Sun Microsystems 220R manual About Diagnostic Tools

About Diagnostic Tools

The system provides both firmware-based and software-based diagnostic tools to help you identify and isolate hardware problems. These tools are:

■Power-on self-test (POST) diagnostics

■OpenBoot Diagnostics (OBDiag)

■SunVTS software

■Sun Enterprise SyMON software

POST diagnostics verify the core functionality of the system, including the main logic board, system memory, and any on-board I/O devices. You can run POST even if the system is unable to boot. For more information about POST, see “About Power-On Self-Test (POST) Diagnostics” on page 120 and “How to Use POST Diagnostics” on page 121.

OBDiag tests focus on system I/O and peripheral devices. Like POST, you can run OBDiag even if the system is unable to boot. For more information about OBDiag, see “About OpenBoot Diagnostics (OBDiag)” on page 126 and “How to Use OpenBoot Diagnostics (OBDiag)” on page 129.

The SunVTS system exerciser is a graphics-oriented UNIX application that permits the continuous exercising of system resources and internal and external peripheral equipment. For more information about SunVTS software, see “About SunVTS Software” on page 132.

UNIX-based Sun Enterprise SyMON software allows you to monitor the system hardware status and operating system performance of your server. For information about Sun Enterprise SyMON software, see “About Sun Enterprise SyMON Software” on page 137.

Which method or tool you use to diagnose system problems depends on the nature of those problems:

■If your machine isn’t able to boot its operating system software, you need to run POST and OBDiag tests.

■If your machine is “healthy” enough to start up and load its operating system software, you can use Sun Enterprise SyMON software and SunVTS software to diagnose system problems.

118 Sun Enterprise 220R Server Owner’s Guide • October 1999