IBM Support Assistant User Guide

Service Component

Details


Collecting Data from Your System


The Collector tool is preconfigured to locate important problem determination data on your computer system and copy it into a Collector output file. An example of this data is a log file generated by your IBM product and stored in a special directory, such as tmp3/logs, within your workspace. An inventory file shipped with the Collector tool tells the Collector what data to collect and where to find it.

Investigation of software questions often requires detailed analysis of log files and other data that can indicate the status and health of your software product. As IBM support analysts investigate your software question, they may need you to send them specific files from your system. By collecting important system data at the time you submit your software question, you enable IBM to answer your question more quickly.

Collector output files remain on your system for reference and can be deleted as necessary.
Here are examples of system data useful for investigating software questions about IBM products:


When the Collector tool has finished running, a message appears indicating successful completion. In case the collector cannot run successfully, details about the cause of the failure are logged in the collector.log file in the workspace .metadata subdirectory.

Collector Tool Input Fields


In order for the Collector tool to collect system data and store it in an output file, you must provide information about the product or products for which you gather system data.

The installation and workspace directories refer to the file system locations where your IBM product is installed and where the product workspace is located.

The Collector tool input fields are mandatory.

Depending on what IBM products or plugins you have installed and registered with the IBM Support Assistant, you may see other Collector options on this page for each of these products or plugins.

If you invoke the Collector with more than one product selected, then the Collector output file will contain an output JAR file for each product that you selected.

The Collector generates the output file in the workspace .metadata subdirectory. The name of the collector output file is collector_<timestamp>.jar, where timestamp is the system time when the collector was invoked.

The Collector tool also uses the workspace .metadata subdirectory as a work area where it creates temporary files while it is creating the Collector output file. The Collector will delete the temporary files when it is finished.

Creating and Submitting a Service Request


The Submit Service Request task is a link that accesses the IBM Software Support Web site, where you can manage electronic service requests. At this Web site you have the ability to create and submit a service request. You can also view any service requests you have already submitted. When you arrive at this Web site, click on ESR.

The following requirements apply in order for you to submit an electronic service request:
If you are unsure about meeting these requirements, please review the information available on this Web site. You can also send a question to IBM Support using the email form on this Web site.

ESR is the IBM name for the software that lets you submit an electronic service request.

After you submit a service request, be sure to write down the PMR Number that appears onscreen. You will need this when you send the Collector output file in the next step so IBM Support can associate your file with your service request.

To view a demonstration showing how to create and update a service request electronically and how to use other Web site features, click on the question mark that appears next to the Submit Service Request button.

Sending the Collector Output File


Before you can send your Collector output file to IBM you must indicate where you are located so that the Service component can transmit the file to the correct IBM destination. You also need to enter the name and location of the file that you wish to send. By default this is the Collector output file. Please provide the PMR Number that was created when you submitted the service request. Finally, select the name of the IBM product that you opened the PMR against from the drop-down menu under Select Product.

The location, output file name, and PMR Number are mandatory.

Sending a Collector output file to IBM requires use of the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). If your organization does not support this protocol, you should contact IBM Support to inquire about other means of transporting this file to IBM.

When the Service component finishes sending the Collector output file to IBM, a message appears indicating successful completion.


Glossary


Authorized Caller
A person in your organization who is authorized to submit or view PMRs using the ESR tool.

Collector inventory file
A text file containing requests to be executed by the Collector tool. Examples include:


Note that the Collector inventory file is an input file that instructs the Collector about what data to collect from your system. Data gathered by the Collector is written to the Collector output file.

Electronic Service Request (ESR) tool
The IBM Software Support online system for Passport Advantage, Passport Advantage Express, Lotus Premium, Tivoli, and Rational support customers to submit and track service requests about software distributed under an IBM software maintenance contract.

IBM Passport Advantage
IBM's software support strategy that includes upgrade protection and online technical support as part of the license acquisition for distributed software products.

Output directory
This identifies the directory where you wish the collector output file to be stored. The default value is the CollectorOutput directory in the system temp directory.

Output file name
This is the name of the Collector output file that contains selected system data. This file name must end in .jar and must not contain the absolute or relative path of the file. The absolute path of the Collector output file is the value of the output directory field. For example, collector.jar is a valid Collector output file name, but C:\Temp\collector.jar or Temp\collector.jar is not. The default output file name is collector.jar.

Problem Management Record (PMR)
A PMR is created when a customer submits a service request to fix a software problem or answer a software question. A PMR Number is assigned to track the request.

Site Technical Contact (STC)
This is the person in your company who is responsible for maintaining the list of Authorized Callers in ESR for your company.

Temporary directory
This directory stores temporary data needed by the Collector while it is running. Data written here will be removed after the Collector runs. The default value is the system temp directory.

Workspace location
This is the file system path indicating the location of the product workspace from which data is collected. The default value is the workspace that is used for this session.