Automating Diagnostics & Tasks

In addition to manual operations, the BMC provides tools to automate the collection of diagnostic data and to monitor the status of all background tasks running on the system. These features help you automatically capture critical information when a problem occurs and give you clear visibility into everything the BMC is doing.

This chapter covers how to configure automatic video recording and how to monitor system tasks.

Configuring automatic video recording

This feature allows the BMC to automatically record a short video clip of the KVM console when specific system events are detected. This is invaluable for post-mortem analysis of a server crash or an unexpected reboot, as it shows you exactly what was on the screen at the moment of failure.

1. In the sidebar menu, navigate to Settings > Auto Video Settings.

2. In the Video Trigger Settings tab, enable the toggles for the events you want to trigger a recording. Common triggers include:

   • Critical Events (Temperature/Voltage): When temperature or voltage goes out of a critical range.

   • Chassis Power Off/Reset Events: When the server is unexpectedly powered off or reset.

   • Watchdog Timer Events: When the operating system freezes.

3. (Optional) You can enable Pre-Event Video Recordings to capture the few seconds leading up to the event for more context.

4. (Optional) In the Video Remote Storage tab, you can configure the recorded videos to be automatically saved to a remote network share (NFS or CIFS) to protect them from being lost on local storage.

5. Click Save.

[Image, EXISTING, Source: 7.16: Screenshot of the Auto Video Settings page with toggles for various event triggers.]

[Image, EXISTING, Source: 7.16: Screenshot of the Video Remote Storage settings page with fields for server address and share type.]

Monitoring background system tasks

The Tasks page provides a central dashboard to see the status of all asynchronous background tasks initiated by the BMC, such as generating a system dump, uploading firmware, or applying a configuration update.

To view task status:

1. In the sidebar menu, navigate to Operations > Tasks.

2. The page will display a table listing all running or completed tasks.

[Image, EXISTING, Source: 6.10: Screenshot of the Tasks page showing a list of tasks with their completion percentage and status.]

This table gives you the following information:

• Task Description: A brief summary of the task type (e.g., "Initiate Dump", "Firmware Upload").

• Percent Complete: The progress of the task, shown as a percentage.

• Http Operation: The RESTful operation that triggered the task (if applicable).

• Target Uri: The endpoint or resource that the task is acting upon.

• Start Time / End Time: The timestamps marking the beginning and end of the task.

• Action: The current status or result of the operation (e.g., a green checkmark for Completed, an In Progressstatus, or a Failed indicator). For tasks that are still running, a Cancel button may be available.

Pro Tip: Verify long-running operations

For operations that take a long time, like a firmware update, the Tasks page is the best place to confirm that the operation has completed successfully or is still in progress. If you encounter issues after an update, check here first to see the final status of the task.