Problem determination in a hybrid environment

• US 9,749,212 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2014
• Issued: 08/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chambliss, David D., Knight, Joshua W., Kreuzenstein, Ronald K., Lee, John J., Ruddy, James A., Thompson, John G., Yudenfriend, Harry M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dollinger, Tonia L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Belani, Kishin G
• Application Number:
  US14/501,151
• Publication Number:
  US 20150113130A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,064 Days
• Field of Search: 709224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0721 within a central processing unit [CPU]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0778 Dumping, i.e. gathering error/state information after a fault for later diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements

Abstract

A multi-mainframe system problem determination method includes receiving, in a first computing system, a data collection trigger, coordinating, in the first computing system, synchronized diagnostic data collection with a second computing system, and delivering the diagnostic data to a storage medium.

Claims

1. A multi-mainframe system problem determination method, comprising:

recording, in a first computing system of the multi-mainframe system, running a first operating system, diagnostic data;

receiving, in the first computing system, a data collection trigger;

responsive to the data collection trigger, providing authorized access via an agent to a second computing system running a second operating system, and coordinating, in the first computing system, synchronized diagnostic data collection with the second computing system, wherein the second computing system is communicatively coupled to the first computing system, and wherein the first operating system running on the first computing system differs from the second operating system running on the second computing system;

establishing, in the first computing system, a trace data channel to collect the diagnostic data;

establishing, in the first computing system, a session identifier; and

filtering, in the first computing system, the diagnostic data using the session identifier; and

delivering the diagnostic data to a storage medium.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising in response to the trigger, retrieving the trace data associated with the session identifier.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the diagnostic data is at least one of trace records, log records and core dumps.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising collecting clock offset information for combining with trace data.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4 further comprising viewing a sequence of events across multiple components of the multi-mainframe system via the clock offset information to localize problems.

6. A computer program product including a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions for causing a computer to implement a multi- mainframe system problem determination method, the method comprising:

recording, in a first computing system of the multi-mainframe system, running a first operating system, diagnostic data;

receiving, in the first computing system, a data collection trigger;

responsive to the data collection trigger, providing authorized access via an agent to a second computing system running a second operating system, and coordinating, in the first computing system, synchronized diagnostic data collection with the second computing system, wherein the second computing system is communicatively coupled to the first computing system, and wherein the first operating system running on the first computing system differs from the second operating system running on the second computing system;

establishing, in the first computing system, a trace data channel to collect the diagnostic data;

establishing, in the first computing system, a session identifier; and

filtering, in the first computing system, the diagnostic data using the session identifier; and

delivering the diagnostic data to a storage medium.

7. The computer program product as claimed in claim 6 further comprising in response to the trigger, retrieving the trace data associated with the session identifier.

8. The computer program product as claimed in claim 6 wherein the diagnostic data is at least one of trace records, log records and core dumps.

9. The computer program product as claimed in claim 6 further comprising collecting clock offset information for combining with trace data.

10. The computer program product as claimed in claim 9 further comprising viewing a sequence of events across multiple components of the multi-mainframe system via the clock offset information to localize problems.