7.1 About Diagnostic Tools

The system provides both firmware-based and software-based diagnostic tools to help you identify and isolate hardware problems. These tools include:

• Power-on self-test (POST) diagnostics

• OpenBoot Diagnostics (OBDiag)

• SunVTS(TM) software

• Sun Enterprise SyMON(TM) software

POST diagnostics verify the core functionality of the system, including the main logic board, system memory, and any on-board I/O devices. You can run POST even if the system is unable to boot. For more information about POST, see "7.2 About Power-On Self-Test (POST) Diagnostics".

OBDiag tests focus on system I/O and peripheral devices. Like POST, you can run OBDiag even if the system is unable to boot. For more information about OBDiag, see "7.5 About OpenBoot Diagnostics (OBDiag)".

The SunVTS system exerciser is a graphics-oriented UNIX application that permits the continuous exercising of system resources and internal and external peripheral equipment. For more information about SunVTS, see "7.8 About SunVTS Software".

UNIX-based Sun Enterprise SyMON allows you to monitor the system hardware status and operating system performance of your server. For information about SyMON, see "7.11 About Sun Enterprise SyMON Software".

Which method or tool you use to diagnose system problems depends on the nature of those problems:

• If your machine is not able to boot its operating system software, you need to run POST and OBDiag tests.

• If your machine is "healthy" enough to start up and load its operating system software, you can use Sun Enterprise SyMON software and SunVTS software to diagnose system problems.

The following chart provides an overview of when to use the various diagnostic tools to diagnose hardware problems.