InfoSphere Information Server Serviceability - DSXchange.net

Luncheon Webinar Series
Decemember 6, 2011
InfoSphere Information Server Serviceability – Jim Tsimis
Sponsored By:
0

IBM InfoSphere Information Server – What’s new in Release 8.7
• Questions and suggestions regarding presentation topics? - send to
editor@dsxchange.com
• Downloading the presentation
– http://www.dsxchange.net/ISAlite.html
– Replay will be available within one day with email with details
• Bonus Offer – Free premium membership for your DataStage Management! Submit
your management’s email address and we will offer him access on your behalf.
– Email Info@dsxchange.net subject line “Managers special”.
– Join us all at Linkedin http://tinyurl.com/DSXmembers
1

InfoSphere Information Server
Serviceability
Jim Tsimis, IBM
Advanced Support Architect

Serviceability is a measure of the amount of effort it
takes to identify the root cause of a software problem
and resolve it.
The measure includes the end to end experience from
the time a user perceives they have a problem with our
products, solutions or services to the time they believe
it has been successfully resolved for them.
3

IBM Support Assistant Lite for InfoSphere Information Server
• Focused on improving the overall
customer support experience by
reducing the time and effort
required to:
– gather complete artifacts and
data from an InfoSphere
Information Server
installation
– identify potential
configuration errors and
runtime issues
– package and send
appropriate information to
IBM Support
– analyze log files for known
issues
– capture system details for
future reference
4

5
IBM Support Portal
• The IBM Support Portal presents a unified and customizable view for
accessing support tools and information for all IBM products and services

6
ISA Lite for InfoSphere Information Server

ISA Lite for InfoSphere Information Server
• Included with InfoSphere Information Server starting with Version 8 Release 5
– Works with all 8.X versions starting with 8.0.1.1
– Current version available at:
http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=14&uid=swg24022700
7

ISA Lite for InfoSphere Information Server
• ISA Lite documentation is included in install directory …InformationServer/ISALite/doc
• It is also available on-line along with a link to the MustGather document that serves as the blueprint
for the automated data collection process
8

Menu Options
7 Functional Groups
• IBM Support Recommended tasks is
suggested as a starting point since it
groups the most commonly used tasks
• Symptom Analysis tasks can be used to
analyze a DataStage Director log or other
InfoSphere Information Server logs, and if
a known issue is found a link to a
Technote or resolution will be presented
• The DataStage Job Logs Collector can be
used to create a zip file that includes a
selected job’s run time logs and design
info. It can be run on the DataStage
Engine tier and does not require the
DataStage Director or Designer
• All tasks include the Basic System
Summary
9

Installation
• Even though release 8.7 includes ISA Lite on services, engine & client tiers you should
download and install the newest version of ISA Lite to utilize the latest functionality
– Version 8 Release 5 includes version S8.5.004
• ISA Lite S8.5.005 added the capability to package a DataStage job log along with the job design for a
selected job, create a migration reference report to streamline the process of migrating to InfoSphere
Information Server Version 8 Release 5 and several enhancements to other modules.
• ISA Lite S8.5.006 removed the restriction that required users to run all tasks as root, added Information
Analyzer diagnostic and other enhancements.
– Version 8 Release 7 includes version S8.5.007
• Removes WAS collector since the functionality is now part of InfoSphere Information Server Collector,
heapdump, core and javacore files stored in independent zip file that is part of the main collection zip,
many enhancements to existing modules as well as support for HP-UX.
• Once the zip/gz package is downloaded, transfer it to the target system then unzip and
extract the contents of the zip/gz package to the InfoSphere Information Server home
directory.
– If you are replacing an existing version, rename the existing ISALite directory and install the
version in the same location then verify that the access rights are set to match the settings of
the prior version.
Note: The target system can have one or more tiers installed (Client, Engine, Services,
Repository), can be a remote cluster node (only WAS is installed), or can be a system without
InfoSphere Information Server to run the pre-requisite checker that is included with ISA Lite.
10

11
Installation
• Install as root and set access rights to 755

12
System Summary - Graphical & Console Mode Interface

Graphical & Console Interface
• GUI mode is easier to navigate but both interfaces produce the same results and have the exact
same functionality
– Console interface also has an advantage for users that are connected via a WAN
– GUI interface requires X-Windows for UNIX/Linux platforms
• Utilize a naming convention for the collection that includes the PMR number, host name and the
name of the collection
13

Graphical & Console Mode Interface
• You do not have to be root to utilize ISA Lite but the collection of some files and the
execution of some commands will not be possible
– Topology Diagram not part of collection unless root user id is used
– Warning is presented suggesting that users invoke ISA Lite with administrative privileges
– Not much data is lost when running the System Summary as dsadm but root or sudo should be used for InfoSphere
Information Server Collector and General Diagnostic Health Checker
14

Graphical & Console Mode Interface
• The following fields are optional
– PMR number, if entered can be used to populate PMR details when transferring
data to ECuREP server if system is connected to the internet
15

Graphical & Console Mode Interface
• ISA Lite remembers previously entered values
– Make sure that you select the correct location for InfoSphere Information Server
on systems that have multiple instances
16

17
Graphical & Console Mode Interface
• Completing the collection

System Summary: Collection Structure
• buildinfo.txt: ISA Lite revision, etc.
• SYSTEM-SUMMARY.html: collection data describing system environment
• linux.swinfo.output.txt: installed software (included within SYSTEM-SUMMARY.html on other
platforms like AIX)
• META-INF, ISALogs and autopdzip (ISA Lite framework files & logs)
• InformationServer: Version.xml
18

19
System Summary: Review Collection
• Review dsadm collection from AIX 6.1 server
– Some functions and commands could not be executed by dsadm
• InfoSphere Information Server Topology Map, WebSphere
Application Server Cluster Topology Map
• The lslicense command fails with execute permission denied but is
not really required for InfoSphere Information Server diagnostic
analysis
• 4 bootinfo commands fail with execute permission denied but since
the collection also executes getconf we have all the required
information

System Summary: Review Collection
• Collection highlights for an AIX 6.1 server
– Some of the data collected that pertains to the system:
• The actual hostname and uname -a output
• The AIX release level with a complete list of installed software & patches which simplifies checks for
meeting system requirements and installation of a C++ compiler
• CPU core details (number, frequency and LPAR settings)
• Memory details
• Disk utilization including file system types
• Paging space configuration and usage
• Network configuration, statistics and name resolution details
• Key system settings like maxuproc
• Summary of system error log messages
– InfoSphere Information Server specific:
• Version and installed tiers
• Installed products
• Installed Packs
• Install and patch history details
• Install variables
• Topology map and WAS cluster topology map (root required)
• NLS configuration
20

21
IBM Support Portal for InfoSphere Information Server

IBM Support Portal
ibm.com/supportportal
Customize your support experience via quick start link
22

IBM Support Portal
23
Quick start option guides you through the initial setup

IBM Support Portal
24
Tabs simplify access to relevant information by task

IBM Support Portal
Subscribe for notifications, view alerts & top ten lists
25

IBM Support Portal
Download fixes for your product, version and operating system
26

IBM Support Portal – Fix Central
A list of fixes is presented based on your input
27
Select fixes to download

IBM Support Portal
Access troubleshooting resources for selected products
28

IBM Support Portal
Search for information
29
Filter results by product version, content type and task

IBM Support Portal
Easily access information to simplify installs and upgrades
30

IBM Support Portal
Open and manage service requests
Select ? to learn more about the Support Portal
31

IBM Support Portal
Access documentation for your product and version
32
Access Redbooks, information centers, multimedia educational modules, etc. to
gain a better understanding of IBM software products

Communities
• On-line communities, User Groups, Technical Forums, Blogs,
Social networks, and more
– Find the community that interests you …
• Information Management ibm.com/software/data/community
• Business Analytics ibm.com/software/analytics/community
• Enterprise Content Management ibm.com/software/data/contentmanagement/usernet.html
• IBM Champions
– Recognizing individuals who have made the most outstanding
contributions to Information Management, Business Analytics,
and Enterprise Content Management communities
• ibm.com/champion