XClarity Voltage Status Test

Lenovo XClarity controller is embedded in most Lenovo ThinkSystem servers. The XClarity controller consolidates the service processor functionality, super I/O, video controller, and remote presence capabilities into a single chip on server system board. For optimal operation of processor, it is important that power supply to its channels is proper and voltage stays in operating range. If the voltage is too low, the controller may not operate properly while if it is too high the controller electronics will be damaged. It is absolutely important for administrators to monitor the voltage in each channel of the controller and take corrective actions if required.

This test auto-discovers the channels and reports the current voltage of the channel and health status of voltage sensor in each channel. Using these metric administrators can easily identify if there any actions need to be taken to ensure proper functioning of controller.

Target of the test : A Lenovo XClarity Controller

Agent deploying the test : An external agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each channel in the XClarity Controller.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter Description

Test Period

How often should the test be executed.

Host

The IP address of the target server that is being monitored.

SNMPPort

The port at which the monitored target exposes its SNMP MIB;

Data Over TCP

By default, in an IT environment, all data transmission occurs over UDP. Some environments however, may be specifically configured to offload a fraction of the data traffic – for instance, certain types of data traffic or traffic pertaining to specific components – to other protocols like TCP, so as to prevent UDP overloads. In such environments, you can instruct the eG agent to conduct the SNMP data traffic related to the monitored target over TCP (and not UDP). For this, set this flag to Yes. By default, this flag is set to No.

Timeout

Specify the duration (in seconds) within which the SNMP query executed by this test should time out in this text box. The default is 10 seconds.

SNMPVersion

By default, the eG agent supports SNMP version 1. Accordingly, the default selection in the SNMPversion list is v1. However, if a different SNMP framework is in use in your environment, say SNMP v2 or v3, then select the corresponding option from this list.

Context

This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION. An SNMP context is a collection of management information accessible by an SNMP entity. An item of management information may exist in more than one context and an SNMP entity potentially has access to many contexts. A context is identified by the SNMPEngineID value of the entity hosting the management information (also called a contextEngineID) and a context name that identifies the specific context (also called a contextName). If the Username provided is associated with a context name, then the eG agent will be able to poll the MIB and collect metrics only if it is configured with the context name as well. In such cases therefore, specify the context name of the Username in the Context text box.  By default, this parameter is set to none.

Username

This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPversion. SNMP version 3 (SNMPv3) is an extensible SNMP Framework which supplements the SNMPv2 Framework, by additionally supporting message security, access control, and remote SNMP configuration capabilities. To extract performance statistics from the MIB using the highly secure SNMP v3 protocol, the eG agent has to be configured with the required access privileges – in other words, the eG agent should connect to the MIB using the credentials of a user with access permissions to be MIB. Therefore, specify the name of such a user against this parameter. 

Authpass

Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned Username. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPversion selected is v3.

Confirm Password

Confirm the AuthPass by retyping it here.

AuthType

This parameter too appears only if v3 is selected as the SNMPversion. From the AuthType list box, choose the authentication algorithm using which SNMP v3 converts the specified username and password into a 32-bit format to ensure security of SNMP transactions. You can choose between the following options:

  • MD5 - Message Digest Algorithm
  • SHA - Secure Hash Algorithm
  • SHA224 - Secure Hash Algorithm 224 bit
  • SHA256 - Secure Hash Algorithm 256 bit
  • SHA384 - Secure Hash Algorithm 384 bit
  • SHA512 - Secure Hash Algorithm 512 bit

EncryptFlag

This flag appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPversion. By default, the eG agent does not encrypt SNMP requests. Accordingly, the this flag is set to No by default. To ensure that SNMP requests sent by the eG agent are encrypted, select the Yes option. 

EncryptType

If the EncryptFlag is set to Yes, then you will have to mention the encryption type by selecting an option from the EncryptType list. SNMP v3 supports the following encryption types:

  • DES - Data Encryption Standard
  • 3DES - Triple Data Encryption Standard
  • AES - Advanced Encryption Standard
  • AES128 - Advanced Encryption Standard 128 bit
  • AES192 - Advanced Encryption Standard 192 bit
  • AES256 - Advanced Encryption Standard 256 bit

EncryptPassword

Specify the encryption password here.

EngineId

This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVersion. Sometimes, the test may not report metrics when AES192 or AES256 is chosen as the Encryption type. To ensure that the test report metrics consistently, administrators need to set this flag to Yes. By default, this parameter is set to No.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Current Voltage

Indicates the current voltage reading of the channel in controller.

String

If he temperature is not in target operating range, it could be because of high load on the server which needs to be investigated and handled.

Health Status

Indicates the current status of temperature sensor in the current channel.

 

If the health status of the sensor is abnormal, it means we lose the ability to monitor the voltage and lose the ability to take corrective action if voltage is too high. You should immediately replace the sensor if it is malfunctioning.

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalent are mentioned in the table below:

Measure value Numeric Value
Abnormal 0
Normal 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the current status of this fan. The graph of this measure, however, represents the status of the fan using the numeric equivalents only .