The motherboard is a Tyan S2882-D with the out-of-the-box BIOS, which is not
the latest one.  Should I upgrade it?

Rafael


-- 
- Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
- That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
		-- Lewis Carroll "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"