Use these guidelines to make sure that WebSphere® Application Server for z/OS® is customized and maintained
correctly, to support your installation's application workload.
Checking these basic software and hardware requirements can help
you avoid problems with the run-time environment.
- Check that you have the necessary prerequisite software up
and running. Check that they have the proper authorizations and
that the definitions are correct.
- Check for messages that signal potential problems. Look
for warning and error messages in the following sources:
- SYSLOG from other z/OS subsystems and products, such
as TCP/IP (especially the DNS, if in use), RACF®,
and so on
- WebSphere Application Server for z/OS error log
- SYSPRINT of the WebSphere Application Server
for z/OS
- Component trace (CTRACE) output for the server
- Check the ports used by WebSphere Application Server. The ports that are used by WebSphere Application Server must not be reserved by any other z/OS component.
- Ensure that z/OS has enough DASD space for
SVC dumps. You might have to adjust the amount of space, because
it depends on the size of your applications, on the configured Java virtual machine (JVM) heap size, and on
the number of servant regions that might be included in one dump,
and so on. For an SVC dump of one controller and one servant, you
can start with a minimum of 512, but might have to increase the MAXSPACE
to 1024 or higher, given the factors listed above.
- Check your general environment. Does your system have
enough memory? Insufficient memory problems can show up as AUX shortages,
abends, or exceptions from the WebSphere Application Server for z/OS run-time. Sometimes the heap
size for Language Environment® (LE) and
for the Java virtual machine (JVM) needs
to be increased. If you are using RRS and DB2®, make
sure your system has enough space for archive data sets.
- Make sure all prerequisite fixes have been installed;
a quick check for a fix can save hours of debugging.
For the most
current information on fixes and service updates, see:
- The Preventive Service Planning (PSP) buckets for both WebSphere Application Server for z/OS and JAVA subsets of the WebSphere Application Server for z/OS Upgrade. To obtain a copy
of the most current versions of these PSP buckets, you can either
contact the IBM® Support Center, use S/390® SoftwareXcel or link to IBMLink.
- The Support web page of the WebSphere Application Server for z/OS website, which contains
a table of the latest authorized program analysis reports (APARs).
With the latest service information, check the following:
- Ensure that all prerequisite PTFs (fixes) have been applied to
the system.
- Verify that all PTFs were actually present in the executables
that were used at the time of error. Often, SMP can indicate that
a fix is present and installed on the system when, in reality, the
executables that were used at the time of error did not contain the
fix.