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Solaris PC NetLink 1.0 Administration Guide

SunLink Server Troubleshooting Tools

SunLink Server provides a variety of tools that you can use as troubleshooting aids. These tools can be arranged into the following three categories:

The following sections summarize the tools found in each category and briefly describe the use of each in a troubleshooting context.

Tools for Assessing the Status of the Server

The SunLink Server program includes multiple tools that you can use to assess the operational status of the server at any given time. Frequent assessment of server status will improve your ability as a server administrator to notice a problem or trend quickly.

Periodic review of server status will provide a fairly stable basis for understanding how a normal problem-free server appears. Over time, information that deviates from the norm will be an indication that something has changed and warrants your attention.

Tools for assessing the status of the server are discussed in the following sections.

Event Logs

A number of events related to the daily operation of the server can be tracked using the SunLink Server Manager event logs (see Chapter 3, Configuring and Managing SunLink Server Software). These events are maintained in one of three event logs: system, security, and application. Administrators should develop and implement an event logging policy and include a review of event logs as a regular part of troubleshooting activities.

Administrators will find it particularly useful to characterize the typical use of the server by manipulating event log data using a spreadsheet or word processing program. You can use this approach to generate a standard operating profile of the server and to predict trends in server usage.

Note -

You can also view event logs by using the elfread command. For more information, type man elfread at the SunLink Server command prompt.

Server Status

SunLink Server maintains detailed statistics about its current usage as well as cumulative usage over a particular period of time. It is always helpful to review these statistics on a regular basis as well as when a server problem is encountered.

Server Information

To view data about current server use, use the SunLink Server Manager Information view (see "How to View SunLink Server Information"). This provides details about current client-server sessions and the resources being used by those sessions:

Cumulative Statistics

To view cumulative server usage data, you can use the net statistics command at the SunLink Server command prompt. This command provides cumulative totals for a variety of server activities. Administrators who review the server statistics provided by using this command on a regular basis will find it easier to recognize and address changes in server operation.

The following statistics are maintained for the SunLink Server system, and are available by way of the net statistics command:

Table 6-1 Cumulative Statistics Descriptions

Statistic 

Description 

Refreshed at 

Tells when this set of statistics began (either at the last server startup or the last time the statistics were cleared). 

Sessions accepted 

Tells how many times users connected to the server. 

Sessions timed-out 

Tells how many user sessions were closed because of inactivity. 

Sessions errored-out 

Tells how many user sessions ended because of error. 

Kilobytes sent 

Tells how many Kbytes of data the server transmitted. 

Kilobytes received 

Tells how many Kbytes of data the server received. 

Mean response time (msec) 

Tells the average response time for processing remote server requests. This always will be 0 for Solaris system servers. 

System errors 

This does not apply to Solaris system servers. 

Permission violations 

Tells when a user attempts to access resources without the required permissions. 

Password violations 

The number of incorrect passwords that were tried. 

Files accessed  

The number of files that were used. 

Comm devices accessed 

Not supported in the SunLink Server program. 

Print jobs spooled 

The number of print jobs that were spooled to printer queues on the server. 

Times buffers exhausted 

The number of shortages of big and request buffers. Always set to 0 for Solaris system servers. 

How to Display Session Information From a Windows NT Workstation

Administrators can display and control sessions between clients and the server. You can use this information to gauge the workload on a particular server.

To display session information from a Windows NT Workstation computer or a Windows client computer using Server Manager:

  1. Start Server Manager.

  2. Select the SunLink Server system about which you want to view session information.

  3. Click on the USERS button.

You also can display session information using the net session command at the SunLink Server command prompt.

Note -

You may see sessions displayed that do not show user names. The sessions are a result of administrative activity and should not be deleted.

How to Close Sessions From a Microsoft Windows Computer

An administrator can disconnect a user from the server at any time. Closing a user session does not prevent the user from reconnecting.

To disconnect a user session from a Windows NT computer or from a Windows client computer using Server Manager:

  1. Start Server Manager.

  2. Select the SunLink Server system about which you want to view session information.

  3. Click on the USERS button.

  4. Highlight the user and select the Disconnect button.

You also can disconnect a user session by using the net session command at the SunLink Server command prompt.

How to Close Open Resources From a Microsoft Windows Computer

When a user uses a shared file, the file is open. Sometimes a file will be left open, perhaps even with a lock on it, because of an application program error or some other problem. Such files will remain open and unavailable to other users. Administrators can close these files.

To close an open resource from a Windows NT computer or a Windows client computer using Server Manager:

  1. Start Server Manager.

  2. Select the SunLink Server whose data you want to view.

  3. Click on the IN USE button.

  4. Highlight the open resource and select the Close Resource button.

You also can close an open resource by using the net file command at the SunLink Server command prompt.

Print Subsystem Event Logs

SunLink Server maintains a separate print log for each printer share and each Solaris system printer it uses. These log files record any message generated because of a printer fault or print job error.

An administrator should check these log files periodically to determine whether any such errors are occurring. The logs can be accessed from a client computer by linking to the PRINTLOG shared resource.

The logs also can be accessed from the server. They are in the following directory: /opt/lanman/shares/printlog

Tools Providing Automatic Status on the Server

Quick response time is critical when dealing with server problems. Being aware of a problem at the time it occurs can decrease greatly the effect that the problem may have on the server user community.

You can configure SunLink Server software to notify specified users when a problem occurs. You can also configure the Solaris system to generate and notify you when problems occur. The following sections discuss these features.

Alerter Service

SunLink Server software includes an Alerter service that you can use to notify specified users of the occurrence of a particular event. An administrator should use this service in order to make server problems known immediately. Prompt action to resolve server problems often can minimize their effect. The following examples illustrate situations that could generate alerts:

Solaris System and SunLink Server Features

One of the benefits of SunLink Server software is the availability of the inherent scripting features provided by the Solaris operating system. Combining these features with the data-gathering tools provided by SunLink Server software, an administrator can create a powerful tool that can be used to assess the health of a SunLink Server system at any given time.

For example, using the Solaris system job scheduling feature (CRON), various data-gathering tools provided by SunLink Server, and some of the standard Solaris system commands for checking file system integrity and free space, administrators can write scripts that perform various system and server checks and then send the results to Solaris system administrators at regular intervals.

Tools for Debugging Server Problems

SunLink Server software includes Solaris system commands that you can use to troubleshoot server problems. You execute these commands at the SunLink Server command prompt. This section summarizes these commands and describes the roles they can play in troubleshooting a server.

For more information about each command, type man command at the SunLink Server command prompt.

lmshell

The lmshell command is useful for emulating an MS-DOS client session when you do not have access to an actual MS-DOS client. This command is especially useful when troubleshooting a connectivity problem between a client and server. Using the lmshell command, you can mimic a client logon and resource linking by executing the net logon and net use commands in lmshell at the SunLink Server command prompt.

lmstat

The lmstat command interrogates the server's shared memory image to gather a variety of data about the current state of the server. This command is especially useful when you want to determine which server process a client session is on.

SunLink Server software is composed of a set of cooperative processes. When the server is running, enter the following command:

ps -ef | grep lmx

Executing this command generates a display similar to the following:

root 17726 1 0 12:03:36 0:00 lmx.alerter

root 17713 17461 0 12:03:32 0:00 lmx.srv -s 1

root 17722 17874 0 12:03:35 0:00 lmx.srv -s 2

root 17726 1 0 12:03:36 0:01 lmx.dmn

root 17728 1 0 12:03:36 0:01 lmx.browser

root 17744 1 0 12:03:28 0:00 lmx.ctrl

In this example, there are two lmx.srv server processes (17713 and 17722). The server may have nine clients with current sessions.

How does the administrator know to which lmx.srv process a client is connected? Executing the lmstat -c command at the server prompt usually provides the answer. The system displays output similar to the following:

Clients:

BANANA.SERVE~X (nwnum=0, vcnum=0) on 17713

ORANGE (nwnum=0, vcnum=0) on 17713

PEAR (nwnum=0, vcnum=0) on 17722

Notice that each client name has an associated process ID number. This is the process ID of the lmx.srv process that currently is serving that client. The vcnum value specifies whether this is the client computer's first VC or an additional one.

Being able to determine the process ID of the lmx.srv process that is serving a client is particularly useful when using lmstat -w or the Solaris system truss( ) command. Both commands require a process ID as part of their startup arguments. (The -w option is not valid on all operating systems.)

regconfig

The regconfig command is used to query or change SunLink Server Registry key information. You can use this command to change any value in the Registry. (You also can use the Windows NT Registry Editor to change key values.)

You can also use the regconfig command to reinitialize the SunLink Server Registry with system defaults.

For more information about the Registry, see Appendix A, SunLink Server Registry.

regcheck

The regcheck command is used to check and repair the SunLink Server Registry file. This command checks only the internal structure of the SunLink Server Registry file; it does not check the validity of any data that may be stored in it.

If the internal structure of the Registry file is found to be invalid, use the regcheck command to make the necessary repairs.

samcheck

The samcheck command is used to check, dump, and fix the SAM database. You can use this command to determine whether the user accounts database has been corrupted and optionally, to fix it.

The samcheck command also can be used to output the contents of the user accounts database to stdout in human-readable format.

srvconfig

The srvconfig command is used to display the current default settings of all the server parameters in the lanman.ini file. (It also is a good way to check the location and spelling of any parameter you want to modify.)

The lanman.ini file contains several configuration parameters that you can modify. Default settings are used for most of these parameters. However, a certain number of them can be changed, overriding the default values set at server installation.

To display the default settings of the lanman.ini file, use the following command:

srvconfig -p | more

This command generates a listing of all of the parameters in the lanman.ini file and their default settings.

acladm

The acladm command is used to check and repair problems found in the Access Control List.

Be sure to examine the options that are available with this command before executing it. Type the man acladm command at the SunLink Server command prompt.