Problem processing overview

Problem processing is an important capability of IBM® Electronic Service Agent. When IBM Electronic Service Agent detects a problem, a specific sequence of eventsoccurs to record the problem, report the problem, resolve the problem, and close the problem.

The following shows the problem processing sequence of events, with references to procedures, settings, and information to help you manage those events.
  1. IBM Electronic Service Agent detects and records a problem. To see all problems that are recorded by IBM Electronic Service Agent, see Displaying problem information.
  2. IBM Electronic Service Agent reports the problem to IBM.
    Note: For all the HMC-controlled systems, HMC ESA reports the problems, but not the stand-alone ESA that is installed on the Linux® system.
  3. IBM Electronic Service Agent sends service information that is related to the problem to the IBM Electronic Support website. Service information includes hardware, software, and system configuration.

    To view the service information sent to IBM Electronic Support website, go to the IBM Electronic Support website and select My Systems. For more information, see Accessing the IBM Electronic Support portal.

    Note: The Service Information feature is not applicable for x86 systems.
  4. The IBM Electronic Support website receives the problem and service information. IBM Support contacts the person that is specified as the service contact. For more information about specifying the service contact, see Specifying Service Contact information. When you contact the service contact, IBM Support team either arranges an appointment to replace the part, or attempts to resolve the problem without a visit to the customer's site.
  5. After the problem is resolved, IBM Support closes the service request. For information about verifying a service request that is assigned to a problem is closed, see Displaying problem information.
For MVS systems, the following list shows the problem processing sequence of events, with references to procedures, settings, and information to help you manage those events.
  1. MVS systems send SNMP Alerts on default port 162, if any hardware problem is identified.
  2. ESA-client reports problems to ESA (via Rest API on port 5024)
  3. IBM Electronic Service Agent Sends email to the IBM SPOC, Creates a ticket in the CSP portal, Updates ticket details to customer, and receives request to upload EED from customer.
  4. ESA-client collects EED from MVS nodes via SSH and sends EED to ESA (via Rest API on port 5024)
  5. ESA uploads EED to IBM for problem diagnosis.