Follow this procedure to gather the recommended documentation and report the problem.

Attention: SMP/E can appear to loop for a long time, depending on what it is doing and what system it is running on. This does not necessarily indicate a problem. Do not cancel an SMP/E job unless you are sure it is looping or in a wait state. Canceling a job could damage the SMPCSI or the other data sets SMP/E uses. If the job seems to be looping or waiting too long, call your IBM® Support Center to see if you should cancel it.

1. If you have an online I/O checker, such as resource measurement facility (RMF™), use it to see if:
   • No I/O is being performed.
   • The same number of execute channel programs (EXCPs) is used continuously.
2. Check the SMPLOG to see if:
   • No messages are being printed.
   • The same message or group of messages is printed over and over.
3. Slip-trace the branch and link register commands (BALRs) in the system GTF trace, and look for repeated BALRs or repeated strings of BALRs between SMP/E modules.
4. If you have a backup copy of SMP/E, its data sets, and your system data sets, try to recreate the problem. Then, take several dumps of the failure to trace a consistent PSW instruction address or range of addresses. To take the dumps, use a SYSABEND DD card and cancel the job that contains the problem.
5. Report the problem to the IBM Support Center.

   After asking for your account name, license number, and other customer identification, the service representative will ask for a brief description of the problem.