IBM RS/6000 SP, Problem Determination Manual

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This soft copy for use by IBM employees only.
Figure 4. SP Error Log Structure
All the PSSP components use this directory structure to write their debugging
information. The internal file structure and the syntax is specific to each
component.
When you have problems on the RS/6000 SP, it is sometimes difficult to
determine the source of the problem, especially when the problem or
malfunctioning involves several components within AIX and PSSP. One of the
most difficult things to do is to isolate the problem to one component. Most of
the problems have clear symptoms that point in the right direction, but
sometimes there are problems with symptoms that are not clear enough to
signal which component is causing it. For instance, if a command like this:
# dsh -w sp21n01
fails and says that it could not be authenticated on node
sp21n01
due to a
kerberos ticket problem, the offensive component is clear. But if you enter this
command:
# SDRGetObjects SP
and you get nothing, the problem could imply several components, including
hardware failures.
Problem determination and problem solving on SP are difficult tasks to perform
without the right documentation and procedures. Even good documentation is
not always enough to fix a problem. In order to be successful, it is necessary to
understand all of the SP components and realize how they are related to one
another.
This book addresses that problem, by giving a comprehensive explanation to the
processes occurring within the SP components and providing an approach to
solve SP problems. Each component has its own chapter, and all of them are
self-contained. The appendixes included cover those extensive parts that are
Chapter 1. O v e r v i e w
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