C220 M3 email alerts on hardware failure?

[mazzaccarod]

I've always used HP proliant servers.  When we had a hardware failure (drive, RAM, CPU, temp, etc) the servers would email me and let me know.

Is this possible w/ my new C220 M3 servers?  I have checked all over the CIMC interface and can't find anything about SMTP settings or email notifications. 

Edit: The server is running VMware ESXi 5.1

Thanks in advance!

[Keny Perez]

Yes Steve, it is now, CIMC Supervisor was released on November last year:

https://software.cisco.com/download/release.html?mdfid=286283219&flowid=72582&softwareid=286283500&release=1&relind=AVAILABLE&rellifecycle=&reltype=latest  <<< Download

https://software.cisco.com/download/release.html?mdfid=286283219&flowid=72582&softwareid=286283500&release=1&relind=AVAILABLE&rellifecycle=&reltype=latest <<< Install and upgrades

For more information, here is the tech talk:

https://communities.cisco.com/docs/DOC-55772

HTH,

-Kenny

[Steve Galambos]

Thanks for the quick response Keny!

Little disappointing that you need to purchase separate licensing to get the functionality rather than it being added right into the CIMC firmware, but the new platform seems to do a lot to simplify management in non-UCS Manager environments and the pricing looks very affordable.

[Steve Galambos]

Scratch my comment on affordable licensing, I just found out from my VAR that an expensive Smartnet SKU is required with the initial purchase, driving the price way up (to about $6k with 1yr support!) that's a hefty price to pay for basic monitoring (that again is included with every other OEM for free) + firmware management...I'll be sticking with my limited PRTG monitoring of UCS servers.

[philliphardynz]

i also must add my disappointment that this feature is non-existent.

(at least this forum post exists to clarify the matter.)

d.

[MysupermarketIT]

Seriously? 

any other surprises we need to know about before we purchase any more of these crappy servers?

[Keny Perez]

Clarification... you can still use SNMP to monitor this servers, you cannot use is the well known Call Home feature...

-Kenny

[Steve Galambos]

Kenny,

I think most of us are aware we can still use SNMP to monitor them, and we aren't requesting anything as all-encompassing as Call Home. What we are all disappointed by is the inability to send a simple email via SMTP notifying an admin of a failure, which is a critical function included in any other OEM server management card I can think of (IMM, DRAC, ILO...).

Inserting something receiving the SNMP traps in the middle of the alerting workflow only adds complexity and more points of failure. For example a SMB running a C-series as their only virtual host is basically screwed out of receiving an automated alert when a failure affects their running VMs.

[WileyOdysseus]

We're running VMware ESXi on our C240 M3s and compensate for the definitely lame lack of email alerting in CIMC by configuring VMware to send the email alerts. In vCenter, the Alarms tab, Definitions section, has plenty of host hardware alarms that can be set to send multiple emails in response to warning, alert, and return to normal conditions.