Support Tools for HP Blade Server bh7800

Overview
Three Parts to Toptools
Installing Toptools on the bh7800
Toptool Specifics for bh7800
More Information
HP-UX diagnostics

Overview

The HP Blade Server bh7800 is supported by HP Toptools.

HP Toptools is a web-based, device management tool that enables administrators and MIS managers to use a web browser to obtain information about devices on their networks.

In addition to supporting the bh7800, Toptools provides a common management application for HP personal computers, HP Servers, HP-UX systems, AdvanceStack and ProCurve hubs and switches, and LaserJet printers, and storage systems.

To ensure the reliability of your computer system, Hewlett-Packard strongly recommends that you install Toptools. These tools identify problems and conditions that could lead to failure, so that unplanned downtime is minimized.

Three Parts to Toptools

As shown in the figure below, there are three parts to Toptools:

• A web-based console.
• Toptools Device Manager installed on a PC.
• Toptools agents installed on all devices to be managed.

          Web-based console    Toptools Management 
                  ^            Console (manage from anywhere)
                  |  http 
                  |            Internet/Intranet
                  |            (local or remote LAN
                  |            connection)
                  |            
          Toptools Server      Toptools Device Manager
          (Windows Based)          Database
                / | \              Alert management
               /  |  \             
              /   |   \
             /    |    \
            /     |     \
      server    bc1100   bc1100    Managed Devices
  management    server   server    For the bh7800, this includes the 
       blade    blade    blade     server management blades and the bc1100
                                   server blades.

Installing Toptools on the bh7800

For Toptools to be functional, two software packages must be installed: the Toptools Device Manager and the Toptools agents for the bh7800

1. Toptools Device Manager is installed from the Toptools CD-ROM shipped with the system.

   The Device Manager is installed onto an HP PC, Notebook or Server running Windows NT 4, Windows 2000 or Windows XP. For procedures, see online documentation on the CD-ROM. Also included on the CD is a Toptools Deployment Guide with step-by-step procedures and detailed information.

2. Toptools Agents are installed onto the server blades themselves.
   • If you install the Linux OS images supplied by HP, the Toptools agents for the bh7800 are automatically installed.

     ---

     Note:
     At initial release, the Toptools agents may not be available (they not be on the OS images provided by HP). When available, the Toptools agents can be downloaded from http://www.software.hp.com/blade-servers,
     which will always have the latest versions.

     ---

   • If you install your own copy of Linux, you should install the Toptools agents package, available on the Recovery CD-ROM or the HP Software Depot website for the bh7800 http://www.software.hp.com/blade-servers
     Documentation is on that website.

Toptool Specifics for bh7800

On the Toptools interface, the bh7800 is identified as a "high-density server".

Note: Toptools Requires Fixed IP Addresses
For Toptools to function correctly, the IP addresses for the Device Manager and the server blades must be fixed. That is, the addresses must be either static IP addresses or IP addresses reserved through a DHCP server and not changing with every reboot.

Background: Toptools automatically sets trap destinations on the Management Blade and server blades that have the HP agents installed on them to the Toptools Device Manager server during discovery. For this reason, the IP address of the Toptools Device Manager server itself must be fixed (either reserved or static). In addition, Toptools uses the IP addresses of the blades to help determine what is in the chassis. It makes an explicit assumption that these addresses do not change.

More Information

• Toptools website (hp hardware management):
  http://www.hp.com/toptools/
  

  Contains:

  • Complete information about toptools, including FAQs, Tips and Tricks, product manuals and a user forum.
  • The latest version of HP Toptools Device Manager software (for downloading onto a PC, which serves as the Management Server). The Toptools Device Manager software is also available via a CD-ROM shipped with the system.
• System manuals for the bh7800 Blade Server at the HP Systems Hardware website: http://docs.hp.com/hpux/hw/
  

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HP-UX diagnostics

Some blade servers have blades that run HP-UX. These HP-UX server blades can run the usual HP-UX support tools described at http://docs.hp.com/hpux/diag.

When STM tools and hardware event monitors refer to the computer system, they will give the HP-UX hostname of the server blade. For example, when hardware event monitors report events, they name the system on which the event occurs in a format such as:

hpdst313 sent Event Monitor notification information

where "hpdst313" is the HP-UX hostname of the blade reporting the event. As of May, 2002, the support tools do not directly name the slot and chassis in which the server blade is located.

To make it easier to find the location of a particular blade, given its hostname, you can:

• Assign meaningful hostnames to the blade and the Management Processor (MP) located on the blade. For example, if the hostname of the server blade is "xyz", name the MP "xyz_mp_slot1". Later, you can issue a command at the SMC to list the hostnames of the MPs in the chassis. If "xyz_mp_slot1" is located in slot 1, then you know the server blade named "xyz" is located in the same slot.

  We suggest giving the slot number in the MP hostname. (If you move the server blade to a new slot, it is easier to change the MP hostnames than to change the hostnames for server blades.)

• Put a label on the blade server chassis showing the hostnames and slots of the server blades contained.

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