Troubleshooting Zowe through Zowe Open Community

To help Zowe™ Open Community effectively troubleshoot Zowe, we introduce a shell script that captures diagnostics data that is required for successful troubleshooting. By running the shell script on your z/OS environment, you receive a set of output files, which contain all relevant diagnostics data necessary to start a troubleshooting process. You can find the zowe-support.sh script in the ZOWEDIR/scripts folder with the rest of Zowe scripts. The script captures the following data:

• Started task output

  • Zowe server started task

  • Zowe Cross Memory started task (STC)

    - Zowe CLI or REXX (TSO output command, STATUS, capture all)

    Note: You will need to install the TSO exit IKJEFF53 to permit the TSO OUTPUT command to collect the Zowe started task output. If this exit is not enabled, you will see an error message when you run zowe-support.sh:

    IKJ56328I JOB jobname REJECTED - JOBNAME MUST BE YOUR USERID OR MUST START WITH YOUR USERID

    For how to correct this error, see the TSO/E installation exit IKJEFF53 topic in IBM Knowledge Center.
    The above is the authoritative description, and will be the first to reflect changes. To assist you, a summary of the situation and actions you could take to allow TSO OUTPUT to work in your installation are provided in Circumventing the IKJ56328I TSO OUTPUT error.

• Zowe Install log
• Scripts that are called from run-zowe.sh
• Versions:
  • manifest.json
  • z/OS version
  • Java version
  • Node version
• Additional logs
  • Zowe app server
  • zLUX app server
• Process list with CPU info with the following data points:
  • Running command and all arguments of the command
  • Real time that has elapsed since the process started
  • Job name
  • Process ID as a decimal number
  • Parent process ID as a decimal number
  • Processor time that the process used
  • Process user ID (in a form of user name if possible, or as a decimal user ID if not possible)

Circumventing the IKJ56328I TSO OUTPUT error

Audience: Zowe users or the personnel who collects support logs. These individuals should also inform their z/OS system programmer.

The zowe-support.sh script collects logs that your support team needs to assist you with problem determination. One of the logs it collects is the JES job log for Zowe tasks. The zowe-support.sh script uses the TSO OUTPUT command to collect these logs. On an unmodified z/OS system, the TSO OUTPUT command is restricted to jobs starting with your user ID, and the Zowe tasks will typically have a different job name. You will know that the TSO OUTPUT command is restricted if you see the following message when you issue the TSO OUTPUT command for a job whose job name does not start with your user ID.

IKJ56328I JOB job name REJECTED - JOB NAME MUST BE YOUR USERID OR MUST START WITH YOUR USERID

Job name filtering is controlled by an exit that is called by the TSO OUTPUT command. The exit is named IKJEFF53. IBM provides the source code for a replacement exit that can remove this restriction in SYS1.SAMPLIB(IKJEFF53) which you can tailor and use instead. Review this exit and if it meets your needs, assemble it and replace it in your LINKLIB concatenation.

Warning: You are strongly advised to take great care before attempting to modify LINKLIB directly. You could easily corrupt your entire z/OS system and require an IPL or reinstallation of z/OS. Consult your system programmer before you continue. You should also read the TSO/E installation exit IKJEFF53 topic in the IBM Knowledge Center.

The original exit load module has the following attributes:

DSLIST SYS1.LINKLIB

Command ===> Scroll ===> CSR

Name Prompt Alias-of Size TTR AC AM RM

_________ IKJEFF53 000002A0 03A91D 00 24 24

The replacement exit load module has the following attributes when assembled and linked:

DSLIST SYS1.LINKLIB

Command ===> Scroll ===> CSR

Name Prompt Alias-of Size TTR AC AM RM

_________ IKJEFF53 00000380 0CF015 00 24 24

It is safer to add a module to a private dataset further down the LINKLIST concatenation than to modify SYS1.LINKLIB directly. You can display the LINKLIST with this command at the operator console

D PROG,LNKLST

The private dataset or the exit itself does not have to be APF-authorized.

Whichever library you choose, rename IKJEFF53 in SYS1.LINKLIB (or its first occurrence in the LINKLIST concatenation) and add the assembled load module IKJEFF53 to your chosen library.

To activate your changes, refresh the link-list lookaside list with this command

F LLA,REFRESH

Now your TSO OUTPUT command will work as described in SYS1.SAMPLIB(IKJEFF53).

Note that this change will affect all users of the TSO OUTPUT command on LPARS sharing the SYS1.LINKLIB dataset. It is not limited to Zowe users. Consult your system programmer to ensure that this change does not impact your site rules about the OUTPUT command, because the specified jobs will be PURGED from the JES output queue if this exit is implemented as described above.

Contact Zowe Open Community to Troubleshoot Zowe

Contact Zowe Open Community to address and troubleshoot a Zowe issue.

Follow these steps:

1. Contact Open Zowe Community in Slack to address your issues.

2. Get instructions from the Community on whether you need to run the script that collects diagnostics data. If you do not need to run the script, the Community will proceed with troubleshooting.

3. If the Community instructs you to run the zowe-support.sh script, issue the following commands:

   cd $ZOWE_ROOT_DIR/scripts

   ./zowe-support.sh

4. Send the .pax.Z output file to Community members for further troubleshooting.

Community members will help you troubleshoot an issue.