Collect troubleshooting data for TS server problems in CICS TS for z/OS

Resolving The Problem

For the most up-to-date documentation, refer to Collecting CICS troubleshooting data (MustGather) for IBM Support in the CICS TS documentation. You will find the General information you should gather for every type of problem followed by the Component-specific information which includes Troubleshooting data for TS server problems.

The following is the original MustGather information:

• Collecting general information for all problems
• Collecting data for TS server problems
• Troubleshooting hints and tips
• Exchanging data with IBM Support


• Collect troubleshooting data for CICS products - Read first

Collecting general information for all problems

If you have already contacted IBM Support, you can continue on to the component-specific MustGather information. Otherwise, go to Collect troubleshooting data for CICS products - Read first.

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• CICS message log and the MVS system log (SYSLOG).
• SYSPRINT log for the TS server itself. Most of the same information should also be visible in the MVS system log, but the SYSPRINT log may also contain statistics and some other informational messages. For example, the options that were used during start-up.
• CICS internal trace that is included in the MVS system dump when tracing is active. The trace should be at least 10240K and when possible level 1 tracing should be on for all CICS components and level 1-2 for the TS component.
• If you are receiving a message and can recreate the problem, a SLIP dump of the CICS region(s) and the TS list structure taken when you receive the message. Set the SLIP using the following MVS command and then recreate the problem:
  
  SLIP SET,MSGID=DFHXQnnnn,ACTION=SVCD,
   STRLIST=(STRNAME=DFHXQLS_poolname,ACC=NOLIM,
   (LISTNUM=ALL,ADJ=DIRECTIO,EDATA=UNSERIALIZE)),
   JOBLIST=(ts-server,XCFAS,cicsjob),
   SDATA=(RGN,XESDATA,ALLNUC,CSA,LSQA,PSA,SQA,SUM,SWA,TRT,
   COUPLE,WLM,GRSQ,LPA),MATCHLIM=1,ID=CIC1,END
  
  where DFHXQnnnn is the message you are receiving, poolname is your TS pool, ts-server is your TS server, and cicsjob is the jobname for your CICS region.
  
  If the pool structure is unexpectedly becoming full, a dump with the STRLIST=(...(...)) will help determine what is filling up the pool. See Dumping a shared temporary storage list structure if you only want to dump the pool.
• If there is a wait or hang, an MVS system dump of the CICS region(s) and the TS list structure taken as soon as you notice the hang or wait. Use the following MVS command followed by the reply to capture the dump:
  
  DUMP COMM=(dumpname)
   R yy,JOBNAME=(ts-server,XCFAS,cicsjob),
   STRLIST=(STRNAME=DFHXQLS_poolname,ACC=NOLIM,
   (LISTNUM=ALL,ADJ=DIRECTIO,EDATA=UNSERIALIZE)),
   SDATA=(RGN,XESDATA,ALLNUC,CSA,LSQA,PSA,SQA,SUM,SWA,TRT,
   COUPLE,WLM,GRSQ,LPA),END
  
  where dumpname is the name you want to give the dump, yy is the reply id, ts-server is your TS server, cicsjob is the job name for your CICS region, and poolnameis your TS pool. A dump of the pool is rarely needed by IBM, so you can exclude STRLIST=(...(...)) from the dump command if you are concerned about dump size.
  

• If you are receiving a wait and are able to reproduce the problem, consider using CICS auxiliary trace or GTF trace in combination with the MVS system dump. In this case, the dump is unlikely to tell you anything about system activity in the period leading up to the wait. This is because the trace table will probably wrap before you have had a chance to respond. But, the CICS auxiliary trace and GTF trace should provide you with enough trace.

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Troubleshooting hints and tips

• Review the logs and dumps generated at the point of failure.
• Search the CICS support site for known problems using symptoms like the message number and error codes.
• If you find a fixing PTF, see Ordering CICS products and maintenance for the options that are available to order CICS maintenance.
• Gather the documentation and work with the CICS support team to resolve your problem.
  
  

• Coupling facility server operations and set up
• CFSizer Web site for determining structure size
• Formatting a shared temporary storage pool dump
• TS control trace points

1. See Exchanging information with IBM Technical Support for FTP and email instructions using the IBM Enhanced Customer Data Repository (ECuRep).
   
2. Go to the Service Request page to open or update a problem. If you have a SoftwareXcel enterprise edition for zSeries contract, you can also ask a non-defect installation and usage questions.
   
   Note: Always update your Service Request (problem record) to indicate that data has been sent.

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