HP XC System Software Administration Guide Version 3.0

16. Using Diagnostic Tools
This chapter discusses the diagnostic tools that the HP XC system provides. It addresses the following topics:
• Using the sys_check Utility (page 149)
• Using the ovp Utility for System Verification (page 149)
• Using the dgemm Utility to Analyze Performance (page 151)
• Using the System Interconnect Diagnostic Tools (page 152)
Troubleshooting procedures are described in Chapter 17.: Troubleshooting (page 159).
Using the sys_check Utility
The sys_check utility is a data collection tool that is used to aid in diagnosing system errors and problems.
Use the sys_check utility to create an HTML report of your system's configuration (software and hardware);
you can specify a text report instead of the default HTML.
When used as a component of fault diagnosis, the sys_check utility can reduce system down time by as
much as 50 percent by providing fast access to critical system data.
HP recommends that you run a full check at least once a week to maintain the currency of system data.
However, note that some options take a long time to run and can have an adverse impact on system
performance. Choose your options carefully and run them during off-peak hours. At a minimum, perform at
least one full run as a postconfiguration task in order to establish a configuration baseline.
The sys_check utility provides options that enable you to do the following:
• Display a list of components
• Enable or disable data collection of individual components
• Create an escalation file for reporting problems to your technical support representative
• Specify an output file
Use the following command to invoke the sys_check utility in its simplest form:
# sys_check > /tmp/out.html
A preferred form of the sys_check utility uses the debug option because that option displays output that
indicates the progress of the sys_check utility. Also, it is a good idea to capture the output.
# sys_check -debug > /tmp/out.html
The sys_check utility collects configuration data for only the node on which it is run unless you first set
and export the SYS_CHECK_SYSWIDE environment variable. When this environment variable is set, a subset
of the sys_check components collect configuration data for all the nodes in the HP XC system. In the
following example, the mp firmware revision data for all the nodes in the system is collected; mp is a
sys_check component.
# export SYS_CHECK_SYSWIDE=1
# sys_check -debug mp > /tmp/mpout.html
For more information about the sys_check command and its options, see sys_check(8).
Using the ovp Utility for System Verification
The ovp utility ensures that the HP XC system is operational. HP recommends that you run this utility at the
end of the initial installation process.
By default, this utility includes the following tests to verify that:
• The license key file is installed and licensing is working.
• Network connectivity has been established.
• The administrative network is operational.
• All application nodes are responding and available to run applications.
Using the sys_check Utility 149