Knowledge Collection: FileNet P8 Process Engine Troubleshooting Tools

Answer

FileNet P8 Process Engine (PE) Tools Technotes

PE-specific Tools

Using the "911" tool to troubleshoot FileNet P8 Process Engine (PE) and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1423388)
911 is an Image Services-based script, available on FileNet P8 PE and IS servers, that takes a snapshot of the server by running a set of system tools, quickly capturing a cross-section of some key server metrics.

Using cormon to monitor FileNet P8 Process Engine (PE) and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1398287)
PE and IS server request handler processes (server stubs) are monitored using the cormon tool. The output can help identify any long running processes, which are often the result of a system issue, such as a blocked process.

Using eladisp to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1398885)
The eladisp tool displays the PE and IS Courier RPC event statistics that are collected by the Event Logging Abstract (ELA). eladisp can be set up to report on any number of RPC events as requested by IBM FileNet Support or Engineering.

Using ipc_tool to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1398882)
ipc_tool provides information regarding the resources that allow PE and IS processes to interact. This includes details of interlocks, semaphores and shared memory.

Using Process Engine (PE) Server Debugging to troubleshoot FileNet P8 PE issues (Technote Reference #1433358)
PE Server Debugging, which is part of the P8 3.5 Process Task Manager application, is used to help troubleshoot issues involving the VWJs request handler processes.

FileNet P8 Process Engine (PE) Version Tools (Technote Reference #1433374)
Engineering often requires information regarding the exact P8 release version installed on the PE. One tool that can be used to determine P8 PE release version information is versionPE.

Using PPM Debugging to troubleshoot FileNet P8 Process Engine (PE) issues (Technote Reference #1398336)
PPM Debugging is used to help troubleshoot issues involving the various components of the Process Engine, including all calls to the RMI registry. PPM Debugging is a part of the PE Process Task Manager application.

Using traceit.sh to collect dumps of FileNet Image Services (IS) and P8 Process Engine (PE) processes to troubleshoot hung or delayed processes on Unix platforms (Technote Reference #1398349)
Engineering often requests a dump of a process that is hung or delayed in processing. On a Unix server you can capture such a dump using the traceit.sh tool.

Using vwspy to troubleshoot FileNet P8 Process Engine issues (Technote Reference #1408406)
vwspy is used to help troubleshoot issues involving the various components of the Process Engine.

Using vwtool to troubleshoot FileNet P8 Process Engine issues (Technote Reference #1409495)
vwtool can be used to help troubleshoot issues involving the various components of Process Engine, such as the VWJs (3.x versions) and VWKs (4.x versions) request handler processing.


Microsoft, Unix and Other 3rd Party Tools
The following tools can also be found in Knowledge Collection: Microsoft, Unix and Other 3rd Party Troubleshooting Tools for FileNet P8, Image Services (IS) and Content Federation Services (CFS) Environments (Techdoc Reference #7016928).

Using the Microsoft adplus to capture a Windows process dump to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1394543)
Engineering often requests a process dump of a process that is hung or appears to be hung, or a crash dump when the software fails. On a Windows server you can capture such a dump using the adplus tool that is included in the “Debugging Tools for Windows” package from Microsoft.

Using the Microsoft complete memory dump process to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1394546)
When troubleshooting instances where it is difficult to identify the offending process(es), assistance from Microsoft support might be required. When other tools do not provide sufficient insight, Microsoft may request that a complete memory dump be taken at the time of failure.

Using the Microsoft Debug Diagnostic Tool (DebugDiag) to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1394571)
DebugDiag is designed to assist in troubleshooting issues such as hangs, slow performance, memory leaks or fragmentation, and crashes in any Win32 user-mode process running under Windows 2003 and Windows XP.

Using Microsoft Desktop Heap Monitor (dheapmon) to determine desktop heap space and troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1397660)
On busy systems, it is possible to exhaust the Windows desktop heap space reserved for non-interactive sessions. The dheapmon tool is used to determine the desktop heap usage. Ideally, this tool should be scripted, and the output captured throughout the day during peak processing periods.

Using Microsoft Diagnostic Tool (winmsd) to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1397951)
The winmsd tool provides information on the server configuration, as well as the software installed. Such details can provide insight into system resource usage, as well as other applications running on the server.

Using Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC) Tracing to troubleshoot FileNet P8 issues (Technote Reference #1397970)
The DTC tracing feature provides a trace of high-level transactions that a distributed transaction undergoes during processing. DTC tracing is designed primarily as a tool used to provide information to Microsoft for troubleshooting purposes.

Using the Microsoft Process Explorer to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1397971)
Process Explorer provides information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded. This tool is useful for troubleshooting DLL version problems and handle leaks, and provides insight into the way Windows and applications work.

Using the Microsoft Userdump tool to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1398171)
Sometimes a program fails but does not produce a Dr. Watson report, such as when an issue occurs at system startup. In such instances, the Microsoft Userdump tool may be able to capture information regarding the failure. The output produced is similar to that which is included in a Dr. Watson log.

Using Server Resource Monitors to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues
(Technote Reference #1398321)
Server resource utilization data provides information on system operations at the time of a problem or failure, and can identify issues related to the lack of adequate system resources.

FileNet P8 Content Engine (CE) Apache Debug Logging (Technote Reference #1394303)
The Apache HTTP Server, by default, logs diagnostic information and errors that it encounters while processing requests to a log named error.log. This error log, typically named error.log.

Using the Solaris truss command to trace system calls for FileNet Image Services (IS) and P8 Process Engine (PE) processes (Technote Reference #1398350)
Truss is used to trace the system/library calls and signals made/received by a new or existing process. As the program runs, truss writes any signals received or faults incurred by the program to its output file.

Using the AIX System Configuration Information Collection Tool (snap) to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1429194)
It's important to document your P8 and/or IS system configuration, as this aids in problem investigation by providing details on the system environment. The AIX snap tool provides a variety of system configuration information.

Unix Core File Debugging Tools: dbx and gdb (Technote Reference #1433376)
The core file debugging tools, such as dbx and gdb, are used to read information in core files and provide a stack trace of the processing at the time the error occurred.


Network Analysis Tools
The following tools can also be found in Knowledge Collection: Network Analysis and Troubleshooting Tools for FileNet P8, Image Services (IS) and Content Federation Services (CFS) Environments (Techdoc Reference #7016927).

Using the netstat tool to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1398173)
netstat (network statistics) is a command-line tool that displays network connections, routing tables, and a number of network interface statistics. It is available on Unix and Windows operating systems. A snapshot of network activity provides information regarding how busy a server is (number of packets transmitted/received), and other basic processing information (retransmission rate, out-of-order packet rate, connection utilization/state).

Using network tracing to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues (Technote Reference #1398286)
Network traces provide insight into the low level system processing (e.g., TCP/IP processing), as well as details of RPC calls and the responses delivered to those calls. Network traces captured in conjunction with other tool data, depending on the circumstances, may help identify or eliminate possible sources of a problem.

Using the ping tool to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) issues
(Technote Reference #1398293)
Ping is a network tool that is most typically used to test whether a particular host is reachable across an IP network, and to troubleshoot network latency issues. It is available on Unix and Windows operating system platforms. Intermittent communication issues can impact server processing. Using the “ping” tool to collect network response snapshots throughout the day can help identify problems within the networking environment.

Using traceroute / tracert to troubleshoot FileNet P8 and Image Services (IS) (Technote Reference #1399429)
Traceroute and tracert are tools used to determine the route taken by packets across the network. The number of “hops” (i.e., from one router to the next) a request makes to reach its destination can impact the performance and general behavior of the system.

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