Contacting Customer Support

This chapter includes the following sections:

Gathering Information Before Calling Support

If you cannot isolate the issue to a particular component, consider the following questions. They can be helpful when you contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC).

  • Was the server working before the problem occurred?

  • Was this a newly installed server?

  • Was this server installed onsite or did it arrive assembled from Cisco?

  • Has the memory been reseated?

  • Was the server powered off or moved from one location to another?

  • Have there been any recent hardware or software upgrades? If so, list them.

When contacting Cisco TAC for issues, you should always capture the tech-support output from the Cisco CIMC CLI or the Technical Support Data from the Cisco CIMC GUI.

Using the Cisco CIMC GUI to Export Technical Support Data

You can generate a summary report that contains configuration information, logs, and diagnostics from the Cisco CIMC GUI.

To generate a summary report, follow these steps:

Procedure
    Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Admin tab.
    Step 2   On the Admin tab, click Utilities.
    Step 3   In the Actions area of the Utilities pane, click Export Technical Support Data.
    Step 4   In the Export Technical Support Data dialog box, complete these fields:
    Name Description

    Export Technical Support Data to drop-down list

    The remote server type. This can be one of the following:

    • TFTP Server

    • FTP Server

    • SFTP Server

    • SCP Server

    • HTTP Server

    Note   

    If you chose SCP or SFTP as the remote server type while performing this action, a pop-up window is displayed with the message Server (RSA) key fingerprint is <server_finger_print _ID> Do you wish to continue?. Click Yes or No depending on the authenticity of the server fingerprint.

    The fingerprint is based on the host's public key and helps you to identify or verify the host you are connecting to.

    Server IP/Hostname field

    The IP address or hostname of the server on which the support data file should be stored. Depending on the setting in the Export Technical Support Data to drop-down list, the name of the field may vary.

    Path and Filename field

    The path and filename should use when exporting the file to the remote server.

    Note   

    If the server includes any of the supported network adapter cards, the data file also includes technical support data from the adapter card.

    Username

    The username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

    Password

    The password for the remote server username. This field does not apply if the protocol is TFTP or HTTP.

    Step 5   Click Export.

    Using the Cisco CIMC GUI to Display SEL Events

    To display the System Event Log (SEL) events, follow these steps:

    Procedure
      Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
      Step 2   On the Server tab, click System Event Log.
      Step 3   To review the information for each event in the log, navigate the log using these options:
      • From the Entries Per Page drop-down list, choose the number of system events to display on each page.

      • Click <Newer or Older> to move through the pages, or click <<Newest to move to the top of the list. By default, the newest system events are displayed at the top of the list.

      Using Cisco IMC GUI to Display Sensor Readings

      On the Cisco IMC GUI, complete these steps to display the sensor readings:

      Procedure
        Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Server tab.
        Step 2   On the Server tab, click Sensors.
        Step 3   View various sensors by clicking the desired sensor.

        Using Cisco IMC GUI to Display CIMC Log

        On the Cisco IMC GUI, complete these steps to view the CIMC log:

        Procedure
          Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the Admin tab
          Step 2   On the Admin tab, click CIMC Log.
          Step 3   On the Entries Per Page drop-down list, select the number of CIMC events to display on each page.

          Using Command Line Interface (CLI) to Collect show-tech Details

          On the CLI enter: 

          ~ # scope cimc
~ /cimc # scope
firmware
log
network
tech-support
~ /cimc # scope tech-support
~ /cimc/tech-support # set tftp-ip 192.168.1.1
~ /cimc/tech-support *# set path \techsupport\showtech
~ /cimc/tech-support *# commit
~ /cimc/tech-support *# start
          These are descriptions of some of the key fields within the show-tech command:

          • var/—Contains detailed logs, and status of all monitored services. It also contains services information files such as the configuration of SOL and IPMI sensor alarms.

          • var/log—Contains the rolling volatile log messages.

          • obfl/—Contains the rolling non-volatile log messages.

          • met/—Non-volatile configuration and SEL.

          • mp/—The show tech-support text files, along with BIOS tech-support text files. The text files contain all process, network, system, mezzanine, and BIOS state information.

          • mctool—Gets basic information on the state of the CIMC.

          • network—Gets current network configuration and socket information.

          • obfl—Gets live obfl

          • messages—Gets live /var/log/messages file

          • alarms—Lists sensors in alarm states.

          • sensors—Current sensor readings from IPMI.

          • power—Current power state of the x86.