Call Home
Ensure that call home is configured on the system to send notifications to the support center. Call home connects the system to support personnel who can monitor and respond to system events to ensure that your system remains up and running.
If a software or hardware error occurs, the Call Home function notifies the support center and then automatically opens a service request. Call Home sends service-related information to inform support personnel so they can quickly act to resolve the problem.
Call home with cloud services
Call home with cloud services sends notifications directly to a centralized file repository that contains troubleshooting information that is gathered from customers. Support personnel can access this repository and be assigned issues automatically as problem reports. This method of transmitting notifications from the system to support removes the need for customers to create problem reports manually. Call home with cloud services also eliminates email filters dropping notifications to and from support which can delay resolution of problems on the system. Call home with cloud services use Representational State Transfer (RESTful) APIs, which are a standard for transmitting data through web services. For new system installations, call home with cloud services is configured as the default method to transmit notifications to support. When you update the system software, call home with cloud services is also set up automatically. You need to ensure that network settings are configured to allow connections to the support center. This method only sends notifications to the predefined support center.
Call home with email notifications
Call home with email notification sends notifications through a local email server to support and local users or services that monitor activity on the system. With email notifications, you can send notifications to IBM support and designate internal distribution of notifications as well, which alerts internal personnel of potential problems. Call home with email notifications require configuration of at least one email server and local users. However, external notifications to the support center can be dropped if filters on the email server are active. If you also want notifications sent to an internal user or server, you must set up email notifications.
The system supports configuring both these transmission methods at the same time. If Call home with cloud services and email notifications are both configured, call home with cloud services is the primary transmission method to the support center and email notifications are used as a backup if the system cannot connect through cloud services to the support center. For each transmission method, statuses are displayed to indicate the connection health between the system and the support center.