IBM P 615 series

Service Focal Point
The Service Focal Point application is used to help the service representative diagnose and repair
problems on systems. Service representatives use the HMC as the starting point for all service issues. The
HMC groups various system management issues at one control point, allowing service representatives to
use the Service Focal Point application to determine an appropriate service strategy.
The following types of errors are reported to Service Focal Point:
v Permanent hardware errors (detected by the managed system or operating system)
v LAN Surveillance errors detected by Service Focal Point
v Hardware boot failure errors
The following errors are not reported to Service Focal Point:
v Software errors
v Temporary hardware errors
v Undetermined hardware errors
v Informational hardware errors
Getting Started
When you are setting up Service Focal Point, keep the following in mind:
v If the time configured on a partition is 90 days older than time configured on the HMC, serviceable
events cannot be reported.
v Verify that the HMC host names are defined. For more information about using fully qualified and short
host names, see the IBM Hardware Management Console Operations Guide for pSeries, order number
SA38-0590.
v If you need to add or change a partition name, see the IBM Hardware Management Console Operations
Guide for pSeries.
Testing Error Reporting
To ensure that Service Focal Point is configured correctly, generate a test error by doing the following:
1. In the partition, run diagnostics to test the managed system’s operator panel.
2. When the diagnostics window asks you if you see 0000 on the managed system’s operator panel,
select NO. This action generates an error.
3. In the SRN window, press Enter to proceed.
4. When the system asks you if you want the error sent to Service Focal Point, select YES.
5. Type F3 to exit diagnostics.
6. Wait for one minute while the managed system sends the error to Service Focal Point.
7. Check the Serviceable Event window to ensure that the error was sent to Service Focal Point and that
Service Focal Point reported the error. For more information about working with serviceable events,
see “Working With Serviceable Events” on page 45.
Service Focal Point Settings
The Service Focal Point Settings task in the HMC Contents area allows you to configure your Service
Focal Point application.
Note: The Advanced Operator, Operator, and Viewer roles have read-only access to the following tasks.
Automatic Call-Home Feature
You can configure the HMC to automatically call an appropriate service center when it identifies a
serviceable event.
Chapter 2. Diagnostic Overview 43