(ZOS) Choosing diagnostic information sources

Use a variety of diagnostic information sources to view application data and troubleshoot problems.

Troubleshoot problems in a complex server environment can be challenging, considering the many choices of diagnostic information to analyze and wide variety of potential problem areas. Familiarize ourself with the different types of diagnostic tools and information that WAS v9 provides to maximize your efficiency and productivity when we are confronted with a problem.

Tasks

Read the following topics for information about specific sources of diagnostic data, and the tools or resources we might need to view or work with that data.

Type of diagnostic tools or data:	Notes and instructions for use appear in:
CEEDUMPs	CEEDUMPs in the job log
SVC dumps	View SVC dumps
CTRACE and JRas data	View CTRACE and JRas data through IPCS
Error log data	View error log contents through the Log Browse Utility (BBORBLOG)
z/OS display command	Use the z/OS display command
Java minor codes	Converting Java minor codes
(ZOS) SYSPRINT	(ZOS) Diagnose problems with message logs
(ZOS) Message routing	(ZOS) Message routing

Subtopics

• CEEDUMPs in the job log
  An error caught by LE or the Java runtime can result in the production of a CEEDUMP, which is written to a separate CEEDUMP specification in the job log.

• SVC dumps
  A SVC dump is a core dump initiated by the operating system generally when a programming exception occurs. SVC dump processing stores data in dump data sets that you pre-allocate, or the system allocates automatically as needed.

• Formatting CTRACE data with an IPCS dialog
  We can set up an IPCS dialog to format applications trace data gathered by WAS for z/OS.

• View error log contents through the Log Browse Utility (BBORBLOG)
  Use the Log Browse Utility (BBORBLOG) to view error log contents for troubleshooting and tuning purposes.

• z/OS display command
  Use either the WAS administrative console or the z/OS MVS console to accomplish many operations tasks related to WAS for z/OS servers. Entering the z/OS display or modify commands through the MVS console can provide information or perform tasks that are useful for diagnosing problems.

• Hexadecimal conversion of Java error codes
  Occasionally, Java will take an WAS for z/OS error code (C9C2xxxx in hexadecimal) and convert it to a very large negative number. If we get a very large negative number, try converting it back to hexadecimal to find the correct code.

• Manage operator message routing
  Use the product message routing capabilities to control server traffic flow.

Use basic or traditional message logs to troubleshoot applications