1. Owner's Guide
  2. Preinstallation
  3. Setting Up Auto Service Request

5 Setting Up Auto Service Request

This chapter explains how to install and configure Auto Service Request for Oracle Big Data Appliance. It contains these sections:

5.1 About Auto Service Request

Auto Service Request (ASR) is designed to automatically open service requests when specific Oracle Big Data Appliance hardware faults occur.

ASR detects faults in the most common server components, such as disks, fans, and power supplies, and automatically opens a service request when a fault occurs. ASR monitors only server components and does not detect all possible faults.

ASR is not a replacement for other monitoring mechanisms, such as SMTP and SNMP alerts, within the customer data center. It is a complementary mechanism that expedites and simplifies the delivery of replacement hardware. ASR should not be used for downtime events in high-priority systems. For high-priority events, contact Oracle Support Services directly.

When ASR detects a hardware problem, ASR Manager submits a service request to Oracle Support Services. In many cases, Oracle Support Services can begin work on resolving the issue before the administrator is even aware the problem exists.

An email message is sent to both the My Oracle Support email account and the technical contact for Oracle Big Data Appliance to notify them of the creation of the service request.

A service request may not be filed automatically on some occasions. This can happen because of the unreliable nature of the SNMP protocol or a loss of connectivity to ASR Manager. Oracle recommends that customers continue to monitor their systems for faults and call Oracle Support Services if they do not receive notice that a service request has been filed automatically.

See Also:

5.2 Getting Ready to Install ASR

Before installing ASR, complete these prerequisites:

  1. Create a My Oracle Support account at https://support.oracle.com.
  2. Ensure that the following are set up correctly:

    • Oracle Premier Support for Systems, Oracle Premier Support for Operating Systems, or Oracle Limited Warranty

    • The technical contact person at the customer site who is responsible for Oracle Big Data Appliance

    • A valid shipping address at the customer site for Oracle Big Data Appliance parts

  3. Identify and designate a system to host ASR Manager.

    ASR Manager must be installed on a server that has connectivity to Oracle Big Data Appliance and an outbound Internet connection using HTTPS or an HTTPS proxy. To submit a service request (SR), the server must be able to access the Internet.

  4. ASR Manager uses the following ports for normal operations. Ensure that the Oracle Big Data Appliance and ASR Manager server ports are open:

    • All Oracle Big Data Appliance servers must have port 6481 open for HTTP-based asset activation requests that they receive from ASR Manager.

    • The server running ASR Manager must have port 162 open for SNMP-based telemetry messages that the Oracle Big Data Appliance servers send to it.

    • The Oracle transport.oracle.com web server has port 443 open for HTTPS-based telemetry messages that ASR Manager sends to it.

    See Figure 5-1 for the port locations.

  5. Ensure that the designated system conforms to the "Hardware and Network Configuration Recommendations for ASR." See the Oracle ASR website:
  6. Confirm that Java Development Kit 6 (JDK 1.6.0_04 or later) is running on the designated ASR Manager system:
    java -version

    If necessary, download and install the latest version of JDK from the Java SE Downloads website:

    http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html

  7. Obtain root access to the designated ASR Manager host.
  8. Identify and verify connectivity to Oracle Big Data Appliance.
  9. Verify connectivity to the Internet using HTTPS.

Figure 5-1 shows the network connections between ASR and Oracle Big Data Appliance.

Figure 5-1 Auto Service Request Network Connections

Description of Figure 5-1 follows
Description of "Figure 5-1 Auto Service Request Network Connections"

5.3 Installing ASR Manager

To install ASR Manager, download the current version from My Oracle Support ID 1185493.1. Then follow the instructions in the Oracle Auto Service Request Quick Installation Guide at

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E37710_01/index.htm

Do not set up the assets.

5.4 Verifying the ASR Manager Installation

As root, perform these checks on ASR Manager to ensure that it is installed properly:

  • Verify that ASR Manager 3.5 or later is running:

    asr show_rules_version

  • Check the registration status:

    asr show_reg_status

  • Test the connection by sending a test message to the transport server.

    asr test_connection

5.5 Configuring the Trap Destinations on Oracle Big Data Appliance

ASR is an optional software component of Oracle Big Data Appliance. When configuring the software in Oracle Big Data Appliance Configuration Generation Utility, you must complete the section about ASR. Then during the software installation, the Mammoth utility configures the servers to trap the component fault indicators.

You can use bdacli at any time to add or drop support for ASR. If you reconfigure ASR, use bdacli enable to activate configuration changes:
# bdacli enable asr
You do not need to disable and then enable ASR unless there are errors when you attempt to enable it. In that case, run bdacli disable asr first and then run bdacli enable asr .

See Also:

5.6 Verifying ASR Assets

To verify the ASR assets:

  1. In ASR Manager, verify that ASR is activated:
    asr list_asset -i asset_ip

    In the preceding command, asset_ip is the IP address of a server or an Oracle ILOM. To list all assets, enter this command: 

    asr list_asset

    The following is an example of the output. You should see a host name and an Oracle ILOM name for each of the servers, for a total of 12, 24, or 36 activations. If you see fewer, then identify the missing ones and activate them. An example of a server name is bda1node15 and an Oracle ILOM name is bda1node15-c.

    ADDRESS       HOST_NAME      SERIAL_NUMBER  ASR      PRODUCT_NAME
------------- -------------- -----------    -------- --------------------------
203.0.114.44  bda1node15    1143FMM023     Enabled  SUN FIRE X4270 M2 SERVER
203.0.115.139 bda1node15-c  1143FMM023     Enabled  SUN FIRE X4270 M2 SERVER
203.0.114.45  bda1node16    1143FMM021     Enabled  SUN FIRE X4270 M2 SERVER
203.0.115.140 bda1node16-c  1143FMM021     Enabled  SUN FIRE X4270 M2 SERVER
203.0.114.46  bda1node17    1143FMM022     Enabled  SUN FIRE X4270 M2 SERVER
203.0.115.141 bda1node17-c  1143FMM022     Enabled  SUN FIRE X4270 M2 SERVER
  2. If no assets are listed, then verify that ASR is configured on Oracle Big Data Appliance. Log in to the first server and enter this command:
    # cat /opt/oracle/BDAMammoth/cluster_name-config.json  | grep ASR

    The following output shows that ASR has not been configured. 

    ASR_ENABLED=false
SETUP_ASR_SERVER=false
ASR_HOST=
ASR_PORT=162
ASR_SERVER_PWD=

    To configure ASR, see "Enabling Optional Software Included With the Release."

5.7 Validating Auto Service Request on Oracle Big Data Appliance

To validate the ASR installation, you can generate test events.

To set up a test event on Oracle ILOM:

  1. Log in to the Oracle ILOM of any server in Oracle Big Data Appliance.

  2. Change to the following directory:

    -> cd /SP/alertmgmt/rules/3

  3. Enter this command:

    -> show

    The following information is displayed:

     /SP/alertmgmt/rules/3
    Targets:
 
    Properties:
        type = snmptrap
        level = disable
        destination = 0.0.0.0
        destination_port = 0
        community_or_username = public
        snmp_version = 1
        testrule = (Cannot show property)
 
    Commands:
        cd
        set
        show

  4. Ensure that the properties have valid values, not blank or set to zeros as shown in Step 3. Use the appropriate IP address and port for your site.

  5. Set the test trap: 

    -> set testrule=true

  6. You should receive an email about the event. Verify that an email was also sent to the address listed in your customer support identifier (CSI) for Oracle Big Data Appliance.

To set up a test in the operating system environment:

  1. Log in to any server on Oracle Big Data Appliance.

  2. Enter this command to validate the operating system. 

    # ./opt/oracle/bda/compmon/bda_mon_hw_asr.pl -validate_snmp_subscriber -type asr

    The sample output shows 10.10.10.123:162 as the ASR Manager address:

    Sending test trap to destination - 10.10.10.123:162

  3. Verify that an email about the event was sent to you and to the address listed in your customer support identifier (CSI) for Oracle Big Data Appliance.

    This test event does not open a case, but it makes a verifiable entry in the ASR back end.

If you received the emails from both of the previous tests (Oracle ILOM and operating system environment), then your validation is complete. If not, then proceed to "Troubleshooting ASR".

If the emails state that there are contract issues, contact your installation coordinator for further assistance.

5.8 Troubleshooting ASR

For troubleshooting procedures for the ASR software, see Chapter 5 of the Oracle ASR Installation and Operations Guide at:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/systems/asr/documentation/index.html

If you continue to have issues, contact ASR support. See My Oracle Support Note 1352349.1.