Alerts 31
Alerts

Overview

Alerts are generated when a system’s state of interest changes. There are two
basic types of alerting: local alerting to the current computer user and remote
alerting to a management application. Dell™ OpenManage™ Client
Instrumentation (OMCI) handles both types of alerting.
The Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) has released the Alert
Standard Format (ASF), which defines alerting and remote control interfaces
that enable management of networked systems when their operating system
is absent. This includes a networked computer that has an inactive or
inoperable operating system or that is in a low-power system sleep state.
TheA SF specification is available at www.dmtf.org. ASF documentation is
provided with Dell systems that support ASF.
ASF handles remote alerting for environmental events, which are detected by
sensors, such as temperature, electrical, and fan probes, and chassis intrusion
sensors. ASF also handles additional alerting in the operating-system-absent
environment. By default, OMCI handles remote alerting for all events.
ASF 2.0 adds important security measures to the ASF standard, which defines
alerting and remote control interfaces to proactively manage networked devices
when their operating system is absent. The first industry specification for
operating system absent management, ASF allows a network administrator to be
alerted to failures of specific components within a networked device, thereby
minimizing on
-
site maintenance while maximizing remote visibility of and
access to local systems. Without ASF, operating system absent problems require
manual intervention to force a reboot of the system.
There are three settings in the system BIOS that OMCI allows for
configuration:
•
Off
—
All ASF 2.0 features are turned off.
•
Alert Only
—
ASF 2.0 alert is the only feature that is turned on.
•
On
—
Alerts and remote control are turned on.