What is the error “BUS_HDR_ERR: EARL L2 ASIC #0: Dbus Hdr. Error occurred. Ctrl1 0x930D0EBD” in Cisco 6500 Series Switch? – part 1

We have plenty of Cisco Catalyst 6500 E Series Switches, recently an error appeared in the one of Cisco Catalyst 6513 Switch. When I checked the log I found the following error.

SL02-MB-1256-005#show log

Log Buffer (8192 bytes):

BUS_HDR_ERR: EARL L2 ASIC #0: Dbus Hdr. Error occurred. Ctrl1 0x930D0EBD

Jun  7 16:47:27.446: %EARL_L2_ASIC-DFC9-4-DBUS_HDR_ERR: EARL L2 ASIC #0: Dbus Hdr. Error occurred. Ctrl1 0x930D0EBD

Jun  7 16:48:28.582: %EARL_L2_ASIC-DFC9-4-DBUS_HDR_ERR: EARL L2 ASIC #0: Dbus Hdr. Error occurred. Ctrl1 0x930D0EBD

Jun  7 16:49:28.971: %EARL_L2_ASIC-DFC9-4-DBUS_HDR_ERR: EARL L2 ASIC #0: Dbus Hdr. Error occurred. Ctrl1 0x930D0EBD

Jun  7 16:50:29.723: %EARL_L2_ASIC-DFC9-4-DBUS_HDR_ERR: EARL L2 ASIC #0: Dbus Hdr. Error occurred. Ctrl1 0x930D0EBD

Immediately I checked the status of modules and figured out the following

SL02-MB-1256-005#                  show module

Mod Ports Card Type                              Model              Serial No.

— —– ————————————– —————— ———–

1    1  Application Control Engine Module      ACE20-MOD-K9       XXXXXXXXXXX

7    2  Supervisor Engine 720 (Active)         WS-SUP720-3B       XXXXXXXXXXX

9    8  CEF720 8 port 10GE with DFC            WS-X6708-10GE      XXXXXXXXXXX

11   10  WiSM WLAN Service Module               WS-SVC-WISM-1-K9   XXXXXXXXXXX

13   10  WiSM WLAN Service Module               WS-SVC-WISM-1-K9   XXXXXXXXXXX

Mod  Sub-Module                  Model              Serial       Hw     Status

—- ————————— —————— ———– ——- ——-

7  Policy Feature Card 3       WS-F6K-PFC3B       XXXXXXXXXXX  1.0    Ok

7  MSFC3 Daughterboard         WS-SUP720          XXXXXXXXXXX  2.1    Ok

9  Distributed Forwarding Card WS-F6700-DFC3C     XXXXXXXXXXX  1.4    Ok

11  Centralized Forwarding Card WS-SVC-WISM-1-K9-D XXXXXXXXXXX  2.2    Ok

13  Centralized Forwarding Card WS-SVC-WISM-1-K9-D XXXXXXXXXXX  2.2    Ok

Mod  Online Diag Status

—- ——————-

1  Pass

7  Pass

9  Minor Error

11  Pass

13  Pass

SL02-MB-1256-005#

From the above log it’s quite evident the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series 8-Port 10 Gigabit Ethernet Module inserted in the slot is no 9 is defective.

The error “BUS_HDR_ERR: EARL L2 ASIC #0: Dbus Hdr. Error occurred. Ctrl1 0x930D0EBD, Jun  7 16:47:27.446: %EARL_L2_ASIC-DFC9-4-DBUS_HDR_ERR: EARL L2 ASIC #0: Dbus Hdr. Error” means that the EARL L2 ASIC detected an invalid header on DBus, and it could be a faulty Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series 8-Port 10 Gigabit Ethernet Module.

In my next post I will update you the initial action plan I followed before contacting the Cisco TAC.