User's Manual

1 ODE Overview
This chapter provides information on the following topics:
• The purpose of ODE and when to use it.
• ODE limitations.
Offline Diagnostics Environment
The Offline Diagnostics Environment (ODE) provides a support tools platform that enables you
to troubleshoot a system that is running without an operating system.
With the ODE you can test systems that cannot be tested using online tools. The offline
environment is also useful for certain types of testing, such as when booting the system first is
undesirable, as is often the case with manufacturing applications.
ODE tools are available for troubleshooting problems on the Itanium processor family and on
HP 9000 systems (also referred to as PA-RISC systems). The way you use these tools is similar
on both types of platforms. The syntax and operation is the same; the primary differences are
the names of the tools and the way that ODE is launched. It does not depend on any operating
system.
The ODE provides two user interfaces:
• The command-line interface lets you select specific tests and utilities to execute on specific
hardware modules.
Use the command-line interface option if you are an advanced user and familiar with the
ODE. The command line interface allows you more control over the tests that you want to
conduct.
• The menu-driven interface, which is only available on 32-bit systems, lets you specify the
hardware module for the tests you want to run. ODE selects the appropriate tests to execute
on the specified module.
Use the menu-driven interface if you are unfamiliar with the command-line interface or
with ODE. When you select a module to test, the menu-driven interface is designed to choose
and then execute the appropriate tests for that module.
ODE has a distributed architecture that consists of several modules. Each module has a specific
function and uses well defined protocols to communicate with other modules. ODE includes the
following modules:
• Test Controller
Acts as a user interface and launches the execution of the Test Modules.
• Test Modules
Diagnostic or utility programs that execute within ODE.
These modules exercise or diagnose the user-specified hardware component or perform
operations such as downloading firmware. The test modules are provided for the following
components:
— Processor
— Memory
— Core electronic chipset
— Core I/O
— I/O cards
— Peripheral devices
• System Library (SysLib)
A set of common routines used by both the Test Controller and Test Modules.
Offline Diagnostics Environment 7