Collecting documentation to resolve problems with the client application

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IBM® Software Support at IBM is better able to resolve a problem if you can supply them with relevant documentation. The backup-archive client creates information in a number of different sources.

Tip: IBM Storage Protect has a built-in help facility within the client command line. Issue the dsmc help command to access the command-line client's help facility. The help facility is a menu-driven interface with information that includes the command reference, option reference, and extended information about client messages.
Client problems and configuration information might be found in one or more of the following documents:
  • Error log. The client error log file is dsmerror.log.
  • Scheduler log. The error log for the client scheduler is dsmsched.log.
  • Web client log. The error log for the web client is dsmwebcl.log.
  • Options files. Information about the options that you set for the clients can facilitate troubleshooting and problem resolution. Much of this information is contained in the following files:
    • The client options file (dsm.opt). This file exists for all clients on all operating systems.
    • The client system-options file (dsm.sys). This file is only used on AIX®, Linux®, and Mac OS X clients.
    • The include-exclude file. This file contains the objects to include or exclude from client operations. Its location is set by the client inclexcl option.
  • Trace data. If the tracing facility was active, the file that contains the trace data can be provided to support.
  • Application dump. When the backup-archive client stops running unexpectedly, many platforms generate an application dump. The operating system provides the application dump.
  • Memory dump. If the backup-archive client stops, a memory dump can be generated that can then be used to help with diagnosis. The type of system determines how the memory dump occurs, and the operating system provides the memory dump.
The DSMC QUERY SYSTEMINFO command is available and collects most of this information in the dsminfo.txt file. The following items can help you to determine IBM Storage Protect problems:
  • A list of all the software that is installed on the client system. The client might experience problems due to interactions with other software on the computer or because of the maintenance levels of software that the client uses.
  • Client option sets that are defined on the server that apply to this client node. Issue the QUERY CLOPTSET command to search for the client option sets.
  • Server options. A number of server options are used to manage the interaction between the backup-archive client and server. An example of one such server option is TXNGROUPMAX.
  • Information about this node as it is defined to the server. To collect this information, issue the QUERY NODE nodeName F=D command by using an administrative client that is connected to the server.
  • Schedule definitions for the schedules that apply to this node. The schedule definitions can be queried from the server when you issue the QUERY SCHEDULE command.
  • The policy information that is configured for this node on the server. The policy information can be queried from the server when you issue the QUERY DOMAIN, QUERY POLICYSET, QUERY MANAGEMENTCLASS, or QUERY COPYGROUP commands.