Computer Associates SQLSTQ99000600 Diagnostics Guide - Page 26

What is the Extent of the Problem?, Identify Potential Causes

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Identify Potential Causes „ Can the problem be repeated at will by running certain commands or by certain actions on the system? „ Does the problem happen randomly without relation to anything else on the system? By identifying a pattern in the times during which the problem occurs (for example, the day after a holiday, the end of the month, shortly after the agent configuration set was modified, after a new patch was applied), you may be able to pinpoint a potential trigger. For example, is the install package set to be delivered via a particular router that happens to be undergoing a software update of its own and is, therefore, unavailable? Note: If support requests and analyzes multiple log files, it is critical that all log files cover the same time span, unless otherwise specified. What is the Extent of the Problem? Finally, you need to identify the full scope of the problem. Useful questions to ask include the following: „ How many components have the error (for example, are messages being forwarded to the Event Console from the Enterprise Manager but not the Scalability Servers? Are all agents failing or only the Windows NT agents)? „ What is the size of a single error (for example, is it limited to a single machine or does it impact an entire network segment)? „ How many errors are on each component? „ If there are multiple ways of performing the affected function, does the problem occur with each method (for example, does a package delivery fail when DTS is used but succeed when it is not)? „ Can the problem be reproduced in a similar test environment? Once again, the goal is to detect a behavioral pattern for the problem. Does it recur periodically? Has it spread to other components or machines? Did it affect only computers that recently had an upgrade or system change? Identify Potential Causes After you have identified the problem and its scope, the next step is to identify the potential cause(s). The most likely candidates include: „ A change in the environment had an unexpected effect „ A change in the product or component had an unexpected effect „ User error 4-4 Unicenter IT Resource Management Diagnostics Guide

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Identify Potential Causes
Can the problem be repeated at will by running certain commands or by
certain actions on the system?
Does the problem happen randomly without relation to anything else on
the system?
By identifying a pattern in the times during which the problem occurs (for
example, the day after a holiday, the end of the month, shortly after the agent
configuration set was modified, after a new patch was applied), you may be
able to pinpoint a potential trigger. For example, is the install package set to
be delivered via a particular router that happens to be undergoing a software
update of its own and is, therefore, unavailable?
Note:
If support requests and analyzes multiple log files, it is critical that all
log files cover the same time span, unless otherwise specified.
What is the Extent of the Problem?
Finally, you need to identify the full scope of the problem. Useful questions to
ask include the following:
How many components have the error (for example, are messages being
forwarded to the Event Console from the Enterprise Manager but not the
Scalability Servers?
Are all agents failing or only the Windows NT agents)?
What is the size of a single error (for example, is it limited to a single
machine or does it impact an entire network segment)?
How many errors are on each component?
If there are multiple ways of performing the affected function, does the
problem occur with each method (for example, does a package delivery
fail when DTS is used but succeed when it is not)?
Can the problem be reproduced in a similar test environment?
Once again, the goal is to detect a behavioral pattern for the problem. Does it
recur periodically? Has it spread to other components or machines? Did it
affect only computers that recently had an upgrade or system change?
Identify Potential Causes
After you have identified the problem and its scope, the next step is to identify
the potential cause(s).
The most likely candidates include:
A change in the environment had an unexpected effect
A change in the product or component had an unexpected effect
User error
4–4
Unicenter IT Resource Management Diagnostics Guide