Searching the database
To find out if a problem like the one you experienced has already been reported, you use the keyword string you completed to search an IBM® Software Support database (such as Software Support Facility), or you can use it when talking to your Level 1 support representative.
Procedure
- Determine the maintenance level of the IMS system by identifying the APARs and PTFs
that have been applied.
- Run the SMP PTF list program or have access to online SMP/E dialogs.
Tip: You can extract the current maintenance level of your IMS system (or of a specific IMS load module) by using the /DIAGNOSE SNAP MODULE(modname) command. - Search SSF, using the keyword string developed by following
procedures from Selecting the keywords.
Your search is most successful if you follow these guidelines:
- Start with a broad search argument so you receive all problem descriptions that might match your problem.
- If you find too many Authorized Program Analysis Reports (APARs) to examine, add the logical operators AND or OR to the keyword string in various combinations gradually to reduce the number of database matches (hits). If the keywords are connected by the logical operator AND (a blank), a record is selected if it contains both words separated by the blank. If the keywords are connected by the logical operator OR (|), a record is selected if it contains either of the words separated by the character, |.
- You can use dependency keywords with the keyword string to select
only those APARs that apply to a certain environment. These can be
particularly useful when a search yields a large number of database
matches and you are almost certain that the program failure occurred
in a specific environment. For the list of dependency keywords, see Dependency keywords.
Recommendation: Use dependency keywords only if you are sure the problem is limited to that dependency. If you do not get any database matches, eliminate the dependency keyword.
- If you want to narrow the search to a specific release level,
you can add the logical operators AND or OR for the
release level keywords to the search argument. The following list
describes the release level keywords for IMS 15.2:
- AR100
- IMS Services
- AR101
- Database Manager
- AR102
- Transaction Manager
- AR103
- Extended Terminal Option
- AR104
- Recovery-level Tracking
- AR105
- Database-level Tracking
- AR106
- IMS Java™ On Demand features
- R220
- Internal Resource Lock Manager (IRLM) 2.2
- R230
- Internal Resource Lock Manager (IRLM) 2.3
For a structured database search, the release level keywords are:- LVLS/100
- IMS Services
- LVLS/101
- Database Manager
- LVLS/102
- Transaction Manager
- LVLS/103
- Extended Terminal Option
- LVLS/104
- Recovery-level Tracking
- LVLS/105
- Database-level Tracking
- LVLS/106
- IMS Java On Demand features
- LVLS/R220
- Internal Resource Lock Manager (IRLM) 2.2
- LVLS/R230
- Internal Resource Lock Manager (IRLM) 2.3
Examples:- For the Database Manager, type
- For a structured database search, type:
Tip: If you do not get any database matches, remove the release level from your search argument.
- Eliminate the APARs that also appear in the SMP PTF list from the list of database matches. These will have already been applied.
- Compare each remaining APAR with the current failure symptoms. Analyze trace output for your problem situation, looking for similarities in the situations described by APARs that you are reviewing. Frequently, APAR descriptions include information about the traces that were run for those problems.
- If you find an appropriate APAR, determine if it has been closed. If it has been closed, you can correct the problem by applying the fix that is associated with the APAR. If it has not been closed, contact IBM Software Support for information about what you can do until it is closed.
- If you do not find an appropriate APAR, verify that the problem is not caused by a user specification error.
- If you find no user specification error, contact IBM Software Support for assistance.