System Event Log

System Event Log

The System Event Log (SEL) resides on the CIMC in NVRAM. The SEL is used for troubleshooting system health. It records most server-related events, such as instances of over or under voltage, temperature events, fan events, and BIOS events. The types of events supported by SEL include BIOS events, memory unit events, processor events, and motherboard events.

The SEL logs are stored in the CIMC NVRAM, through a SEL log policy. It is best practice to periodically download and clear the SEL logs. The SEL file is approximately 40KB in size, and no further events can be recorded once it is full. It must be cleared before additional events can be recorded.

You can use the SEL policy to back up the SEL to a remote server, and optionally to clear the SEL after a backup operation occurs. Backup operations can be triggered based on specific actions, or they can be set to occur at regular intervals. You can also manually back up or clear the SEL.

The backup file is automatically generated. The filename format is sel-SystemName-ChassisID-ServerID-ServerSerialNumber-Timestamp.

For example, sel-UCS-A-ch01-serv01-QCI12522939-20091121160736.

Viewing the System Event Log for a Server

Viewing the System Event Log for an Individual Server

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

UCS-A# show sel chassis-id / blade-id

Displays the system event log for the specified server.

Example

The following example displays the system event log for blade 3 in chassis 1.

UCS-A# show sel 1/3
     1 | 01/01/1970 01:23:27 | System Event 0x83 | Timestamp clock synch | SEL timestamp clock updated, event is f
irst of pair | Asserted
     2 | 01/01/1970 01:23:28 | Drive slot(Bay) SAS0_LINK_STATUS | Transition to Degraded | Asserted
     3 | 01/01/1970 01:23:28 | Drive slot(Bay) SAS0_LINK_STATUS | Transition to On Line | Deasserted
     4 | 01/01/1970 01:23:28 | Platform alert LED_SAS0_FAULT | LED is blinking fast | Asserted
     5 | 01/01/1970 01:23:28 | Platform alert LED_SAS0_FAULT | LED is on | Deasserted
     6 | 01/01/1970 01:23:28 | Platform alert LED_FPID | LED is on | Asserted
     7 | 01/01/1970 01:23:28 | Platform alert LED_FPID | LED is off | Deasserted
     8 | 01/01/1970 01:23:29 | Entity presence MAIN_POWER | Device Absent | Asserted
     9 | 01/01/1970 01:23:29 | Entity presence MAIN_POWER | Device Present | Deasserted
     a | 01/01/1970 01:23:29 | Platform alert LED_SAS0_FAULT | LED is on | Asserted
     b | 01/01/1970 01:23:29 | Platform alert LED_SAS0_FAULT | LED color is green | Asserted
     c | 01/01/1970 01:23:29 | Platform alert LED_SAS0_FAULT | LED is blinking fast | Deasserted
     d | 01/01/1970 01:23:29 | Platform alert LED_SAS0_FAULT | LED color is amber | Deasserted
     e | 01/01/1970 00:00:22 | Drive slot(Bay) SAS0_LINK_STATUS | Transition to Degraded | Asserted
     f | 01/01/1970 00:00:22 | Entity presence MEZZ_PRS | Device Present | Asserted
    10 | 01/01/1970 00:00:22 | Entity presence HDD1_PRS | Device Absent | Asserted

Viewing the System Event Log for All of the Servers in a Chassis

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

UCS-A# scope server chassis-id / blade-id

Enters chassis server mode for the specified server.

Step 2

UCS-A /chassis/server # show sel

Displays the system event log.

Example

The following example displays the system event log from chassis server mode for blade 3 in chassis 1.

UCS-A# scope server 1/3
UCS-A /chassis/server # show sel
     1 | 01/01/1970 01:23:27 | System Event 0x83 | Timestamp clock synch | SEL timestamp clock updated, event is f
irst of pair | Asserted
     2 | 01/01/1970 01:23:28 | Drive slot(Bay) SAS0_LINK_STATUS | Transition to Degraded | Asserted
     3 | 01/01/1970 01:23:28 | Drive slot(Bay) SAS0_LINK_STATUS | Transition to On Line | Deasserted
     4 | 01/01/1970 01:23:28 | Platform alert LED_SAS0_FAULT | LED is blinking fast | Asserted
     5 | 01/01/1970 01:23:28 | Platform alert LED_SAS0_FAULT | LED is on | Deasserted
     6 | 01/01/1970 01:23:28 | Platform alert LED_FPID | LED is on | Asserted
     7 | 01/01/1970 01:23:28 | Platform alert LED_FPID | LED is off | Deasserted
     8 | 01/01/1970 01:23:29 | Entity presence MAIN_POWER | Device Absent | Asserted
     9 | 01/01/1970 01:23:29 | Entity presence MAIN_POWER | Device Present | Deasserted
     a | 01/01/1970 01:23:29 | Platform alert LED_SAS0_FAULT | LED is on | Asserted
     b | 01/01/1970 01:23:29 | Platform alert LED_SAS0_FAULT | LED color is green | Asserted
     c | 01/01/1970 01:23:29 | Platform alert LED_SAS0_FAULT | LED is blinking fast | Deasserted
     d | 01/01/1970 01:23:29 | Platform alert LED_SAS0_FAULT | LED color is amber | Deasserted
     e | 01/01/1970 00:00:22 | Drive slot(Bay) SAS0_LINK_STATUS | Transition to Degraded | Asserted
     f | 01/01/1970 00:00:22 | Entity presence MEZZ_PRS | Device Present | Asserted
    10 | 01/01/1970 00:00:22 | Entity presence HDD1_PRS | Device Absent | Asserted

Configuring the SEL Policy

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

UCS-A# scope org org-name

Enters organization mode for the specified organization. To enter the root organization mode, type / as the org-name .

Step 2

UCS-A /org # scope ep-log-policy sel

Enters organization endpoint log policy mode and scopes the SEL policy.

Step 3

(Optional) UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy # set description description

(Optional)

Provides a description for the policy.

Note

 

If your description includes spaces, special characters, or punctuation, begin and end your description with quotation marks. The quotation marks will not appear in the description field of any show command output.

Step 4

UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy # set backup action [log-full] [on-change-of-association] [on-clear] [timer] [none]

Specifies an action or actions that will trigger a backup operation.

Step 5

UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy # set backup clear-on-backup {no | yes}

Specifies whether to clear the system event log after a backup operation occurs.

Step 6

UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy # set backup destination URL

Specifies the protocol, user, password, remote hostname, and remote path for the backup operation. Depending on the protocol used, specify the URL using one of the following syntaxes:

  • ftp:// username@hostname / path

  • scp:// username @ hostname / path

  • sftp:// username @ hostname / path

  • tftp:// hostname : port-num / path

Note

 

You can also specify the backup destination by using the set backup hostname , set backup password , set backup protocol , set backup remote-path , set backup user commands, or by using the set backup destination command. Use either method to specify the backup destination.

Step 7

UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy # set backup format {ascii | binary}

Specifies the format for the backup file.

Step 8

UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy # set backup hostname {hostname | ip-addr}

Specifies the hostname or IP address of the remote server.

Step 9

UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy # set backup interval {1-hour | 2-hours | 4-hours | 8-hours | 24-hours | never}

Specifies the time interval for the automatic backup operation. Specifying the never keyword means that automatic backups will not be made.

Step 10

UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy # set backup password password

Specifies the password for the username. This step does not apply if the TFTP protocol is used.

Step 11

UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy # set backup protocol {ftp | scp | sftp | tftp}

Specifies the protocol to use when communicating with the remote server.

Step 12

UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy # set backup remote-path path

Specifies the path on the remote server where the backup file is to be saved.

Step 13

UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy # set backup user username

Specifies the username the system should use to log in to the remote server. This step does not apply if the TFTP protocol is used.

Step 14

UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy # commit-buffer

Commits the transaction.

Example

The following example configures the SEL policy to back up the system event log (in ASCII format) every 24 hours or when the log is full, clears the system event log after a backup operation occurs, and commits the transaction: 

UCS-A# scope org /
UCS-A /org # scope ep-log-policy sel
UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy # set backup destination scp://user@192.168.1.10/logs
Password:
UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy* # set backup action log-full
UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy* # set backup clear-on-backup yes
UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy* # set backup format ascii
UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy* # set backup interval 24-hours
UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /org/ep-log-policy #

Backing Up the System Event Log for a Server

Backing Up the System Event Log for an Individual Server

Before you begin

Configure the system event log policy. The manual backup operation uses the remote destination configured in the system event log policy.

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

UCS-A /chassis/server # backup sel chassis-id / blade-id

Backs up the system event log.

Step 2

UCS-A# commit-buffer

Commits the transaction.

Example

The following example backs up the system event log for blade 3 in chassis 1 and commits the transaction. 

UCS-A# backup sel 1/3
UCS-A* # commit-buffer
UCS-A#

Backing Up the System Event Log for All of the Servers in a Chassis

Before you begin

Configure the system event log policy. The manual backup operation uses the remote destination configured in the system event log policy.

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

UCS-A# scope server chassis-id / blade-id

Enters chassis server mode for the specified server.

Step 2

UCS-A /chassis/server # backup sel

Backs up the system event log.

Step 3

UCS-A /chassis/server # commit-buffer

Commits the transaction.

Example

The following example backs up the system event log from chassis server mode for blade 3 in chassis 1 and commits the transaction. 

UCS-A# scope server 1/3
UCS-A /chassis/server # backup sel
UCS-A /chassis/server* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /chassis/server #

Clearing the System Event Log for a Server

Clearing the System Event Log for an Individual Server

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

UCS-A# clear sel chassis-id / blade-id

Clears the system event log.

Step 2

UCS-A# commit-buffer

Commits the transaction.

Example

The following example clears the system event log for blade 3 in chassis 1 and commits the transaction:

UCS-A# clear sel 1/3
UCS-A* # commit-buffer
UCS-A#

Clearing the System Event Log for All of the Servers in a Chassis

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

UCS-A# scope server chassis-id / blade-id

Enters chassis server mode for the specified server.

Step 2

UCS-A /chassis/server # clear sel

Clears the system event log.

Step 3

UCS-A /chassis/server # commit-buffer

Commits the transaction.

Example

The following example clears the system event log from chassis server mode for blade 3 in chassis 1 and commits the transaction:

UCS-A# scope server 1/3
UCS-A /chassis/server # clear sel
UCS-A /chassis/server* # commit-buffer
UCS-A /chassis/server #