The IBM® Support
Assistant is a stand-alone
serviceability workbench, provided at no cost, to help you with problem
determination. The IBM Support
Assistant uses product-specific
add-ons and provides a central location for you to search for fixes,
gather data for troubleshooting problems, and manage problem submissions.
You can download the IBM Support
Assistant at www.ibm.com/software/software/support/isa/download.html.
The
add-ons to the IBM Support
Assistant provide
a quick way to learn more about the product. If you encounter a problem
while your product is running, use the add-ons to search support documents
for fixes and gather relevant logs for diagnosis. Use the Log Analyzer to view,
filter, and analyze the logs.
You can use the
IBM Support
Assistant to perform
these tasks:
- Search documents concurrently
- Rapidly search IBM documentation
in different locations at the same time for answers to your questions
or problems. The IBM Support
Assistant returns
results that are categorized by source for easy review.
- Access product information
- Quickly access product information, such as the product support
page, product documentation, and RSS feeds for the latest flash notes,
APARs, fixes, and technotes.
- Gather data
- Collect files to document problems related to installation, databases,
security, integration, and general problems that are relevant to troubleshooting
your environment. The collected data is packaged in compressed form
for transmission to IBM.
- Analyze log data
- Use the Log Analyzer to
review collected log files and troubleshoot problems.
- Report problems
- Connect to the IBM Service
Request tool to open and update problem management records (PMRs).
Send the information that the data collection scripts gather to IBM for diagnosis.