Collecting Data for TPC: Database Monitoring Problems

Answer

Collecting problem data early, even before opening the PMR, helps IBM® Support quickly determine if:

• Symptoms match known problems (rediscovery).
• There is a non-defect problem that can be identified and resolved.
• There is a defect that identifies a workaround to reduce severity.
• Locating root cause can speed development of a code fix.

Collecting data: Read First table of contents:

	Gathering general information
	Manually Gathering General Information
	Gathering TPC Database Monitoring Information
	Submitting Information to IBM Support
	Online Self-Help Resources
	Related Information

Gathering General Information

Entering general information into an electronically-opened PMR (ESR) eliminates waiting on the phone to provide general information to Level 1 support.

Manually Gathering General Information

For all problems, please provide:

• A detailed description of the problem, including the steps that led to the problem
• Screenshot showing the problem (if applicable and a screenshot is available)
• Related error messages

Refer to the next section for additional information that you should collect for the specific database monitoring problem you are experiencing.

Manually Gathering TPC Database Monitoring Information

Review the TPC Supported Products and Platforms document for the version of TPC you are using to make sure that the database is supported. Note in particular that some RDBMS clustered environments are not supported.

Information about the database:
1. The database vendor (i.e., Oracle, MSSQL, etc.)
2. The database version.
3. Whether or not the database server is stand alone or clustered.
4. Messages/error codes/screenshots specific to the database monitoring problem.

On the TPC agent host that runs the database instance:

1. Run the TPC Serviceability Tool for the agent if it is available.
2. If the serviceability tool is not available, you should manually collect all of the following:

• the version of TPC as listed in the 'version.txt' file (located in the TPC install directory on the agent host, or from the TPC install directory on the TPC server)
• log and output files from steps A, B, C shown below.

On the TPC server:
1. Run the TPC Serviceability Tool on the TPC server.
2. Collect a screenshot of the TPC gui RDBMS Login Editor screen showing the database connection information.

A. Agent log and configuration data:
Collect the following files and directories, and package into a .zip or a compressed .tar file (<TPC> = c:\Program Files\IBM\TPC by default on Windows, /opt/IBM/TPC on Unix):

1. For legacy TPC data/fabric agents: <TPC>/ca/logs, <TPC>/ca/config, <TPC>/ca/subagents/TPC/Data/log, <TPC>/ca/subagents/TPC/Data/config, <TPC>/ca/subagents/TPC/Fabric/log, <TPC>/ca/subagents/TPC/Fabric/conf
2. For SRA: <TPC>/agent/log, <TPC>/agent/config, <TPC>/agent/output, <TPC>/agent/core (if present)

B. Performing basic checks:
Check to make sure that:
1. The database instance is up and running (Windows: services panel, Unix: 'ps -ef' output)
2. The port specified for database connection is present and listening ('netstat -an' output)
Use cut/paste to capture test results in a text file (preferred) or capture a screen shot of the output.

C. Operating system environment information:
Windows:
cd c:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSInfo
msinfo32 /report c:\msinfo32.log /category all
file --> c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Unix:
uname -a >/tmp/sysinfo.log; df -k >>/tmp/sysinfo.log; ps -ef >>/tmp/sysinfo.log; cat /etc/hosts >>/tmp/sysinfo.log; netstat -an >>/tmp/sysinfo.log

Submitting Information to IBM Support

After a PMR is open, you can submit diagnostic data to IBM.

If using ESR, update the PMR to indicate that data has been sent.

Online Self-Help Resources

• Review up-to-date product information at your IBM Support Portal page. Review the TPC Supported Products and Platforms document for the version of TPC you are using to make sure that the environment is supported.
• Utilize the IBM Electronic Service Request tool to access the IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center Support team when requiring assistance from IBM.

Related Information

• Latest IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center interim fixes/patches