Solstice Enterprise Manager 4.1 Troubleshooting Guide

Chapter 1

Introduction to Troubleshooting Solstice EM

This chapter introduces problem-solving procedures and definitions in the Solstice EM context. Succeeding chapters in this guide describe known problems and solutions for Solstice EM situations you may encounter.

This chapter comprises the following topics:

• Section 1.1 Definitions
• Section 1.2 Commonly Asked Questions
• Section 1.3 Troubleshooting Processes and Procedures
• Section 1.4 Locating Troubleshooting Information

Section 1.4 Locating Troubleshooting Information, provides a list of areas in which you may have a problem, and the page number on which specific troubleshooting solutions for that area begin.

1.1 Definitions

Before you can effectively use this book to solve Solstice EM problems, it is important to confirm that the following terms are used as you would expect.

Troubleshooting -- A defined approach to solving problems that may occur with the Solstice EM software. This term does not typically refer to finding information about common tasks nor does it mean that this book will tell you how to troubleshoot your network using Solstice EM.

Installation Environment Variable -- $EM_HOME is an environment variable that translates to the location where the Solstice EM software is installed. For example: $EM_HOME defaults to /opt/SUNWconn/em.

Default Installation Partition -- For all commands described in this section, /opt is the default installation partition. If you installed the Solstice EM software in a different location, substitute your location in place of /opt.

1.2 Commonly Asked Questions

TABLE 1-1 lists common questions and tells you where to find the answers.

TABLE 1-1   Common Questions

To answer this question...	Refer to...
How do I install Solstice EM?	Installation Guide
How do I start Solstice EM?	Installation Guide
How do I manage networks with Solstice EM?	Managing Your Network
How do I install and manage the High Availability option of Solstice EM?	HA Installation Guide
How do I manage the CORBA Administration feature of Solstice EM?	CORBA Gateway Administration Guide
How do I develop applications that use the Solstice EM platform?	Developing C++ Applications Developing Java Applications Developing CORBA Applications

1.3 Troubleshooting Processes and Procedures

This section provides one approach to problem solving.

1. Determine whether the problem is a Solstice EM problem, another software package problem, or a hardware problem.

2. Identify the specific area of Solstice EM that is affected.

3. Create a detailed problem statement, including specific key indicators of the problem, reproducibility, etc.

4. Verify that you are using Solstice EM as described in the Solstice EM documentation.

5. Refer to the appropriate chapter in this book for information on a specific problem area and follow the specified procedure.

6. If you continue to experience the problem, contact your Customer Support.

1.4 Locating Troubleshooting Information

The subsequent chapters in this book provide detailed information about solving specific Solstice EM problems. Each chapter covers a different set of problem areas. Each problem area contains specific problem topics. Each topic consists of a description, and a solution. Some topics also have a description of the possible cause of the problem.

The following list shows you where to find troubleshooting information.

• Installation Problems
• Solstice EM Startup Problems
• General Tool Problems
• Network Discovery Problems
• Alarms Tool Problems
• Log Entries Problems
• Network Views Problems
• MIS Communication Problems
• Tools for Evaluating Your Network
• Evaluating Network Failures
• Working With CMIP
• Working With SNMP
• Database Error Messages
• SEM HA Administration
• Troubleshooting SEM CORBA Administration Problems
• Solstice EM API Problems
• GDMO Problems