Collecting Dump Data - IBM power PS700 Problem Determination And Service Manual

Linux on POWER service and productivity tools include hardware diagnostic aids and productivity
tools, and installation aids. The installation aids are provided in the IBM Installation Toolkit for Linux
on POWER, a set of tools that aids the installation of Linux on IBM servers with POWER architecture.
You can also use the tools to update the PS700 blade server firmware.
Diagnostic utilities for the Linux operating system are available from IBM at https://
www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/sas/f/lopdiags/home.html.
v Diagnostic utilities for other operating systems
You can use the stand-alone diagnostics CD to perform diagnostics on the PS700 blade server, no matter
which operating system is loaded on the blade server. However, other supported operating systems
might have diagnostic tools that are available through the operating system. See the documentation for
your operating system for more information.

Collecting dump data

A dump might be critical for fault isolation when the built-in First Failure Data Capture (FFDC)
mechanisms are not capturing sufficient fault data. Even when a fault is identified, dump data can
provide additional information that is useful in problem determination.
All hardware state information is part of the dump if a hardware checkstop occurs. When a checkstop
occurs, the service processor attempts to dump data that is necessary to analyze the error from
appropriate parts of the system.
Note: If you power off the blade through the management module while the service processor is
performing a dump, platform dump data is lost.
You might be asked to retrieve a dump to send it to IBM Support for analysis. The location of the dump
data varies by operating system.
v Collect an AIX dump from the /var/adm/platform directory.
v Collect a Linux dump from the /var/log/dump directory.
v Collect an Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM) dump from the IVM-managed PS700 blade server
through the Manage Dumps task in the IVM console.
v To collect a system dump by using the Hardware Management Console (HMC), complete these steps:
1. Perform a controlled shutdown of all partitions.
Note: A system dump will abnormally terminate any running partitions.
2. In the navigation area, open Systems Management.
3. Select the server and open it.
4. Select Serviceability > Manage Dumps > Action > Initiate System Dump. The dump is
automatically saved to the HMC. For details on how to copy, report, or delete a dump after you
have completed a dump, see Managing dumps.
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Chapter 2. Diagnostics