Detecting Errors Using Logs

The BEA Tuxedo log files can help you detect failures in both your application and your system by:

Analyzing the Transaction Log (TLOG)

The TLOG is a binary file that contains only messages about global transactions that are in the process of being committed. To view the TLOG, you must first convert it to text format so that it is readable. The BEA Tuxedo system provides two tmadmin operations to do this:

The dumptlog and loadtlog commands are also useful when you need to move the TLOG between machines as part of a server group migration or machine migration.

Detecting Transaction Errors

You can detect TLOG errors using the MIB to obtain the status of a transaction. You can also run the tmadmin command display transaction to detect any errors in transactions.

Analyzing the User Log (ULOG)

On each active machine in an application, the BEA Tuxedo system maintains a log file that contains BEA Tuxedo system error messages, warning messages, debugging messages, or other helpful information. This file is called the user log or ULOG. The ULOG simplifies the job of finding errors returned by the BEA Tuxedo ATMI, and provides a central repository in which the BEA Tuxedo system and applications can store error information.

You can use the information in the ULOG to identify the cause of system or application failures. Multiple messages about a given problem can be placed in the user log. Generally, earlier messages provide more useful diagnostic information than later messages.

ULOG Message Example

In the following example, message 358 from the LIBTUX_CAT catalog identifies the cause of the trouble reported in subsequent messages, namely, that there are not enough UNIX system semaphores to boot the application.

Sample ULOG Messages

151550.gumby!BBL.28041.1.0: LIBTUX_CAT:262: std main starting 
151550.gumby!BBL.28041.1.0: LIBTUX_CAT:358: reached UNIX limit on semaphore ids
151550.gumby!BBL.28041.1.0: LIBTUX_CAT:248: fatal: system init function ...
151550.gumby!BBL.28040.1.0: CMDTUX_CAT:825: Process BBL at SITE1 failed ...
151550.gumby!BBL.28040.1.0: WARNING: No BBL available on site SITE1.
               Will not attempt to boot server processes on that site.

Note: System Messages contains complete descriptions of user log messages and recommendations for any actions that should be taken to resolve the problems indicated.

Analyzing tlisten Messages in the ULOG

Part of the ULOG records error messages to the tlisten process. You can view tlisten messages using any text editor. Each machine, including the MASTER machine contains a separate tlisten process. Though separate tlisten logs are maintained in the ULOG on each machine, they can be shared across remote file systems.

The ULOG records tlisten process failures. tlisten is used, during the boot process, by tmboot and, while an application is running, by tmadmin. tlisten messages are created as soon as the tlisten process is booted. Whenever a tlisten process failure occurs, a message is recorded in the ULOG.

Note: Application administrators are responsible for analyzing the tlisten messages in the ULOG, but programmers may also find it useful to check these messages.

The BEA Tuxedo System Messages CMDTUX Catalog contains the following information about tlisten messages:

tlisten Message Example

Consider the following example of a tlisten message in the ULOG:

121449.gumby!simpserv.27190.1.0: LIBTUX_CAT:262: std main starting

A ULOG message consists of a tag and text. The tag consists of the following:

The text consists of the following:

Note: You can find this message in the BEA Tuxedo System Messages LIBTUX Catalog.

See Also