The remote support work sheets specify whether you want outbound (call home) or inbound (remote services) remote support, or both.
Ensure that you enable both outbound and inbound support to help you maintain the highest availability of your data.
When you enable outbound (call home) remote support, your management console sends an electronic call home record to IBM support when there is a problem within the storage complex. If inbound remote services is also enabled, an IBM service representative can securely sign on to the host management console (HMC) from a remote location in response to the service call.
You can choose Internet SSL, Internet VPN, or modem as connectivity options for outbound remote support.
You can choose Internet VPN or the modem for secure inbound remote support connectivity. Note that Internet SSL cannot be used for inbound remote support.
IBM offers Assist-On-Site (AOS) as a secure remote support option. AOS is provides a mechanism to establish a secure network connection to IBM over the internet using SSL encryption. Note that this is different from the screen sharing technology that is also part of AOS. The HMC can make a direct AOS connection to IBM if your security guidelines allow this type of configuration.
The HMC can also be configured to offload error logs to IBM over the Internet using FTP. This option is normally only used when the modem is configured for outbound remote support.
For any of the remote support connectivity methods you can use the data storage command line interface (DSCLI) and its audit log feature to review who performed any remote service on your storage system, and at what time the work was performed. Contact your IBM service representative for more detailed information on which service actions were performed remotely. You can also use DSCLI to control network and remote service access to each individual HMC and the DS8000.
For faster service and maintenance, Internet-based connectivity options are preferred over modem connectivity. For information about VPN and SSL, go to the VPN Implementation website . Contact your IBM service representative for details about the AOS connectivity options.
You must complete the work sheet for all installations that include a management console.