Online Diagnostics (EMS and STM) Administrator's Guide March 2013

EMS Hardware Monitors require minimal maintenance once installed and configured. They
automatically monitor new hardware resources that are added to the system.
The EMS Hardware Monitors also integrate with applications that maintain system availability,
such as HP Serviceguard.
Startup Client
The Startup Client launches and configures the EMS Hardware Monitors each time you start the
system and after you execute the IOSCAN utility. It uses the default monitoring requests or any
customized requests created to start each monitor and configure its hardware resources.
Hardware Monitoring Request Manager
The Hardware Monitoring Request Manager (monconfig) utility enables you to create and manage
event monitoring requests for all the EMS Hardware Monitors. It supports all the notification methods.
Using the monconfig utility, you can also enable or disable hardware monitoring.
The EMS uses the settings in the monconfig utility to determine how an event must be delivered.
For more information about the monconfig utility, see “Hardware Monitoring Request Manager”
(page 27).
Multiple-View and Non-Multiple-View Monitors
EMS Hardware Monitors are of two types: Multiple-View and Non-Multiple-View monitors.
Multiple-View monitors enable you to specify different event details for the same monitor to one or
more targets, based on the requirements of the targets. Event details for Non-Multiple-View monitors
are the same for all the targets.
Both monitors types use the Global and Monitor-Specific Configuration (.cfg) Files to configure the
required monitor settings. In addition, Multiple-View monitors use the Client Configuration (.clcfg)
File. The Client Configuration File enables you to configure different event details for multiple
targets.
Event Tracking Methods
EMS Hardware Monitors use one or both of the following methods to track events:
• Polling
In polling, a monitor checks the status of its hardware resources at regular intervals, typically
every 60 minutes. The monitor generates an event if it detects any unusual behavior. Select
the polling interval to provide reasonable detection without impacting system performance.
The main disadvantage of polling is that an event is not detected before the next scheduled
polling, which renders the system vulnerable to hardware failure.
• Asynchronous event detection
Asynchronous detection enables a monitor to detect an event when it occurs, usually during
an I/O to the device. Asynchronous event monitoring provides immediate notification and
response to a critical situation.
Peripheral Status Monitor
Peripheral Status Monitor (PSM) converts events detected by an EMS Hardware Monitor into
changes in hardware resource status. This conversion is required when you use the HP Serviceguard
to control package fail over. As the EMS Hardware Monitors detect and report the occurrence of
events rather than resource status, a method is required to alert HP Serviceguard when a hardware
resource has a status that can impact data availability. The PSM provides this functionality, serving
as the interface between the monitors and HP Serviceguard. When an event is generated, the PSM
determines whether the event is serious enough to warrant a change in hardware resource status
Hardware Monitoring 7