Abstract for Problem Management

Purpose of this information: This information is designed to help you avoid potential problems and diagnose problems on z/OS®, its subsystems, its components, and problems in applications running under the system. Using this information, you can:

• Identify a potential problem
• Identify the problem type
• Determine the failing subsystem, component, job, or application
• Collect the correct data needed to diagnose the problem
• Develop a search argument and use it to search problem reporting databases
• Know the correct problem data to collect before reporting the problem to IBM® or the independent software vendor.

This information can help you determine why a problem occurred and where a problem occurred; it does not describe how to fix program instructions in your own code.

Who should read this information: This information is for anyone who diagnoses software problems that occur while running the operating system. This person is typically a system programmer for the installation. This information is also for application programmers who are testing their programs.

The level of detail at which this information is written assumes that the reader:

• Understands basic system concepts and the use of system services
• Codes in Assembler language
• Reads Assembler and linkage editor output
• Codes Job Control Language (JCL) statements for batch jobs and cataloged procedures
• Understands the commonly used diagnostic tasks and aids, such as message logs, dumps, and Interactive Problem Control System (IPCS)