Determine the Problem Area

The first step in the process of troubleshooting is to determine the problem area. The following troubleshooting flow chart shows the major problem categories:

Error Log Files

The error log files are located in the directory indicated by the Ingres environment variable/logical II_CONFIG. The log files are as follows:

• errlog.log

  The main DBMS error log and the default log for most programs.

• iiacp.log

  Archiver error log.

• iircp.log

  Recovery error log.

Note: If your system is configured for Ingres Cluster Solution, each node in the Ingres cluster maintains a separate Archiver and Recovery error log. Each log is distinguished by having _nodename appended to the base log name, where nodename is the Ingres node name for the host machine as returned by iipmhost.

On VMS, if SCSNODE is set, the log files except errlog.log is named *.LOG_nodename.

Optional Error Log Files

The names of optional log files can vary, but all log files end with the extension LOG. Optional log files include:

• II_DBMS_LOG

  DBMS error log

• II_GCCxx_LOG

  GCC error log

• II_GC_LOG

  GCC trace log

• II_STAR_LOG

  Star error log

Display Value for II_CONFIG

To display the value for II_CONFIG, type the following command at the operating system prompt:

Windows:

ingprenv

UNIX:

ingprenv

VMS:

set def II_SYSTEM:[INGRES.FILES]

or

set def II_CONFIG.

View List of Log Files

For a list of log files, type the following command at the operating system prompt from the directory indicated by $II_CONFIG (UNIX) or II_CONFIG (VMS):

Windows:

dir *.log

UNIX:

ls *.log

VMS:

dir *.log

Check the Error Log Files

Checking for error logs is the first step for determining the nature of the problem. To check for error logs, follow these steps:

1. Check the log files for error messages. Examine errlog.log first.
2. If indicated, check optional log files for error messages.
3. Identify the errors associated with your problem. All errors are time stamped. Find the most recent error message associated with your problem. Read back up the log file from there to the first error relating to that problem. Many error messages cascade from that initial error. This initial error is usually the most important in identifying the problem even though it is not the error that users report.

   For example, the following error message merely notifies you that a DBMS server has exited for one of many possible reasons:

   E_SC0221_SERVER_ERROR_MAX

   You must look in the errlog.log for associated DBMS server errors such as "E_DM9300_DM0P_CLOSE_PAGE Buffer still fixed," a fatal error message. Search the error log for additional errors occurring around the time of the error that was displayed.

Find Your Problem Category

To find the problem category, follow these steps:

1. Determine the general category in which your problem lies. The following categories relating to running the Ingres installation are described in this guide:
   • Ingres startup and shutdown
   • Ingres configuration
   • Ingres tools startup
   • Inconsistent database or recovery
   • Operating system performance

     For a description of problems relating to queries and performance, see the Database Administrator Guide.

2. Use the information in the error logs to determine which category to check. Error messages always include the first two letters of the facility code that generated the error.