Object request broker component troubleshooting tips

The following topics might help you diagnose problems with the Object request broker (ORB) component.

Enabling tracing for the Object Request Broker component

The object request broker (ORB) service is one of the product run time services. Tracing messages that are sent and received by the ORB is a useful starting point for troubleshooting the ORB service. You can selectively enable or disable tracing of ORB messages for each server in a product installation, and for each application client.

For instructions on how to set trace controls so that tracing occurs for the ORB subcomponent, read the topic on setting trace controls for IBM® support.

Log files and messages associated with Object Request Broker

For a summary of how messages get routed in the product, read the topic on managing operator message routing.

Java packages containing the Object Request Broker service

The ORB service resides in the following Java™ packages:

com.ibm.CORBA.*: This package provides the mapping of the IBM CORBA APIs to the Java programming language, including the class ORB.
com.ibm.rmi.*: This package provides the IBM Remote Method Invocation (RMI) APIs that are used to establish remote communication between programs written in the Java programming language.
com.ibm.ws.orb.*: This package provides the APIs that are used to specify configuration settings for the ORB.
com.ibm.ws.orbimpl.*: This package provides the IBM implementation classes for the ORB.
com.ibm.ws390.orb.*: This package provides z/OS-only classes.
com.ibm.ws390.channel.ziop.*: This package contains portability APIs for z/OS® IIOP transport channels.
com.ibm.ws390.ziop.*: This package contains portability APIs for the z/OS IIOP runtime.
org.omg.CORBA.*: This package provides the mapping of the OMG CORBA APIs to the Java programming language, including the class ORB.
javax.rmi.CORBA.*: This package contains portability APIs for the RMI-IIOP runtime.

JAR files that contain the previously mentioned packages include:

app_server_root/java/lib/ibmorb.jar, which contains the base ORB classes com.ibm.CORBA.*, com.ibm.rmi.*, javax.rmi.CORBA.*, and org.omg.CORBA.*
app_server_root/plugins/com.ibm.ws.runtime.jar, which contains the extension classes com.ibm.ws.orb.*, com.ibm.ws.orbimpl.*, and com.ibm.CORBA.services.*.
app_server_root/plugins/com.ibm.ws.runtime.ws390.jar, which contains the com.ibm.ws390.* classes.
app_server_root/lib/bootstrap.jar and app_server_root/lib/bootstrapws390.jar, which include some ORB related classes.

Tools used with Object Request Broker

The tools used to compile Java remote interfaces to generate language bindings used by the ORB at runtime reside in the following APIs:

com.ibm.tools.rmic.*
com.ibm.idl.*

The JAR file that contains these APIs is app_server_root/java/lib/tools.jar.

Object Request Broker properties

The ORB service requires a number of ORB properties for correct operation. It is not necessary for most users to modify these properties, and only the system administrator should modify them when required. Consult IBM Support personnel for assistance. The properties reside in the properties file, located at app_server_root/properties/orb.properties.

If none of these steps fixes your problem, check the IBM Support to see if the problem has been identified and documented. The Support page contains hints and tips, technotes, and descriptions of available fixes.

Before opening a problem report, collect the information that Support needs to resolve problems. The topic on help with troubleshooting includes documents and tools that can help you gather this information.