You can create a service forwarder that automatically sends
service data to your preferred service provider using SFTP when certain
serviceable events, such as an unrecoverable memory error, are received
from specific managed devices so that the issue can be addressed.
Before you begin
Ensure that all ports that are required by XClarity Administrator (including ports that are required for call home) are
available before you setup a service forwarder. For more information
about ports, see Port availability.
Ensure that a connection
exists to the Internet addresses that are required by the service
provider.
If you choose to use Lenovo Support, ensure
that a connection exists to the Internet addresses that are required
by Call Home. For information about firewalls, see Firewalls and proxy servers.
If XClarity Administrator accesses the Internet through an HTTP proxy, ensure that
the proxy server is set up as a non-terminating proxy. For more information
about setting up the proxy, see Configuring network access.
About this task
A service forwarder defines information about
where to send the service data files when a serviceable event occurs.
You can define up to 50 service forwarders
For each service
forwarder, you can choose to automatically transfer service data to
Lenovo Support (called Call Home), to the Lenovo Upload Facility, or to another service
provider using SFTP. For information about setting up a service forwarder
for Call Home, see Setting up automatic problem notification. For information about setting
up a service forwarder for the Lenovo Upload Facility, see Setting up automatic problem notification to the Lenovo Upload Facility.
If a service forwarder
is configured and enabled for SFTP, XClarity Administrator automatically transfers collects service
data and transfers service files to the specified SFTP site for your
preferred service provider.
For servers
with XCC2,
XClarity Administrator saves service data in two files in the repository.
- Service file. (.zip) This file contains service information
and inventory in an easily readable format. This file is automatically
sent to your preferred service provider when a serviceable event occurs.
- Debug file. (.tzz) The file contains all service information,
inventory, and the debug logs for use by Lenovo Support. You can manually
send this file to Lenovo Support if additional information is needed
to resolve an issue.
For other devices, XClarity Administrator saves service data (including service information, inventory,
and debug logs) in a single service file in the repository. This file
is sent to your preferred service provider when a serviceable event
occurs.
Note: If multiple SFTP service forwarders are set up for
the same device, only one of the service forwarders transfers service
data. The address and port that is used depends on which service forwarder
is triggered first.
Procedure
Complete the following steps to define and enable a service forwarder.
- From the XClarity Administrator menu bar, click . The Service and Support page is displayed.
- Click Service Forwarders in the
left navigation to display the Service Forwarders page.
- Click the Create Service Forwarder icon () to display the New Service Forwarder dialog.
- Click the General tab.
- Select SFTP for the service forwarder:
- Enter the name of the service forwarder and a description.
- Specify the number of automatic-notification retries. The default
is 2.
- Specify the minimum number of minutes between retries. The default
is 2.
- (Optional) Click Requires Service Data Inspection if you want to inspect the service files before they are transferred,
and optionally specify the e-mail address of the contact to be notified
when service files must be inspected.
- Click the Specific tab, and fill
in the following information:
- IP address and port number of the SFTP server
- User ID and password for authentication to the SFTP server
- Click the Device tab, and select
the managed devices and resource groups for which you want this service
forwarder to forward service data.
Tip: To forward
service data for all managed devices (current and future), select
the Match all devices checkbox.
- Click Create. The service forwarder
is added to the Service and Support page
- On the Service and Support page, select Enable in the Status column to
enable the service forwarder.
- Optional: To prevent serviceable events that
are in the list of excluded events from automatically opening problem
reports, select No next to the question Do you want excluded events to open problem reports?.
- Select the service forwarder, and click Test
Service Forwarders to generate a test event for the service
forwarder and verify that XClarity Administrator is able to communicate with each service provider.
Note: The service forwarder must be enabled before it can be
tested.
After you finish
From the
Service and Support page, you can
also perform the following actions:
- If Requires Service Data Inspection is
selected and a serviceable event was received from one of the managed
devices that is associated with the service forwarder, you must inspect
and service files before the files are forwarded to the service provider.
For more information, see Inspecting service files.
- Modify the service-forwarder information by clicking Service Forwarders in the left navigation and clicking
the Edit Service Forwarder icon ().
- Enable or disable a service provider by clicking Service
Forwarders and selecting Enable or Disable in the Status column.
- Delete the service provider by clicking Service Forwarders and clicking the Delete Service Forwarder icon ().
- Define the support contact and location information for a specific
managed device by clicking Endpoint Actions in the left navigation, selecting the device, and then clicking
the Create Contact Profile icon () or Edit Contact Profile icon
().
The contact and location information for the
managed device is included in the problem record that call home creates
in the Lenovo Support Center. If unique contact and location information is specified for a managed
device, that information is included in the problem record. Otherwise,
general information that is specified for the XClarity Administrator call-home configuration (on the Call Home Configuration page or Service Forwarders page) is used.
For more information, see Defining the support contacts for specific devices.
- Collect service data for a specific device by clicking Endpoint Actions, selecting the device, and then clicking
the Collect Service Data icon (). For more information, see Collecting and downloading service data for a device.
For more information about these service and support tasks,
see Working with service and support.