Manageability; Functional Overview - Sun Microsystems Fire V20z Management Manual

Manageability

IPMI defines a mechanism for server monitoring and recovery implemented directly
in hardware and firmware. IPMI functions are available independent of the main
processors, BIOS and operating system.
IPMI monitoring, logging and access functions add a built-in level of manageability
to the platform hardware. IPMI can be used in conjunction with server-management
software running under the OS, which provides an enhanced level of manageability.
IPMI provides the foundation for smarter management of servers by providing a
methodology for maintaining and improving the reliability, availability and
serviceability of expensive server hardware.

Functional Overview

The following list details the main features of IPMI in the servers:
A fully functional Sensor Data Record Repository (SDRR) is the container for and
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interface from which you can access sensor data records (SDRs).
The BMC owns all sensors within the repository. The SDRR features include:
a single management controller record
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threshold-based analog sensors for temperature, voltage, fans and power
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device locator records for FRUs, to which the physical sensor records are
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linked (through entity ID/instance relationships)
various discrete sensors and event-only sensors
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The System Event Log (SEL) is a 16K maximum persistent file. For more
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information, refer to
The watchdog timer (WDT) supports all timer uses, no pre-timeout interrupt
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actions, and all (reset, power down, power cycle) timeout actions. For more
information, refer to
A Field-Replaceable Unit (FRU) is read-only. It is tightly integrated with the SP's
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inventory-management functionality. For more information on the inventory
commands, see Appendix D in this guide. VPD data that is available through the
inventory command is also available from the FRU.
The following chassis-control actions are available:
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Power down
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Power up
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Power cycle
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Hard reset
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Soft shutdown
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Event filtering and unacknowledged Platform Event Trap (PET) alerts are
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supported. For more information, refer to
"System Event Log" on page
"Watchdog Timers" on page
68.
73.
"Event Filters" on page
Chapter 2 IPMI Server Management
72.
65