Event notifications

The system can use Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps, syslog messages, and call home emails to notify you and the support center when significant events are detected. Any combination of these notification methods can be used simultaneously. Notifications are normally sent immediately after an event is raised. However, there are some events that might occur because of active service actions. If a recommended service action is active, these events are notified only if they are still unfixed when the service action completes.

Each event that the system detects is assigned a notification type of Alerts or Inventory. When you configure notifications, you specify where the notifications should be sent and which notification types are sent to that recipient. The following table describes the types of event notifications.

Table 1. Notification levels
Notification level Description
Alerts Alerts include both error notification and warning messages. Error notification is sent to indicate a problem that must be corrected as soon as possible. For example, the event that is being reported could indicate a loss of redundancy in the system, and it is possible that another failure could result in loss of access to data. The most typical reason that this type of notification is sent is because of a hardware failure, but some configuration errors or fabric errors also are included in this notification level. Error notifications can be configured to be sent as a call home message to your support center.

A warning notification is sent to indicate a problem or unexpected condition with the system. Always immediately investigate this type of notification to determine the effect that it might have on your operation, and make any necessary corrections. A warning notification does not require any replacement parts and therefore should not require involvement from your support center. The allocation of notification type Warning does not imply that the event is less serious than one that has notification level Error.
Inventory Inventory notifications contain summaries of system status and configuration settings.

Events with notification type Error or Warning are shown as alerts in the event log. Events with notification type Information are shown as messages.

SNMP traps

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is a standard protocol for managing networks and exchanging messages. The system can send SNMP messages that notify personnel about an event. You can use an SNMP manager to view the SNMP messages that the system sends. You can use the management GUI or the command-line interface to configure and modify your SNMP settings. You can specify up to a maximum of six SNMP servers.

You can use the Management Information Base (MIB) file for SNMP to configure a network management program to receive SNMP messages that are sent by the system. This file can be used with SNMP messages from all versions of the software. More information about the MIB file for SNMP is available at this website:

www.ibm.com/support

Search for the name of your storage system and then search for MIB file for SNMP. Go to the downloads results to find IBM Management Information Base (MIB) file for SNMP. Click this link to find download options.

Syslog messages

The syslog protocol is a standard protocol for forwarding log messages from a sender to a receiver on an IP network. The system can send syslog messages that notify personnel about an event. The system can transmit syslog messages in either expanded or concise format. Servers configured with facility values of 0 - 3 receive syslog messages in concise format. Servers configured with facility values of 4 - 7 receive syslog messages in fully-expanded format. The default value is 0. The facility number used in syslog messages also identifies the origin of the message to the receiving server. You can use a syslog manager to view the syslog messages that the system sends. The system uses the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) to transmit the syslog message. You can specify up to a maximum of six syslog servers. You can use the management GUI or the command-line interface to configure and modify your syslog settings.

Table 2 shows how system notification codes map to syslog security-level codes.
Table 2. System notification types and corresponding syslog level codes
System notification type Syslog level code Description
ERROR LOG_ALERT Fault that might require hardware replacement that needs immediate attention.
WARNING LOG_ERROR Fault that needs immediate attention. Hardware replacement is not expected.
INFORMATIONAL LOG_INFO Information message used, for example, when a configuration change takes place or an operation completes.
TEST LOG_DEBUG Test message
Table 3 shows how system values of user-defined message origin identifiers map to syslog facility codes.
Table 3. System values of user-defined message origin identifiers and syslog facility codes
System value Syslog value Syslog facility code Message format
0 16 LOG_LOCAL0 Full
1 17 LOG_LOCAL1 Full
2 18 LOG_LOCAL2 Full
3 19 LOG_LOCAL3 Full
4 20 LOG_LOCAL4 Concise
5 21 LOG_LOCAL5 Concise
6 22 LOG_LOCAL6 Concise
7 23 LOG_LOCAL7 Concise

Call home email

The call home function sends enhanced reports that include operational and event-related data and specific configuration information to the support center. When configured, this function alerts the support center about hardware failures and potentially serious configuration or environmental issues. The support center can use configuration information to automatically generate best practices or recommendations that are based on your actual configuration.

To send email, you must configure at least one Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server. You can specify as many as 5 additional SMTP servers for backup purposes. The SMTP server must accept the relaying of email from the management IP address. You can then use the management GUI or the command-line interface to configure the email settings, including contact information and email recipients. Set the reply address to a valid email address. Send a test email to check that all connections and infrastructure are set up correctly. You can disable the call home function at any time using the management GUI or the command-line interface. If you only want error and inventory information sent to the support center you can choose to hide sensitive entries, such as object names, cloud accounts, network information, certificates, host and user information from the reports.

Data that is sent with notifications

Notifications can be sent by using email, SNMP, or syslog. The data that is sent for each type of notification is the same. It includes:
  • Record type
  • Machine type
  • Machine serial number
  • Error ID
  • Error code
  • Software version
  • FRU part number
  • Cluster (system) name
  • Node ID
  • Error sequence number
  • Time stamp
  • Object type
  • Object ID
  • Problem data
  • Component ID
  • Customer Number
  • Country Code
Emails contain the following additional information that allows the Support Center to contact you:
  • Contact names for first and second contacts
  • Contact phone numbers for first and second contacts
  • Alternate contact numbers for first and second contacts
  • Offshift phone number
  • Contact email address
  • Machine location