Targeted multi-tiered software stack serviceability

• US 9,934,123 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2016
• Issued: 04/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Pickel, James W., Priyadarshini, Pallavi, Sharma, Mamta, Tatini, Parameswara R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ehne, Charles
• Application Number:
  US15/067,217
• Publication Number:
  US 20160259706A1
• Time in Patent Office: 753 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/079 Root cause analysis, i.e. error or fault diagnosis in a hardware test environment G06F11/22; in a software test environment G06F11/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2257 using expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3608 using formal methods, e.g. model checking, abstract interpretation theorem proving G06N5/013
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/362 Software debugging
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/366 using diagnostics G06F11/0703 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software

Abstract

As disclosed herein a method, executed by a computer, for enabling multi-tiered software stack diagnostic collection includes initiating, on a first tier of a multi-tiered software stack, a targeted diagnostics collection corresponding to a symptom of a failure, determining a symptom to a reason code mapping corresponding to the symptom in a product of a subsequent tier, and issuing a command to the product of the subsequent tier to initiate targeted diagnostics collection corresponding to the reason code. Problems or failures in a multi-tiered software stack environment may require analyses of programs or products corresponding to each tier of a multi-tiered software stack. The method described herein enables simultaneous collection of diagnostics for programs or products corresponding to each tier of a multi-tiered software stack. A computer system, and a computer program product corresponding to the method are also disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method, executed by a computer, for enabling multi-tiered software stack diagnostic collection, the method comprising:

initiating, on a first tier of a multi-tiered software stack, a targeted diagnostics collection corresponding to a symptom of a failure;

determining a symptom to a reason code mapping corresponding to the symptom in a product of a subsequent tier, wherein the symptom to a reason code map is available for each tier of the multi-tiered software stack; and

issuing a command to the product of the subsequent tier to initiate targeted diagnostics collection corresponding to the reason code.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the targeted diagnostics collection is initiated by a system administrator on the first tier of the multi-tiered software stack.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a first tier of a multi-tiered software stack determines if the subsequent tier exists.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a request for termination of the targeted diagnostic collection is initiated by a system administrator.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a signal is received from a subsequent tier requesting termination of the targeted diagnostic collection.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the targeted diagnostics collection is automatically terminated when a target of the targeted diagnostics is encountered.