Notification methods

Call Home support and SNMP messages provide notifications to you and IBM if an event occurs on your storage unit.

Call Home

The Call Home feature allows the transmission of operational and error-related data to IBM through either the SMTP server connection or through a dial-up modem connection. The storage unit has the ability to alert IBM support to machine conditions. The DS Storage Manager sends data to IBM for error analysis and resolution.

The Call Home feature is enabled by default, but it must be configured in order to be used. You can disable the Call Home feature through the DS Storage Manager.

The following list contains the reasons or types of data for which call home support would be initiated:

Problem notification: Data is sent when there is a problem that might require the attention of IBM support personnel.
Heartbeat information: monitors the availability of the call home functions.
Communication tests: to test for the successful installation and communication infrastructure.
Informational data such as current code levels.

SNMP

Simple network management protocol (SNMP) is the standard protocol for managing networks and exchanging messages. It enables the storage unit to send external messages to notify personnel about an event.

The SNMP messages are sent from the storage unit over the local area network. You can configure the SNMP messages through the DS Storage Manager.