Diagnosing - IBM BladeCenter PS700 Technical Overview And Introduction

Figure 4-2 shows a schematic of a fault isolation register implementation.
Figure 4-2 Schematic of a FIR implementation
Fault isolation
The service processor interprets error data captured by the FFDC checkers (saved in the
FIRs or other firmware-related data capture methods) to determine the root cause of the error
event.
Root cause analysis might indicate that the event is recoverable, meaning that a service
action point or need for repair has not been reached. Alternatively, it could indicate that a
service action point has been reached, where the event exceeded a pre-determined threshold
or was unrecoverable. Based upon the isolation analysis, recoverable error threshold counts
might be incremented. No specific service action is necessary when the event is recoverable.
When the event requires a service action, additional required information is collected to
service the fault. For unrecoverable errors or for recoverable events that meet or exceed their
service threshold (meaning that a service action point has been reached) a request for
service is initiated through an error logging component.

4.4.2 Diagnosing

Using the extensive network of advanced and complementary error detection logic built
directly into hardware, firmware, and operating systems, the IBM Power Systems servers can
perform considerable self-diagnosis.
Boot time
When an IBM Power Systems server powers up, the service processor initializes system
hardware. Boot-time diagnostic testing uses a multitier approach for system validation,
starting with managed low-level diagnostics supplemented with system firmware initialization
and configuration of I/O hardware, followed by OS-initiated software test routines.
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IBM BladeCenter PS700, PS701, and PS702 Technical Overview and Introduction
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CPU
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L1
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L2 / L3
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Memory
Disk
Error checkers
Fault isolation register (FIR)
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Unique fingerprint of each
captured error
Service
Processor
Log error
Non-volatile
RAM