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Call Home configuration in FSP via ASMI

By Ratan Gupta posted Thu June 11, 2020 09:04 AM

  
Do you have a PowerVM system (e.g. S812, S822, S812L, S822L) that is not managed by a Hardware Management Console (HMC)? Wonder how to inform IBM when the system encounters any boot issues? Of course, you can pick up the phone to open a ticket with IBM. If you want the system to report the failure to IBM automatically, upon encountering such boot issues, then this article is for you; we explain the steps to configure the IBM Call Home function directly from the Flexible Service Processor (FSP).

The service processor contacts IBM only on encountering boot failures or if the system terminates after encountering any hardware or firmware failures. If the system encounters serviceable errors after the system has booted to the operating system, then the call-home setup configured via the operating system takes care of reporting the failure to IBM.

The service processor supports three types of Call-Home configurations.
  • To report errors directly to IBM customer service center via Ethernet connection
  • To report errors to a customer specified destination via Ethernet connection
  • To report errors to a customer specified destination via serial port

Reporting errors directly to IBM Customer Service Center via Ethernet connection

In this setup, the service processor’s Ethernet port is connected to an external facing connection via an optional router. The service processor uses the configured settings to establish a secure connection with the IBM Customer Service Center and reports the failure along with the error log detailing the failure.
Call Home Setup Figure 1

The Call-Home settings are configured by logging in as “admin” in to Advanced Systems Management Interface (ASMI), the web-based interface of the Flexible Service Processor. The Call-Home setup menu is under the “System Service Aids > Call-Home Setup” menu. In this screen, the “IBM CC” (IBM Customer Care”) option should be chosen to allow the service processor to contact IBM Customer Service Center. In this setup, the Telephone Numbers and Customer Company Information sections need to be updated. The customer data field is optional and can be included if the text included here needs to be appended to the data package shipped via Call-Home. In this Call-Home method, the service processor uses a proprietary protocol to communicate with the IBM Customer Service Center.
Call Home Setup Figure 2

Reporting errors to a customer specified destination via Ethernet connection

In this setup, the Flexible Service Processor does not report problems to IBM Customer Care Center. Instead it reaches a customer specified destination. The service processor’s Ethernet port is connected to a switch through which the customer specified destination can be reached. This setup can be used by customers who would like to process the Call-Home package sent by the service processor before calling into IBM Customer Service Center.
Call Home Setup Figure 3
 
This setup can be configured by logging in as “admin” in the Advanced Systems Management Interface. In the “System Service Aids > Call-Home Setup” menu, “OEC CC” (OEM Customer Care) option should be chosen. Along with the “Telephone Numbers”, “Customer Company Information” and “Customer data” sections, the “Customer care address” sections must also be filled up. Upon encountering a boot failure or termination error, the service processor prepares the Call-Home package and sends it to the IP address and Port Number specified in this menu. On the other end (the server with the specified IP address), the customer’s application should be monitoring the specified port for any incoming traffic. Upon receiving a package from the service processor, the application can process the package and take required action like forwarding it to their own Customer Service Center or any other problem tracking mechanisms deployed in their Data Center.
Call Home Setup Figure 4

Reporting errors to a customer specified destination via Serial Port

In this setup, the Flexible Service Processor sends the Call-Home data package over the serial port. This method should be used by customers who have legacy setups to receive data from the service processor via serial port, pre-process the data and dispatch it to their own customer service centers or any other problem tracking mechanism. The service processor’s serial port should be connected to the destination system directly.
Call Home Setup Figure 5

This method is restricted and hence users must login to the Advanced Systems Management Interface as “celogin” to select this setup option in the “System Service Aids > Call-Home Setup” menu. In addition to the “Telephone Numbers”, “Customer Company Information” and “Customer Data” sections, the “Call-home setup for legacy CC” needs to be filled to enable this option. The serial-port details specified in the last section is used by the service processor to dispatch the Call-Home package via the serial port.
Call Home Setup Figure 6

For further details on configuring call-home from the FSP, refer to

https://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/P8DEA/p8hby/callhomesetup.htm

Conclusion

Call-Home can be setup even on systems that are not HMC managed. While the FSP supports delivery of Call Home package for boot or catastrophic failures to various destinations, configuring Call-Home to report issues to IBM Customer Service Center should greatly speed up problem reporting and resolution. 

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