Gathering Information For Technical Support; Troubleshooting Questions - HP A7533A - Brocade 4Gb SAN Switch Base Administrator's Manual

Table 67 Common troubleshooting problems and tools (continued)
Problem area
Hosts
Storage
Management
Applications

Gathering information for technical support

If you are troubleshooting a production system, you must gather data quickly. As soon as a problem is
observed, perform the following tasks (if using a dual CP system, run the commands on both CPs):
1. Enter the supportSave command to save RASLog, TRACE, and supportShow (active CP only)
information for the local CP to a remote FTP location. On a dual CP system, only the local CP
information is saved and supportShow information is only available on the active CP.
NOTE:
environment for automatic dump transfers and the use of the -n -c options; this will save you from
having to enter (or know) all the required FTP parameters needed to successfully execute a
supportSave operation.
2. Enter the pdShow command to display data from a panic dump file. The panic dump file contains
information that may be useful to determine the cause of the system panic.
3. Enter the supportSave command to save or remove core files created by daemons.
For more details about these commands, see the Fabric OS Command Reference.

Troubleshooting questions

Common steps and questions to ask when troubleshooting system problems:
1. What is the current Fabric OS level?
2. What is the switch hardware version?
3. Is the switch operational?
4. What and when were the last actions or changes made to the system environment?
5. Impact assessment and urgency:
• Is the switch down?
• Is it a standalone switch?
• Are there VE, VEX or EX ports connected to the chassis?
302 Troubleshooting
Investigate
• Downlevel HBA firmware
• Incorrect device driver
installation
• Incorrect device driver
configuration
• Incorrect installation and
configuration of the storage
devices that the software
references.
For example, if using a
volume-management
application, check for:
• Incorrect volume installation
• Incorrect volume configuration
It is recommended that you use the supportFtp command to set up the supportSave
Tools
• Host operating system
diagnostic tools
• Device driver diagnostic tools
• Switch commands (for
example, switchShow or
nsAllShow) for diagnostics
Also, make sure you use the latest
HBA firmware recommended by
HP or on the HBA supplier's web
site
• Application-specific tools and
resources