Interface Card OL* Support Guide

HP recommends that you complete one operation using one method. “Mixing OL* Methods”
(page 76) includes a table, which details the consequences of mixing OL* methods.
With many cards placed close together in a system, it can be difficult to locate a particular slot.
You can turn the Attention LED to a blinking state for easy slot location. Information for blinking
the Attention LED is included with each OL* method.
Important Terms and Concepts
Table 1-1 Terms and Meanings
MeaningTerm
All aspects of Online Addition (OLA), Online Replacement (OLR), and Online Deletion (OLD)
of PCI and PCI-X interface cards.
OL*
A grouping of one or more interface card slots that are powered on or off as a unit. HP Integrity
systems have each slot in a separate power domain.
Power Domain
The interface card which will be added, replaced or deleted using OL* and the card slot it
resides in.
target card
target card slot
Interface cards and the card slots they reside in which are in the same power domain as the
target slot. Multi-slot power domains are not implemented.
affected card
affected card slot
Manual Retention Latch. A physical latch that locks a card into position in a slot and influences
power to the slot. Also referred to as a latch.
MRL
A physical divider situated between slots and features a power LED, an attention LED, the
Attention Button, and an MRL. The OLX Divider may not contain the Attention Button. See
your platform documentation for specifics on LED and Attention Button positioning.
OLX Divider
Critical Resource Analysis. A system check for critical resources on all affected hardware paths
associated with the specified slot, analyzing file systems, volumes, processes, networking,
swap, and dump. Generates a report of affected resources.
CRA
A daemon that handles events generated by pressing a PCI I/O slot Attention Button.
hotplugd
Planning and Preparation
In many cases, other interface cards and slots within the system are dependent upon the target
card
• If the target card is a multiple-function card (MFC), suspending drivers for the target card
slot also suspends individual drivers for the multiple hardware paths on that card. If the
target card has multiple ports, then all individual ports are suspended and then resumed
when the card is replaced.
• If you temporarily stop power to a multi-card power domain, you will also stop power to
any other card slots (affected card slots) in that same power domain.
During card replacement and deletion, pdweb and olrad perform a CRA, which checks all ports
on the target card for critical resources that are temporarily unavailable while the card is shut
down.
These tools prevent you from performing OL* procedures that can adversely affect other areas
of the server. This section provides information that minimizes errors or problems when
performing OL* procedures.
Card Compatibility
When you perform an OL* operation, you must consider the compatibility of the cards used.
Each of the three operations have different requirements, as outlined here.
20 PCI Card OL* Overview