Question & Answer
Question
Collect Troubleshooting Data documents aid in problem determination and save time resolving Problem Cases (previously called PMRs).
Answer
Collecting data early, even before opening the Case, 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: Table of contents:
Entering general information into an electronically-opened Problem Case (previously called PMRs) eliminates waiting on the phone to provide general information to support.
From a Spectrum Protect Admin command line client, enter the following commands:
- where endd and endt are the ending date and time for the actlog entries being collected
- the actlog gather should cover the full time frame of the issue/problem/scenario being diagnosed
Explicitly using the above commands will redirect the output to files called querysys.out and actlog.out in the Spectrum Protect servers working directory. The names of these files can be changed and a full path can be specified to place the output in any desired directory using any desired name.
These files along with the following files/info should be included as general information:
Capture trace and performance data of the storage pool backup process with the following Spectrum Protect administrative commands :
If you report a hang or a performance related symptom for the backup storage pool process, download and activate the perl script for monitoring the server (based on the server version). Have the script collect a full day of monitoring data including the backup storage pool operation. See
for a link to the script files.
Also, the output from the following Spectrum Protect administrative commands will be needed :
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: Table of contents:
| Gathering General Information |
Entering general information into an electronically-opened Problem Case (previously called PMRs) eliminates waiting on the phone to provide general information to support.
| Manually Gathering General Information |
From a Spectrum Protect Admin command line client, enter the following commands:
- QUERY SYSTEM > querysys.out
- QUERY ACTLOG begind=<mm/dd/yyyy> begint=<hh:mm> endd=<mm/dd/yyyy> endt=<hh:mm> > actlog.out
- where endd and endt are the ending date and time for the actlog entries being collected
- the actlog gather should cover the full time frame of the issue/problem/scenario being diagnosed
Explicitly using the above commands will redirect the output to files called querysys.out and actlog.out in the Spectrum Protect servers working directory. The names of these files can be changed and a full path can be specified to place the output in any desired directory using any desired name.
These files along with the following files/info should be included as general information:
- dsmserv.opt
- dsmserv.err
- details of operating system levels
- Spectrum Protect Server specific version (ex: 8.1.4.1)
| Manually Gathering Backup Process Information |
Capture trace and performance data of the storage pool backup process with the following Spectrum Protect administrative commands :
- trace disable *
- if the storage pool is random access:
trace enable DFCOPY BFCREATE AFCOPY ADDMSG - if the storage pool is sequential access but not deduplicated:
trace enable AFCOPY BFCREATE ADDMSG - if the storage pool is sequential and enabled for deduplication:
- trace begin <filename1> ...where filename1 is a full path file name to write trace data
...start backup storage pool process and wait for the symptom to occur - trace end
- trace dis *
If you report a hang or a performance related symptom for the backup storage pool process, download and activate the perl script for monitoring the server (based on the server version). Have the script collect a full day of monitoring data including the backup storage pool operation. See
 | Related Information |
Also, the output from the following Spectrum Protect administrative commands will be needed :
- QUERY STGPOOL F=D
- QUERY LIBV F=D
- SHOW TRANSFERSTATS <poolname> ...where poolname is the storage pool name
| Submitting Information to IBM Support |
After a Case is open, you can submit diagnostic troubleshooting data to IBM.
When data is uploaded to the Case, the status will be automatically be updated to acknowledge that data has been received. If you are still working with older Problem Management Records, you will want to update the PMR to indicate that you have sent the data.
| Online Self-Help Resources |
-
Review up-to-date product information at the IBM Spectrum Protect page.
- Sign into your account on the Spectrum Protect Product page, to access additional resources or to open a Case with the Support team.
| Related Information |
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Product Synonym
TSM
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Document Information
Modified date:
14 October 2019
UID
swg21597172