Overview and new features for troubleshooting

What is new for troubleshooters

This topic provides an overview of new and changed features in troubleshooting tools and support.

Diagnosing problems (using diagnosis tools)

This topic provides a place to start your search for troubleshooting information.

Presentations from IBM Education Assistant

 

Troubleshoot overview

Troubleshooting is the

process of finding and eliminating the cause of a problem. Whenever you have a problem with your IBM software, the troubleshooting process begins as soon as you ask yourself what happened? A basic troubleshooting strategy at a high level involves:

  1. Recording the symptoms.

  2. Recreating the problem.

  3. Eliminating possible causes.

  4. Using diagnostic tools.

 

Recording the symptoms of the problem

Depending on the type of problem you have, whether it be with your application, your server, or your tools, you might receive a message that indicates 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, one can learn more about where your problem exists.

 

Recreating the problem

Think back to what

steps you were doing that led you to this problem. Try those steps again to see if one can easily recreate this problem. If you have a consistently repeatable test case, you will have an easier time determining 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 worked before what has changed? The change can refer to any type of change made to the system, ranging from adding new hardware or software, to configuration changes to existing software.

  • What was the first symptom of the problem you witnessed? Were there other symptoms occurring around that point of time?

  • Does the same problem occur elsewhere? Is only one machine experiencing the problem or are multiple machines experiencing the same problem?

  • What messages are being generated that could indicate what the problem is?

 

Eliminating possible causes

Narrow the scope

of your problem by eliminating components that are not causing the problem. By using a process of elimination, one can simplify your problem and avoid wasting time in areas that are not culprits. Consult the information in this product and other available resources to help you with your elimination process.

 

Using diagnostic tools

As a more advanced task, there are various tools that use to analyze and diagnose problems with your system. To learn how to use these tools see Diagnosing problems (using diagnosis tools).