Alert protocol for indicating a failure condition in a distributed system

An apparatus for alerting a system administrator of a failure condition within a distributed system comprising a chassis, a management module, and at least one device installed in the chassis, the apparatus comprising:

• a device within the chassis for which a failure condition can be identified;
• the device further configured to determine whether the device requires removal from the chassis based on the failure condition;
• a first visual fault indicator associated with the device and configured to assume a first illuminated state in the event the device requires removal;
• the first visual fault indicator associated with the device further configured to assume a second illuminated state, different from the first illuminated state, in the event the device does not require removal;
• and
• a second visual fault indicator associated with the chassis configured to assume a third illuminated state in the event the device requires removal and communication exists between the device and the management module.

A computer-program product for alerting a system administrator of a failure condition within a distributed system comprising a chassis, a management module, and at least one device installed in the chassis, the computer-program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code stored therein, the computer-readable program code comprising:

• computer-readable code to identify whether a device within the chassis has encountered a failure condition;
• computer-readable code to determine whether the device requires removal from the chassis based on the failure condition;
• computer-readable code to cause a first visual fault indicator associated with the device to assume a first illuminated state in the event the device requires removal;
• computer-readable code to cause the first visual fault indicator associated with the device to assume a second illuminated state, different from the first illuminated state, in the event the device does not require removal;
• and
• computer-readable code to cause, if communication exists between the device and the management module, a second visual fault indicator associated with the chassis to assume a third illuminated state in the event the device requires removal.