Technical information

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Service environment
In the PowerVM environment, the HMC is a dedicated server that provides functions
for configuring and managing servers for either partitioned or full-system partition
using a GUI or command-line interface (CLI). An HMC attached to the system allows
support personnel (with client authorization) to remotely log in to review error logs
and perform remote maintenance if required.
The POWER8 processor-based platforms support two main service environments:
• Attachment to one or more HMCs is a supported option by the system with
PowerVM. This is the default configuration for servers supporting logical partitions
with dedicated or virtual I/O. In this case, all servers have at least one logical
partition.
• No HMC. There are two service strategies for non-HMC systems.
– Full-system partition with PowerVM : A single partition owns all the server
resources and only one operating system may be installed.
– Partitioned system with PowerVM : In this configuration, the system can have
more than one partition and can be running more than one operating system.
In this environment, partitions are managed by the Integrated Virtualization
Manager (IVM), which provides some of the functions provided by the HMC.
Service interface
The service interface allows support personnel to communicate with the service
support applications in a server using a console, an interface, or a terminal.
Delivering a clear, concise view of available service applications, the service interface
allows the support team to manage system resources and service information in an
efficient and effective way. Applications available through the service interface are
carefully configured and placed to give service providers access to important service
functions.
Different service interfaces are used, depending on the state of the system,
hypervisor, and operating environment. The primary service interfaces are:
• LEDs
• Operator Panel
• Service Processor menu
• Operating system service menu
• Service Focal Point on the HMC with PowerVM
• Service Focal Point Lite on IVM with PowerVM
In the light path LED implementation, the system can clearly identify components
for replacement by using specific component-level LEDs, and can also guide the
servicer directly to the component by signaling (turning on solid) the amber system
fault LED, enclosure fault LED, and component FRU fault LED. The servicer can also
use the identify function to blink the FRU-level LED. When this function is activated,
a roll-up to the blue enclosure locate and system locate LEDs will occur. These LEDs
will turn on solid and can be used to follow the light path from the system to the
enclosure and down to the specific FRU in the PowerVM environment.
First Failure Data Capture and error data analysis
First Failure Data Capture (FFDC) is a technique that helps ensure that when a fault
is detected in a system, the root cause of the fault will be captured without the
need to re-create the problem or run any sort of extending tracing or diagnostics
program. For the vast majority of faults, a good FFDC design means that the root
cause can also be detected automatically without servicer intervention.