Collect troubleshooting data for the CICS Explorer when the UI is not available or not usable

• High CPU
• Loop
• Hang
• Wait
• Non responsive
• Failure to initialize

Collect this MustGather data before contacting IBM Support:

• Collecting general information for all problems
• Collecting data for CICS Explorer when the UI is not available or not usable
• Troubleshooting hints and tips
• Exchanging data with IBM Support


• Collect troubleshooting data for CICS products - Read first

Collecting general information for all problems

If you have already contacted IBM Support, you can continue on to the component-specific MustGather information. Otherwise, go to Collect troubleshooting data for CICS products - Read first.

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Collecting data for the CICS Explorer when the UI is not available or not usable

Gather the following documentation if startup of the CICS Explorer fails, it appears to be hanging, or is not responding before calling IBM support:

Required (MustGather) data:

• If the UI actually came up, images of the CICS Explorer screen are useful. Do the following to create the screen shots as image files (bmp or jpg):
  
  On Windows:
  1. Use the print screen or alt-print screen keys to create an image on the system clipboard.
     
     
  2. Open a graphics application (for example, Microsoft Paint) and select Edit > Paste to copy the clipboard into the application.
     
     
  3. Select File > Save as to create the file as a bmp or jpg.
  
  On Linux, the procedure might be simpler depending on the desktop and packages you are using. The print screen or alt-print screen keys typically bring up an application window that directly asks you where to save a file. In other cases, you might need to use steps similar to those provided for Windows.

• If the CICS Explorer user interface is usable, use the CICS Explorer integrated capability to create a zip file containing service data:
  1. Select Explorer > Trace > Collect Service Data from the CICS Explorer menu.
     
     
  2. Select where to save the zip file.
  
  This procedure is explained in detail in the CICS Explorer Help under "Preparing error data for IBM service".

• If the CICS Explorer user interface is not usable, collect the logs and other CICS Explorer working files (such as settings) from one of the following directories. Use an archiving utility (a program that creates a zip, rar, tar, or tar.gz file) to collect directory content.
  • If you are using the default on Windows:
    C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\.cicsexplorer
    
    
  • If you are using the default on Linux:
    /home/<username>/.cicsexplorer
    
    
  • If you are using an alternate workspace, as described in the help Starting multiple instances of CICS Explorer, use that location.
  
  Archiving utilities that you can use to collect the directory content:
  • Windows compressed folders. When you move a file or a folder to a compressed folder, that file is automatically compressed. A file that is moved from a compressed folder is automatically uncompressed.
    
    
  • Linux tar command which is available on most UNIX machines.
    
    
  • Third party tools like WinZip or WinRAR.
    
    

Optional (MustGather) data:

• If the UI is up but hanging and unresponsive, a Java Thread Dump might be useful.
  
  On Linux:
  1. Find out the process id of the CICS Explorer, using any system tool. For example, from a shell (command line) enter:
     $ ps -ef | grep cicsexplorer
     
     
  2. From a shell, invoke kill -QUIT <process_id> and a file named javacore.YYYYMMDD.<other>.txt will be created in the the CICS Explorer directory.
  
  On Windows:
  1. The CICS Explorer must have been started with the "-consolelog" parameter which in addition to the graphical UI window also opens a shell (command line) window only for output.
     
     
  2. If a dump was not taken, enter the key combination CTRL-BREAK from that command line window to request a dump.
     
     
  3. From the consolelog window, you will see a message like the following that includes the location and name of the dump that you should send to IBM:
     JVMDUMP010I Java dump written to C:\...\CICS Explorer\javacore.20090610.092732.6908.0001.txt.

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Troubleshooting hints and tips

Diagnostic tips:

• Search the CICS support site for known problems using symptoms like the message number and error codes.
• Search the CICS Explorer Help. This is where you will find CICS Explorer messages. They are not document in the CICS information center.
• If you find a fix, see Service process for the IBM CICS Explorer for the options that are available for ordering Explorer maintenance.
• Gather the documentation and work with the CICS support team to resolve your problem.
  
  

Learn more about the CICS Explorer:

• Overview of the IBM CICS Explorer
• CICS Explorer technical exchanges

Exchanging data with IBM Support

1. See Exchanging information with IBM Technical Support for FTP and email instructions using the IBM Enhanced Customer Data Repository (ECuRep).
   
2. Go to the Service Request page to open or update a problem. If you have a SoftwareXcel enterprise edition for zSeries contract, you can also ask a non-defect installation and usage questions.
   
   Note: Always update your Service Request (problem record) to indicate that data has been sent.

If you need to speak to an IBM technical support representative call your country representative. If you need to speak to an IBM technical support representative in the US, call 1-800-IBM-SERV.

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