About log files for product components

The Tivoli® Enterprise Monitoring Agent generates log files that contain messages and trace information. The log files contain message and trace information about the events and processing being performed. Log files provide a complete record of system activity, not just of problems. The log files are created when you start the IBM® Tivoli Monitoring components.

When you encounter a problem, check the messages in the log files to determine if the source is a problem in your environment or with an IBM Tivoli Monitoring product. If you determine that the problem is caused by a product defect, contact IBM Software Support. See Reproducible problems reported as Tivoli Enterprise Portal client problems for the locations of log files. The location of the log depends on the client type and operating system the client is running on. The following sections provide locations of the fundamental types of logs:

  • Logs for components on distributed systems:
  • Logs for components on z/OS® systems: Problems affecting an Tivoli Enterprise Portal client

IBM Software Support might request some or all of these files while investigating a problem you have reported. Also, you might be asked to set a trace in the client and then collect the log. Trace logging is a fundamental tool for troubleshooting in cases where a problem is reproducible.

Note: Some of the tracing options produce large amounts of trace information. Therefore, monitor the disk or spool space when activating tracing to prevent your disk or spool from reaching capacity. Return the trace settings to the default settings after the trace information you want has been collected.

Log files for each of the components are explained in the following sections.