
Chapter 4. Continuous availability and manageability
113
Draft Document for Review September 2, 2008 5:05 pm
4405ch04 Continuous availability and manageability.fm
Additional capability is being added to the POWER6 firmware to be able to view the status of
a system power control network background firmware update. This subsystem will update as
necessary as migrated nodes or I/O drawers are added to the configuration. The new
firmware will not only provide an interface to be able to view the progress of the update, but
also control starting and stopping of the background update if a more convenient time
becomes available.
Repair and verify
Repair and Verify (R&V) is a system used to guide a service provider step-by-step through
the process of repairing a system and verifying that the problem has been repaired. The steps
are customized in the appropriate sequence for the particular repair for the specific system
being repaired. Repair scenarios covered by repair and verify include:
Replacing a defective Field Replaceable Unit (FRU)
Reattaching a loose or disconnected component
Correcting a configuration error
Removing or replacing an incompatible FRU
Updating firmware, device drivers, operating systems, middleware components, and IBM
applications after replacing a part
Installing a new part
Repair and verify procedures are designed to be used both by service representative
providers who are familiar with the task at hand and those who are not. On Demand
Education content is placed in the procedure at the appropriate locations. Throughout the
repair and verify procedure, repair history is collected and provided to the Service and
Support Problem Management Database for storage with the Serviceable Event, to ensure
that the guided maintenance procedures are operating correctly.
Service documentation on the support for IBM System p
The support for IBM System p Web site is an electronic information repository for POWER6
processor-based systems. This Web site also provides online training and educational
material, as well as service documentation. In addition, the Web site will provide service
procedures that are not handled by the automated Repair and Verify guided component.
The support for System p Web site is located at:
http://www.ibm.com/systems/support/p
Clients can subscribe through the Subscription Services to obtain the notifications on the
latest updates available for service related documentation. The latest version of the
documentation is accessible through the Internet, and a CD-ROM-based version is also
available.
4.4 Operating System support for RAS features
Table 4-1 on page 114 gives an overview of a number of features for continuous availability
supported by the different operating systems running on the POWER6 processor-based
systems.