Fabric OS Message Reference v7.0.0 (53-1002149-01, April 2011)

12 Fabric OS Message Reference

53-1002149-01

Responding to a system message

• Is the switch operational?

• Assess impact and urgency:

- Is the switch down?

- Is it a standalone switch?

- How large is the fabric?

- Is the fabric redundant?

• Run the errDump command on each logical switch.

• Run the supportFtp command (as needed) to set up automatic FTP transfers, and then run the

supportSave command.

• Document the sequence of events by answering the following questions:

- What happened just prior to the problem?

- Is the problem repeatable?

- If so, what are the steps to produce the problem?

- What configuration was in place when the problem occurred?

• Did a failover occur?

• Was security enabled?

• Was POST enabled?

• Are serial port (console) logs available?

• Which CP was master? (only applicable to the Brocade DCX, 12000, 24000, or 48000)

• What and when were the last actions or changes made to the system?

Common steps to be followed when troubleshooting a system message are as follows.

• Run the errDump command on each logical switch.

• Run the supportFtp command (as needed) to set up automatic FTP transfers, and then run the

supportSave command.

Support

Fabric OS creates a number of files that can help support personnel troubleshoot and diagnose a

problem. This section describes those files and how to access or save the information for support

personnel.

Panic dump and core dump files

The Fabric OS creates panic dump files and core files when there are problems in the Fabric OS

kernel. You can view panic dump files using the pdShow command. These files can build up in the

kernel partition (typically because of failovers) and might need to be periodically deleted or

downloaded using the supportSave command.

The software watchdog process (SWD) is responsible for monitoring daemons critical to the

function of a healthy switch. The SWD holds a list of critical daemons that ping the SWD periodically

at a predetermined interval defined for each daemon. The ping interval is set at 133 seconds, with

the exception of the Fabric Watch daemon and the IP storage demon, which ping the SWD every

333 seconds. (For a complete listing of daemons, refer to the KSWD entry in Table 6.)