NEC Express5800/320Ma Use and care manual

NEC Solutions (America), Inc.
NR550
Express5800/320Ma:
Technical Reference Guide

Manual Name: Express5800/320Ma: Technical Reference Guide
Part Number: NR550
Express5800/320Ma Software Release Number: 4.1.0
Publication Date: January 2006
NEC Solutions (America), Inc.
10850 Gold Center Drive, Suite 200
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
© 2006 NEC Solutions (America), Inc. All rights reserved.
Notice
The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.
UNLESS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN A WRITTEN AGREEMENT SIGNED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE
OF NEC, NEC MAKES NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN, INCLUDING WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PURPOSE. NEC assumes no responsibility or obligation of any kind for any errors contained herein or in connection with
the furnishing, performance, or use of this document.
Software described in NEC (a) is the property of NEC and/or its licensees, (b) is furnished only under license, and (c) may
be copied or used only as expressly permitted under the terms of the license.
NEC documentation describes all supported features of the user interfaces and the application programming interfaces
(API) developed by NEC and/or its licensees. Any undocumented features of these interfaces are intended solely for use
by NEC personnel and are subject to change without warning.
This document is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be copied, reproduced, or
translated, either mechanically or electronically, without the prior written consent of NEC Solutions (America), Inc.
The NEC Solutions (America), Inc. logo, Express5800/320Ma, and the Express5800/320Ma logo, are trademarks of NEC
Solutions (America), Inc. ActiveService Network is a trademark of Stratus Technologies Bermuda, Ltd. All other
trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

Contents iii
Contents
Preface vii
1. ftServer Drivers and Services 1-1
ftServer drivers 1-1
Board Instance Driver 1-1
Fibre Channel Drivers 1-1
SCSI Port Duplex Driver 1-2
fIPMI Driver 1-2
ATI Video Driver 1-2
Virtual Technician Module (VTM) Mailbox Driver 1-2
VTM Dump Driver 1-3
srasata.sys Driver 1-3
ftServer services 1-3
2. Express5800/320Ma System Features 2-1
Administering an ftGateway Group Manually 2-1
Managing MTBF Statistics 2-3
Error Detection and Handling 2-3
MTBF Calculation and Effects 2-4
Displaying MTBF Information 2-5
Changing the MTBF Threshold 2-6
ftServer Manager Event Handling 2-7
ASN Connection Retry Cycle 2-7
3. ftSMC Component Properties and Actions 3-1
ftSMC Component Properties 3-1
ftSMC Component Actions 3-24
4. System Alarm Messages 4-1
SNMP Traps 4-3

Contents
iv Express5800/320Ma: Technical Reference Guide
Device State and Threshold Alarms 4-3
ftGateway Alarm Messages 4-10
Miscellaneous Alarms 4-10
5. BIOS Setup 5-1
Before You Change BIOS Settings 5-1
Starting the ftServer Setup Utility 5-2
Navigating and Using the ftServer Setup BIOS Setup Menus 5-2
Legend Bar 5-2
Menu Bar 5-3
Help 5-4
Restoring Default Values Feature 5-5
ftServer Setup Menus 5-5
Main Menu 5-6
Advanced Menu 5-8
Advanced Processor Configuration Submenu 5-9
I/O Device Configuration Submenu 5-10
PCI Configuration Submenu 5-13
Console Redirection Submenu 5-14
Monitoring Configuration Submenu 5-15
Security Menu 5-17
Boot Menu 5-19
Exit Menu 5-21
Summary Screen 5-22
Index Index-1

vExpress5800/320Ma: Technical Reference Guide
Figures
Figure 2-1. ftServer Manager Event Handling 2-7
Figure 5-1. ftServer Setup Menu Bar 5-3
Figure 5-2. Main Menu 5-6
Figure 5-3. Advanced Menu 5-9
Figure 5-4. Advanced Processor Configuration Submenu 5-10
Figure 5-5. I/O Device Configuration Submenu 5-11
Figure 5-6. PCI Configuration Submenu 5-13
Figure 5-7. Console Redirection Menu 5-14
Figure 5-8. Monitoring Configuration Submenu 5-16
Figure 5-9. Security Menu 5-18
Figure 5-10. Boot Menu 5-20
Figure 5-11. Exit Menu 5-21

Tables vi
Tables
Table 2-1. ftSMC System Inventory Component Actions 2-1
Table 2-2. Example MTBF Calculation 2-5
Table 2-3. Default Settings for Alarm Re-send Parameters 2-8
Table 3-1. ftSMC System Inventory Component Properties 3-1
Table 3-2. ftSMC System Inventory Component Actions 3-24
Table 4-1. Alarm IDs (30100 - 30413) 4-3
Table 4-2. Alarm IDs (30550 - 31863) 4-4
Table 4-3. Alarm IDs (30750 - 31155) 4-5
Table 4-4. Alarm IDs (31900 - 32263) 4-5
Table 4-5. Alarm IDs (30850 - 31453) 4-6
Table 4-6. Alarm IDs (32350 - 32663) 4-7
Table 4-7. Alarms IDs (32500 - 32713) 4-7
Table 4-8. Alarm Messages and Message Destinations 4-8
Table 4-9. ftGateway Alarm Messages 4-10
Table 4-10. Miscellaneous Alarm Messages and Message
Destinations 4-10
Table 5-1. Legend Bar Keys and Functions 5-3
Table 5-2. Menu Bar Selections 5-4
Table 5-3. Main Menu Features 5-7
Table 5-4. Advanced Processor Configuration Features 5-10
Table 5-5. I/O Device Configuration Features 5-11
Table 5-6. PCI Configuration Features 5-13
Table 5-7. Console Redirection Features 5-15
Table 5-8. Monitoring Configuration Features 5-16
Table 5-9. Security Menu Features 5-19
Table 5-10. Exit Menu Features 5-22

Preface vii
Preface
Purpose of This Manual
The Express5800/320Ma: Technical Reference Guide provides technical reference
information for Express5800/320Ma 3.2 GHz, 3.6 GHz, and Dual-Core systems.
Audience
This manual isintendedforthose who administer ortroubleshoot Express5800/320Ma
3.2 GHz, 3.6 GHz, and Dual-Core systems.
Notation Conventions
This document uses the notation conventions described in this section.
Warnings, Cautions, and Notes
Warnings, cautions, and notes provide special information and have the following
meanings:
WARNING
!A warning indicates a situation where failure to take
oravoid a specified actioncouldcausebodily harmor
loss of life.
CAUTION
!A caution indicates a situation where failure to take or
avoidaspecified action coulddamagea hardware device,
program, system, or data.
NOTE
Anoteprovidesimportantinformationabouttheoperation
of an Express5800/320Ma system.
Typographical Conventions
The following typographical conventions are used in Express5800/320Ma documents:

Preface
viii Express5800/320Ma: Technical Reference Guide
•The bold font emphasizes words in text or indicates text that you type, the name of
a screen object, or the name of a programming element. For example:
Before handling or replacing system components, make sure that you are
properly grounded by using a grounded wrist strap.
In the System Properties dialog box, click the Hardware tab.
Call the RegisterDeviceNotification function.
•Theitalic fontintroducesnew terms andindicatesprogrammingand command-line
arguments that the user defines. For example:
Many hardware components are customer-replaceable units (CRUs), which
can be replaced on-site by system administrators with minimal training or tools.
copy filename1 filename2
Pass a pointer for the NotificationFilter parameter
•The monospace font indicates sample program code and output, including
message text. For example:
#include <iostream.h>
The operation completed successfully.
Getting Help
If you have a technical question about Express5800/320Ma hardware or software, try
these online resources first:
•Online support from NEC Technical Support. You can find the latest technical
information about an Express5800/320Ma through online product support at the
NEC Technical Support Web site:
http://support.necsam.com/servers/
•Online product support for Microsoft®products. Your primary source for
support is the computer manufacturer who provided your software, or an
authorized Microsoft Support Provider. You can also find the latest technical
informationaboutMicrosoftWindows®andotherMicrosoftproductsthroughonline
product support at the Microsoft Help and Support Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/
If you are unable to resolve your questions with the help available at these online sites,
and the Express5800/320Ma system is covered by a service agreement, please
contact NEC Technical Support (866-269-1239).

Preface
Preface ix
Notices
•All regulatory notices are provided in the site planning guide for your system.
•Although this guide documents modem functionality, modems are not available for
all systems. Ask your sales representative about modem availability.
•ActiveService Network (ASN) is not currently available, but may be ordered in the
future.

Preface
xExpress5800/320Ma: Technical Reference Guide

ftServer Drivers and Services 1-1
Chapter 1
ftServer Drivers and Services1-
This chapter provides technical reference information about ftServer drivers and
ftServer services.
ftServer drivers
This section provides technical reference information for the Board Instance driver,
Fibre Channel (FC) driver, SCSI port duplex driver, Intelligent Platform Management
(IPMI) driver, ftServer ATI Video Driver, sravtmmb.sys, sravtmdp.sys, and srasata.sys.
Board Instance Driver
The Board Instance driver (srabid) computes the overall state of the element, including
enclosed components, to determine whether the element can be safely brought online
or taken offline. It also gathers information about PCI devices and PCI functions in the
system so that you can use ftServer Management Console (ftSMC) to view information
about and control PCI adapters.
Fibre Channel Drivers
The Fibre Channel PCI Adapter requires the FC driver srau529.sys.
The FC driver:
•Supports dynamic insertion and removal of FC disks
•Interfaces with Windows HAL, PnP Manager, and SCSI Port Duplex driver
•Maintains information about the Fibre Channel PCI Adapter properties, including
the fault-tolerant state. It returns appropriate error codes to the SCSI port driver in
case of hard disk and adapter failures.
•Supports dynamic insertion and removal (hot-plug PCI) of I/O elements that
contain PCI adapters

ftServer drivers
1-2 Express5800/320Ma: Technical Reference Guide
ForinformationaboutthedriversforEMCFibreChannel(FC)storagesystems,seethe
EMC documentation supplied with your storage system. Also, refer to the EMC Web
site for the latest driver updates approved and qualified by EMC for your
Express5800/320Ma system.
SCSI Port Duplex Driver
The SCSI Port Duplex driver:
•Provides redundant paths to disk devices on a Fibre Channel PCI Adapter ports.
•Handles error recovery.
fIPMI Driver
The IPMI driver (sraipmi) is an Intelligent Platform ftServer Management device driver
for the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC). This driver provides an interface
between the BMC and the system management software.
ATI Video Driver
The ATI Video driver controls the video display on systems with embedded ATI video
adapters and supports fault-tolerance at the software level. It comprises three files:
•sra_atim.sys, the miniport driver
•sra_atid.dll, the display driver
•sra_ati.inf, the plug and play information file
Virtual Technician Module (VTM) Mailbox Driver
The sravtmmb.sys driver, the Virtual Technician Module (VTM) mailbox driver, is the
Express5800/320Ma system’s primary communication interface with the VTM. The
system typically uses the mailbox driver for firmware burns, device polling, and device
configuration. Also, the ASN service uses the mailbox driver to configure parameters
for system calls over the ActiveNetwork Service.

ftServer services
ftServer Drivers and Services 1-3
VTM Dump Driver
The sravtmdp.sys driver, the VTM dump driver, controls the process of getting a dump
of VTM adapter memory and registers. The host initiates a dump in the event of a
heartbeat failure or other errors from the VTM. VTM initiates a dump of itself if it detects
a fatal error. You can also request a dump from the VTM Homepage.
srasata.sys Driver
The srasata.sys driver controls the SATA internal disks. It does the following:
•Supports dynamic insertion and removal of SATA disks.
•Interfaces with Windows Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), plug-and-play (PnP)
Manager, and the SCSI Port Duplex driver.
•Maintains information about the SATA adapter's properties, including the
fault-tolerantstate.Itreturns appropriateerrorcodestotheSCSIPortDuplexdriver
in the event of hard disk or adapter failures.
ftServer services
Express5800/320Ma systems have a layer of software fault-tolerant services that run
as Windows-based services. These services constantly monitor for, and respond to,
hardware problems. The name of each service is listed, followed by its executable
name (as seen in task manager) and a short description.
•Alarm (Sra_Alarm.exe) sends notice of alarm conditions to various locations that
can include NEC Technical Support or your service representative, and a
customer’s pager or email.
•eService (eService.exe) copies BMC events into the Windows Application event
log.Italso providesaninterfaceto theBMCforenvironmentalsensorrelatedtasks.
•Inventory (Sra_Inventory.exe) manages the inventory of hardware and software
on the system.
•Maintenance and Diagnostics (Sramad.exe) monitors and controls hardware
and software modules that participate in the added value functions. This service is
required for Active Upgrade software to function. It performs the following:
– Automatically restarts devices after a transient fault
– Computes safe-to-pull state of devices working in partnership
– When possible, sets the LEDs of devices to indicate their state

ftServer services
1-4 Express5800/320Ma: Technical Reference Guide
– Collects information about the system and generates state change information
– Controls system hardware to bring up and bring down devices
– Generates traces for use in troubleshooting problems.
– Initiates PnP enumeration when required
•Policy (Policy.exe) identifies alarm conditions by filtering and correlating
Express5800/320Ma hardware and software events.
•Provider Manager (Srasvc.exe) provides enhanced reliability of ftSMC monitoring
capabilities by isolating Express5800/320Ma system providers from faults in either
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) or third party providers.
•RAS (Sra_Ras.exe) handles connections to the ActiveService Network (ASN) hub
for systems that do not have VTMs.
•RPC Provider (Rpcprov.exe) stores and retrieves information to and from the
Sra_Ras service (for systems without VTMs) or to the VTM.
•Software Availability Manager (sraSAMService.exe) monitors system
performance and critical events and sends alerts based on user-defined threshold
parameters.
•SSN (Sra_Ssn.exe). On Express5800/320Ma systems, the ActiveService Network
(ASN) service synchronizes VTM adapter settings with the host, enabling a
communication path between VTM drivers and host, and enabling ASN
communication.
•Storage Manager (Srasvc.exe) monitors the fault-tolerant state of storage
subsystems and provides that information to ftSMC.
•Storage Manager (Srasvc.exe -group local) provides system management for
storage devices.
•Sysmgt Startup (Sra_SysmgtStartup.exe) initiates setup for System
Management services.

Express5800/320Ma System Features 2-1
Chapter 2
Express5800/320Ma System Features2-
This chapter provides technical reference information for the following
Express5800/320Ma 3.2 GHz, 3.6 GHz, and Dual-Core system features:
•Configuring an ftGateway group manually
•Managing mean time between failures (MTBF) statistics
•ftServer Manager event handling
•A detailed description of the ASN connection retry cycle
Administering an ftGateway Group Manually
Normally, you use the ActiveService Manager to configure a system’s relationship to
an ftGateway group.This ensures that NEC Technical Supportdatabase willmatch the
configuration of your Express5800/320Ma’s ftGateway. See the Express5800/320Ma
ActiveService Network Configuration Guide for information about configuring ASN
connectivity using an ftGateway Group.
However, under certain circumstances, you may be asked by NEC Technical Support
or your service representative to administer an ftGateway group manually. Refer to the
information in this section to administer an ftGateway group manually.
Table 2-1 describes the four actions associated with the ftGateway Group node.
Table 2-1. ftSMC System Inventory Component Actions
Action Description
Create ftGateway
Group Creates a new ftGateway group using a customer-supplied name for the group.
Join ftGateway
Group Adds a slave system to an existing ftGateway group.
Leave ftGateway
Group Removes a slave system from an ftGateway group.
Remove ftGateway
Group Removes an ftGateway group. You must remove all slave systems from the group prior to executing this action.

Administering an ftGateway Group Manually
2-2 Express5800/320Ma: Technical Reference Guide
To create a new ftGateway group
1. Access the system that is to be the gateway system. Start ftSMC.
2. In ftSMC, double-click the ftServer Configuration node to expand the child nodes
beneath it.
3. Right-click the ActiveService Network icon and click Create ftGateway Group.
4. In the Create ftGateway Group on ActiveService Network dialog box, type the
name you want to give the ftGateway group in the Group Name box.
5. In the Create ftGateway Group on ActiveService Network dialog box, type the
password you want to use to access the ftGateway group in the Group Password
box. Click Finish.
To add a slave system to an ftGateway group
1. Access the slave system that you want to add to the ftGateway group. Start ftSMC.
2. In ftSMC, double-click the ftServer Configuration node to expand the child nodes
beneath it.
3. Right-click the ActiveService Network icon, and click Join ftGateway Group.
4. In the Join ftGateway Group on ActiveService Network dialog box, type the
name of the ftGateway group that you are joining in the Group Name box.
5. In the Join ftGateway Group on ActiveService Network dialog box, type the
ftGateway group password in the Group Password box.
6. In the Join ftGateway Group on ActiveService Network dialog box, type the
value of the gateway machine’s ftGateway IP Addresses[1] property in the
Gateway IP Address 1 box.
7. In the Join ftGateway Group on ActiveService Network dialog box, type the
value of the gateway machine’s ftGateway IP Addresses[2] property in the
Gateway IP Address 2 box.
8. Click Finish.
To remove a slave system from an ftGateway group
1. Access the slave system that you want to remove from the ftGateway group. Start
ftSMC.
2. In ftSMC, double-click the ftServer Configuration node to expand the child nodes
beneath it.
3. Right-click the ActiveService Network icon and click Leave ftGateway Group.

Managing MTBF Statistics
Express5800/320Ma System Features 2-3
To remove an ftGateway group
1. Access the Express5800/320Ma gateway system. Start ftSMC.
2. Be sure to remove all slave systems from the ftGateway Group.
3. In ftSMC, double-click the ftServer Configuration node to expand the child nodes
beneath it.
4. Right-click the ActiveService Network icon and click Remove ftGateway Group.
Managing MTBF Statistics
This section describes how the MTBF is calculated and how to display, clear, and set
the MTBF threshold. For information about the hard and soft errors that trigger the
system to evaluate the MTBF, see “Error Detection and Handling” on page 2-3.
The values stored in the registry are:
•MtbfSerialNumber: Allows the system to detect if the board is new or different, and
to clear the MTBF. This value is used on a reboot and driver upgrade to maintain
MTBF statistics if the same board is in place; for the board replacement case, the
MTBF is cleared.
•MtbfThreshold: In seconds, the value below which an event is triggered
•MtbfCurrent: In seconds, the current MTBF value
•MtbfTimeOfLastFault: The date and time of the last fault
•MtbfNumberOfFaults: The total number of faults for this device
•MtbfThresholdStatus: Indicates if the disk has experienced disk errors for which
callshome were generated.Usually setto“Normal”.When thediskexperiencesan
01/5D or an 03/11 error, it is set to “Above critical threshold”.
•MtbfFaultLimit: The number of errors that can occur before an alarm is generated.
The default value is 1.
The system maintains MTBF statistics for these devices:
•CPU elements
•I/O elements
•Virtual Technician Modules (VTMs)
•Ethernet adapters
Error Detection and Handling
Hardware errors are detected by the hardware and then evaluated by the maintenance
and diagnostic software. After a hardware error, the software directs the affected

Managing MTBF Statistics
2-4 Express5800/320Ma: Technical Reference Guide
device to test itself. If the device fails the test, the error is a hard error and the device
is taken out of service. If the device passes the test, the error is a soft error.
The system takes the device out of service and places it in the Broken state under
these circumstances:
•The error is a hard error.
•The error is a soft error, and the MTBF is less than the MTBF threshold for the
device.
Iftheerroris aharderrorandthe MTBFisgreaterthanthe MTBFthreshold,thesystem
attempts to enable the device and return it to service.
MTBF Calculation and Effects
The system does not calculate the MTBF until the total error count equals a minimum
number, and then it uses the recorded times of the last minimum number of errors to
calculate the MTBF. If the MTBF has not yet been calculated, the system considers the
MTBF value unreliable and acts as if the MTBF is greater than the threshold.
For each error that occurs, the system performs certain calculations. For each hard
error, the system records the time of the error and increments the total error count.
Then the system takes the device out of service and places it in the Broken state.
Finally, the system calculates the MTBFand comparesit with thethreshold.One of two
actions occurs:
•If the MTBF is less than the threshold, the system leaves the device in the Broken
state.
•Ifthe MTBFis equalto orgreaterthanthe threshold,thesystem attemptstoenable
the device and return it to the DeviceReady state.

Managing MTBF Statistics
Express5800/320Ma System Features 2-5
MTBF Calculation
The calculation of the new the MTBF is as follows:
For the MTBF to be below the threshold, the FailureCount must be equal to or greater
than 3, and the calculated the MTBF must be below the threshold. For example,
Table 2-2 shows the progression of failures causing recalculation of the MTBF. The
MTBF threshold in this example is 600, so the device is removed from service when
the new MTBF is less than 600, or 517 in the example.
Displaying MTBF Information
Todisplay thecurrent MTBF informationfor adevice inthe detailspane, youcan select
the device in the console tree of ftSMC. The following example shows the time of the
last fault, the MTBF Threshold, the number of faults, and the current MTBF value.
MTBF: Type Use Threshold
MTBF: TimeOfLastFault May 30, 2004 15:07:24
MTBF: Threshold 300 seconds
MTBF: NumberOfFaults 2
MTBF: Current 532220 seconds
An out-of-service hardware device remains out of service until you clear the MTBF or
change the MTBF threshold. Inserting a new device clears the MTBF.
A value of 0 (Unknown) for MTBF: Current indicates that the device has not failed
enough times to be able to calculate the MTBF.
Table 2-2. Example MTBF Calculation
Current MTBF Failure Count Time Since Last Failure New MTBF
1000 3 500 833
833 4 300 700
700 5 200 600
600 6 100 517
CurrentMtbf * (FailureCount - 1) + TimeSinceLastFailure
MTBF = FailureCount

Managing MTBF Statistics
2-6 Express5800/320Ma: Technical Reference Guide
Changing the MTBF Threshold
The MTBF threshold is expressed in seconds. If a device’s MTBF falls beneath this
threshold, the system takes the device out of service and changes the device state to
Broken.
CAUTION
!Express5800/320Ma presets the MTBF thresholds. You
should not modify them unless instructed to do so by NEC
Technical Support or your service representative.
If you change the MTBF threshold for a device, the device is not affected until another
failure occurs. For example:
•If you increase the threshold for a device whose state is currently Broken, you must
enable the device so that it can return to service. The system will not change the
state of the device automatically.
•If the device’s actual MTBF is less than the new threshold (meaning that failures
occur more often than the threshold allows), and the device is enabled, the system
will not recalculate the MTBF and take the device out of service until another failure
occurs that causes the new, actual MTBF to be below the threshold.
To change the MTBF threshold for a device, right-click the device, click Set MTBF
Threshold, and enter a new threshold value in seconds.