Before submitting a support ticket, ask yourself "Have I done the following things, or even have access to them?"

Typical Scenarios

Always remember to INCLUDE A TIMEFRAME whenever a particular issue happens. In this way, this will allow us to cull the information down in the logs to whatever we need.

It also helps to have a screenshot of the Current Activity --> Resources tab so we can see memory usage on the server whenever something happens.

Agent Communication Issues (Timeouts, Transfer of Logs Failure, etc.)

• %AGENT_HOME%\var\log\ah3agent.out from afflicted agent
• %SERVER_HOME%\var\log\ah3server.out from server
• %SERVER_HOME%\var\log\ah3server.err from server
• installed.properties files from both the server and the afflicted agent.
• Command trace output (designated by the black C:\> icon in the UI).
• Run agent communication test
  • If the agent is incorrectly showing a state of offline, and the running man icon is not available, you can still initiate a connection by following the steps listed here.
  • If multiple agents are failing, you can try the restart broker option from the AHP UI.

General Errors (Job Failures, etc.)

• %AGENT_HOME%\var\log\ah3agent.out from afflicted agent
• %SERVER_HOME%\var\log\ah3server.out from server
• %SERVER_HOME%\var\log\ah3server.err from server
• Command trace output (designated by the black C:\> icon in the UI).
  • It is also VERY HELPFUL to test and see if you get the same error outside of anthill. So, if you have a failed job step (such as a changelog or info step), try logging onto the agent box using the same account the agent is running as. Then try the step outside of anthill to see if the same error occurs. For example:

    Subversion command line: svn info --username anthillpro --password ***** --revision {2013-02-20 19:26:26 +0000} https://svn-repo/root
     Subversion command working Directory: %AGENT_HOME%\bin
     Subversion command environment:
      AH_AUTH_TOKEN=*****
     ================================================================================
     Path: root
     URL: https://svn-repo/root
     Repository Root: https://svn-repo/
     Repository UUID: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX
     Revision: 300000
     Node Kind: directory
     Last Changed Author: admin
     Last Changed Rev: 299999
     Last Changed Date: 2012-02-29 14:59:59 -0400
     
     ================================================================================
     command exit status: 0 
    

    From this information, you should be able to run the following on the command line and get the exact same result...if you don't get the same result, then anthill is doing something differently OR you didn't run as the correct user account that the agent is using.

    svn info --username anthillpro --password anthillpro --revision "{2013-02-20 19:26:26 +0000}" https://svn-repo/root
    

• Screenshot of the failed build life page
  • More complicated projects/builds may require screenshots of the Workflow Definition, the Job Configuration, or even potentially a Project Export.

Installation Errors

If you are receiving errors during the installation of anthillpro (server or agent), please see the following section: Customizing Command Prompt to be Install Ready

Licensing Issues

• Screenshot of the System --> Licenses main page and Committers tab

Script, Report, and UI Errors

IF THE FOOTER NEVER APPEARS, AN UI ERROR HAS OCCURRED!

• %SERVER_HOME%\var\log\ah3server.out from server
• %SERVER_HOME%\var\log\ah3server.err from server
• Screenshot of the UI of where the failure occurred
• IF UI error (jasper exception, catalina exception, etc.) click on more info and provide the contents in the ticket

Server Outage

• An emergency ticket should always be filed for production server outages.
• %SERVER_HOME%\var\log\ah3server.out from server
• %SERVER_HOME%\var\log\ah3server.err from server
• Server startup script
  • %SERVER_HOME%\bin\ah3server.cmd on Microsoft Windows platform.
  • $SERVER_HOME/bin/ah3server on *nix platforms.
    • If on *nix platform, please also submit $SERVER_HOME/bin/setenv.sh as well
• Screenshot of the Current Activity --> Resources tab
• Thread Dump of the AHP server java process
• (Potentially) Heap Dump of the AHP server java process

Critical Note on Server Restart

Before you even consider restarting the server, you will most likely want to do a quick scan of the %SERVER_HOME%\var\log\ah3server.out logs for any sort of memory errors, specifically OutOfMemory errors. If you see an OutOfMemory error, we will also want a heap dump. You can get more information on how to do this by visiting the Dumps from a Java Process page.

Stuck Requests/Build Lives

• Go to the System --> Server Settings --> Diagnostics page, run the Active Request Contexts diagnostic, and provide the results in the Supportal ticket (optionally run the nudge contexts command)
• Attempt to abort workflows/requests in the UI and revoke any locks
• If abort or lock revoking does not resolve the issue, please provide a thread dump of the AnthillPro server's java process
• Consult this SQL if this is still occurring

Appendix A: Screen Capture Tools

Some of our customers have reported the following tools to work well for screen capturing (video capture);

• Jing
• Screencast
• CamStudio
  • NOTE: Users usually use a combination of CamStudio & VirtualDub or AviDemux to convert to AVI/MP4 as CamStudio is known to make large files.

Appendix B: Ticket Priorities

Below is an explanation on what should be considered when filing tickets with priority.

Screenshot of Priority Selector

Table of Explanation

The following table shows priorities that have been agreed upon in the Support department as well as IBM business standards, along with their explanation.

If you are unsure of the priority after consulting the above table, do not file as emergency; instead, opt to file for a low priority ticket.