External vs. Internal Faults

When a system component experiences a hardware failure, it is called an internal fault; that is, the fault is the result of a problem with the hardware of the Sun Blade 8000 Series itself. Internal faults are cleared when a repair action takes place, most likely the replacement of the failed component.

There are some faults, however, that are external faults. In these cases, there is no failed system hardware, but a condition external to the system is causing a potential problem. If, for example, the ambient air temperature (external to the chassis) exceeds a certain threshold it is a fault because it can adversely affect the operation of the system if not corrected. External faults are auto-clearing: they are cleared when the external condition no longer exists. Nonetheless, an external fault can, if not attended to, cause components or the system as a whole to shut down.

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