Introduction
Dell OpenManage Server Administrator generates event messages stored primarily in the operating system or Server Administrator event logs and sometimes in Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps. This document describes the event messages that are created by Server Administrator version 6.5 and displayed in the Server Administrator alert log.
Server Administrator creates events in response to sensor status changes and other monitored parameters. The Server Administrator event monitor uses these status change events to add descriptive messages to the operating system event log or the Server Administrator alert log.
Each event message that Server Administrator adds to the alert log consists of a unique identifier called the event ID for a specific event source category and a descriptive message. The event message includes the severity, cause of the event, and other relevant information, such as the event location and the previous state of the monitored item.
The tables in this guide list all Server Administrator event IDs in numeric order. Each entry includes the description, severity level, and cause of the event ID. The message text in angle brackets (for example, <State>) describes the event-specific information provided by the Server Administrator.
What's New in this Release
No new alerts have been added. The existing alerts 2081, 2347, and 2388 are modified to include additional information.
Messages Not Described in This Guide
This guide describes only event messages logged by Server Administrator and Storage Management that are displayed in the Server Administrator alert log. For information on other messages generated by your system, see one of the following sources:
•![]() |
The Installation and Troubleshooting Guide or Hardware Owner's Manual shipped with your system |
•![]() |
Operating system documentation |
•![]() |
Application program documentation |
Understanding Event Messages
This section describes the various types of event messages generated by the Server Administrator. When an event occurs on your system, Server Administrator sends information about one of the following event types to the systems management console:
Server Administrator generates events based on status changes in the following sensors:
•![]() |
Temperature Sensor — Helps protect critical components by alerting the systems management console when temperatures become too high inside a chassis; also monitors the temperature in a variety of locations in the chassis and in attached system(s). |
•![]() |
Fan Sensor — Monitors fans in various locations in the chassis and in attached system(s). |
•![]() |
Voltage Sensor — Monitors voltages across critical components in various chassis locations and in attached system(s). |
•![]() |
Current Sensor — Monitors the current (or amperage) output from the power supply (or supplies) in the chassis and in attached system(s). |
•![]() |
Chassis Intrusion Sensor — Monitors intrusion into the chassis and attached system(s). |
•![]() |
Redundancy Unit Sensor — Monitors redundant units (critical units such as fans, AC power cords, or power supplies) within the chassis; also monitors the chassis and attached system(s). For example, redundancy allows a second or nth fan to keep the chassis components at a safe temperature when another fan has failed. Redundancy is normal when the intended number of critical components are operating. Redundancy is degraded when a component fails, but others are still operating. Redundancy is lost when there is one less critical redundancy device than required. |
•![]() |
Power Supply Sensor — Monitors power supplies in the chassis and in attached system(s). |
•![]() |
Memory Prefailure Sensor — Monitors memory modules by counting the number of Error Correction Code (ECC) memory corrections. |
•![]() |
Fan Enclosure Sensor — Monitors protective fan enclosures by detecting their removal from and insertion into the system, and by measuring how long a fan enclosure is absent from the chassis. This sensor monitors the chassis and in attached system(s). |
•![]() |
AC Power Cord Sensor — Monitors the presence of AC power for an AC power cord. |
•![]() |
Hardware Log Sensor — Monitors the size of a hardware log. |
•![]() |
Processor Sensor — Monitors the processor status in the system. |
•![]() |
Pluggable Device Sensor — Monitors the addition, removal, or configuration errors for some pluggable devices, such as memory cards. |
•![]() |
Battery Sensor — Monitors the status of one or more batteries in the system. |
•![]() |
SD Card Device Sensor — Monitors instrumented Secure Digital (SD) card devices in the system. |
Sample Event Message Text
The following example shows the format of the event messages logged by Server Administrator.
EventID: 1000
Source: Server Administrator
Category: Instrumentation Service
Type: Information
Date and Time: Mon Oct 21 10:38:00 2002
Computer: <computer name>
Description:
Server Administrator starting
Data: Bytes in Hex
Viewing Alerts and Event Messages
An event log is used to record information about important events.
Server Administrator generates alerts that are added to the operating system event log and to the Server Administrator alert log. To view these alerts in Server Administrator:
1 ![]() |
Select the System object in the tree view. |
2 ![]() |
Select the Logs tab. |
3 ![]() |
Select the Alert tab. |
You can also view the event log using your operating system's event viewer. Each operating system's event viewer accesses the applicable operating system event log.
The location of the event log file depends on the operating system you are using.
•![]() |
On systems running the Microsoft Windows operating systems, event messages are logged in the operating system event log and the Server Administrator event log. The Server Administrator event log file is named dcsys32.xml and is located in the <install_path>\omsa\log directory. The default install_path is C:\Program Files\Dell\SysMgt. |
•![]() |
On systems running the Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Citrix XenServer, VMware ESX, and VMware ESXi operating systems, the event messages are logged in the operating system log file and the Server Administrator event log. The default name of the operating system log file is /var/log/messages, and you can view the operating system log file using a text editor such as vi or emacs. The Server Administrator event log file is named dcsys<xx>.xml, where xx is either 32 or 64 bit depending on the operating system. In the Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Citrix XenServer and VMware ESX operating systems, the Server Administrator event log file is located in the /opt/dell/srvadmin/var/log/openmanage directory. In the VMware ESXi operating system, the Server Administrator event log file is located in the /etc/cim/dell/srvadmin/log/openmanage directory. |
Logging Messages to a Unicode Text File
Logging messages to a Unicode text file is optional. By default, the feature is disabled in the Server Administrator. To enable this feature, modify the
Event Manager section of the dcemdy<xx>.ini configuration file where xx is 32 or 64 bit depending on the operating system, as follows:
•![]() |
On systems running Microsoft Windows operating systems, you can locate the configuration file in the <install_path>\dataeng\ini directory and set the property UnitextLog.enabled=true. The default install_path is C:\Program Files\Dell\SysMgt. Restart the DSM SA Event Manager service to enable the setting. The Server Administrator Unicode text event log file is named dcsys32.log and is located in the <install_path>\omsa\log directory. |
•![]() |
On systems running the Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Citrix XenServer and VMware ESX operating systems, you can locate the configuration file in the /opt/dell/srvadmin/etc/srvadmin-deng/ini directory and set the property UnitextLog.enabled=true. Run the /etc/init.d/dataeng restart command to restart the Server Administrator Event Manager service and enable the setting. This also restarts the Server Administrator Data Manager and SNMP services. The Server Administrator Unicode text event log file is named dcsys<xx>.log where xx is 32 or 64 bit depending on the operating system and is located in the /opt/dell/srvadmin/var/log/openmanage directory. |
The following sub-sections explain how to launch the Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, VMware ESX, and VMware ESXi event viewers.
Viewing Events in Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008
1 ![]() |
Click the Start button, point to Settings, and click Control Panel. |
2 ![]() |
Double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Event Viewer. |
3 ![]() |
In the Event Viewer window, click the Tree tab and then click System Log. |
The System Log window displays a list of recently logged events.
4 ![]() |
To view the details of an event, double-click one of the event items. |
![]() ![]() |
NOTE: You can also look up the dcsys<xx>.xml file, in the <install_path>\omsa\log directory, to view the separate event log file, where the default install_path is C:\Program Files\Dell\SysMgt and xx is 32 or 64 depending on the operating system that is installed. |
Viewing Events in Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
1 ![]() |
Log in as root. |
2 ![]() |
Use a text editor such as vi or emacs to view the file named /var/log/messages. |
The following example shows the Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server message log, /var/log/messages. The text in boldface type indicates the message text.
![]() ![]() |
NOTE: These messages are typically displayed as one long line. In the following example, the message is displayed using line breaks to help you see the message text more clearly. |
...
Feb 6 14:20:51 server01 Server Administrator: Instrumentation Service EventID: 1000
Server Administrator starting
Feb 6 14:20:51 server01 Server Administrator: Instrumentation Service EventID: 1001
Server Administrator startup complete
Feb 6 14:21:21 server01 Server Administrator: Instrumentation Service EventID: 1254 Chassis intrusion detected Sensor location: Main chassis intrusion Chassis location: Main System Chassis Previous state was: OK (Normal) Chassis intrusion state: Open
Feb 6 14:21:51 server01 Server Administrator: Instrumentation Service EventID: 1252 Chassis intrusion returned to normal Sensor location: Main chassis intrusion Chassis location: Main System Chassis Previous state was: Critical (Failed) Chassis intrusion state: Closed
Viewing Events in VMware ESX/ESXi
1 ![]() |
Log in to the system running VMware ESX/ESXi with VMware vSphere Client. |
2 ![]() |
Click View→Administration→System Logs. |
3 ![]() |
Select Server Log→ /var/log/messages entry from the drop-down list. |
Viewing the Event Information
The event log for each operating system contains some or all of the following information:
•![]() |
Date — The date the event occurred. |
•![]() |
Time — The local time the event occurred. |
•![]() |
Type — A classification of the event severity: Information, Warning, or Error. |
•![]() |
User — The name of the user on whose behalf the event occurred. |
•![]() |
Computer — The name of the system where the event occurred. |
•![]() |
Source — The software that logged the event. |
•![]() |
Category — The classification of the event by the event source. |
•![]() |
Event ID — The number identifying the particular event type. |
•![]() |
Description — A description of the event. The format and contents of the event description vary, depending on the event type. |
Understanding the Event Description
Table 1-2 lists in alphabetical order each line item that may appear in the event description.
Description Line Item |
Explanation |
---|---|
Action performed was: <Action> |
Specifies the action that was performed, for example: Action performed was: Power cycle |
Action requested was: <Action> |
Specifies the action that was requested, for example: Action requested was: Reboot, shutdown OS first |
Additional Details: <Additional details for the event> |
Specifies additional details available for the hot plug event, for example: Memory device: DIMM1_A Serial number: FFFF30B1 |
<Additional power supply status information> |
Specifies information pertaining to the event, for example:
Power supply input AC is off, Power supply |
Chassis intrusion state: <Intrusion state> |
Specifies whether the chassis intrusion state is Open or Closed. For example: Chassis intrusion state: Open |
Chassis location: <Name of chassis> |
Specifies name of the chassis that generated the message, for example: Chassis location: Main System Chassis |
Configuration error type: |
Specifies the type of configuration error that occurred, for example: Configuration error type: Revision mismatch |
Current sensor value (in Amps): <Reading> |
Specifies the current sensor value in amps, for example: Current sensor value (in Amps): 7.853 |
Date and time of action: <Date and time> |
Specifies the date and time the action was performed, for example: Date and time of action: Sat Jun 12 16:20:33 2004 |
Device location: <Location in chassis> |
Specifies the location of the device in the specified chassis, for example: Device location: Memory Card A |
Discrete current state: <State> |
Specifies the state of the current sensor, for example: Discrete current state: Good |
Discrete temperature state: <State> |
Specifies the state of the temperature sensor, for example: Discrete temperature state: Good |
Discrete voltage state: <State> |
Specifies the state of the voltage sensor, for example: Discrete voltage state: Good |
Fan sensor value: <Reading> |
Specifies the fan speed in revolutions per minute (RPM) or On/Off, for example: Fan sensor value (in RPM): 2600 Fan sensor value: Off |
Log type: <Log type> |
Specifies the type of hardware log, for example: Log type: ESM |
Memory device bank location: <Bank name in chassis> |
Specifies the name of the memory bank in the system that generated the message, for example: Memory device bank location: Bank_1 |
Memory device location: |
Specifies the location of the memory module in the chassis, for example: Memory device location: DIMM_A |
Number of devices required for full redundancy: <Number> |
Specifies the number of power supply or cooling devices required to achieve full redundancy, for example: Number of devices required for full redundancy: 4 |
Peak value (in Watts): <Reading> |
Specifies the peak value in Watts, for example: Peak value (in Watts): 1.693 |
Possible memory module event cause: <list of causes> |
Specifies a list of possible causes for the memory module event, for example: Possible memory module event cause: Single bit warning error rate exceeded Single bit error logging disabled |
Power Supply type: <type of power supply> |
Specifies the type of power supply, for example: Power Supply type: VRM |
Previous redundancy state was: <State> |
Specifies the status of the previous redundancy message, for example: Previous redundancy state was: Lost |
Previous state was: <State> |
Specifies the previous state of the sensor, for example: Previous state was: OK (Normal) |
Processor sensor status: <status> |
Specifies the status of the processor sensor, for example: Processor sensor status: Configuration error |
Redundancy unit: <Redundancy location in chassis> |
Specifies the location of the redundant power supply or cooling unit in the chassis, for example: Redundancy unit: Fan Enclosure |
SD card device type: <Type of SD card device> |
Specifies the type of SD card device, for example: SD card device type: Hypervisor |
SD card state: <State of SD card> |
Specifies the state of the SD card, for example: SD card state: Present, Active |
Sensor location: <Location in chassis> |
Specifies the location of the sensor in the specified chassis, for example: Sensor location: CPU1 |
Temperature sensor value: <Reading> |
Specifies the temperature in degrees Celsius, for example: Temperature sensor value (in degrees Celsius): 30 |
Voltage sensor value (in Volts): <Reading> |
Specifies the voltage sensor value in volts, for example: Voltage sensor value (in Volts): 1.693 |