IBM SC32-P020-00 manual Reliability, availability, and serviceability

Note: The latest level of basic input/output system (BIOS) code for your server is also available through the World Wide Web. See Appendix A, “Getting help and technical assistance” on page 29 for the appropriate World Wide Web addresses.

For more information about the ServerGuide CD, see Chapter 3, “Using the

ServerGuide CD” on page 23.

Reliability, availability, and serviceability

Three of the most important features in server design are reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS). These factors help to ensure the integrity of the data stored on your server, that your server is available when you want to use it, and that should a failure occur, you can easily diagnose and repair the failure with minimal inconvenience.

The following is an abbreviated list of the RAS features that your server supports:

vActive PCI and Active PCI-X (hot-plug) adapter slots

vAutomatic error retry and recovery

vAutomatic restart after a power failure

vBIOS code recovery

vBuilt-in, menu-driven electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) based diagnostics

vBuilt-in monitoring for fan, power, temperature, voltage, and power-supply redundancy

vChipkill Memory protection

vControl for remote system management provided by the ISMP subsystem

vCustomer support center 24 hours per day, 7 days a week2

vError codes and messages

vError correcting code (ECC) on processor bus, L2 and L3 cache, and system memory

vFailover support for redundant Ethernet NICs under the Microsoft® Windows® XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT® Server operating systems

vHot-plug Universal Serial Bus (USB) keyboard and mouse

vHot Spare Memory feature

vHot-swap and redundant cooling

vHot-swap hard disk drives, fans, and power supplies

vIntegrated system management processor (ISMP)

vInformation and Light Path Diagnostics™ LED panel

vKey lock support for physical security (tower model)

vMemory scrubbing and Predictive Failure Analysis (PFA) (background and real time)

vMenu-driven setup, system configuration, redundant array of independent disks (RAID) configuration, SCSISelect configuration, and diagnostic programs

vMicrocode and diagnostic levels available

vN+N line cords for power supply redundancy

vParity checking on the small computer system interface (SCSI) and PCI buses

vPower managed and Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) compliant

vPower-on self-test (POST) and Fast POST

vPredictive Failure Analysis (PFA) alerts on microprocessors, memory, voltage regulator modules (VRMs), fans, power supplies, and hard disk drives

vRedundant Ethernet capabilities (with optional adapter)

2.Service availability will vary by country. Response time varies; may exclude holidays.

6IBM xSeries 255 Type 8685: User’s Guide