IBM MQ troubleshooting and support

If you are having problems with your queue manager network or IBM® MQ applications, you can use the techniques that are described in this information to help you diagnose and solve the problems. If you need help with a problem, you can contact IBM Support through the IBM Support Site.

About this task

Troubleshooting is the process of finding and eliminating the cause of a problem. If you have a problem with your IBM software, the troubleshooting process for that problem begins as soon as you ask yourself "what happened?"

A basic troubleshooting strategy at a high level involves:
  1. Recording the symptoms of the problem
  2. Re-creating the problem
  3. Eliminating possible causes

If you need help with a problem that you are having with IBM MQ, you can contact IBM Support through the IBM Support Site. You can also subscribe to notifications about IBM MQ fixes, troubleshooting, and other news. For more information, see Contacting IBM Support.

For more information about recovering after a problem, see Recovering after failure.

Procedure

  1. Record the symptoms of the problem.
    Depending on the type of problem that you have, whether it be with your application, your server, or your tools, you might receive a message that indicates that something is wrong. Always record the error message that you see. As simple as this sounds, error messages sometimes contain codes that might make more sense as you investigate your problem further. You might also receive multiple error messages that look similar but have subtle differences. By recording the details of each one, you can learn more about where your problem exists. Sources of error messages include:
    • Problems view
    • Local error log
    • Eclipse log
    • User trace
    • Service trace
    • Error dialog boxes
    For more information, see the following topics:
    If an IBM MQ component or command has returned an error, and you want more information about a message that is written to the screen or the log, see Messages and reason codes.
  2. Re-create the problem.
    Think back to what steps you were doing that led to the problem. Try those steps again to see whether you can easily re-create the problem. If you have a consistently repeatable test case, it can help to determine what solutions are necessary.
    • How did you first notice the problem?
    • Did you do anything different that made you notice the problem?
    • Is the process that is causing the problem a new procedure, or has it worked successfully before?
    • If this process worked before, what has changed? (The change can refer to any type of change that is made to the system, ranging from adding new hardware or software, to reconfiguring existing software.)
    • What was the first symptom of the problem that you witnessed? Were there other symptoms that were occurring at around the same time?
    • Does the same problem occur elsewhere? Does only one machine have the problem or do multiple machines have the same problem?
    • What messages are being generated that might indicate what the problem is?
    For more information about these types of question, see Making initial checks and Detailed troubleshooting.
  3. Eliminate possible causes.
    Narrow the scope of your problem by eliminating components that are not causing the problem. By using a process of elimination, you can simplify your problem and avoid wasting time in areas that are not responsible. Consult the information in this product documentation and other available resources to help you with your elimination process. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Is there a fix that you can download? For more information, see Contacting IBM Support.