Diagnostic tools overview

The following tools are available to help you diagnose and solve hardware-related problems. Go to the advanced management module InfoCenter at http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/bladectr/documentation/index.jsp and search for "testing the hardware" to learn about additional ways to gather diagnostic information for your blade appliance.

• POST codes, error messages, and error logs

  The POST error codes indicate the detection of a problem. See Working with event logs during system startup for information about how to view logs when starting the blade appliance; then, see the IBM BladeCenter HS22 Problem Determination and Service Guide for more information about the codes that are in the logs.

• Troubleshooting tables

  These tables list problem symptoms and actions to correct the problems. See the IBM BladeCenter HS22 Problem Determination and Service Guide for more information.

• Light path diagnostics

  Use light path diagnostics LEDs on the system board to diagnose system errors. If the system-error LED on the system LED panel on the front or rear of the BladeCenter® unit is lit, one or more error LEDs on the BladeCenter unit components also might be lit. These LEDs help identify the cause of the problem. Blade server error LEDs are described in the IBM BladeCenter HS22 Problem Determination and Service Guide.

• Dynamic System Analysis (DSA) Portable Edition diagnostic program

  DSA tests the major components of the BladeCenter unit, including the management modules, I/O modules, removable-media drives, and blade servers and appliances, while the system is running. For documentation and download information for DSA, see http://www.ibm.com/systems/management/. For more information about diagnostic programs and error messages, see the IBM BladeCenter HS22 Problem Determination and Service Guide.

  Note

  If you are unable to find the system-error logs in the blade server firmware code, view the system-event log in the BladeCenter management module.
• Dynamic System Analysis (DSA) Preboot diagnostic program
  The DSA Preboot diagnostic programs are stored in read-only memory and collect and analyze system information to aid in diagnosing server problems. The diagnostic programs collect the following information about the server:

  • Drive health information
  • Event log for IMM (service processor)
  • Hardware inventory, including PCI and USB information
  • Light path diagnostics status
  • LSI RAID and controller configuration
  • Network interfaces and settings
  • IMM status and configuration
  • System configuration
  • Vital product data, firmware, and Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) configuration

  The diagnostic programs create a merged log that includes events from all collected logs. The information is collected into a file that you can send to IBM Service and Support. Additionally, you can view the information locally through a generated text report file. You can also copy the log to removable media and view the log from a Web browser.