Displaying problem information

The All Problems pane displays all the problems (service requests) for systems that are monitored by IBM® Electronic Service Agent.

Before you begin

The System reference codes (SRCs) indicate a storage complex hardware or software problem that can originate in hardware or in Licensed Internal Code. A storage complex component generates an error code when it detects a problem. An SRC identifies the component that detected the error code and describes the error condition. The table shows the possible SRC codes -
Table 1. System reference codes
System Reference Code Description
5xxxxxxx Reference codes
A1xxxxxx Service processor reference (attention) codes
AAxxxxxx Partition firmware reference (attention) codes
B1xxxxxx Service processor firmware reference codes
B7xxxxxx Licensed Internal Code reference codes
BAxxxxxx Partition firmware reference (attention) codes
DAxxxxxx Partition firmware reference (error) codes
For a detailed list of SRC codes, see System Reference Codes.

About this task

You can use the IBM Electronic Service Agent graphical user interface to view problems, delete problems, and update the service request status. Electronic Service Agent does not collect any error data or problem information for Admin_notify type of events and duplicate events. The problem information and error data are collected for the problems that are meant to be transmitted to IBM support.
Tip: You can also use the esacli problem command to view problems. For information, see esacli problem.
To filter or search for a particular problem that you require, go through the following steps:
  1. Click the Define filter Define filter icon. The Filter window is displayed.
  2. Specify the rules to filter the problems and click Filter. A list of filtered problems is displayed

To view problems, follow these steps:

Procedure

  1. Access and log in to the IBM Electronic Service Agent graphical user interface.
  2. Click Main menu from left navigation.
  3. Click All Problems tab.
    The Problems table displays the following information:
    • Name - Displays the name of the system that has problems. If you are viewing All Problems, then you can filter the problems for a particular system.
    • Severity - Displays the severity of the problem.
    • Description - Provides a short description of the problem identified.
    • SRC - Displays the alphanumeric system reference code (SRC) that is assigned to the problem by the system.
    • Time of Occurence - Displays the time stamp of the problem occurrence.
    • Service request - Displays the system request identifier (PMR number) that is assigned to the problem by the system.
    • Service request status - Displays the service request status (PMR status) that is associated with problem. For example, Open, Processing, or Closed.
    • Local Problem Status - Displays the reporting status of the problem. The status can be one of the following -
      • Detected - ESA identified the problem.
      • Open - No action is taken on the problem.
      • Pending - The problem is being sent to IBM support.
      • Failed - All attempts to send the problem information to IBM support is failed. No more attempts can be made.
      • Reported - The problem is sent to IBM support.
      • Closed - The problem is processed and closed.
      • Expired - The IEPD problem is purged.
      • Email sent - ESA sends an email notification about the problem to the registered administrator.
      • Failed to send email - ESA fails to send an email notification about the problem.
      • Duplicate - For any existing problem (same problem for same system) that notifies through email and also that has the Local Problem Status as Email sent, the problem is reported as duplicate.
      • Cancelled - The problem is canceled. A problem will be marked Duplicate until an Email sent problem is canceled.
    • Local Problem ID - Displays the status of the problem, for example, Opened, Closed, Detected, Failed, Reported, or Expiredstate.
    • Duplicate Of - Displays the ID of the problem that it is a duplicate of.

  4. Select a problem in the list to take one of the following actions:
    • Click Refresh Problems to update the service request status.
      Note: If the All Problems tab is active, all problems are refreshed automatically for every 2 minutes.
    • Click Delete to delete the problem.
    • Click Details to view the problem details. The Problem Detail page displays the following information for a particular problem.
      Problem Summary
      • Description - Displays a short description of the problem that is identified.
      • Error Code - Displays the alphanumeric system reference code (SRC) assigned to the problem by the system.
      • Local Problem Status - Displays the reporting status of the problem.
      • Problem ID - Displays a unique ID that identifies a problem.
      • Is Test Problem? - Identifies if the problem is a test problem or a real problem. The test problems are the simulated problems and are automatically closed.
      • Problem Occurence Date/Time - Displays the time stamp at which the problem was occurred.
      • Resource Name - Displays the name of the device against which the issue was opened.
      • Dupe Count - Displays the count of the numbers of the error is duplicated. If the same error is repeated in the 15-minutes time frame, then the error is duplicated.
        Note: Dupe Count field is displayed only if there are duplicate errors.
      Transmission Summary
      • Service information sent to IBM support - Displays Yes or No, if the information is not sent to IBM support.
      • Last Attempt to Send - Displays the time stamp at which ESA tried to send the service information to IBM support.
      • Number of Attempts - Displays the number of attempts that ESA made to send the service information to IBM support.
      Service request information
      • Problem Severity - Displays the severity of the problem.
      • Service Request Number - Displays the service request identifier that is assigned to the problem by the system.
      • Service Request Status - Displays the service request status that is associated with problem. For example, Open, Processing, or Closed.
      • Problem Notes - Displays the details of the problem.
      • Last Changed - Displays the time stamp at which the service request status was last changed.

    You can also send a test problem to see whether the problem is reporting correctly. For more information, see Sending a test problem.