System Fault Management White Paper

Figure 1 CMS and Local System Display
The SFM product includes the following components:
• SFM Providers
• EVWEB
• Error Management Technology (EMT)
A user can use each of these components through the interface of a supported management
application, such as HP SMH and HP SIM.
SFM providers are components of SFM that retrieve information about the inventory on a system
and the events that occur on the hardware resources. SFM providers are of two types: instance
providers and indication providers. Each instance and indication provider monitors a server
hardware device. When a user requests for information, an SFM instance provider dynamically
queries the monitored device for property information, such as the type of memory module,
processor speed, and serial number, and reports the information to the Common Information
Model Object Manager (CIMOM). Subsequently, using the HP SMH interface, a user can view
the property information in the property pages.
An SFM indication provider generates WBEM indications if it detects any abnormal activity on
the monitored device. These WBEM indications provide details about the detected activity, such
as its summary, the probably cause, and the corresponding action recommended. These details
help diagnose faults, if any, and take the required corrective actions, thereby avoiding a system
failure. The WBEM indications are reported to the CIMOM, and subsequently, the user is notified
of these occurrences through configured channels, such as email and syslog entries. The indication
providers are analogous to the EMS Hardware Monitors in Online Diagnostics. However, the
WBEM indications contain additional details than what is present in the EMS event details.
EVWEB is an SFM component that enables a user to administer and view indications that have
occurred on the system. A user can subscribe to these WBEM indications based on certain criteria,
and also specify the destination where the indications must be delivered.
EMT is an SFM component that enables the user to view most of the errors that can occur on a
system running the HP-UX 11i v3 operating system. EMT also enables a user to perform certain
administrative tasks related to the error metadata.
Overview 7