Chassis Internal Resources

Internal resources are components that are integrated with a chassis. The components that you can view include switches, trunks, blades, and ports.

Internal Resources

Use the Chassis details page to view information about the following internal resources for chassis that are monitored by IBM Storage Insights.
Restriction: Chassis do not have view performance. But you can view the performance of chassis internal resources like switches, trunks, and ports. For example, right-click a port and select View Performance to view its total data rate and overall bandwidth percentage. For more information about the performance view and the resources for which it is available, see Performance view.

Switches

A switch is a switching construct that exists on a chassis and corresponds to a virtual fabric. Multiple switches can be defined for a chassis. To view information about switches, click Switches. The number in parentheses shows the number of switches that are associated with the chassis. For example, Switches (6). The following information is available for each switch:
Acknowledged
The issue was resolved or the user decided that the issue did not need to be investigated.
Chassis
The name of the chassis where the switch is available. The name of the chassis was defined in an element manager or when the chassis was added to IBM Storage Insights.
Condition
The overall condition of the switch is determined by the most critical status of any one of the switch's internal resources.
Connected Ports
The number of ports that are connected to servers, switches, storage systems, or unmanaged resources.
Tip: Click the link in the Ports column to find out more about the connected ports.
Custom tag 1, 2, and 3 Edit icon
The user-defined text that you can add to provide more information about the switch. You can include this additional information or use the custom tags to filter the information that you want to share with your colleagues in reports.
Data Collection
The aggregated status for the collection of capacity, configuration, status, and performance metadata. Two separate jobs are run to collect the metadata:
  • A probe is run once every 24 hours to collect capacity, configuration, and status metadata.
  • A performance monitor is run every 5 minutes to collect performance metadata.
Because separate jobs are run to collect the metadata, both collection jobs must be successful to get a Running status. If an issue occurs during metadata collection, the following statuses might also be displayed:
Degraded
Not all metadata for the device was collected. This status is displayed when metadata collection is interrupted and only partial metadata is available.
Failed
Metadata was not collected for the device. This status might be displayed for a number of conditions, such as a service interruption, a network outage, or a device that is unavailable. If the failure was caused by an interruption or a global problem with the service, IBM® is investigating the issue and you'll be notified when the data collection service is resumed.
Not Connected
Asset and configuration metadata or performance metadata, or both can't be collected. If the data collection service isn't resumed, try these self-help options:
  • Check that your switch is online and that your network is up and running.
  • Check that your firewall is configured to allow outbound access over HTTPS port 443 to your instance of IBM Storage Insights Pro.
  • Check that the server where the data collector was installed is online.
  • Restart the data collector.
  • Refresh your browser.
Not Monitored
When you add a chassis, its hosted switches are automatically discovered and added for monitoring. Any other switches that are connected to the switches on the monitored chassis are also discovered.
  • If chassis that host the other, connected switches use the same connection credentials as the chassis that you added, the chassis and their switches are also added for monitoring.
  • If chassis that host the other, connected switches don't use the same credentials, the chassis and their switches are added to IBM Storage Insights but are not monitored.
Task expired
This status might be displayed for a number of conditions or temporary problems within the service.
Help with statuses:
  • For more information about these statuses and how you can troubleshoot them, see Monitoring the status of data collection.
  • Subscribers are notified by email when issues with collecting data are detected. If an issue with collecting data persists and you can't resolve the issue, you can get help by submitting a post in the IBM Storage Community. For other support options, see Looking for help.
Domain ID
The domain ID of a switch. The ID is an 8-bit identifier with a range of 0-255.
Fabric
The name of the fabric where a switch is a member. The name of the fabric was defined in an element manager or when the fabric was added to for monitoring. If a name is not defined, the WWN of the fabric is used.
Firmware
The firmware version of the microcode on the chassis where a switch is defined.
IP Address
The IP address of the switch which can be in IPv4 or IPv6 format.
Last Successful Monitor
The last time that the performance information was refreshed.
Last Successful Probe
The most recent date and time when data was collected about a switch.
Links
The number of inter-switch links (ISLs) on the switch. An ISL is a single link between two ports on two different switches. An ISL is a member of a trunk that consists of all ISLs between two switches.
Location Edit icon
The location of the switch, which can be defined when you add the switch for monitoring.
Mode
Mode is a configuration setting that is defined on the chassis. Mode can be either native or NPV.
Model
Manufacturer provides the model name of chassis.
Name Edit icon
The logical name of the switch or the name that was defined by the user after the switch was added for monitoring. If the name isn't available, the worldwide name (WWN) of the switch is shown.
Performance Monitor Status
The status of the most recent run of a performance monitor. Use this value to quickly identify a performance monitor that failed or generated warning messages during processing. The following statuses might be displayed:
  • Starting: The performance monitor is starting.
  • Running: The performance monitor is running.
  • Running with problems: The performance monitor is running, but encountered warning conditions during processing. Check the log to view the warning messages.
  • Stopping: The performance monitor is stopping.
  • Completed: The performance monitor completed data collection.
  • Completed with warnings: The performance monitor completed, but encountered warning conditions during processing. Check the log to view the warning messages.
  • Failed: The performance monitor encountered error conditions during processing and is no longer running. Check the log of a performance monitor to view its error messages.
  • Canceled: The performance monitor was stopped and is no longer collecting performance data.
  • Not running: The performance monitor is not running.
  • Disabled: The performance monitor never ran. To start a probe, complete these steps:
    1. From the Resources menu, click Switches and select Chassis tab.
    2. Select and right-click the chassis that host the switch.
    3. Click Configure Data Collection and provide the IP address and credentials for the chassis that host the switches.
    4. Click Connect.
Ports
The number of ports on the switch.
Tip: Click the link to find out more about the ports, the resources it connects to, and its' links.
Principal Switch of Fabric
The name of the principal switch of the fabric when the switch was last probed. The fabric can change its principal switch dynamically when conditions require it.
Probe Status
The probe is run to collect asset and configuration information about your switch. If one of the following values is displayed, you might need to investigate or take remedial action:
  • Failed: The asset and configuration information was not collected.
  • Warning: Warning conditions were encountered when asset and configuration information was collected.
  • Never probed: The asset and configuration information was not collected because the resource or device is offline. The asset and configuration information was not collected because the resource or device is offline.
Serial number
A number or alphanumeric identifier that is given by manufacturer to each chassis.
System UUID
A unique identifier that assigns to the switches when it is added to IBM Storage Insights.
Vendor
The name of the vendor or manufacturer of the switch.
WWN
The worldwide name (WWN) of the switch, which is a 64-bit unsigned name identifier that is unique.

Trunks

Trunks include the following types of link:
Inter-switch link (ISL)
A link between two ports on different switches. The link is typically between two expansion ports (E_ports). Both switches operate in native mode.
N_Port Virtualization (NPV) link
A single physical link between a switch that is in native mode and an NPV switch. An NPV switch is a Cisco switch that is in NPV mode or a Brocade switch that is in Access Gateway mode. The port on the switch that is in native mode is a fabric port (F_port). The port on the switch that is in NPV mode or Brocade Access Gateway mode is a proxy node port (NP_port).
Expansion port (E_port) channel (also known as an ISL trunk)
A logical aggregation of ISLs.
Fabric port (F_port) channel (also known as an F_port trunk)
A logical aggregation of NPV links.
Port channel
A logical aggregation of links. If the port channel has no links, it is not possible to determine whether the port channel is an E_port channel or an F_port channel. In this case, the connection is referred to as a port channel.
Inter-chassis link (ICL) trunk
A logical aggregation of ICLs between the core routing blades of two Brocade director switches. The core blades have special ICL E_ports that are used only for links to core blades on other director switches.

To view information about trunks, click Trunks. The number in parentheses shows the number of trunks that are associated with the chassis. For example, Trunks (2) indicates that there are two trunks available on a chassis.

The following information is available for ISLs, NPV links, ISL trunks, F_port trunks, and ICL trunks:
Status
The status values help you to decide whether you need to investigate or resolve issues with trunks.
The following statuses might be displayed for the ISL, NPV link, ISL trunk, F_port trunk, or ICL trunk:
Acknowledged
Shows whether a user marked the status of an ISL as acknowledged. If the status of the ISL was reviewed, and the status is either resolved or can be ignored, the status is acknowledged. To acknowledge the status of an ISL, right-click the ISL in the list and select Acknowledge Status.
Error
The ISLs and NPV links have an error status because one or both of the ports have an error status.
ISL trunks, F_port trunks, and ICL trunks have an error status if half or more than half of the links in the trunk or channel have ports that have an error status.
Normal
ISLs and NPV links have a normal status if both of the ports have a normal status.
ISL trunks, F_port trunks, and ICL trunks have a normal status if half or more than half of the ports on the link have a normal status, all of the ports are configured correctly, and none of the links has an error status.
Unknown
The status of the ISL cannot be determined.
Unreachable
ISLs and NPV links have an unreachable status if both of the ports have an unreachable status.
ISL trunks, F_port trunks, and ICL trunks have an unreachable status if half or more than half of the ports on the link have an unreachable status, all of the ports are configured correctly, and none of the links has an error status.
Warning
ISLs and NPV links have a warning status if one or both of the ports have a warning status.
ISL trunks, F_port trunks, and ICL trunks have a warning status if less than half of the links have a port that has an error status. ISL trunks also have a warning status if half or more than half of the links have ports that have a warning status.
The following information is available for E_port channels and F_port channels:
Status
The status values help you to decide whether you need to investigate or resolve issues with port channels.
The following statuses might be displayed for a port channel:
Error
One or both of the ports have an error status. If the port channel has no member ports, you get a no ports error.
Normal
Both of the ports have a normal status.
Port not in port channel
A port on a chassis has a link to a port on another chassis that is not configured in the port channel.
Port with no link
A port on one of the two chassis in the port channel has no link.
Unknown
The status of the port channel cannot be determined.
Warning
One or both of the ports have a warning status.

Blades

To view information about the blades that are associated with a chassis, click Blades. The number in parentheses shows the number of blades that are associated with the chassis. For example, Blades (6) indicates that there are six blades that are installed in a chassis. The following information is available for each blade:
Acknowledged
Shows whether a user marked the status of a blade as acknowledged. An acknowledged status indicates that the status was reviewed and is either resolved or can be ignored. An acknowledged status is not used when determining the status of related, higher-level resources.
For example, if the status of a blade is Error, then the status of the related switch is also Error. If the Error status for the blade is acknowledged, then its status is not used to determine the overall status of the chassis. In this case, if the other internal resources of the chassis are Normal, then the status of the chassis is also Normal.
Blade Type
Shows the type of blade that is installed in chassis. Most commonly used blade types are listed here:
Switch blade
Switch blade has Fibre Channel (FC) ports.
Core Routing (CR) blade
CR blade interconnects all the port blades. CR blade provides ICL ports that allows interconnection with another chassis.
Control Processor (CP) blade
The CP blade contains the control plane for the chassis and hosts the Fabric OS that manages all hardware within the chassis. A single active CP blade can control all the ports in the chassis.
Application blade
Application blade has a combination of FC ports and Ethernet ports.
Chassis
The name of the chassis where the blade is available. The name of the chassis was defined in an element manager or when the chassis was added to IBM Storage Insights.
Links
The number of inter-switch connections that the chassis has. Inter-switch connections are inter-switch links (ISLs), trunks, port channels, and single links to other chassis that are in Access Gateway mode.
Port Range
The range of ports for the ports that are components of the blade. For example, 0-15, 16-31. This value represents the port index relative to the chassis, not the port numbers relative to the blade.
Ports
The number of chassis ports on a blade.
Slot
The physical slot on a chassis to which a blade is attached.
Status
The status of a blade. The values include Normal, Warning, Error, Unreachable, and Unknown. Use the status to determine the condition of a blade, and if any actions must be taken. For example, if a blade has an Error status, take immediate action to correct the problem.

Ports

Chassis ports can be expansion ports (E_ports), fabric ports (F_ports), or fabric loop ports (FL_ports). To view information about ports, click Ports. The number in parentheses shows the number of ports that are associated with the chassis. For example, Ports (6) indicates that there are six ports available on a chassis. The following information is available for each port:

Acknowledged
Shows whether a user marked the status of a port as acknowledged. An acknowledged status indicates that the status was reviewed and is either resolved or can be ignored. An acknowledged status is not used when determining the status of related, higher-level resources.
For example, if the status of a port is Error, the status of the related switch is also Error. If the Error status for the port is acknowledged, then its status is not used to determine the overall status of the chassis. In this case, if the other internal resources of the chassis are Normal, then the status of the chassis is also Normal.
Blade Slot
If the port is on a blade, this column shows the slot on a chassis to which the blade is attached. If the port is on the switch, this column is blank.
Connected Resource
If the port is actively connected to another port, this column displays the name of the resource that is communicating with that port. The resource can be a switch, a host, or a storage system. This field can also display a port alias or a host connection name, if that information is available. For Cisco switch ports, the zone alias is displayed, if available. Cisco device aliases are not supported. When the switch port has connections that use N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV), the number of connections is displayed if IBM Storage Insights does not differentiate between physically connected ports and logically connected ports. If a port has one connected resource with multiple names, either alias names or host names, the properties notebook for that port displays the Connected Resource Names tab. This tab shows the name and WWPN of each alias or host name. If a port has more than one connected resource, the ports table shows the number of connected resources for that port. Click the number to view the list of names and WWPNs of the connected resources for that port. The following values are also displayed:
Blank
This column is blank if the port is disabled or does not have an active connection. A port can be enabled but offline if it does not have an active connection with any resource.
Unavailable
The value Unavailable is shown if a resource is attached to the port but IBM Storage Insights is not monitoring that resource. For example, if only the WWPN of the connected resource is known, the value Unavailable is shown.
Connected WWPN
The WWPN of the remote port that is connected to the port. When the switch port has connections that use NPIV, the number of connections is displayed if IBM Storage Insights does not differentiate between physically connected ports and logically connected ports.
Domain
The domain ID of a chassis.
Name
The name of the port. With Brocade chassis, the name shown can be displayed as:
  • the user-defined port name on the chassis.
  • the blade and port number, if the chassis has blades.
  • the port number, if the chassis does not have blades.
Port Index
The number of ports on a chassis. In chassis that have blades, the port index can differ from the port number.
Port Number
The number of the port.
Port Type
The type of port, such as E_PORT, F_PORT, or G_PORT. If this information is unknown, this column is blank.
Speed (Gbps)
The negotiated speed of a port.
State
The state of a port, such as Unavailable, Disabled, Online, and Enabled but offline. A port that is online means that the port is communicating with an attached resource. A port that is enabled but offline means that the port is enabled, but no resources are attached to it. It might not always be possible to determine the state of a port. For example, it is only possible to determine the state of ports on Brocade chassis, and it sometimes not possible to determine the state of those ports. If it is not possible to determine the state of a port, the state of the port is Unavailable.
Status
The status of a Fibre Channel port. Use the status to determine the condition of a port, and if any actions must be taken. For example, if a port has an Error status, take immediate action to correct the problem. The following statuses might be displayed for a port:
  • Error
  • Operational
  • Unknown
  • Other
  • Ok
  • Degraded
  • Stressed
  • Predictive Failure
  • Error
  • Non-recoverable error
  • Starting
  • Stopping
  • Stopped
  • In service
  • No contact
  • Lost communication
  • Aborted
  • Dormant
  • Supporting entity in error
  • Completed
  • Power® mode
  • cpsoutofsync
  • cpfailed
  • cpsfailed
Switch
The name of the switch where a Fibre Channel port is located, or the name that was defined when the switch was added for monitoring. If neither name is available, IBM Storage Insights uses the WWN of the switch.
WWPN
The worldwide port name (WWPN) of a port. A WWPN is the unique 64-bit identifier for a port in a Fibre Channel fabric.

For NPV switches, information is also available about the routes from ports that are connected to ahost, or storage system to ports that are connected to fabrics. You can view the internal routes from Fibre Channel ports to proxy node ports, that is, from F_ports to NP_ports.