Online Diagnostics for NPU
The diagnostic tests check different hardware components in a system and verify the data paths and control signals. By default, online diagnostics operation uses the Central processing unit (CPU) to send packets to the Network Processing Unit (NPU) through the Punt switch once every minute.
By default, if a particular NPU fails to transmit the traffic back to the CPU three times in a row, an NP Datalog is generated to help diagnose the problem. The NPU failures are logged in the system log output with the text ONLINE_DIAG_FAIL.
Online diagnostic tests can be categorized based on the way they are executed. They are the following:
Types of Online diagnostic test |
Description |
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Dynamic diagnostics |
Online Diagnostics are enabled when the system starts and the system datapath is operational. When the system is in use and linked to a live network, these tests run in the background as a non-disruptive test. The default interval for Online Diagnostic execution is one minute and can be modified using the diagnostic monitor interval command. |
On-demand diagnostics |
Tests that are conducted as needed using a diagnostic start command from the command-line interface (CLI). These tests are useful when a hardware fault is suspected. You can use these diagnostics tests to determine the status and troubleshoot the hardware issues. |