SuperDome SMS Management Software

[Robert_Jewell]

Hello;
I have been tasked with looking into the SuperDome server and the one thing I have a question on (at this point anyway) is the SMS system. I see that this is a system that functions much like the V class teststation in that it assists with some maintenance tasks, firmware, diagnostics, etc. I would like to take a look at this software if possible prior to actually owning a 'Dome.
My question is, where can one obtain this software? Can it be downloaded, purchased, coerced :), from anywhere is particular, or is this something that can only be obtained with the server? Plus any further insight anyone may have on using this software would be appreciated as well.

Thanks in advance.
-Bob

[Duncan Edmonstone]

Bob,

I think you'll struggle... AFAIK the SMS is there for HP engineers, not for customers - some customers use the SMS as a local console, but otherwise its for your CE! Much like the laptops in the front of EMC/XP disk arrays....

HTH

Duncan

[Robert_Jewell]

Thank you for the quick reply. So does the 'customer' interact with the SMS at all? I figured the HP CE would have the most use for this system, but we are looking at this server for developmental training to assist with tasks such as installs, moves, etc., so I will need more interaction with the SMS than typical.

-Bob

[saju_2]

Hi

The sms at our place is a rp 2450 server only used for firmware upgrade of superdome...Itis a normal server with a hdd a dat drive etc

Regards
CS

[saju_2]

Hi

U can have some documents abt SMS at

http://docs.hp.com/en/hw.html#HP%209000%20rp2400%20Server%20%28A400%20and%20A500%29

Regards
CS

[generic_1]

CE use it some for updates, but your biggest gain is if your company will allot HP to connect to it remotely. Because it will allow Engineers to look at logs and the System from a troubleshooting, and active monitoring standpoint possibly.
I personally would think of it as the EMC phone home and the laptop in the frame that you as an SA/storageadmin would not use :). There is another product too, but I forget the name which will allow hp to monitor for hardware/software events as well. It has changed names. This too requires outside connectivity to the company, and politics :) Overall though if you can cut through that I think they have some value to offer.

[Jeff Schussele]

Well, the old product was HAO (High Availability Observatory)
Now, the new product is ISEE (Instant Support Enterprise Edition)

And generally HP retains ownership of the SMS system. It's really part of their support package for 'Domes. So I doubt they'll give you access to it at all. But I guess it can't hurt to ask.

My 2 cents,
Jeff

[Devesh Pant_1]

Bob,
the SMS box is for just the superdome complexes ( 1 for 16 Superdomes ) It is essentially being used by HP. I have myself tried to check out a few things out of curiosity but the utilities are not too interesting. viz. the firmware update software etc.
I would say this is something that you buy from the HP for the HP and is by the HP.

What we have is a separate Windows XP box for the ISEE as others have pointed out in the thread as being the same. We have these separate since ISEE could be monitoring non Superdome stuff too.


thanks
DP

[Robert_Jewell]

Thanks again for the info.

Yes, I had found that the rp2450 is a consistent model (although there were several offered over time) and thank you for the link to the documentation, I had seen that as well. Nowhere does it indicate where the software comes from though.

So it seems that the HP wants their CE's to have main control over this server. Although I would think that with any system that has a modem line installed and is on your network you would want root access, if anything, to ensure that security patches, etc are all up to date. I would be surprised otherwise. But to ask the question, who maintained this server OS-wise? Who updated patches, who updated software packages when required, etc? Was this all done by the HP CE? In your experience, who was the "admin" of the system that runs the SMS software?

-Bob

[Devender Khatana]

Hi Bob,

We are using 3 domes for over 3 years now. The SMS software & OS in the SMS server hardly needs upgradation atleast we never had that done. It is only used for hardware diagnostics & formware upgradations.

Last week I had a chance to upgrade firmware on one of our domes with my superdome trainned couligue. He just ftped the latest firmware file into SMS server and unziped it. That was all required for making it capable for applying latest firmware to old superdome.

OS part of this will be taken care by HP unless you use it for your own puproses. With our two latest PA-RISC domes we got rx2600 as SMS server. I do not think you even have any option of selecting the model of the SMS server.

HTH,
Devender