Kbase 490: Information to FAX/Have to Diagnose Progress System Errors
| Autor |
Progress Software Corporation - Progress |
| Acesso |
Público |
| Publicação |
10/16/2008 |
|
Status: Unverified
GOAL:
What questions are most likely to be asked by Technical Support when reporting an issue.
FIX:
Answers to the following questions greatly speeds up efforts in resolving the issues reported:
1) What is the software environment?
- Progress serial number for both client and server (Release and Version).
- License type (4GL, Runtime, Query/Report).
- Additional products used (Report Builder, RESULTS, data servers, ESQL, VBXs, etc.).
- If the product requires a tailored executable, was PROBUILD run and has it completed successfully?
- Operating system version (uname -a, nver, ver). See the latest Product Availability Guide for supported OS levels.
- Configuration information, such as kernel parameters for shared memory (UNIX-see Sys Admin Appendix A), config.sys (DOS), privileges and process resource limits (VMS), etc.
- Network software version, if applicable.
- Network configuration files (i.e. .ncf, shell.cfg (Novell) /etc/hosts and /etc/services (TCP/IP, TLI)).
- In-house or VAR application?
- New installation? Progress upgrade? OS upgrade?
2) What is the hardware environment?
- Machine and model.
- Any recent activity with a vendor, customer Engineer, or hardware checkup etc.?
- Amount of memory. How is it configured? Swap space?
- Network type.
- Differences between server and client machines?
- Available debug tools: vmstat, monitor, adb, sdb, etc.
3) What is the operational environment?
- Client and server.
- Single/multi-user session.
- How often is the server normally brought down?
- Single/multi-volume database?
- Single/multiple database connections?
- Size of the database in MB and remaining space on disk.
- BI file on same directory (-g startup)?
- After-imaging in use (-a startup)?
- Environment variables: PROMSGS, PROEXE, PROCFG, DLC, DLCFT, DLCRES, PROSRV, PROPATH, PATH, PRONCS, PROTERMCAP, TERM, etc.
- Server and client startup parameters: contained in a parameter (.pf) file?
- Directory and file permissions or privileges by user, user group.
4) What is the profile of the problem?
- Can the database be accessed in single user mode?
- What error messages were received and where were they?
- What are their numbers and the text that came with them?
- Was the HELP/RECENT MESSAGES explanation reveiwed? What did it say:
a) On the server/console or client screen?
b) In the Progress log file databasename.lg)?
c) In the operating system log file (for example, VMS server log)?
- What was happening when the problem occurred, such as:
a) Was the application running normally in a multi-user scenario? In single user?
b) What schema files are used by the Procedure that was running at the time of the problem?
c) How many records do those files contain?
d) What was the application doing (reads, Writes to database, writes to external files, deletions)?
e) What Progress utility was in use (proutil, rfutil, etc.) and with which option (idxbuild, bulkload, after image end, truncate bi)?
f) What server was starting up?
g) What server was up, which user was trying to log in, how many?
h) What database administrator activities were in process (for example, dictionary schema update)?
- Is the problem new, has it occurred before, or has it always been there?
- How often does the problem occur? For instance, how many times has it occurred in the last 3 days?
- What has changed since Progress was running successfully?
- Is a core file produced? If so, save it in case the stack trace information is needed.
- What other software is running on the machine where the problem occurs?
- What other system utilities might be in place, for example, RAID or PC Power Saver or file compression utilities?
5) Troubleshooting done to date?
- Can the p.roblem be duplicated against the demo or Sports database?
- Can the problem be duplicated on the production database upon demand, or is it sporadic?
- Does the problem occur only for certain procedures, or only when certain files or records are used?
- If there is more than one database, does the problem occur on all the databases?
- In what ways does the problem differ if multiple database connections are involved?
- Are there other sites with a similar configuration that do not experience the problem? How are their configurations different?
- What has changed about the environment since the problem began?
a) Application software recompiled?
b) Modified?
c) How?
d) New users added?
e) Greater volume of data?
f) Modified start-up parameters?
g) New disks added?
h) Hardware or power failures?
i) Files moved to different directories?
j) Security settings updated?
k) Dictionary modified?
- Is there a backup?
- What PROGRESS documentation has been referenced? (which manuals, guides, or brochures, and which pages?)
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