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IBM United States Hardware Announcement
110-008
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation
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components run the risk of becoming loose during shipping or installation,
preventing a good electrical connection. Positive retention mechanisms like
latches, levers, thumb-screws, pop Nylatches (U-clips), and cables are included
to help prevent loose connections and aid in installing (seating) parts correctly.
These positive retention items do not require tools.
Error Handling and Reporting
In the unlikely event of system hardware or environmentally induced failure, the
system runtime error capture capability systematically analyzes the hardware error
signature to determine the cause of failure. The analysis result will be stored in
system NVRAM. When the system can be successfully restarted either manually or
automatically, the error will be reported to the operating system. Error Log Analysis
(ELA) can be used to display the failure cause and the physical location of the failing
hardware.
With the integrated Service Processor, the system has the ability to automatically
send out an alert via phone line to a pager or call for service in the event of a critical
system failure. A hardware fault will also turn on the amber system fault LED located
on the system unit to alert the user of an internal hardware problem. The indicator
may also be set to blink by the operator as a tool to allow system identification.
For identification, the blue locate LED on the enclosure and at the system level will
turn on solid. The amber system fault LED will be on solid when an error condition
occurs.
On POWER7 processor-based servers, hardware and software failures are recorded
in the system log. When an HMC is attached, an ELA routine analyzes the error,
forwards the event to the Service Focal Point (SFP) application running on the
HMC, and notifies the system administrator that it has isolated a likely cause of
the system problem. The Service Processor event log also records unrecoverable
checkstop conditions, forwards them to the SFP application, and notifies the system
administrator. Once the information is logged in the SFP application, if the system is
properly configured, a call home service request will be initiated and the pertinent
failure data with service parts information and part locations will be sent to an IBM
Service organization. Customer contact information and specific system-related
data such as the machine type, model, and serial number, along with error log data
related to the failure are sent to IBM Service.
Service Processor
The Service Processor provides the capability to diagnose, check the status of, and
sense the operational conditions of a system. It runs on its own power boundary and
does not require resources from a system processor to be operational to perform its
tasks.
The Service Processor supports surveillance of the connection to the HMC and to
the system firmware (Hypervisor). It also provides several remote power control
options, environmental monitoring, reset, restart, remote maintenance, and
diagnostic functions, including console mirroring. The Service Processors menus
(ASMI) can be accessed concurrently with system operation allowing nondisruptive
abilities to change system default parameters.
Call Home
Call Home refers to an automatic or manual call from a customer location to
IBM support structure with error log data, server status, or other service-related
information. Call Home invokes the service organization in order for the appropriate
service action to begin. Call Home can be done through HMC or non-HMC managed
systems. While configuring Call Home is optional, clients are encouraged to
implement this feature in order to obtain service enhancements such as reduced
problem determination and faster and potentially more accurate transmittal of
error information. In general, using the Call Home feature can result in increased
system availability. The Electronic Service Agent
TM
application can be configured
for automated call home. Refer to the next section for specific details on this
application.