FFST: IBM MQ for Windows

Describes the name, location, and contents of the First Failure Support Technology ( FFST ) files for Windows systems.

In IBM MQ for Windows, FFST information is recorded in a file in the C:\Program Files\IBM\MQ\errors directory.

An FFST file contains one or more records. Each FFST record contains information about an error that is normally severe, and possibly unrecoverable. These records typically indicate either a configuration problem with the system or an IBM MQ internal error.

FFST files are named AMQ nnnnn.mm.FDC, where:

nnnnn: Is the ID of the process reporting the error
mm: Starts at 0. If the full file name already exists, this value is incremented by one until a unique FFST file name is found. An FFST file name can already exist if a process is reused.

An instance of a process will write all FFST information to the same FFST file. If multiple errors occur during a single execution of the process, an FFST file can contain many records.

When a process writes an FFST record it also sends a record to the Event Log. The record contains the name of the FFST file to assist in automatic problem tracking. The Event log entry is made at the application level.

A typical FFST log is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Sample IBM MQ for Windows First Failure Symptom Report

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| WebSphere MQ First Failure Symptom Report                                   |
| =========================================                                   |
|                                                                             |
| Date/Time         :- Mon January 28 2008 21:59:06 GMT                       |
| UTC Time/Zone     :- 1201539869.892015 0 GMT                                |
| Host Name         :- 99VXY09 (Windows 7 Build 2600: Service Pack 1)         |
| PIDS              :- 5724H7200                                              |
| LVLS              :- 7.0.0.0                                                |
| Product Long Name :- IBM MQ for Windows                                     |
| Vendor            :- IBM                                                    |
| Probe Id          :- HL010004                                               |
| Application Name  :- MQM                                                    |
| Component         :- hlgReserveLogSpace                                     |
| SCCS Info         :- lib/logger/amqhlge0.c, 1.26                            |
| Line Number       :- 246                                                    |
| Build Date        :- Jan 25 2008                                            |
| CMVC level        :- p000-L050202                                           |
| Build Type        :- IKAP - (Production)                                    |
| UserID            :- IBM_User                                               |
| Process Name      :- C:\Program Files\IBM\MQ\bin\amqzlaa0.exe   |
| Process           :- 00003456                                               |
| Thread            :- 00000030                                               |
| QueueManager      :- qmgr2                                                  |
| ConnId(1) IPCC    :- 162                                                    |
| ConnId(2) QM      :- 45                                                     |
| Major Errorcode   :- hrcE_LOG_FULL                                          |
| Minor Errorcode   :- OK                                                     |
| Probe Type        :- MSGAMQ6709                                             |
| Probe Severity    :- 2                                                      |
| Probe Description :- AMQ6709: The log for the Queue manager is full.        |
| FDCSequenceNumber :- 0                                                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 
MQM Function Stack
zlaMainThread
zlaProcessMessage
zlaProcessMQIRequest
zlaMQPUT
zsqMQPUT
kpiMQPUT
kqiPutIt
kqiPutMsgSegments
apiPutMessage
aqmPutMessage
aqhPutMessage
aqqWriteMsg
aqqWriteMsgData
aqlReservePutSpace
almReserveSpace
hlgReserveLogSpace
xcsFFST
 
MQM Trace History
-------------} hlgReserveLogSpace rc=hrcW_LOG_GETTING_VERY_FULL
-------------{ xllLongLockRequest
-------------} xllLongLockRequest rc=OK

...

The Function Stack and Trace History are used by IBM to assist in problem determination. In many cases there is little that the system administrator can do when an FFST record is generated, apart from raising problems through the IBM Support Center.

In certain circumstances a small dump file can be generated in addition to an FFST file and placed in the C:\Program Files\IBM\MQ\errors directory. A dump file will have the same name as the FFST file, in the form AMQnnnnn.mm.dmp. These files can be used by IBM to assist in problem determination.

First Failure Support Technology ( FFST ) files and Windows clients

The files are produced already formatted and are in the errors subdirectory of the IBM MQ MQI client installation directory.

These are normally severe, unrecoverable errors and indicate either a configuration problem with the system or an IBM MQ internal error.

The files are named AMQnnnnn.mm.FDC, where:

nnnnn is the process ID reporting the error
mm is a sequence number, normally 0

When a process creates an FFST it also sends a record to the system log. The record contains the name of the FFST file to assist in automatic problem tracking.

The system log entry is made at the user.error level.

First Failure Support Technology is explained in detail in First Failure Support Technology ( FFST ).

Parent topic: First Failure Support Technology (FFST)