Collector tool output

Use the collector tool to gather and analyze output from WebSphere Application Server.

The first step in using the collector tool on your WebSphere Application Server product is to run the tool to produce a Java archive (JAR) file as output. The second step in using the collector tool is to analyze its output. The preferred method of performing this analysis is to send the JAR file to IBM Support for analysis. However, you can use this topic to understand the content of the JAR file if you perform your own analysis. You can view the files contained in the JAR file without extracting the files from the JAR file. However, it is easier to extract all files and view the contents of each file individually. To extract the files, use one of the following commands:

• jar -xvf WASenv.jar

• unzip WASenv.jar

Wasenv.jar stands for the name of the JAR file that the collector tool creates. The JAR file contains:

• A collector tool log file, collector.log

• Copies of stored WebSphere Application Server files and their full paths that are located under directory root in the JAR file

• Java information in a directory named Java

• A JAR file manifest

Tips and suggestions

• Unzip the JAR file to an empty directory for easy access to the gathered files and for simplified cleanup.

• Check the collector.log file for errors:

  • Some errors might be normal or expected. For example, when the collector attempts to gather files or directories that do not exist for your specific installation, it logs an error about the missing files.

  • A non-zero return code means that a command that the collector tool attempted to run does not exist. This might be expected in some cases. If this type of error occurs repeatedly, there might actually be a problem.

Related tasks

Related Reference

Reference topic