Support and serviceability

This section answers questions related to serviceability.

  1. How can I display events from the command line?
    The following OC command lists a summary of each IBM Fusion event currently in the event queue: 
    oc get events --field-selector reason=ISFEventManager
    The following OC command lists the contents of each IBM Fusion event currently in the event queue:
     oc get events --field-selector reason=ISFEventManager -o yaml

  2. How long do events stay in the event queue?
    • INFO events stay in the queue 3 hours just like regular OCP events
    • WARNING events stay in the event queue 7 days
    • CRITICAL events stay in the event queue 14 days

  3. How can I delete events?
    The events are deleted as per default rules specified in question 2 of this section.

  4. How can I mark a Call Home ticket as closed?
    There is no automatic update of the ISF events from the Call Home server. After a ticket gets closed, you must go to the ISF Events UI, select the event that opened the ticket, and then in the events context menu, choose "Mark as fixed".

  5. Is the IBM Call Home feature mandatory?

    Call Home is an optional feature. Customers can disable the feature if they have concerns that prevent them from giving IBM Fusion access to the internet.

  6. What collection sets are defined?
    There are 2 main config maps that define what logs will be collected. isf-logs is a list of individual requests
    logcollector-dep:
      type: k8s-resource
      group: apps
      version: v1
      kind: deployments
      namespace: ibm-spectrum-fusion-ns
      name: logcollector
      description: Log Collector log
    This entry in isf-logs indicates that when the logcollector-dep request is made, Log Collector will gather all information about the logcollector deployment in the ibm-spectrum-fusion-ns namespace (including its pods and pod logs). The second config map is isf-collection-sets, which can group requests from isf-logs, other entries in isf-collection-sets, and individual requests. 
    compute:
      type: collection-set
      collections:
        must-gather:
          type: list-entry
          source-list: isf-collection-sets
          list-entry: must-gather
        ibm-spectrum-fusion-namespace:
          type: list-entry
          source-list: isf-logs
          list-entry: ibm-spectrum-fusion-namespace
    This entry in isf-collection-sets indicates that when the compute collection set is requested, Log Collector will gather the must-gather collection set (defined in isf-collection-sets) and ibm-spectrum-fusion-namespace (defined in isf-logs).

  7. What files are included in each collection set shown on the Log Collector UI?
    The specific contents will change as more functions are added to the product, but for now a good summary is in the "Collection Contents" section of this blog post: https://community.ibm.com/community/user/storage/blogs/byron-williams/2021/10/28/viewing-and-examining-logs-in-ibm-spectrum-fusion?CommunityKey=e596ba82-cd57-4fae-8042-163e59279ff3

  8. How long should it take for logs to be collected from the UI?
    All collection sets must finish within 10 minutes, except for the "System health check", which takes 2 to 3 hours. Sometimes, it can take up to a maximum of 6 hours to run.

  9. How long will log collections remain on the server?
    Logs will be automatically deleted after 24 hours. Logs can be intentionally deleted from the UI page.

  10. If my log collection status is partial, does it indicate a log collection failure?
    Partial state of log collection does not mean that the process failed during log collection. It indicates the failure of at least one item in the collection, but no impact to other logs in the collection.
  11. What filter options are available for the IBM Fusion Events page?
    See the "Event UI" section of this blog post: https://community.ibm.com/community/user/storage/blogs/byron-williams/2021/10/26/viewing-and-interpreting-events-in-ibm-spectrum-fu?CommunityKey=e596ba82-cd57-4fae-8042-163e59279ff3&tab=recentcommunityblogsdashboard

  12. What services are sold with IBM Fusion?
    Today, support will be provided via IBM Expert Care contracts. Add on services will be developed later.

  13. What is IBM Storage Expert Care?
    Storage Expert Care is a simplified method of selecting services and support for storage systems at the time of purchase. Storage Expert Care is designed to simplify and standardize the support approach on IBM Fusion, FlashSystem 5200, 7200 & 9200 with pricing calculated as a percentage of the net system (HW & SW). Clients may choose the support level and duration, to align with their business needs.

  14. Must clients purchase Storage Expert Care?
    A client has the option of 1) buying the hardware with the Warranty alone, or 2) choosing from Storage Expert Care Basic or Premium on IBM Fusion. The standard Warranty is: 1 Year of Warranty services, 9x5xNBD, Parts-only, IOL Limited and 90-day SWMA. IBM does not offer separate HW or SW maintenance for these products except for Storage Expert Care.

  15. Which Storage Expert Care tiers are available?
    Basic and Premium for IBM Fusion was announced on 8/10/21.Support terms are available for1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years.

  16. What are the components of the Premium tier?
    Premium tier includes IBM Software Maintenance (SWMA), Technical Account Manager (TAM), 30 Min. Enhanced Response (Sev1 and Sev2), and Predictive Support.

  17. Is remote support available for upgrade?
    IBM offers twice a year updates and they can be applied remotely. However, the client must enable remote access to IBM Fusion. Support is not yet available for IBMers to remotely access client systems on-demand and without client interaction.

  18. Where to find more information about Remote support?
    For more information about remote support, see Chapter 16 of our internal service guide- http://worklodepid1.fyre.ibm.com:8081/spectrum_fusion/9155_spectrum_fusion_24_service_book.pdf.
  19. Will clients be able to purchase Storage Expert Care only if they selected Warranty at initial purchase?
    Storage Expert Care will be available for separate purchase in TSS Systems (CONGA) in 1Q22. IBM highly recommends selling Storage Expert Care together with the system at time of purchase to ensure the client’s systems are protected beyond the standard Warranty. Standard warranty provides 90-day SWMA and 9x5xNBD, Parts-only, IOL Limited.

  20. What services are sold with IBM Fusion?
    Today, support will be provided via IBM Expert Care contracts. Add on services will be developed later.

  21. When will Renewals become available in TSS Systems (ISAT/CONGA)?
    Renewals will be available in TSS Systems (CONGA) in 1Q22. Prices will be based on the original services price and discount.

  22. Will TSS be able to quote additional years than what is available in the configurator (years 1-5)?
    Yes, clients can request special bid pricing for years 6 and 7 of Storage Expert Care.

  23. Which date will IBM consider as a start date for Expert Care after the order?
    Storage Expert Care starts at the same time as Warranty start. IBM has published rules for Warranty start for Customer Setup machines (CSU) and IBM Installed (IBI) machines.

  24. What is Predictive Support?
    IBM provides predictive alerts for performance, space capacity, and other system problems. If there is a significant need for immediate action to be taken to avoid or prevent an incident, an action plan will be discussed with Client.

  25. How will customers get support for IBM Fusion? Will they need to manage multiple support contacts or will there be a single point of contact to receive support?
    There will be a single point of contact for support. The customer will open support tickets against IBM Fusion to receive support for both hardware and software. In some instances, the customer may be required to open support tickets with Red Hat to obtain support for OpenShift® Container Platform. IBM and Red Hat will collaborate to make the support experience as unified as possible.

  26. Is Lab service team involved to help the client? If so, is it charged service or included in Expert Care premium?
    After IBM Fusion is installed and ready for customer usage, customers can then begin creation and deployment of containers. Customers will also be able to monitor the system containers/workloads, system resource utilization and alerts. IBM Fusion will support Premium Expert Care and will include the installation services.

  27. Is Lab Services required to implement IBM Fusion in the Customer location?
    IBM Fusion does not require lab services. IBM Fusion is physically installed into the customer datacenter by an IBM SSR. The SSR will inspect the hardware and connect power and network cables. The SSR will additionally perform necessary configuration steps to integrate the appliance in the customer's network.