16.3. Automatic Server Recovery

Automatic Server Recovery (ASR) is a feature that causes the server to restart when a catastrophic operating system error occurs, such as a blue-screen, ABEND (abnormal end), or panic. A system fail-safe timer, the ASR timer, starts when the System Management driver, also known as the health driver, is loaded.

After the HP Server Health Driver is loaded, it sets the ASR timer to the ASR timeout value. (The default is 10 minutes, but can be changed in the ROM-Based Setup Utility [RBSU].) If the timer is not reset within this specified time, it is presumed that an operating system fault has occurred. After the timer has expired, it will trigger an interrupt, which initiates a system reboot.

The HP Server Health Driver also monitors the system temperature and the system fans. If a fan fails or the temperature of the system exceeds the caution level, the operating system invokes an auto-shutdown sequence to prevent data loss.

If the driver is not loaded, or the thermal shutdown has been disabled in the RBSU, the power will be immediately switched off without a proper shutdown of the operating system to avoid hardware damage.