Fabric Interconnect Fan Modules Test

A Cisco UCS fabric interconnect is a top-of-rack fabric interconnect that provides Ethernet and Fibre Channel to all servers in the UCS system. Servers connect to the fabric interconnect, and it connects to the LAN or SAN. Depending on the model of the Cisco UCS, the fabric interconnects may contain up to four fan modules. Each fan module contains four fans. The fans in the fan module help ensure adequate air flow to the internals of the fabric interconnect. If the fans in the fan modules are inoperable, then, the temperature of the fabric interconnect may increase which would eventually lead to the malfunctioning of the fabric interconnects. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly monitor the overall status, operational state and the temperature of each fan module housed in the fabric interconnects at regular intervals. The Fabric Interconnect Fan Modules test helps administrators in this regard!

This test auto-discovers the fan modules of the fabric interconnects and for each fan module, this test reports the overall status, power state, operational state and the temperature of the fans. Using this test, administrators can figure out the faulty fan module and replace it before abnormalities are detected in the functioning of the fan modules.

Target of the test : A Cisco UCS Manager

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each fan module in each fabric interconnect managed by the Cisco UCS Manager being monitored.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter Description

Test Period

How often should the test be executed.

Host

The IP address of the host for which the test is being configured.

Port

The port at which the specified host listens.

UCS User and
UCS Password

Provide the credentials of a user with at least read-only privileges to the target Cisco UCS Manager.

Confirm Password

Confirm the password by retyping it here.

SSL

By default, the Cisco UCS Manager is SSL-enabled. Accordingly, the SSL flag is set to Yes by default.

Web Port

By default, in most virtualized environments, Cisco UCS Manager listens on port 80 (if not SSL-enabeld) or on port 443 (if SSL-enabled) only. This implies that while monitoring Cisco UCS Manager, the eG agent, by default, connects to port 80 or 443, depending upon the SSL-enabled status of Cisco UCS Manager - i.e., if Cisco UCS Manager is not SSL-enabled (i.e., if the SSL flag above is set to No), then the eG agent connects to Cisco UCS Manager using port 80 by default, and if Cisco UCS Manager is SSL-enabled (i.e., if the SSL flag is set to Yes), then the agent-Cisco UCS Manager communication occurs via port 443 by default. Accordingly, the WebPort parameter is set to default by default.

In some environments however, the default ports 80 or 443 might not apply. In such a case, against the WebPort parameter, you can specify the exact port at which the Cisco UCS Manager in your environment listens, so that the eG agent communicates with that port for collecting metrics from the Cisco UCS Manager.

Detailed Diagnosis

To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option.

The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability
  • Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.
Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Overall status

Indicates the overall status of this fan module in this fabric interconnect.

 

The States reported by this measure and their corresponding numeric equivalents are described in the table below:

State Numeric Value
Unknown 0
Operable 1
Inoperable 2
Degraded 3
Powered-off 4
Power-problem 5
Removed 6
Voltage-problem 7
Thermal-problem 8
Performance-problem 9
Accessibility-problem 10
Identity-unestablishable 11
Bios-post-timeout 12
Disabled 13
Fabric-conn-problem 51
Fabric-unsupported-conn 52
Config 81
Equipment-problem 82
Decommissioning 83
Chassis-limit-exceeded 84
Discovery 101
Discovery-failed 102
Identify 103
Post-failure 104
Upgrade-problem 105
Peer-comm-problem 106
Auto-upgrade 107

Not Available

-5

Note:

By default, this measure reports the above-mentioned States while indicating the overall status of a fan module. However, in the graph of this measure, states will be represented using their corresponding numeric equivalents only.

The detailed diagnosis of this measure provides the Time, ID, PID, Module, Revision, Serial Number, Tray and Vendor attributes for each fan module in the Fabric Interconnect.

Operability

Indicates the current operating state of this fan module in this fabric interconnect.

 

The States reported by this measure and their corresponding numeric equivalents are described in the table below:

State Numeric Value
Unknown 0
Operable 1
Inoperable 2
Degraded 3
Powered-off 4
Power-problem 5
Removed 6
Voltage-problem 7
Thermal-problem 8
Performance-problem 9
Accessibility-problem 10
Identity-unestablishable 11
Bios-post-timeout 12
Disabled 13
Fabric-conn-problem 51
Fabric-unsupported-conn 52
Config 81
Equipment-problem 82
Decommissioning 83
Chassis-limit-exceeded 84
Discovery 101
Discovery-failed 102
Identify 103
Post-failure 104
Upgrade-problem 105
Peer-comm-problem 106
Auto-upgrade 107
Not Available -5

Note:

By default, this measure reports the above-mentioned States while indicating the operational state of a fan. However, in the graph of this measure, states will be represented using their corresponding numeric equivalents only.

Performance state

Indicates the current performance state of this fan module in this fabric interconnect.

 

The States reported by this measure and their corresponding numeric equivalents are described in the table below:

State Numeric Value
Ok 1
Upper-non-recoverable 2
Upper-critical 3
Upper-non-critical 4
Lower-non-critical 5
Lower-critical 6
Lower non-recoverable 7
Not Available -5

Note:

By default, this measure reports the above-mentioned States while indicating the performance state of a fan. However, in the graph of this measure, states will be represented using their corresponding numeric equivalents only.

Power state

Indicates the current power state of this fan module in this fabric interconnect.

 

The States reported by this measure and their corresponding numeric equivalents are described in the table below:

State Numeric Value
Unknown 0
On 1
Test 2
Off 3
Online 4
Offline 5
Offduty 6
Degraded 7
Power-save 8
Error 9
Not Available -5

Note:

By default, this measure reports the above-mentioned States while indicating the power state of a fan. However, in the graph of this measure, states will be represented using their corresponding numeric equivalents only.

Presence state

Indicates the current state of this fan module in this fabric interconnect.

 

The States reported by this measure and their corresponding numeric equivalents are described in the table below:

State Numeric Value
Unknown 0
Empty 1
Equipped 10
Missing 11
Mismatch 12
Equipped-not-primary 13
Equipped-identity-unestablishable 20
Mismatch-identity-unestablishable 21
Inaccessible 30
Unauthorized 40
Not Available -5

Note:

By default, this measure reports the above-mentioned States while indicating the current state of a fan. However, in the graph of this measure, states will be represented using their corresponding numeric equivalents only.

Thermal state

Indicates the current thermal state of this fan module in this fabric interconnect.

 

The States reported by this measure and their corresponding numeric equivalents are described in the table below:

State Numeric Value
Unknown 0
Ok 1
Upper-non-recoverable 2
Upper-critical 3
Upper-non-critical 4
Lower-non-critical 5
Lower-critical 6
Lower non-recoverable 7
Not Available -5

Note:

By default, this measure reports the above-mentioned States while indicating the current thermal state of a fan. However, in the graph of this measure, states will be represented using their corresponding numeric equivalents only.

Exhaust temperature

Indicates the current temperature of the fans present in this fan module in this fabric interconnect.

Celsius

Ideally, the value of this measure should be low, as an abnormal temperature can cause serious damage to the fan module.