RE: Feuding with IBM over HMC console disconnects

vHMC is a reasonable secondary console, and I don't want to get into the
reasons just yet, except to say that when It's 0 dark 30, and you are trying
to put up the system again, relying on VMWare to be robust at that point
does not make me all that happy.

We have customers with both hardware and virtual HMCs. While less severe on
the vHMC, it does tend to drop the console at random, if not incredibly
inopportune times. So, I don't think that's a solution.

We've done the network troubleshooting and have never captured an event that
explains why the console drops. I am convinced it is a problem in the HMC,
not a networking problem.

--
Jim Oberholtzer
Agile Technology Architects

-----Original Message-----
From: MIDRANGE-L <midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of
friedkiwi@xxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2019 9:59 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: Feuding with IBM over HMC console disconnects

A vHMC could be a solution?

We've successfully used those on our existing vSphere environment, and
accessing the console is trivial.

Wrt dropping, do you have any idea why it happens? You could try reproducing
it with e.g. Wireshark running to capture the network traffic and see what
happens around the time the connection is lost. I've seen e.g. the Cisco
Umbrella enterprise security products interfere with long-running TCP
connections.

/y



From: "Jim Oberholtzer" <midrangel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "'Midrange Systems Technical Discussion'"
<midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: 15/05/2019 15:26
Subject: RE: Feuding with IBM over HMC console disconnects
Sent by: "MIDRANGE-L" <midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>



I've been fighting that same problem for quite some time as well. Maybe
someone will be at POWERUp19 to gang up on? Wait, we run IBM i and don't
count for the folks in Austin.... Snide comments aside, the correct thing
to do is to stop the console from dropping in the first place.

As to the V7R4, only someone with pre-release would be able to answer the
question. Nothing in the MTU or other documentation I've found.


--
Jim Oberholtzer
Agile Technology Architects

-----Original Message-----
From: MIDRANGE-L <midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of
DrFranken
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2019 8:54 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Feuding with IBM over HMC console disconnects

Opened a PMR with IBM about the way the console works on the HMC. 'Back in
the day' there was a session on the HMC somewhere in the background and if
you got disconnected from the HMC that stayed alive. You could then
reconnect. It was awesome. That went away (I think) with version 7.
(Loooong ago.)

This is of course important for long running tasks like system restores,
full saves from the consoles, PTFs perhaps, things like that.

The 'work around' is to keep a shared console open 'somewhere else'
preferably 'very close' to the HMC so that disconnects are unlikely.
You could do so at the HMC itself of course but that requires the ability to
put the old Mark I eyeball on the HMC. Yes the BMC connection on the 7063
HMC being supported allows this to be done remotely but most customers don't
configure that and even if they do they don't know the user/password for the
thing.

IBM say: "But we gave you console takeover, you're good if you remember to
turn that on!"

*I* say: "But if I get that screen and my password is expired I'm toast."

IBM say: "Correct."

Anyone know if i 7.4 lets you change your password at the takeover screen?

Any other ideas?