Troubleshooting IBM Electronic Service Agent

Follow these general troubleshooting guidelines when you monitor IBM® Electronic Service Agent.

Unable to log in to ESA web UI (RHEL 7)

Whenever you face log in issues with ESA web UI, use the following commands to clear the firewall:
  1. firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=5024/tcp --permanent
  2. firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=5028/tcp --permanent
  3. firewall-cmd --reload

Change the SNMP listener port on the ESA system

If the default SNMP listener port (5028) on the ESA system is not available, you can change it to any other port available. Follow the steps to change the port number:
  1. Edit the file /opt/ibm/esa/workspace/.metadata/.plugins/com.ibm.esa.core/config/snmp.listener.settings.*.
    Note: If you have multiple files, select the file with the recent timestamp.
  2. Modify the value for the snmplistener.port. By default, the value is 5028, as shown in the code here -

    property name="snmplistener.port" type="java.lang.Integer">5028

    The following is an example

    property name="snmplistener.port" type="java.lang.Integer">5030

  3. Restart Electronic Service Agent.
  4. Rediscover each of the system so that the new port is updated on each of the endpoints.

Change the SNMP listener community on the ESA system

You can change the default community of the SNMP listener through the following steps:
  1. Edit the file /opt/ibm/esa/workspace/.metadata/.plugins/com.ibm.esa.core/config/snmp.listener.settings.*.
    Note: If you have multiple files, select the file with the recent timestamp.
  2. Modify the value for the snmplistener.community. By default, the value is public, as shown in the code here -

    property name="snmplistener.community" type="java.lang.String">publicproperty name="snmplistener.community" type="java.lang.String">public

    The following is an example:

    property name="snmplistener.community" type="java.lang.String">publicproperty name="snmplistener.community" type="java.lang.String">communityname

  3. Restart Electronic Service Agent.
  4. Rediscover each of the system so that the new port is updated on each of the endpoints.

Discovery action failed as the name or service is not known

If there was an issue with system configuration, you might get this error. For SSH to work, the system must resolve its own hostname. Follow these steps to make the system reachable to its hostname:
  1. Log in to the respective system.
  2. Open the etc/hosts file.
  3. Map the system's hostname to its IP address. The following is an example:
    10.10.10.10 indesa.ind.ibm.com

Set the IBM Electronic Service Agent trace level

Adjusting the trace level by using the IBM Electronic Service Agent graphical interface helps to set the message severity that is recorded during IBM Electronic Service Agent activity. Working with an IBM Support representative to analyze the messages might help you diagnose problems. If the trace level is set to Severe or Error, you might want to change it to Warning or Information to gather more information about the problem. For more information, see Setting the trace level.

View the activity log to see that the problems were recorded

The activity log shows the date and time that a problem occurred, and a description of the problem. See Displaying the activity log.

If a problem occurs when the system attempts to send a problem or service information to the IBM Electronic Support website, there are many possible reasons why the transmission might not be successful. IBM Electronic Service Agent depends on the functions of the operating system to be working correctly. This step includes managing the IBM Electronic Service Agent daemon and system connectivity. Normal system problem determination is advised for this type of problem.

Verifying that service information was sent to the IBM Electronic Support website

The gathering of Service information shows the type of service information that is collected, when it was last collected, and when it was last sent.

If the service information is being collected or transmitted, the last collected and last sent activity is not shown until the tasks are completed.

The tasks of collecting service information and sending service information take time to run. The time needed to collect and send information depends on the size of the system, processing load, and the speed of the connection. The following is a summary of the collection and transmission process.
  1. A collection task collects new service information.
  2. After the collection is complete, a task is started to run the following steps:
    1. Start the connection profile
    2. Connect to the IBM Electronic Support website
    3. Send the service information

To verify that the information was sent to the IBM Electronic Support website, see Displaying the activity log.

Issue in starting the IBM Electronic Service Agent graphical user interface

If you cannot access the IBM Electronic Service Agent graphical user interface, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to the system as root.
  2. Check whether IBM Electronic Service Agent is active on the system by entering the following command:

    systemctl status esactl.service .

    The IBM Electronic Service Agent status is displayed.

  3. If IBM Electronic Service Agent is not active, enter the following command to start IBM Electronic Service Agent:

    systemctl start esactl.service

  4. If IBM Electronic Service Agent is not active and still cannot access the graphical user interface, enter the following command to check whether a firewall is blocking the port:

    /opt/ibm/esa/bin/esafirewall status

    The status of the firewall is displayed. The following is an example:
    # /opt/ibm/esa/bin/esafirewall status
Firewall is friendly with ESA UI (port =1025).
  5. If the firewall is not friendly, use another firewall rule by entering the following command:

    /opt/ibm/esa/bin/esafirewall enable

Getting support for IBM Electronic Service Agent

You can post questions about any of the IBM Service and Productivity Tools, including IBM Electronic Service Agent, on the developerWorks® PowerLinux Community at the following web address:

https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mydeveloperworks/groups/service/forum/topics?communityUuid=fe313521-2e95-46f2-817d-44a4f27eba32

For issues or problems with IBM Electronic Service Agent for Linux, contact your hardware service provider via 1-800-IBM-SERV. The IBM Electronic Service Agent support team addresses the problem.

Issue in loading Dashboard page

If you logged in to ESA, later reinstalled and upgraded ESA, you might log in to ESA, but the Dashboard page might take a long time or even fail to load. This problem might occur because of the browser’s cache and SSL certificates.

To troubleshoot this problem, clear the browser’s cache and SSL certificates, and then login to ESA again. Complete the following steps to clear the browser’s cache and SSL certificates on various browsers:
  • Google Chrome
    1. Click the Customize and Control Google Chrome more options icon Google Chrome and click Settings.
    2. In the Search settings field, enter Cache, and then click Clear browsing data.
    3. From the Time range list, select All time, and then click Clear Data to clear cache.
    4. To clear SSL, enter the proxy in the Search settings field of the Settings page, and then click Open proxy settings.
    5. In the Internet Properties window, click the Content tab, and then click Clear SSL State.
  • Internet Explorer
    1. Click the Settings icon and click Internet options.
    2. In the Internet options window, click the General tab.
    3. In the Browsing history area, select Delete browsing history on exit option and click Delete to delete the browsing history.
    4. In the Content tab of the Internet options window, click Clear SSL state to clear SSL, and click OK.
  • Mozilla Firefox
    1. Click Tools > Options.
    2. In the Find in Options field, enter Cache. In the Cookies and Site Data section, click Clear Data.

Proxy Issue

If all your ESA transactions are failing, verify that the DNS is resolvable and the DNS is enabled for outbound communication.

Concurrent execution exception

If you are not able to send, test the email of the SMTP notifications from the Notification Settings page, check whether the hostname is configured properly in the following files:
  • /etc/resolv.conf
  • /etc/hosts
If the hostname is not configured, complete the following steps to troubleshoot the problem:
  1. Enter search <customer system domain name> in the /etc/resolv.conf file.
  2. Enter the hostname in the /etc/hosts file.
  3. Run the following commands:
    1. /opt/ibm/esa/bin/esacli stop
    2. /opt/ibm/esa/bin/esacli start
  4. Run the nslookup <hostname> command to verify the IP address of the system.

Notification test failure

An error message similar to the following Following is an example might be displayed when you run the notification test command (/opt/ibm/esa/bin/esacli test -n) or notification test failure in ESA GUI.

0034: Notification test failed. Reason: java.lang.LinkageError: loading constraint violation: loader "com/ibm/oti/vm/BootstrapClassLoader@602f2e78" previously initiated loading for a different type with name "javax/activation/DataHandler" defined by loader "org/eclipse/osgi/internal/loader/EquinoxClassLoader@d49364bb"

To troubleshoot the problem, run the following commands:
  1. SSH to the system as root and stop ESA by using the following command:

    /opt/ibm/esa/bin/esacli stop.

  2. Edit the file /opt/ibm/esa/runtime/conf/esa.properties and add org.osgi.framework.bootdelegation=javax.* in a new line at the end of the file.
  3. Start ESA by using the following command:

    /opt/ibm/esa/bin/esacli start.

NPS survey - known issue

For the NPS Survey, after you provide feedback for a single system, the feedback page is not getting refreshed to provide feedback for the other systems.

To resolve this issue, go through the following steps:
  • Mozilla Firefox
    1. Open your browser and go to Options → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data.
    2. Click Manage Permissions. The Exceptions - Cookies and Site Data window is displayed.
    3. In the Address of Website, enter https://survey.medallia.eu and click Block.
    4. Click Save Changes to apply the exceptions.
    5. Access the IBM Electronic Service Agent graphical user interface.
  • Google Chrome
    1. Click the Customize and control Google Chrome icon and click Settings.
    2. In the Privacy and security page, click the Site Settings.
    3. Under the Permissions area, click Cookies.
    4. In the Block section, click Add.
    5. In the Add a site field, enter the link https://survey.medallia.eu, and click the Add button.
    6. Access the IBM Electronic Service Agent graphical user interface.
  • Microsoft Edge
    1. Click the Settings and more icon and click Settings.
    2. In the Privacy and security page, go to the Cookies section and select Block only third party cookies option.
    3. Access the IBM Electronic Service Agent graphical user interface.

IBM Electronic Service Agent instance is not accessible

If ESA is activated on a port other than 5024, the ESA user interface might not be accessible and the command-line might display an incorrect status: 
/opt/ibm/esa/bin/esacli status

0001: IBM Electronic Service Agent instance is not running.
To resolve the issue, upgrade ESA to the recent version (4.5.6 or later). For older versions (before 4.5.6) of ESA, follow these steps:
  1. /opt/ibm/esa/bin/esacli stop
  2. echo 'port=<<port_number>>' >> /opt/ibm/esa/ecc/data/security.properties
  3. /opt/ibm/esa/bin/esacli start
The following is an example
/opt/ibm/esa/bin/esacli stop
echo 'port=6060' >> /opt/ibm/esa/ecc/data/security.properties
/opt/ibm/esa/bin/esacli start

IBM Electronic Service Agent failed to report problems in version 4.5.5

Restart ESA service to resolve the issue temporarily. To avoid the issue to reoccur, upgrade to ESA version 4.5.6 or later.

Unable to start Electronic Service Agent

For the ESA versions earlier to 4.5.9, if ESA does not start even after you try multiple times, do the following steps.
  1. Browse to the /opt/ibm/esa/runtime/conf directory and check if login.failure.properties file exists in the folder.
  2. If the login.failure.properties file exists, delete the file and start ESA. ESA starts successfully.
Note: This issue is fixed in the ESA versions 4.5.9 and higher.