IBM i problem handling overview
The IBM® i licensed program helps you manage problems for both user-detected and system-detected problems that occur on local and remote IBM i platforms.
The IBM i operating system tracks both user- and system-detected problems using the problem log and the problem manager. A problem state is maintained from when a problem is detected (OPENED) to when it is resolved (CLOSED) to help you with tracking.
Problem handling support includes:
- Messages with initial problem handling information
- Automatic alerting of system-detected problems
- Integrated problem logging and tracking
- First-failure data capture (FFDC)
- Electronic customer-support service requisition
- Electronic customer support, program temporary fix (PTF) requisition
System-detected problems
The IBM i operating system and its attached devices are able to detect some types of problems. These are called system-detected problems. When a problem is detected, several operations take place:
- An entry in the product activity log is created
- A problem record is created
- A message is sent to the QSYSOPR message queue
Information is recorded in the error log and in the problem record. When serious problems are detected, a spooled file of FFDC information is also created. The error log and the problem record might contain the following information:
- Vital product data
- Configuration information
- Reference code
- The name of the associated device
- Additional failure information
User-detected problems
User-detected problems are usually related to program errors that can cause any of the following problems to occur:
- Job problems
- Incorrect output
- Messages indicating a program failure
- Device failures that are not detected by the system
- Poor performance
When a user detects a problem, no information is gathered by the server until problem analysis is run or you select the option to save information to help resolve a problem from the Operational Assistant USERHELP menu.