Surveillance, Dial-Out call home, and dial-in

Machine Check Interrupt.

Operating System Hang (Surveillance Failure).

Operating System Failure.

Surveillance

The service processor, if enabled through service processor setup parameters, performs a surveillance of AIX through a heartbeat mechanism. If there is no heartbeat within the time-out period, the service processor does the following:

Creates a system reset to allow an AIX dump to occur.

Upon receiving a reboot request (either after the dump or immediately, if dump is not enabled), the service processor captures scan debug data for the system.

Reboots the system.

Dial-Out (call home), and dial-in

If enabled, the service processor can dial a pre-programmed telephone number to report errors. If enabled, it is also possible to access the service processor remotely through a modem connection. When the service processor is in standby mode (because the system is powered off or an error occurred), the service processor monitors an incoming phone line to answer calls, prompts for a password, verifies the password, and remotely displays the standby menu. The remote session can be mirrored on the local ASCII console if the server is so equipped and the user enables this function.

Processor and memory boot time deconfiguration

As described previously, processors can be dynamically deconfigured by the system. It is also possible to deconfigure processors and also memory with menus of the service processor for benchmarking reasons. For further information, refer to the IBM ^ pSeries 610 Models 6C1 and 6E1 Service Guide, SA38-2538.

Fast boot

This feature, activated after the first system is brought up, allows you to select the IPL type, mode, and speed for your boot capabilities using service processor menus. Selecting fast boot results in several diagnostic tests being skipped and a shorter memory test being run. Therefore, the startup process is faster, but possible problems might not be discovered at startup.

Service processor restart

The service processor design for the p610 Models 6C1 and 6E1 includes the ability to reset the service processor. This enables the system firmware to force a hard reset of the service processor if it detects a loss of communication. Since this would typically occur while the system is already up and running, the service processor reset will be accomplished without impacting system operation.

Boot to SMS menu

The boot mode menu allows someone to select other things to boot to the SMS menu. This function provides booting into the SMS menu without pressing a key. This function is useful because it is not necessary to wait in front of the system and press F1 (graphic display) or 1 (ASCII terminal) at the right moment.

Chapter 3. Availability, investment protection, expansion, and accessibility