Configuring Call Home

This chapter includes the following sections:

Call Home Policies

Cisco UCS Central supports global call home policies for notifying all email recipients defined in call home profiles to specific Cisco UCS Central events. Profiles define lists of email recipients that receive alert notifications (to a maximum defined message size in full text, short text, or XML format) and alert criteria for triggering notifications.

Alert notifications are sent with predefined content based on alert levels (including major, minor, normal, notification and warning) and selected alert groups identifying events that trigger notification (such as diagnostic, environmental, inventory, license and other predefined events). Individual email recipients may be individually added to existing profiles.

Configuring a Call Home Policy

A call home policy is created from a domain group under the domain group root. Call home policies under the Domain Groups root were already created by the system and ready to configure.

Procedure
    Step 1   On the menu bar, click Operations Management.
    Step 2   In the Navigation pane, expand Domain Groups > Domain Group root.
    Step 3   In the Navigation pane, click Operational Policies.
    Step 4   In the Work pane, click CallHome.
    Step 5   (Optional)In the Actions area, click Create.

    Call home policies under the domain groups root were created by the system and ready to configure by default
    Step 6   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
    Step 7   In the Actions area, complete all applicable fields.
    Name Description

    Create button

    Creates an instance of the policy that will be used by all Cisco UCS domains included in the selected domain group.

    Import button

    Allows you to import the policy from one of the Cisco UCS domains registered with Cisco UCS Central.

    Delete button

    Deletes the instance of the policy defined for the selected domain group.

    After you delete the policy, it remains greyed-out until you click Save. When you do so, Cisco UCS Central deletes the policy and any configuration data you may have specified. While you can create a new instance of the policy later, you cannot restore the configuration data from a deleted instance.

    To cancel the delete request, click Reset.

    State field

    Whether Call Home is used for the Cisco UCS domains included in the Cisco UCS Central domain group. This can be one of the following:

    • Off—Call Home is not used for the Cisco UCS domains.
    • On—Cisco UCS generates Call Home alerts based on the Call Home policies and profiles defined in the domain group.
    Note   

    If this field is set to On, Cisco UCS Central GUI displays the rest of the fields on this tab.

    Throttling field

    Whether the system limits the number of duplicate messages received for the same event. This can be one of the following:

    • On—If the number of duplicate messages sent exceeds 30 messages within a 2-hour time frame, then the system discards further messages for that alert type.
    • Off—The system sends all duplicate messages, regardless of how many are encountered.

    Phone field

    The telephone number for the main contact.

    Enter the number in international format, starting with a + (plus sign) and a country code. You can use hyphens but not parentheses.

    Email field

    The email address for the main contact.

    Cisco Smart Call Home sends the registration email to this email address.

    Note   

    If an email address includes special characters, such as # (hash), spaces, or & (ampersand), the email server may not be able to deliver email messages to that address. Cisco recommends that you use email addresses which comply with RFC2821 and RFC2822 and include only 7bit ASCII characters.

    Address field

    The mailing address for the main contact.

    Enter up to 255 ASCII characters.

    From field

    The email address that should appear in the From field on Call Home alert messages sent by the system.

    Reply To field

    The return email address that should appear in the From field on Call Home alert messages sent by the system.

    Switch Priority drop-down list

    This can be one of the following:

    • Alerts
    • Critical
    • Debugging
    • Emergencies
    • Errors
    • Information
    • Notifications
    • Warnings

    Hostname field

    The IP address or hostname of the SMTP server.

    Note   

    If you use a hostname rather than an IP address, you must configure a DNS server. If the Cisco UCS domain is not registered with Cisco UCS Central or DNS management is set to local, configure a DNS server in Cisco UCS Manager. If the Cisco UCS domain is registered with Cisco UCS Central and DNS management is set to global, configure a DNS server in Cisco UCS Central.

    Port field

    The port number the system should use to talk to the SMTP server.

    Enter an integer between 1 and 65535. The default is 25.

    Customer ID field

    The CCO ID that includes the contract numbers for the support contract in its entitlements.

    Enter up to 510 ASCII characters.

    Contract ID field

    The Call Home contract number for the customer.

    Enter up to 510 ASCII characters.

    Site field

    The unique Call Home identification number for the customer site.

    Enter up to 510 ASCII characters.
    Step 8   In the Work pane, click the Profiles tab.
    Step 9   In the Actions area, complete all applicable fields.
    Name Description

    Create button

    Creates an instance of the policy that will be used by all Cisco UCS domains included in the selected domain group.

    Import button

    Allows you to import the policy from one of the Cisco UCS domains registered with Cisco UCS Central.

    Delete button

    Deletes the instance of the policy defined for the selected domain group.

    After you delete the policy, it remains greyed-out until you click Save. When you do so, Cisco UCS Central deletes the policy and any configuration data you may have specified. While you can create a new instance of the policy later, you cannot restore the configuration data from a deleted instance.

    To cancel the delete request, click Reset.

    Filter button

    Allows you to filter the data in the table. When you apply a filter, this button name changes to Filter (on).

    Create Profile button

    Allows you to create a Call Home profile.

    Add Email Recipient button

    Allows you to add an email recipient to an existing Call Home profile.

    Properties button

    Displays detailed properties for the object selected in the table.

    Delete button

    Deletes the object selected in the table.

    Name column

    The name of the Call Home profile.

    Level column

    The lowest fault level that triggers the profile.

    Cisco UCS generates a Call Home alert for every fault that is at or above this level.

    Alert Groups column

    The group or groups that are alerted based on this Call Home profile.

    Step 10   In the Work pane, click the Policies tab.
    Step 11   In the Actions area, complete all applicable fields.
    Name Description

    Create button

    Creates an instance of the policy that will be used by all Cisco UCS domains included in the selected domain group.

    Import button

    Allows you to import the policy from one of the Cisco UCS domains registered with Cisco UCS Central.

    Delete button

    Deletes the instance of the policy defined for the selected domain group.

    After you delete the policy, it remains greyed-out until you click Save. When you do so, Cisco UCS Central deletes the policy and any configuration data you may have specified. While you can create a new instance of the policy later, you cannot restore the configuration data from a deleted instance.

    To cancel the delete request, click Reset.

    Filter button

    Allows you to filter the data in the table. When you apply a filter, this button name changes to Filter (on).

    Create Policy button

    Allows you to create a new Call Home policy.

    Properties button

    Displays detailed properties for the object selected in the table.

    Delete button

    Deletes the object selected in the table.

    Cause column

    The event that triggers the alert. Each policy defines whether an alert is sent for one type of event.

    Call Home Policy State column

    If this is enabled, Cisco UCS uses this policy when an error matching the associated cause is encountered. Otherwise, Cisco UCS ignores this policy even if a matching error occurs.

    By default, all policies are enabled.
    Step 12   In the Work pane, click the System Inventory tab.
    Step 13   In the Actions area, complete all applicable fields.
    Name Description

    Create button

    Creates an instance of the policy that will be used by all Cisco UCS domains included in the selected domain group.

    Import button

    Allows you to import the policy from one of the Cisco UCS domains registered with Cisco UCS Central.

    Delete button

    Deletes the instance of the policy defined for the selected domain group.

    After you delete the policy, it remains greyed-out until you click Save. When you do so, Cisco UCS Central deletes the policy and any configuration data you may have specified. While you can create a new instance of the policy later, you cannot restore the configuration data from a deleted instance.

    To cancel the delete request, click Reset.

    Send Periodically field

    If this field is set to on, Cisco UCS sends the system inventory to the Call Home database. When the information is sent depends on the other fields in this area.

    Send Interval field

    The number of days that should pass between automatic system inventory data collection.

    Enter an integer between 1 and 30.

    Hour of Day to Send field

    The hour that the data should be sent using the 24-hour clock format.

    Minute of Hour to Send field

    The number of minutes after the hour that the data should be sent.

    Step 14   Click Save.

    Deleting a Call Home Policy

    A call home policy is deleted from a domain group under the domain group root. Call home policies under the domain groups root cannot be deleted.

    Deleting a call home policy will remove all profiles, policies and system inventory settings within that policy.

    Procedure
      Step 1   On the menu bar, click Operations Management.
      Step 2   In the Navigation pane, expand Domain Groups > Domain Group root.
      Step 3   In the Navigation pane, click Operational Policies.
      Step 4   In the Work pane, click CallHome.
      Step 5   In the Actions area, click Delete.

      A policy that is deleted will inherit its settings from its domain group's parent until it is reconfigured.
      Step 6   Click Save.

      Configuring a Profile for a Call Home Policy

      Before You Begin

      Before configuring a profile for a call home policy in a domain group under the Domain Group root, this profile and policy must first be created.

      Procedure
        Step 1   On the menu bar, click Operations Management.
        Step 2   In the Navigation pane, expand Domain Groups > Domain Group root.
        Step 3   Under the Domain Groups root node, do one of the following choices:
        • To configure the policy in the domain group root, click Operational Policies.
        • To configure the policy in a specific domain group, expand the node for that domain group and click Operational Policies.
        Step 4   In the Work pane, click CallHome.
        Step 5   In the Work pane, click the Profiles tab.
        Step 6   In the Actions area, click Create Profile and complete all applicable fields.
        1. In the Create Profile dialog, click and complete the following fields:
          Name Description

          Name field

          The user-defined name for this profile.

          Level field

          The lowest fault level that triggers the profile. Cisco UCS generates a Call Home alert for each fault that is at or above this level.

          This can be one of the following:

          • critical
          • debug
          • disaster
          • fatal
          • major
          • minor
          • normal
          • notification
          • warning
        2. In the Alert Groups area, complete the following fields:
          Name Description

          Alert Groups field

          The group or groups that are alerted based on this Call Home profile. This can be one or more of the following:

          • ciscoTac
          • diagnostic
          • environmental
          • inventory
          • license
          • lifeCycle
          • linecard
          • supervisor
          • syslogPort
          • system
          • test
        3. In the Email Configuration area, complete the following fields:
          Name Description

          Format field

          This can be one of the following:

          • xml—A machine readable format that uses Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Adaptive Messaging Language (AML) XML schema definition (XSD). This format enables communication with the Cisco Systems Technical Assistance Center.
          • fullTxt—A fully formatted message with detailed information that is suitable for human reading.
          • shortTxt—A one or two line description of the fault that is suitable for pagers or printed reports.

          Max Message Size field

          The maximum message size that is sent to the designated Call Home recipients.

          Enter an integer between 1 and 5000000. The default is 5000000.

          For full text and XML messages, the maximum recommended size is 5000000. For short text messages, the maximum recommended size is 100000. For the Cisco TAC alert group, the maximum message size must be 5000000.
        4. In the Email Recipients area, complete the following fields:
          Name Description

          Filter button

          Allows you to filter the data in the table. When you apply a filter, this button name changes to Filter (on).

          Add Email Recipients button

          Allows you to add an email recipient.

          Properties button

          Displays detailed properties for the object selected in the table.

          Delete button

          Deletes the object selected in the table.

          Email column

          The email address of the recipient.

        5. Click OK.
        Step 7   Click Save.

        Adding Email Recipients to a Call Home Profile

        Before You Begin

        Before adding email recipients to a profile for a call home policy, this profile must first be created.

        Procedure
          Step 1   On the menu bar, click Operations Management.
          Step 2   In the Navigation pane, expand Domain Groups > Domain Group root.
          Step 3   Under the Domain Groups root node, do one of the following choices:
          • To configure the policy in the domain group root, click Operational Policies.
          • To configure the policy in a specific domain group, expand the node for that domain group and click Operational Policies.
          Step 4   In the Work pane, click CallHome.
          Step 5   In the Work pane, click the Profiles tab.
          Step 6   In the Work pane, click an existing profile for adding the email recipient.
          Step 7   In the Action are, click Add Email Recipients.
          Step 8   In the Add Email Recipients dialog box, enter an email address for the recipient.
          Step 9   Click OK.
          Step 10   Click Save.

          Deleting a Profile for a Call Home Policy

          Procedure
            Step 1   On the menu bar, click Operations Management.
            Step 2   In the Navigation pane, expand Domain Groups > Domain Group root.
            Step 3   Under the Domain Groups root node, do one of the following choices:
            • To configure the policy in the domain group root, click Operational Policies.
            • To configure the policy in a specific domain group, expand the node for that domain group and click Operational Policies.
            Step 4   In the Work pane, click CallHome.
            Step 5   In the Actions area, click the profile in call home you want to delete.

            You can also right-click the profile in call home you want to delete to access that option. A profile that is deleted will inherit its settings from its domain group's parent until it is reconfigured.

            Step 6   In the Actions area, click Delete.

            Deleting a profile for a call home policy will delete all email recipients and other settings defined for that profile.
            Step 7   If Cisco UCS Central GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

            Configuring a Policy for a Call Home Policy

            Before You Begin

            Before configuring a policy for a call home policy under a domain group, this policy must first be created. Policies for call home policies under the Domain Groups root were already created by the system and ready to configure.

            Procedure
              Step 1   On the menu bar, click Operations Management.
              Step 2   In the Navigation pane, expand Domain Groups > Domain Group root.
              Step 3   Under the Domain Groups root node, do one of the following choices:
              • To configure the policy in the domain group root, click Operational Policies.
              • To configure the policy in a specific domain group, expand the node for that domain group and click Operational Policies.
              Step 4   In the Work pane, click CallHome.
              Step 5   In the Work pane, click the Policies tab.
              Step 6   In the Actions area, click Create Policy and complete all applicable fields.
              1. In the Create Policy dialog, click and complete the following fields:
                Name Description

                State field

                If this is enabled, Cisco UCS uses this policy when an error matching the associated cause is encountered. Otherwise, Cisco UCS ignores this policy even if a matching error occurs.

                By default, all policies are enabled.

                Cause field

                The event that triggers the alert. Each policy defines whether an alert is sent for one type of event.

                You cannot change the cause after the policy has been saved.
              2. Click OK.
              Step 7   Click Save.

              Deleting a Policy for a Call Home Policy

              Procedure
                Step 1   On the menu bar, click Operations Management.
                Step 2   In the Navigation pane, expand Domain Groups > Domain Group root.
                Step 3   Under the Domain Groups root node, do one of the following choices:
                • To configure the policy in the domain group root, click Operational Policies.
                • To configure the policy in a specific domain group, expand the node for that domain group and click Operational Policies.
                Step 4   In the Navigation pane, click Operational Policies.
                Step 5   In the Work pane, click CallHome.
                Step 6   In the Actions area, click the policy in call home you want to delete.

                You can also right-click the policy in call home you want to delete to access that option. A policy that is deleted will inherit its settings from its domain group's parent until it is reconfigured.

                Step 7   If Cisco UCS Central GUI displays a confirmation dialog box, click Yes.