NonStop NS-Series Planning Guide (H06.03+)

Control, Configuration, and Maintenance Tools
HP Integrity NonStop NS-Series Planning Guide—529567-004
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NonStop Common Foundation (NCF)
NonStop Common Foundation (NCF)
NonStop Common Foundation (NCF) is a set of TACL programs, guidelines, and
utilities that simplifies, automates, and integrates configuration and management of
NonStop servers. NCF includes configuration scripts to tailor server resources, a
startup and shutdown application to improve system availability, and a collection of
programs to automate server management.
Major components of NCF include:
•
The common foundation framework that provides access to TACL configuration
scripts and related utilities. This framework also provides integration services
between the configuration scripts and a menu-driven startup and shutdown utility
called Startsys. Startsys starts resources in the proper order and conducts startup
operations in parallel across multiple CPUs.
•
TACL configuration scripts that prompt you for site-specific information and then
create subsystem startup, configuration, and shutdown files in the appropriate
subvolume locations.
•
A system health-check program called TFast that produces reports identifying
exception states (down, error, starting, etc.) for major subsystem resources.
•
A TACL tools library to help in managing the NonStop server. You can use these
utilities to manage the NonStop server directly or modify them to suit your
requirements.
•
The ITSM Runbook that provides guidance for developing operations procedures.
These procedures can include management techniques for production, incident
and service management, events, security, performance, and other element
management solutions.
For information on the NonStop Common Foundation, access the NonStop Enterprise
Division Advanced Technology Center web site (http://atc.corp.hp.com).
Neighbor-Check ServerNet Cable Verifier
The Integrity NonStop NS-Series systems use a large number of fiber-optic cables for
ServerNet X and Y fabric connection between the various modules in the system.
Neighbor-Check is a validation method within the ServerNet router hardware plus the
ME firmware in the p-switches and IOAM ServerNet switch boards that can safely send
and receive ServerNet packets to validate the ServerNet topology before enabling the
proper port-to-port route facilities.
Neighbor-Check validation can identify and isolate incorrectly connected cables or
misconfigured ports and also provide reporting that identifies the problem. If cable
connection or port configuration errors are discovered with a given p-switch or IOAM,
the incorrect ServerNet paths are blocked so they cannot result in the possible creation
of ServerNet loops.