Reference Guide
7
Alerts in Command | Monitor
Alerts are generated when a system’s state of interest changes. There are two basic types of alerting: local
alerting to the current computer user and remote alerting to a management application. Command |
Monitor handles both types of alerting.
The Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) has released the Alert Standard Format (ASF), which
defines alerting and remote control interfaces that enable management of networked systems when their
operating system is absent. This includes a networked computer that has an inactive or inoperable
operating system or that is in a low-power system sleep state. The ASF specification is available at
www.dmtf.org. ASF documentation is provided with systems that support ASF.
ASF handles remote alerting for environmental events, which are detected by sensors, such as
temperature, electrical, and fan probes, and chassis intrusion sensors. ASF also handles additional alerting
in the operating-system-absent environment. By default, Command | Monitor handles remote alerting for
all events.
ASF 2.0 adds important security measures to the ASF standard, which defines alerting and remote control
interfaces to proactively manage networked devices when their operating system is absent. The first
industry specification for operating system absent management, ASF allows a network administrator to be
alerted to failures of specific components within a networked device, thereby minimizing on-site
maintenance while maximizing remote visibility of and access to local systems. Without ASF, operating
system absent problems require manual intervention to force a reboot of the system.
There are three settings in the system BIOS that Command | Monitor allows for configuration:
• Off — All ASF 2.0 features are turned off
• Alert Only — ASF 2.0 alert is the only feature that is turned on
• On — Alerts and remote control are turned on
The system network interface card (NIC) and basic input/output system (BIOS) support ASF 2.0. If the
BIOS allows for any ASF 2.0 configuration, then the BIOS settings are exposed through the Microsoft
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) by Command | Monitor.
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