IBM Support Assistant User Guide
Service Component
Details
Collecting Data from Your System
The Collector tool is preconfigured to locate important problem determination data
on your computer system and copy it into a Collector output file. An example of this data
is a log file generated by your IBM product and stored in a special directory, such as
tmp3/logs, within your workspace. An inventory file shipped with the Collector tool tells
the Collector what data to collect and where to find it.
Investigation of software questions often requires detailed analysis of log files and
other data that can indicate the status and health of your software product. As IBM support
analysts investigate your software question, they may need you to send them specific files
from your system. By collecting important system data at the time you submit your software
question, you enable IBM to answer your question more quickly.
Collector output files remain on your system for reference and can be deleted as necessary.
Here are examples of system data useful for investigating software questions about
IBM products:
- Files such as the wsappdev.ini file, pref_store.ini file, and files from the logs
directory in the installation directory
- Project names from the product workspace
- Files and directories from the .metadata directory, such as log files and the .config
directory
- Information about the operating environment such as operating system version and disk
space
- Information about the network environment such as TCP/IP configuration, TCP/IP
connections, shared resources, and client sessions
- Information about the user environment
- List of software installed on the system.
When the Collector tool has finished running, a message appears indicating successful
completion. In case the collector cannot run successfully, details about the cause of the
failure are logged in the collector.log file in the workspace .metadata subdirectory.
Collector Tool Input Fields
In order for the Collector tool to collect system data and store it in an output
file, you must provide information about the product or products for which you gather system data.
The installation and workspace directories refer to the file system locations where
your IBM product is installed and where the product workspace is located.
The Collector tool input fields are mandatory.
Depending on what IBM products or plugins you have installed and registered with the IBM
Support Assistant, you may see other Collector options on this page for
each of these products or plugins.
If you invoke the Collector with more than one product selected, then the Collector
output file will contain an output JAR file for each product that you selected.
The Collector generates the output file in the workspace .metadata subdirectory. The name of the collector
output file is collector_<timestamp>.jar, where timestamp is the system time when the collector
was invoked.
The Collector tool also uses the workspace .metadata subdirectory as a work area where it creates
temporary files while it is creating the Collector output file. The Collector will delete
the temporary files when it is finished.
Creating and Submitting a Service Request
The Submit Service Request task is a link that accesses the IBM Software
Support Web site, where you can manage electronic service requests. At this Web site you
have the ability to create and submit a service request. You can also view any service
requests you have already submitted. When you arrive at this Web site, click on ESR.
The following requirements apply in order for you to submit an electronic service
request:
- Your organization must have a service agreement in place with IBM
- You must have an IBM user identification and a password
- You must have an authorized name and email address on file with IBM.
If you are unsure about meeting these requirements, please review the information
available on this Web site. You can also send a question to IBM Support using the email form
on this Web site.
ESR is the IBM name for the software that lets you submit an electronic
service request.
After you submit a service request, be sure to write down the PMR Number that appears
onscreen. You will need this when you send the Collector output file in the next step so
IBM Support can associate your file with your service request.
To view a demonstration showing how to create and update a service request
electronically and how to use other Web site features, click on the question mark that
appears next to the Submit Service Request button.
Sending the Collector Output File
Before you can send your Collector output file to IBM you must indicate where you
are located so that the Service component can transmit the file to the correct IBM destination.
You also need to enter the name and location of the file that you wish to send. By default this is the
Collector output file. Please provide the PMR Number that was created when you submitted the service request.
Finally, select the name of the IBM product that you opened the PMR against
from the drop-down menu under Select Product.
The location, output file name, and PMR Number are mandatory.
Sending a Collector output file to IBM requires use of the File Transfer Protocol
(FTP). If your organization does not support this protocol, you should contact IBM Support
to inquire about other means of transporting this file to IBM.
When the Service component finishes sending the Collector output file to IBM, a
message appears indicating successful completion.
Glossary
Authorized Caller
A person in your organization who is authorized to submit or view PMRs using the ESR tool.
Collector inventory file
A text file containing requests to be executed by the Collector tool. Examples include:
- Get a file
- Get a directory
- Execute an operating system command.
Note that the Collector inventory file is an input file that instructs the
Collector about what data to collect from your system. Data gathered by the Collector is
written to the Collector output file.
Electronic Service Request (ESR) tool
The IBM Software Support online system for Passport Advantage, Passport Advantage Express,
Lotus Premium, Tivoli, and Rational support customers to submit and track service requests
about software distributed under an IBM software maintenance contract.
IBM Passport Advantage
IBM's software support strategy that includes upgrade protection and online technical support
as part of the license acquisition for distributed software products.
Output directory
This identifies the directory where you wish the collector output file to be stored. The
default value is the CollectorOutput directory in the system temp directory.
Output file name
This is the name of the Collector output file that contains selected system data. This file
name must end in .jar and must not contain the absolute or relative path of the file. The
absolute path of the Collector output file is the value of the output directory field. For
example, collector.jar is a valid Collector output file name, but C:\Temp\collector.jar or
Temp\collector.jar is not. The default output file name is collector.jar.
Problem Management Record (PMR)
A PMR is created when a customer submits a service request to fix a software problem or
answer a software question. A PMR Number is assigned to track the request.
Site Technical Contact (STC)
This is the person in your company who is responsible for maintaining the list of Authorized
Callers in ESR for your company.
Temporary directory
This directory stores temporary data needed by the Collector while it is running. Data
written here will be removed after the Collector runs. The default value is the system temp
directory.
Workspace location
This is the file system path indicating the location of the product workspace from which
data is collected. The default value is the workspace that is used for this session.