About the Remote LAN Module (RLM)

What the RLM is

The RLM is a remote management card that can be installed inFAS3000 series storage systems to provide remote platform management capabilities, including remote access, monitoring, troubleshooting, logging and alerting features.

The RLM stays operational regardless of the operating state of the storage system. It is powered by a standby voltage, which is available as long as the storage system has input power to at least one of the storage system's power supplies.

The FAS3000 series storage systems provide an Ethernet interface for connecting to the RLM. If the RLM is not pre-installed in your storage system, see the Installing or Replacing a Remote LAN Module flyer for instructions on how to cable your storage system to the RLM. The flyer is shipped with the RLM and is also available on the NOW Web site at http://now.netapp.com/.

The following diagram illustrates how you can access the storage system and the RLM.

Without the RLM, you can locally access the storage system through the serial console or from an Ethernet connection using any supported network interface. You use the Data ONTAP CLI to administer the storage system.
With the RLM, you can remotely access the storage system through the serial console. The RLM is directly connected to the storage system through the serial console. You use the Data ONTAP CLI to administer the storage system and the RLM.
With the RLM, you can also access the storage system through an Ethernet connection using a secure shell client application. You use the RLM CLI to monitor and troubleshoot the storage system.

If you have a data center configuration where management traffic and data traffic are on separate networks, you can configure the RLM on the management network.

Note
In compliance with the GNU General Public License (GPL), Version 2, June 1991, a complete machine-readable copy of the source code for the relevant source code portions of the Remote LAN Module (RLM) Firmware that are covered by the GPL is available from http://now.netapp.com.

What the RLM does

The RLM provides the following remote management capabilities for the storage system. You use the RLM command line interface (CLI) commands to

Remotely administer the storage system using the Data ONTAP CLI by using the RLM's system console redirection feature
Remotely access the storage system and diagnose error conditions, even if the storage system has failed, by performing the following tasks:
- View the storage system console messages, captured in the RLM's console log
- View storage system events, captured in RLM's System Event Log
- Initiate a storage system core dump
- Power-cycle the storage system (or turn it on or off)
- Reset the storage system
- Reboot the storage system
For more information, see Troubleshooting the storage system with the RLM.

The RLM extends AutoSupport capabilities by sending alerts or "down system" notification via an AutoSupport message when the storage system goes down, regardless of whether the storage system can send AutoSupport messages. For information about AutoSupport, see Chapter 8, Using AutoSupport.