Brief description and timeline of the problem

• What is the nature of the problem?
• Is this the first time the customer has experienced this problem?
• Can the problem be reproduced?
• Is this a VTF Open (VTFO) or VTL-ProtecTIER (VTL-PT) configuration?
• Have any attempts been done to correct the problem?
• Are backups and recoveries operating successfully? If not, what error messages is your backup application reporting (down drives, unable to mount cartridges, etc)?
• Can you see any Alerts in the Alert LOG of the GUI?
• Can you ping and login to the VTFO or VTL-PT Linux Servers? If not, can you access the Linux Servers using a local console?
• Has anything changed in your environment recently? Example - adding a new backup server, modifying zones, adding storage, network changes, etc.
• What is the Product release Version, Product maintenance level, Operating System and Release?

Basic Data Collection

Collect the following data and upload it to TUF.

• Download the UNIX GetConfig script and run the script on each of the Linux Servers in this configuration.
  • Do this for both Servers if it is a cluster.
• Create a Service Report for each Linux Server in the configuration.
  • Do this for both Servers if it is a cluster.
  • See the information below on how to create a Service Report depending on the application type (VTFO or VTL-PT).
• If the problem is visible on the VTF-Manager or PT-Manager GUI screens, take a screen print showing the problem.
• Look at the VTF-Manager or PT-Manager EventLog and Alert Log for any messages that happened around the time the problem started.
  • If at all possible, provide a screen print or export of these messages to a file.
• Provide Switch Data Collection and SAN Topology
• Provide Data Collection from the storage subsystem (Simple Trace from AMS or Dump from RAID)

Note: Typically, loss of access to storage will show symptoms such as:

• The Nodes in a Cluster will not come up properly.
• No Repository or Libraries can be seen in the GUI.
• Some or all of the Carts in one or more Libraries appear as missing or highlighted in red.

VTFO Service Report

The service report is a tar file that provides a complete picture of the system. The service report will gather most of the required logs required by GSC to resolve the problem.

To gather a Service Report for a VTFO Server requires "Command Line" access to the Linux Server.

• Login as "VTFADMIN" User.
• Type in vtl_menu then Enter. A text menu will appear on the console with various menu options.
• Type in /221 then Enter to create a Service Report file.
• The file is placed in the following directory:
  • /opt/dtc/vtfadmin/log
  • The File name typically starts and ends as follows:
  • VTF____Report.tar.gz
• Identify the file and upload it to TUF.

VTL-ProtectTier V1.2 (Non-Cluster) Service Report

The Service Report can be created either from the PT-MANAGER GUI or from the Linux Servers.

If PT-Manager has access to the Linux Servers, then use PT-Manager as follows:

• Login to PT-Manager with Admin authority (Default User=PTADMIN).
• Left Click on the "Appliance" pull down menu at the top of the screen.
• Select the option "Create Service Report"
• Fill in the requested information and then Click "OK".
• The Service Report will now be created and placed on the PT-Manager Server.
• Click "Yes" to the message "Download the File and Add Manager logs".
  • Select a suitable location for the file when prompted.
• Upload the file to TUF.

If PT-Manager has lost access to the VTL-PT Server, open a Console or Telnet connection to the Server and do as follows on the Command Line:

• Login as a user with VTF Administrator privilege (Default User=PTADMIN)
• Change to the following directory:
  • cd /opt/dtc/app/sbin
• Issue the command:
  • ./report_problem
• Answer the prompts for basic information.
• This will generate a service report under the /fx_work0 directory.
• Extract the file from the Server and upload it to TUF.

VTL-ProtectTier V3.x (Cluster) Service Report

The Service Report can be created either from the IBM PT-MANAGER GUI or from the Linux Servers.

If the IBM PT-Manager has access to the Linux Servers, then use the IBM PT-Manager as follows:

• Login to the IBM PT-Manager with Admin authority (Default User=ptadmin)
• Select the "Nodes" TAB, and select the first NODE from which to generate a Service Report.
• Select the "Node" pull down menu at the top of the screen.
  • The Option "Create Problem Report" should be enabled.
  • If it is not, then make sure only one Node in the Cluster is selected.
• Start the Service Report.
• Fill in the requested information and then Click "OK".
• The Service Report for the first Node will now be created and placed on the PT-Manager Server.
• Click "Yes" to the message "Download the File and Add Manager logs".
  • Select a suitable location for the file when prompted.
• Repeat the above for the other Node in the Cluster (unless specifically requested not to do so by GSC).
• Locate the files and upload them to TUF.

If the IBM PT-Manager has lost access to the VTL-PT Server, open a Console or Telnet/ssh connection to the Server and do as follows on the Command Line:

• Login as a root user or with VTL-PT Administrator privilege (Default User=ptadmin)
• Change to the following directory:
  • cd /opt/dtc/app/sbin
• Issue the command:
  • ./report_problem
• Answer the prompts for basic information.
  • This will generate a service report under /pt_work directory.
• Extract the file from the Server and upload it to TUF.