Diagnosing Problems

Connection Problem Diagnostics

Error: Connection timed out: connect or UnknownHostException: <IP address or host name>
Explanation: Incorrect IP or host name
Actions:

Verify entered IP address or host name is reachable from your machine: You can use the ping tool to check whether the IP address is reachable.

  • On a Windows XP machine, click the Start button, click on Run and type ping <IP address or host name> into the field of the run box, then click OK.
  • On a Windows Vista or Windows 7 machine, click the Start button and type ping <IP address or host name> directly into the quick search field at the bottom of the Start menu, then press the Enter key.

Look for messages appearing which start with Reply from <IP address or host name> such messages indicate that the address or host name is reachable from your machine. If you do not see such messages, or if you see Request time out. messages, then you need to speak with your network administrator.

Note that in some cases, IP addresses which are accessible from your machine may not respond to ping if the administrator of the system has disabled this functionality (or network administrator has blocked this, for example using a firewall) - speak with your system administrators and/or network administrators to determine whether this is the case; if it is, using the ping tool will not provide any useful diagnostic information.

Error: Connection refused: connect
Explanation: Problem Determination Tools server is not installed, incorrectly configured, or not running
Actions:

Verify Problem Determination Tools server is running on chosen port: If you have the Telnet tool installed, you can use the Telnet tool to attempt to connect to the Problem Determination Tools server:

  • To do this on a Windows XP machine, click the Start button, click on Run, type telnet <IP address or host name> <port> into the field of the run box, then click OK.
  • To do this on a Windows Vista or Windows 7 machine, type the same directly into the quick search field at the bottom of the Start menu.

If a black window opens and says it is Connecting and then goes blank, the Problem Determination Tools server is running on the entered IP address and port. If a black window opens and says it is Connecting and then disappears shortly after, or if you get an error message complaining that Telnet is unknown, cannot be found, or is an invalid command, then the Problem Determination Tools server is not running on the entered IP address and port.

Verify Problem Determination Tools configuration is correct: Speak to your mainframe system administrator to verify that the Problem Determination Tools server is installed and running correctly on the specified IP address or host name and port number.

Error: Invalid authentication credentials
Explanation: Incorrect username and/or password
Actions:

Verify your username and password are correct: Try connecting with another tool or speak to your mainframe system administrator.

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Working with Log Files

You can view the local log file contents by pressing "View Log" button. You can also clear the contents of the local log file by pressing "Clear Log" button.

The log file contents are only useful when diagnosing problems with the IBM support team. When requested, follow the steps required to capture the debugging information:

  1. Select Run the server in debug mode option.
  2. Clear the local log file contents by pressing Clear Log button/
  3. Execute the sequence of actions to reproduce the problem.
  4. View the log file by pressing View Log button and send the contents to the IBM support team.
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