Battery Cache – health check (EN)

How to check the health of the battery cache

To ensure optimal performance status, check the state of the cache batteries. When these batteries are unloaded, there is a significant decrease in performance as RAID protection caching is disabled.

Generally these batteries have a lifespan of almost 3 years. The operating system begins to warn that the batteries will need to be replaced about after 2.33 years of life.

Message codes sent by the system to alert you to battery issues: CPPEA13

With the WRKDSKSTS command (and then press F11) you can view the status of RAID protection: a DEGRADED or DIMINISHT state means that the cache batteries are unloaded.

Warning: WRKDSKSTS cannot see the status of batteries for mirrored protected disks.

Since the V5R4 version IBM has made available (through the release of a specific PTF) a 5250 callable API that displays information about the health of batteries, without the need to use System Service Tools (SST):CALL QSYS/QSMBTTCC

This API produces a printout that is displayed on screen with all the information.

Check the “Estimated time to warning” and “Estimate time to error” parameters.

To use this API, the user must have the special permission of the service trace function (QIBM_SERVICE_TRACE).

PTF reference for V5R4 to 7.1 releases:

• V5R4: SI40403
• 6.1: SI40404 (or cumulative C1102610)
• 7.1: SI40406 (or cumulative C1116710)

Warning: new batteries are usually delivered with a low or completely no charge level; so as soon as they are replaced it takes a certain number of hours (up to 5-6 hours) before the batteries are charged. This means that despite the new (but unloaded) batteries, RAID caching is disabled.

Check battery status with SST

Open SST with the STRSST command and log on with User QSECOFR.

Choose option 1 “Start a service tool”. Then choose option 1 “Product activity log”. Then option 1 “Analyze log”.

On the selection screen, choose ‘1 All logs’; date range to include the last IPL. In the second panel, choose ‘Y’ for the ‘Statistic’ parameter and type as reference code ‘8008 8009’

An SRC code ending with 8009 indicates that the batteries are about to run out, but if it ends with 8008, it means that the batteries are already running low.

You can also check the status of your batteries through “Hardware Service Manager“.

Also from the SST start menu choose option 1 “Start a service tool”. Then choose option 7 “Hardware service manager”. Then option 9 “Work with recources containing cache battery packs” and then option 5 “Display battery information”. In the information screen, check the parameters “Estimated time to warning” and “Estimate time to error”.

Bibliography

• Checking Cache Battery Status Without STRSST by Joe Key, 28-set-2011: http://www.itjungle.com/fhg/fhg092811-story03.html
• Carsten’s Corner: PTFs and New Command Enable Display of IOA Cache Battery Status by Carsten Flensburg, 3-Aug-2011: http://iprodeveloper.com/systems-management/carstens-corner-ptfs-and-new-command-enable-display-ioa-cache-battery-status
• OSHA Changes To IBM Battery Handling Affect Battery Replacement by Joe Hey, 19-set-2012: http://www.itjungle.com/fhg/fhg091912-story02.html
• Expect Delays When Changing IBM i Disk Cache Batteries by Joe Hertvik: http://joehertvik.com/ibm-disk-cache-batteries-caught-wild-slow-mighty-charging/#!
• Troubleshooting Degraded Write Cache Batteries by IBM i Global Support Center, 19-Jul-2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K195Kdqppe0&feature=youtu.be

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