Fault in Intel’s old ‘Atom’ chip is capable of crashing servers

In a recent buzz it is been founded that, a flaw in an old Intel chip could crash servers and networking equipment, and the chipmaker is working to fix the issue. The chip whose shipping started in 2013 was having an issue in the Atom C2000 chips. The problem was first reported by The Register.

Recently in January, Intel added an erratum to the Atom C2000 documentation, stating systems with the chip "may experience [an] inability to boot or may cease operation." Last amongst the Intel's line of short-lived low-power Atom chips for servers, the chip was used in micro servers but also networking equipment from companies like Cisco, which has issued an optional about a product defect related to a component degrading clock signals over time. A clock signal degrade hurts the ability of the chip to carry out tasks. 

Well, it is also been reported that the company is trying to fix the issue but declined to comment on when it'll deliver a revised update."There's a board level workaround that we are sharing with customers now," an Intel spokesman said in an email. "Additionally, we are implementing and validating a minor silicon fix in a new product [update]." As per reports, the usual server revive cycle is three to five years, but networking and storage equipment which the C2000 is targeted toward is often used for five to 10 years.

The companies which are using the chip should contact their field agent or system provider for updates by the company. The company incessantly finds flaws in its chips, and it fixes them over time. But one that may crash a system is serious and could put data at risk. Intel also had an issue with its Skylake chip that could congeal PCs beneath certain conditions when executing complex workloads.

The chipmaker has cancelled making Atom chips for servers, replacing them with the Xeon-D and Xeon-E3 chips.