IBM eServer xSeries 455 Faq page 34

Operating system watchdog timer feature causes inadvertent system
restarts
Description: The operating system watchdog timer feature specifies the number of
minutes between checks of the operating system by the Remote Supervisor
Adapter. If the operating system fails to respond, the Remote Supervisor Adapter
generates an OS timeout alert and restarts the server. The xSeries 455 server
might inadvertently restart when the operating system is running normally, if you
enable the feature.
Solution: If you enable the operating system watchdog timer feature, define the
timeout period as the maximum of four minutes. The default setting for the feature
is disabled.
Replacing the Remote Supervisor Adapter
The Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) in the xSeries 455 server stores its
variables with nonvolatile attributes in NVRAM on the Remote Supervisor Adapter.
Before you remove or replace the Remote Supervisor Adapter or clear the NVRAM,
be sure to make a backup copy of the nonvolatile EFI variables. After you install a
new Remote Supervisor Adapter, you must restore the EFI variables previously
stored in NVRAM.
The following EFI variables are stored in NVRAM on the Remote Supervisor
Adapter:
v Console definitions
v Boot options and device drivers
v Boot order and timeout
You can use the xSeries 455 Backup and Restore utilities to back up or restore the
nonvolatile EFI variables that are stored in NVRAM. These utilities are included in
the most current version of the System Abstraction Layer Extensible Firmware
Interface (SAL/EFI) code. See "Creating a backup copy of the nonvolatile EFI
variables" and "Restoring the nonvolatile EFI variables" for instructions.
Creating a backup copy of the nonvolatile EFI variables
Complete the following steps to create a backup copy of the EFI variables:
1. Make sure that the formatted medium where you plan to store the backup file is
2. Start the server.
3. Select EFI Shell from the EFI Firmware Boot Manager.
4. Change to the file system for the formatted medium where you want to store the
5. Type the following EFI command to create a backup copy of the EFI variables:
6. Type dir or Is to verify that the backup file was created successfully.
Restoring the nonvolatile EFI variables
Complete the following steps to restore the nonvolatile EFI variable settings:
1. Make sure that the formatted medium that contains the backup copy of the EFI
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xSeries 455 FAQ: Hints and Tips
inserted.
backup copy.
backup filename
Where filename is the name (eight-characters or fewer) that you want to assign
to the backup copy (for example, efibckup.001).
variables is inserted.