Abstract: A hydration system for a fuel cell includes a fluid flow plate having an inlet fluid opening for receiving a hydration fluid, a plurality of reactant flow channels defined in the fluid flow plate, at least one land interposed between the flow channels, and at least one hole defined in and extending through the land. The hole may be fluidly connected to the inlet fluid opening, thereby allowing a portion of the fluid to aid in hydration of a membrane of the fuel cell. A hydration channel also formed in the land may extend from an outlet of the hole to further aid membrane hydration.

Abstract: An error message is generated by a hardware element of a distributed computer system, when an error is detected. The error message is then forwarded from the hardware element to one or more designated processing nodes of the distributed computer system. The hardware element includes, for instance, a switch element or a communications adapter adapted to report detected errors.