Technical Support Appliance (TSA)

Richard Fowkes TSS UK Offering Manager

Helping our clients to achieve optimum availability and optimized asset management of their hardware, and software, in IBM and multi-vendor environments.

IBM Technical Support Appliance

Reactive (break/fix)

System Complexity and Client Dependency on IT systems

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Proactive

Predictive

Preventative (pre-emptive)

Types of maintenance offering

The IBM solution !• Technical support appliance can discover data

from critical systems connected to a network. • Through intelligent and advanced analytics, we

combine the collected data with IBM support and development information to provide robust recommendations that can help improve the availability of your IT environment. • The solution supports and helps to streamline

inventory and availability management reporting. • The appliance can help identify potential failure

conditions before they lead to costly problems.

Our understanding of your goals !• Your IT environment underlies your business

productivity • With network downtime amount to an average of

US$110K per hour, IT problems simply are not options*. • But keeping your systems available around the

clock requires specialised availability management skills, analytical expertise and inventory assessment capabilities that can be difficult and costly to sustain in house. • You need an easier, more robust and simplified

solution to support the availability of your IT environment.

TSA: Designed by Maintenance for MaintenanceProvides more cost-effective and simplified IT management

1 Technical support appliance capabilities and eligibility depend upon your geographic location, the type and configuration of IT systems within your IT environments, the level of access you provide into your IT environment and the specific level of IBM support you are already receiving

Meeting Client Needs With TSATo facilitate IT management and improved availability, organisations require access to specific device level information

Faced with the need to address several business challenges, companies are increasingly looking for solutions that can:

Simplify IT management Reduce the demands on their in-house resources focus using them on core business tasks

instead

Proactively identify situations and problems that can potentially impact systems availability

Collect Analyse Report

Apps OS Routers

Servers Storage

Datacenter devices IBM and non-IBM

Server data

Storage data

Network device data

IBM and Non IBM products

TSS analysis

Reporting !

(Prioritise, consolidate, reconcile)

Client Reports !

• Executive Dashboards • Operational Details • Proactive recommendations

Technical Support Appliance

• IBM owned System x server installed at the customer site

• Agent less discovery technology (TADDM)

• MDC (Microcode Data Collector) and DSA (Dynamic System Agency technology

• Customer probes • Secure data transfer to IBM

Software levels

Microcode levels Contract data

Service data

Global Information Warehouse

Technical Support ApplianceProcess

Technical Support ApplianceOffering comparison

Why are we doing this? !•Base inventory information is key to planning, buying, supporting and maintaining the IT

infrastructure. !

•Be proactive on IBM and non-IBM systems – working to support a clients full IT environment !

•More efficient way to collect inventory across the entire environment, reduce manual efforts with one collection point across multiple machines/networks !

•Establish a technical support analytics engine to automate the discovery of insights and actions !

•Supports a proactive maintenance approach aimed at automation and increased availability

Technical Support ApplianceOffering comparison

Comparison  matrix Technical  Support  Appliance Electronic  Service  Agent IBM  Director

Agent-­‐less  discovery Yes No Some

Mul?ple  IBM  Servers  &  Storage  inventory  gathered Yes No Yes

Multiple non-IBM Servers & Storage inventory gathered Yes   No No

Network  inventory  gathered Yes No Some

OS  details  gathered Yes Yes Yes

Applica?on  details  gathered Yes No No

Problem  informa?on  gathered No Yes Yes

Server  &  Storage  fixlevel  recommenda?ons Yes No No

Report  warranty  /  service  contract  status  on  IBM  systems Yes Some No

Ability  to  transfer  informa?on  back  to  IBM Yes Yes Yes

Generate  reports  on  system  status Yes Yes Yes

Compare  with  TSS  data  for  proac?ve  analy?cs Yes No No

Create  proac?ve  analy?c  reports Yes No No

Technical Support ApplianceSample Reports

• Management summary (PDF) !• Operational detailed Cognos reports - multiple tabbed spreadsheets (Excel) !• Reports include:

–Inventory listing by hardware platform, and operating system –Server and storage upgrade recommendations (OS and firmware) –Contact coverage status

!–Scheduled weekly or monthly or on request via TSS contact

Technical Support ApplianceManagement summary (PDF)

Technical Support ApplianceSample contract status (PDF)

Technical Support ApplianceSample storage summary data (PDF)

Technical Support ApplianceDetailed fix level recommendation extract (Excel)

Platform Model Serial

Serial Number

Installed Version End of Service Status

End of Service Date Upgrade Recommendation

Context IP

Update available

SYSTEM P 7998-60X 656164A EA350_038 Currently Supported Final firmware release; reduced service pack support mode.

EA350_149 9.175.211.225

SYSTEM P 7998-60X 656164A EA350_038 Currently Supported Final firmware release; reduced service pack support mode.

EA350_149 9.175.211.226

SYSTEM P 9117-MMA 65CFE74 EM350_143 Currently Supported Final firmware release; reduced service pack support mode.

EM350_149 9.175.208.50

SYSTEM P 9117-MMA 65CFE74 EM350_143 Currently Supported Final firmware release; reduced service pack support mode.

EM350_149 9.175.211.187

Power System Firmware Level Information

Note: IBM Fix Central URLs provided for download of recommended firmware

Technical Support ApplianceDetailed fix level recommendation extract (Excel)

AIX Level InformationPlatform Model

SerialSerial Number

ID OS Version

Installed Version

End of service status

End of Service Date

Update Recommendation

Update Recommendation

AIX Fix Levels

SYSTEM P 7998-60X 656164A 4 AIX 5300-12-03 Currently Supported

Not Announced 5300-12-08 No Update Recommendation

SYSTEM P 7998-60X 656164A 6 AIX 6100-07-08 Currently Supported

Not Announced No Update Recommendation

6100-09-01

SYSTEM P 9117-MMA 65CFE74 25 AIX 6100-03-03 Currently Supported

2016.11.19 6100-03-10 6100-09-01

SYSTEM P 9117-MMA 65CFE74 15 AIX 6100-07-05 Currently Supported

Not Announced 6100-07-08 6100-09-01

Note: IBM Fix Central URLs provided for download of recommended firmware

Technical Support ApplianceDetailed Storage recommendations extract (Excel)

Manufacturer Model / Product ID

Description Current Firmware Level Minimum Firmware Level

Recommended Firmware Level

IP Address

End of Service reached - replacement recommendedIBM N3700 Other 7.2.6.1 7.3.7P3 7.3.7P3 9.1.141.209,9.1.141.210IBM 2145 SVC 4.3.1.11 7.2.0.003 7.2.0.003 9.1.141.229Below minimum - upgrade to target levelIBM 1742-900 DS 4000 06.12.56.00 06.60.34.00 06.60.34.00 9.1.141.209,9.1.141.210

IBM 1742-900 DS 4000 06.60.22.00 06.60.34.00 06.60.34.00 9.1.141.209,9.1.141.56

IBM 0024980000B24 FiberChannel v6.2.0e v6.4.2a v7.1.1b 9.1.141.82

At a tested level - no change recommendedIBM 2107-932 DS 8000 64.33.20.0 (LIC 5.4.33.44) 64.30.0.0 64.36.89.0 9.175.210.70

IBM 2810-A14 XIV 10.2.4.e 10.2.4.e 10.2.4.e-5 9.1.113.34,9.1.113.35,9.1.113.69

At target level - no chance recommended IBM 1814 3992 DS 4000 07.60.63.00 07.60.63.00 07.60.63.00 9.1.141.95,9.1.141.96

IBM 1742 4884 DS 4000 06.12.56.00 06.12.56.00 06.12.56.00 9.1.141.154,9.1.141.155

IBM 1750-511 DS 6000 5.2.2.572 5.2.2.571 5.2.2.572 9.1.141.106

Storage Firmware Level Recommendation

Note: IBM Fix Central URLs provided for download of recommended firmware

Technical Support ApplianceDetailed Host and Storage Upgrade Plans (extract)

PLAN (mfg-model-serial) Step Label IP Guidance End of Service Date Hours

Update available

IBM-DS 8000-2107-932-75HM430 1 192.128.199.68 Maintain at current level 64.36.48.0 64.36.48.0 (LIC 5.4.36.121) 0

IBM-DS 8000-2107-932-75HM430 1 192.128.199.69 Maintain at current level 64.36.48.0 64.36.48.0 (LIC 5.4.36.121) 0

IBM-SVC-2145-00020063A0ATB9 1 BSSQL01 175.254.95.120, 192.168.1.1.192.128.19.5

Review MPath/SDD level 2.4.3.1 SDD DSM 2.4.3.4-4 2

IBM-SVC-2145-00020063A0ATB9 2 BSSQL01 175.254.95.120, 192.168.1.1.192.128.19.5

Review MPath/SDD level 2.4.2.1 SDD DSM 2.4.3.4-4 2

IBM-SVC-2145-00020063A0ATB9 3 BSSQL01 192.128.175.73, 175.254.95.120

Review MPath/SDD level 2.4.3.1 SDD DSM 2.4.3.4-4 2

IBM-SVC-2145-00020063A0ATB9 4 BSSQL01 192.128.197.41 Review MPath/SDD level 2.4.3.1 SDD DSM 2.4.3.4-4 2

IBM-SVC-2145-00020063A0ATB9 5 192.128.194.18 Upgrade storage firmware 5.1.0.11 6.3.0.7 4

IBM-SVC-2145-00020063A0ATB9 6 192.128.194.18 Upgrade storage firmware 6.3.0.7 6.4.1.7 4

IBM-SVC-2145-00020063A0ATB9 7 192.128.194.18 Upgrade storage firmware 6.4.1.7 7.2.0.3 (build 87.4.14021800)

4

Storage Host Upgrade Recipes

This report is delivered by the IBM Storage Research labs and shows any discovered hosts attached to IBM Storage devices. It prescribes the step by step pre-requisite host adapter upgrades needed to ensure a successful Storage firmware upgrade, thus saving planning time and reducing risk.

Technical Support ApplianceDetailed report extract of Contract status

Platform Model/Product ID

Service Start Date

Service Stop Date From To Hours>90 DAYS Contract CoverageSYSTEM P 7042-CR5 Jan 31,

2014Jan 30, 2017 1050 CET - MCP REMOTE SPT MCRSA for HMC

SYSTEM X 7915-E2G Jan 23, 2013

Mar 7, 2016 721 00A4734 PC1615 3yr IOR 24x7x4hrSYSTEM X 7944-72G May 16,

2012Jun 29, 2015 469 65Y 5215 PC1069 3yr IOR 24x7x4hr

SSG 3584-L53 Jan 1, 2014 Dec 31, 2015 667 HW MAINTENANCE On-site Repair, ORT=SBD, 24x7SSG 2810- Jan 1, 2014 Dec 31, 2015 667 6948J48 - SWMA FOR XIV SWMA for Xiv SoftwareSSG 2810-A14 Jan 1, 2014 Dec 31, 2015 667 HW MAINTENANCE On-site Repair, ORT=SBD, 24x7SYSTEM X 7944-D2G Jan 31,

2014Jan 31, 2014 320 Warranty Service Upgrade 810 8h Committed Fix, 24x7

SYSTEM X 7944-K3G Feb 27, 2012

Feb 26, 2015 346 65Y 5215 PC1069 3YR IOR 24x7x4hr xSSYSTEM X 7979-B9G Feb 1, 2012 Jan 31, 2015 320 HW MAINTENANCE 8h Committed Fix, 24x7WARRANTYSYSTEM X 7915-M2G Apr 30,

2014Jun 13, 2016 819 WARRENTY

SYSTEM X 7915-M2G May 27, 2013

Jul 10, 2016 846 WARRENTYNO CONTRACT IDENTIFIEDSSG 3584-L53 NO CONTRACT IDENTIFIED NO CONTRACT IDENTIFIEDSYSTEM P 8202-E4D NO CONTRACT IDENTIFIED NO CONTRACT IDENTIFIEDSYSTEM X 7945-K3G NO CONTRACT IDENTIFIED NO CONTRACT IDENTIFIED

NB: several additional columns removed for clarity

TSS Contracts Detail

Technical Support ApplianceSummary

• Strategic tool - ongoing development with IBM Research • Support most IT platforms now, with client lead feedback to develop more • Minimal management need, reduces inventory management overhead • Facilitates more accurate and higher-level support coverage for your IT environment • Helps to reduce costly downtime, increase IT availability, boost IT-staff efficiency and prevent future

disruptions • Enables proactive and pre-emptive support which in turn:

-Reduces business risk - Improves availability

NO CHARGE, VALUE ADD SOLUTION