Service processor communication

Hardware-based service processors, also known as management processors, work with hardware instrumentation and systems management software and are important for problem notification and resolution. You also can use them to remotely manage your system. In an IBM® Flex System Manager environment, service processors send alerts to IBM Flex System Manager when error conditions occur in a specific system; these alerts help you to managed your environment effectively.

There are two pathways along which communication between IBM Flex System Manager and the service processors present in scalable System x and xSeries servers takes place: in-band communication and out-of-band communication.