topic Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification in Server Management - Systems Insight Manager

HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Nancy Kafer — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:02:24 GMT

This week one of our QLogic HBAs on our backup server (running Windows 2003) reported that it couldn't find the path to our tape drives. Turns out after further investigation this HBA had failed.

The server has the SIM agents installed and the storage agents see the HBAs. However, we never received a notification that this HBA was failing. When I look at the SMH there are no errors or warnings regarding this HBA.

Is there something special that has to be done for HBAs to report back to SIM that they are failing? Once the HBA reports the failure to SIM is there a special MIB or something that needs to be set up to send a notification?

We are running HP SIM version C.05.03.01.

Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Rob Buxton — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:30:16 GMT

From the Control Panel->HP Management Agents GUI, use the SNMP Trap to send a test trap. does that get to HP SIM?
If not then your trap destination hasn't been set.
From the same GUI you can also check that the sub-agent hasn't been deactiviated.

Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Nancy Kafer — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:43:02 GMT

Am I correct that test traps will show up under the "Events" list for the server?

Thanks.

Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Nancy Kafer — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:11:23 GMT

I tried sending the test trap but didn't receive anything. I then decided to make sure that the insight agents were installed correctly so I ran the "Configure/repair agents" on my server. I selected to install the SNMP agent (nothing else checked). After my reboot the "Control Panel, HP Management Agents" option is gone.

How do I get this back?

Thanks.

Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Martin Smoral — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:59:04 GMT

Try running the "Install Initial PSP" on the server which should be next to the "Configure or Repair Agents". It should install the entire PSP. The server might require a reboot. So use the check box to tell it whether or not to reboot if required.

Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Nancy Kafer — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:15:25 GMT

This didn't put the Management agent GUI back in Control Panel. Is there another way to send a test SNMP trap for this server?

Also, where do test SNMP traps show up in SIM?

Thanks.

Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Rob Buxton — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:24:50 GMT

Not sure how to reinstate the GUI.
Events will show up under name of the server that sent the trap.
Click on the server name in HPSIM, there's an Events Tab there that will just show the events for that server.

If no events have shown up from the test SNMP trap then it would imply that the SNMP Trap destination on the server sending the trap hasn't been set correctly. The destination is the HPSIM Server and it needs the correct community name.

Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Nancy Kafer — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:34:37 GMT

This keeps getting better. I ran the Initial PSP install and rebooted. Now when I look at my server in SIM it shows a type of "Unknown".

I ran the software status polling, hardware status polling and identify systems for this server. When I look at the system management homepage for this server I'm not sure I'm seeing everything. Example: Under "Storage" I used to have a link for external storage that showed my HBAs. Now the only thing I see is the Smart Array card in the server. I don't see anything for the HBAs.

Thanks.

Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Martin Smoral — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:38:44 GMT

Does the Management Agents now show in the Control Panel ? IF so make sure the "Fibre Channel Information" subagent is under the Active side.

Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Nancy Kafer — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:41:02 GMT

Nope I don't have that anymore. The only HP item I see in the Control Panel is the "HP Network Configuration Utility".

Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Rob Buxton — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:08:46 GMT

I would look at removing the HP Management Agents completely.
What state is SNMP in? Has then been correctly reinstalled?
I'd then reinstall the HP Management Agents, hopefully that will re-add the GUI.

SNMP is enough to successfully ID a server, but the community names etc. need to be correct.

Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Nancy Kafer — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:31:05 GMT

I'll have to try that and will post my results.

Thanks.

Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Glynn Seymour — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:32:09 GMT

Regarding the vanishing items in SMH, I had a similar situation this week on RHEL - I cured it eventually after checking snmp settings etc. by reinstalling the PSP with a
--force parameter - I guess there's an equivalent in Windows. This was PSP 8.25.

Will probably need a reboot, as I guess it throws everything back on at defaults without checking whats already there.

Re: HBA Failures and SIM Notification

Nancy Kafer — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:16:49 GMT

Thanks. I'll try that. On a side note I tried sending a test trap from another server and I'm still not getting the test trap to show up in SIM. I checked the SNMP settings on my client as well as the global community strings inside SIM.

The server has all of the information correct in the "All systems" tab in SIM (e.g. OS, IP address, type="Server"). When I run the "Identify system" on this server it says SNMP is configured.

Is there something else I need to check to get these test traps to get to SIM?

Thanks.