Diagnosing Problems

  1. Connection Problem diagnostics
  2. Working with Log Files

Connection Problem Diagnostics

Follow the steps below to diagnose problems while establishing connection to a PD Tools Common Server.

  1. Specify a new connection in the Host Connections view
    Specify new connection in Host Connections View
    Host Connections View
  2. Open Problem Determination Tools preference page in the Eclipse preferences (Window..., then Preferences).
    PD Tools Common Client Preference Page
    PD Tools common client preference page view
  3. Select a system to diagnose any problems in the list of connections in the Problem Diagnosis section.
  4. Click on the test button to perform the problem diagnosis.
  5. The tool returns problem diagnostic information in a dialog.
    Success DialogFailure Dialog
    Connection Success dialog Connection failure dialog

Once you have the dialog, especially the dialog with error(s), you can examine the returned messages to diagnose the problem.

Diagnostic Information Action
'***** ERROR *****' Marks the beginning of error(s) discovered during the problem diagnosis. Read the following message to understand the problem(s). For example, the error dialog above reports an error related to an invalid port number. You need to verify that the port number is valid for the PD Tools common server with your system administrator.
The diagnostic tool Hangs If the client is hanging after clicking on the test connection button, click on the cancel button and read the problem diagnostic information returned in the dialog. You have most likely specified a port number which is used by another product.
Failure to launch an extension The PD Tools common server is extensible with additional configuration files. For example, it can be extended to handle Fault Analyzer for z/OS and File Manager for z/OS plug-ins by configuring the extensions. If you are unable to use one of the PD Tools plug-ins, it is quite possible that the server extensions are not installed/configured on your server. To check what extensions are configured to the server, look for a message Getting the information about extensions installed on the server. Extensions: in the problem diagnostic text. You will find a list of server extensions that are known to the server. Look for the extension configuration names below:
  • FA: Fault Analyzer for z/OS extension
  • FM: File Manager for z/OS extension
  • DT: Debug Tool for z/OS DTSP extension
  • WSIM: Workload Simulator for z/OS and OS/390 extension
Known server extensions
Known server extensions reported

In the example above, FA and FM extensions are installed along with DEFAULT (a must have configuration file) and VRFY (pre-configured extension for enabling the problem diagnosis).

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Working with Log Files

You can view the local log file contents by pressing the "View Log" button. You can also clear the contents of the local log file by pressing the "Clear Log" button.

The log file contents are only useful when diagnosing problems with the IBM support team. When requested, follow the steps required to capture the debugging information:

  1. Select Run the server in debug mode option.
  2. Clear the local log file contents by pressing Clear Log button.
  3. Execute the sequence of actions to reproduce the problem.
  4. View the log file by pressing View Log button and send the contents to the IBM support team.
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