Troubleshooting resources

Edit online

Troubleshooting resources are sources of information that can help you resolve a problem that you have with a product. Many of the resource links provided can also be viewed in a short video demonstration.

To view the video version, search for "troubleshooting" through either Google search engine or YouTube video community.

Support Portal

The IBM® Support Portal is a unified, centralized view of all technical support tools and information for all IBM systems, software, and services.

Use IBM Support Portal to access all the IBM support resources from one place. You can adjust the pages to focus on the information and resources that you need for problem prevention and faster problem resolution. Familiarize yourself with the IBM Support Portal by viewing the demo videos (https://www.ibm.com/blogs/SPNA/entry/the_ibm_support_portal_videos).

Find the IBM QRadar content that you need by selecting your products from the IBM Support Portal (http://www.ibm.com/support/entry/portal).

Service requests

Service requests are also known as Problem Management Records (PMRs). Several methods exist to submit diagnostic information to IBM Software Technical Support.

To open a service request, or to exchange information with technical support, view the IBM Software Support Exchanging information with Technical Support page (http://www.ibm.com/software/support/exchangeinfo.html). Service requests can also be submitted directly by using the Service requests (PMRs) tool (http://www.ibm.com/support/entry/portal/Open_service_request) or one of the other supported methods that are detailed on the exchanging information page.

Fix Central

Fix Central provides fixes and updates for your system software, hardware, and operating system.

Use the pull-down menu to go to your product fixes on Fix Central (http://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral). You might also want to view Getting started with Fix Central (http://www.ibm.com/systems/support/fixes/en/fixcentral/help/getstarted.html).

For information about ordering PTFs, see Ordering PTFs Using IBM Fix Central Web Site.

Knowledge bases

You can often find solutions to problems by searching IBM knowledge bases. You can optimize your results by using available resources, support tools, and search methods

Use the following knowledge bases to find useful information.

Tech notes and APARs: From the IBM Support Portal (http://www.ibm.com/support/entry/portal), you can search tech notes and APARs (problem reports).
IBM masthead search: Use the IBM masthead search by typing your search string into the Search field at the top of any ibm.com page.
External search engines: Search for content by using any external search engine, such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing. If you use an external search engine, your results are more likely to include information that is outside the ibm.com® domain. However, sometimes you can find useful problem-solving information about IBM products in newsgroups, forums, and blogs that are not on ibm.com.

Tip: Include "IBM" and the name of the product in your search if you are looking for information about an IBM product.