Troubleshooting overview

Troubleshooting is the process of finding and eliminating the cause of a problem. Whenever you have a problem with your IBM® software, the troubleshooting process begins as soon as you ask yourself "what happened?"

A basic troubleshooting strategy at a high level involves:
  1. Recording the symptoms of the problem
  2. Re-creating the problem
  3. Eliminating possible causes

Recording the symptoms of the problem

Depending on the type of problem that you have, whether it be with your application, your server, or your tools, you might receive a message that indicates that something is wrong. Always record the error message that you see. As simple as this sounds, error messages sometimes contain codes that might make more sense as you investigate your problem further. You might also receive multiple error messages that look similar but have subtle differences. By recording the details of each one, you can learn more about where your problem exists.

Sources of error messages:
  • Problems view
  • Local error log
  • Eclipse log
  • Activity Log
  • User trace
  • Service trace
  • Error dialog boxes
  • mqsiexplain command

Re-creating the problem

Think back to what steps you were doing that led to the problem. Try those steps again to see if you can easily re-create the problem. If you have a consistently repeatable test case, it is easier to determine what solutions are necessary.
  • How did you first notice the problem?
  • Did you do anything different that made you notice the problem?
  • Is the process that is causing the problem a new procedure, or has it worked successfully before?
  • If this process worked before, what has changed? (The change can refer to any type of change that is made to the system, ranging from adding new hardware or software, to reconfiguring existing software.)
  • What was the first symptom of the problem that you witnessed? Were there other symptoms occurring around the same time?
  • Does the same problem occur elsewhere? Is only one machine experiencing the problem or are multiple machines experiencing the same problem?
  • What messages are being generated that could indicate what the problem is?
You can find more information about these types of question in Making initial checks.

Eliminating possible causes

Narrow the scope of your problem by eliminating components that are not causing the problem. By using a process of elimination, you can simplify your problem and avoid wasting time in areas that are not responsible. Consult the information in this product and other available resources to help you with your elimination process.