Collecting diagnostic data through GUI

IBM® Support might ask you to collect logs, trace files, and dump files from the system to help them resolve a problem. You can perform this task from the management GUI or by using the gpfs.snap command. Use the Support > Diagnostic Data page in the IBM Spectrum Scale GUI to collect details of the issues reported in the system.

The entire set of diagnostic data available in the system helps to analyze all kinds of IBM Spectrum Scale issues. Depending on the data selection criteria, these files can be large (gigabytes) and might take an hour to download. The diagnostic data is collected from each individual node in a cluster. In a cluster with hundreds of nodes, downloading the diagnostic data might take a long time and the downloaded file can be large in size.

It is always better to reduce the size of the log file as you might need to send it to IBM Support to help fix the issues. You can reduce the size of the diagnostic data file by reducing the scope. The following options are available to reduce the scope of the diagnostic data:
  • Include only affected functional areas
  • Include only affected nodes
  • Reduce the number of days for which the diagnostic data needs to be collected
The following three modes are available in the GUI to select the functional areas of the diagnostic data:
  1. Standard diagnostics
    The data that is collected in the standard diagnostics consists of the configuration, status, log files, dumps, and traces in the following functional areas:
    • Core IBM Spectrum Scale
    • Network
    • GUI
    • NFS
    • SMB
    • Object
    • Authentication
    • Cluster export services (CES)
    • Crash dumps
    You can download the diagnostic data for the above functional areas at the following levels:
    • All nodes
    • Specific nodes
    • All nodes within one or more node classes
  2. Deadlock diagnostics

    The data that is collected in this category consists of the minimum amount of data that is needed to investigate a deadlock problem.

  3. Performance diagnostics

    The data that is collected in this category consists of the system performance details collected from performance monitoring tools. You can only use this option if it is requested by the IBM Support.

The GUI log files contain the issues that are related to GUI and it is smaller in size as well. The GUI log consists of the following types of information:
  • Traces from the GUI that contain the information about errors occurred inside GUI code
  • Several configuration files of GUI and postgreSQL
  • Dump of postgreSQL database that contains IBM Spectrum Scale configuration data and events
  • Output of most mmls* commands
  • Logs from the performance collector
Note: Instead of collecting the diagnostic data again, you can also utilize the diagnostic data that Is collected in the past. You can analyze the relevance of the historic data based on the date on which the issue is reported in the system. Ensure to delete the diagnostic data that is no longer needed to save disk space.

Sharing the diagnostic data with the IBM Support using call home

The call home shares support information and your contact information with IBM on a scheduled basis. The IBM Support monitors the details that are shared by the call home and takes necessary action in case of any issues or potential issues. Enabling call home reduces the response time for the IBM Support to address the issues.

You can also manually upload the diagnostic data that is collected through the Support > Diagnostic Data page in the GUI to share the diagnostic data to resolve a Problem Management Record (PMR). To upload data manually, perform the following steps:
  1. Go to Support > Diagnostic Data.
  2. Collect diagnostic data based on the requirement. You can also use the previously collected data for the upload.
  3. Select the relevant data set from the Previously Collected Diagnostic Data section and then right-click and select Upload to PMR.
  4. Select the PMR to which the data must be uploaded and then click Upload.