Web-Based Enterprise Services

Release Notes

Product Name:
Web-Based Enterprise Services (WEBES)
Product Version:
4.3.1
Document Date:
5 December 2003

1  Summary

Web-Based Enterprise Services (WEBES) is a suite of system diagnostic tools. WEBES consists of a master installation kit that allows you to install any or all of the following components:

2  Hardware Requirements

WEBES can be installed on the following hardware platforms:

Note that WEBES usually will operate on any industry standard, 32-bit Intel-based system. However, because HP does not qualify WEBES on third-party products, functionality on such systems is provided on an as-is basis only.

See the WEBES Installation Guide for additional detail regarding platforms.

3  Operating System Requirements

WEBES is supported on the following operating systems:

See the WEBES Installation Guide for additional software requirements.

4  Supported Products

Following are the products supported by the SEA component of WEBES. The list also is available in the SEA Release Notes. In the event of any discrepancy between this list and the SEA Release Notes, the SEA Release Notes take precedence.

Do not confuse the supported products with the systems on which WEBES can be installed. Installation requirements are given in the WEBES Installation Guide.

5  New in this Release

This release includes rules updates for HP AlphaServer GS80/GS160/GS320 systems.

The previous release (version 4.3) included the following new or changed functionality for WEBES:

6  Known Issues

The following known issues apply to this version of WEBES. Items that apply to all of WEBES appear here. Issues about a specific component (SEA or CCAT) are published as part of that component documentation suite.

6.1  General Known Issues

These issues apply to WEBES on all operating systems:

6.1.1  Backward Compatibility

Connections between systems that are running different versions of WEBES (including different dot releases or Service Paks) may produce unpredictable results. This can happen if, for example, you are running your locally installed SEA, and then use it to add and analyze a remote node that has another version installed.

Running a local copy of WEBES for analysis only on that local system does not present a problem. Likewise, connecting directly to a remote system via the CLI or web URL (for example, without having WEBES installed on your local system) is okay.

To avoid a compatibility issue, make sure that the exact same version of WEBES is installed on all systems that will connect to one another, as within a given site or enterprise. In any clustered environment, it is especially important to have the same version (including dot release or Service Pak) installed on every node. Backward compatibilty will be introduced in a future WEBES release.

6.1.2  Director Process Not Responding

Note


For additional information on processes, see the SEA User Guide.


If one of the WEBES components is not responding or giving an error, it may be that the Director process is not responding. To correct this problem, use one of the following procedures:

Windows

Stop the Director either from the Start | Programs menu, or by issuing the command: net stop desta_service. Check the Windows Task Manager for the following WEBES processes:

If they end within 2 minutes, the Director can be restarted either from the Start | Programs menu, or by issuing the command: net start desta_service and then waiting approximately one minute for WEBES to set up its processes before running a WEBES tool.

If the Director does not stop in approximately two minutes the processes may be hung. Select any suspect WEBES process from the list above and press the End Process button, which should remove the entry. Do not end java.exe processes that are not associated with the WEBES Director. To identify likely WEBES java.exe processes, look for a "Low" base priority in the Task Manager's Process list. If you do not see the Base Priority column, choose View | Select Columns from the Task Manager pulldown menu and check the box for Base Priority.

If you are presented with an error message that you do not have privileges to end a process, you must restart the Windows system. Before restarting, follow the post-installation steps in the WEBES Installation Guide to assign yourself the privileges necessary to kill WEBES processes in the future. The Director will be restarted automatically during the restart phase.

Tru64 UNIX

Issue the command: desta stop. If the Director does not stop in approximately two minutes the process may be hung. Look for the WEBES java processes in the ps list:

ps ugxww | grep /usr/opt/hp/svctools | grep -v grep

Processes containing any of the following strings may appear, all of which are WEBES processes:

Then, issue kill commands to stop them. Finally, as the root user, issue the command: desta start and wait approximately one minute for WEBES to set up its processes before running a WEBES component.

HP-UX

Issue the command: desta stop. If the Director does not stop in approximately two minutes the process may be hung. Look for the WEBES java processes in the ps list:

ps ugxww | grep /opt/hp/svctools | grep -v grep

Processes containing any of the following strings may appear, all of which are WEBES processes:

Then, issue kill commands to stop them. Finally, as the root user, issue the command: desta start and wait approximately one minute for WEBES to set up its processes before running a WEBES component.

Linux

Issue the command: desta stop. If the Director does not stop in approximately two minutes the process may be hung. Look for the WEBES java processes in the ps list:

ps ugxww | grep /usr/opt/hp/svctools | grep -v grep

Processes containing any of the following strings may appear, all of which are WEBES processes:

Then, issue kill commands to stop them. Finally, as the root user, issue the command: desta start and wait approximately one minute for WEBES to set up its processes before running a WEBES component.

OpenVMS

Issue the command: desta stop. If the Director does not stop in approximately two minutes the process may be hung. Look in the SHOW SYSTEM output for any of the following WEBES processes:

Issue the STOP PROC /ID= command to kill the process ID associated with those processes. Then issue the command: desta start and wait approximately one minute for WEBES to set up its processes before running a WEBES component.

6.1.3  Director Process Stopping When Out of Memory

If the Director hangs or terminates unexpectedly, check the Director log files (see the SEA User Guide for more information on log files). If the log files contain errors mentioning "out of memory" conditions, one of the following conditions may apply:

If the Java memory limits are responsible for the problem, you can raise the memory limits applied to the Director process and its subprocesses. After the limits have been increased, you can restart the Director and perform the actions that caused the out of memory error. The limits can be set as high as necessary, and are only constrained by the memory and paging space available on the system. Refer to the SEA User Guide for details on adjusting the memory limits.

6.1.4  Upgrade Requires Reinitialized Log

If you are running SEA (formerly Compaq Analyze), reinitialize the system error log as described in the platform-specific sections of the WEBES Installation Guide before performing a WEBES upgrade.

Otherwise, up to seven days of repeat (previously seen) problem reports may appear. This behavior occurs because of an issue where SEA re-scans the entire log after the upgrade.

Normally, SEA scans the entire log only after a fresh installation.

6.1.5  Errors When the Director is Restarted Too Soon

After a "desta stop" or "net stop desta_service" command completes, the operating system sometimes requires a few more seconds to stop all WEBES-related processes and release their resources (such as sockets). On rare occasions, restarting the Director too soon after stopping it can can result in errors in the Director log file, and the Director also may fail to restart.

To avoid this issue, wait 10 more seconds before restarting the Director, once the "desta stop" or "net stop desta_service" command completes.

6.2  Windows Known Issues

These issues apply to WEBES on Windows:

6.2.1  Local Kit Copy Needed For Terminal Server Installations

When installing WEBES on a Terminal Server system, first copy the WEBES kit to a local drive on that system. The installation results in an error when mapping a drive letter to another system where the kit resides, for example:

Internal Error 2755. 3,
F:\path to\WEBESV420BL10_May-22-2003_Windows.MSI

See the WEBES Installation Guide for details.

6.2.2  Uninstall of Previous WEBES May Hang

While uninstalling the previous version of WEBES, the uninstall process may hang, or stop processing without using any CPU time. If the Task Manager shows a java.exe process running, and no other Java-based applications are running on your system, and nothing else is using CPU time, click on the java.exe process and then click End Process. Killing this process may enable the rest of the uninstallation to continue.

6.2.3  desta msg -chgport Command

The CLI command desta msg -chgport hangs the Director process.

Workaround

Enter Ctrl-C to restore the command prompt, then enter net stop desta_service to kill the Director process. Enter net start desta_service to restart the Director.

6.2.4  Upgrade Retains Compaq Directory Structure

If you perform an upgrade from WEBES 4.1 or 4.1.1 to version 4.2 or later, your upgraded copy of WEBES will remain under the old "compaq" directory path that was used in the earlier version.

A fresh version 4.2 or later installation places WEBES under the "hp" directory path as described throughout the WEBES 4.2 or later documentation.

6.2.5  Fresh Install Required

Do not upgrade an installed WEBES version to WEBES 4.3. Instead, uninstall the existing version of WEBES, and then install WEBES 4.3.

There are known problems with migrating previous data when upgrading, which may result in undesired changes in notification preferences, as well as other issues. Engineering expects to correct these problems in the next release of WEBES.

6.3   Tru64 UNIX Known Issues

These issues apply to WEBES on Tru64 UNIX:

6.3.1  Limit Error Message

When the desta start command is run, you may see the following message:

ulimit: exceeds allowable limit

This message gets generated in error and can be safely ignored. It does not affect the operation of the desta Director process and no limits have been truly exceeded.

6.3.2  Repeated Prompts After DSNLink Installation

After installing DSNLink V3.0 and rebooting (even if the reboot occurs days later), the system repeats all of the DSNLink install questions during the boot phase on each cluster node, including the node from which DSNLink was installed. Subsequent reboots do not repeat the questions.

This is a DSNLink issue and is reported here for the convenience of WEBES users who are running DSNLink for SICL reporting.

6.3.3  Director May Interfere with Patch Installation

Installing Tru64 UNIX patches in multi-user mode, with the WEBES director running, may produce errors similar to the following:

*** You have selected 1 patches ***

alpha/native_threads/java is /usr/opt/compaq/svctools/common/jre/bin/../bin/
alpha/native_threads//usr/opt/compaq/svctools/common/jre/bin/../bin/alpha/
native_threads/java is /usr/opt/compaq/svctools/common/jre/bin/../bin/alpha/
native_threads//usr/opt/compaq: no space

At this point, patch installation may hang. Otherwise, installation may continue, but the patch may not be reliably installed.

Workaround

Follow these steps if you have already started a patch installation:

  1. Kill all dupatch processes if they are hung.
  2. Enter the desta stop command.
  3. Install the patches normally.
  4. Reboot the machine if the patch requires a reboot, or enter the desta start command.
If you have not started a patch installation, enter the desta stop command before starting the patch process.

Engineering recommends installing Tru64 UNIX patches in single-user mode. In single-user mode, the WEBES director would not be running.

Tru64 UNIX engineering expects to resolve this issue in a future Tru64 patch kit.

6.4  HP-UX Known Issues

There are no known HP-UX WEBES issues at the time of this writing.

6.5  Linux Known Issues

These issues apply to WEBES on Red Hat Linux:

6.5.1  ps Command Output

On Red Hat Linux 7.3, the ps command lists threads of a process so that, after starting desta, ps ouput looks similar to the following:

ps
  PID TTY          TIME CMD
31526 pts/4    00:00:00 su
31550 pts/4    00:00:00 bash
12970 pts/4    00:00:00 WCCProxy
19087 pts/4    00:00:01 java
19113 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19114 pts/4    00:00:01 java
19115 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19116 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19117 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19118 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19119 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19120 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19144 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19145 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19147 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19148 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19194 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19196 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19198 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19200 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19204 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19206 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19207 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19209 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19223 pts/4    00:00:00 CAAgents
19224 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19225 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19228 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19230 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19231 pts/4    00:00:00 java
19234 pts/4    00:00:00 CAAgents
19235 pts/4    00:00:00 CAAgents
25594 pts/4    00:00:00 java
25922 pts/4    00:00:00 CAAgents
27845 pts/4    00:00:00 ps

In spite of the number of entries for all the threads, the previous output only represents one java process, one WCCProxy process, and two CAAgent processes.

In version 8.0, the ps output only shows processes and not threads, so a similar command would only produce the following on Red Hat Linux 8.0:

25922 pts/4    00:00:00 CAAgents
19223 pts/4    00:00:00 CAAgents
19087 pts/4    00:00:01 java
12970 pts/4    00:00:00 WCCProxy

6.6  OpenVMS Known Issues

These issues apply to WEBES on OpenVMS:

6.6.1  JFEX Errors

The following JFEX errors occur when the correct quota minimums are not set. On a cluster, the correct minimums must be set for all nodes in the cluster. Be sure to apply prerequisite minimums to all applicable nodes when installing WEBES. See the WEBES Installation Guide for details.

Example errors:

$ desta status
The Director is running

$ wsea tra
md_gc_init: could not allocate heap of size, file USER2$:[JFEX.JFEX_VM.SRC.SYS.ALPHA]GCINIT.C;1, line 130

$ wsea ana
md_gc_init: could not allocate heap of size, file USER2$:[JFEX.JFEX_VM.SRC.SYS.ALPHA]GCINIT.C;1, line 130

$ wsea
md_gc_init: could not allocate heap of size, file USER2$:[JFEX.JFEX_VM.SRC.SYS.ALPHA]GCINIT.C;1, line 130

$ desta stop
Stopping DESTA system on this machine...
md_gc_init: could not allocate heap of size, file USER2$:[JFEX.JFEX_VM.SRC.SYS.ALPHA]GCINIT.C;1, line 130
Director still running, waiting 30 seconds...
Director did not stop, process killed.

6.6.2  Cannot Get Local Host Name

If you are using the MultiNet TCP/IP product from Process Software, and the Director does not start, check the Director log file (SVCTOOLS_HOME:[COMMON.WEBES.LOGS]DESTA_DIR.LOG) for errors similar to the following:

___.
WARNING on October 4, 2002 10:42:27 AM EDT (0.726 sec elapsed)
        Can't get the Local host name...
    Current Thread[Thread-2: com.hp.svctools.desta.core.CommonDirector ,5,ma
    EXCEPTION java.net.UnknownHostException: myhost.mycorp.com
        at java.net.InetAddress.getAllByName0(java.lang.String,boolean)
(InetAddress.java:571) (pc 51)

These errors can appear when the MultiNet UCX driver has been disabled. Although the driver is enabled by default, it can be disabled using configuration options. Verify that the UCX driver has not been disabled, since it must be enabled in order to run WEBES.

If the driver has been disabled, you can re-enable it using the following steps:

Note


This information also appears in the MultiNet v4.4 Installation and Administrator Guide. For more details on configuring MultiNet, see the MultiNet documentation.


  1. Start the configuration program with the following command:
    $ MULTINET CONFIGURE /INTERFACE NET-CONFIG>
  2. Enable the MultiNet UCX driver interface with the following command:
    NET-CONFIG> SET LOAD-UCX-DRIVER TRUE
  3. Exit the configuration program with the following command:
    NET-CONFIG> EXIT
  4. Edit your system startup command procedure to invoke MultiNet before starting DECwindows.
  5. Reboot the system to start MultiNet with the UCX $QIO driver loaded.

6.6.3  Extra Directories Prevent WEBES Reinstallation

In some circumstances, removing versions of WEBES older than 4.2 can leave multiple versions of directories behind, as in the following example:

Directory SYS$COMMON:[COMPAQ.NODES.ANODE.SVCTOOLS.SPECIFIC]

CA.DIR;3      CA.DIR;2      DESTA.DIR;3      DESTA.DIR;2

When such directories remain on the system, you cannot reinstall WEBES.

Workaround

Enter the following commands to remove the extra directories. Repeat the commands for each directory name that you need to remove, for example:

$ set file /nodir ca.dir;*
$ delete ca.dir;*

If the deletions fail, use the following command to repair the problem. If WEBES was not installed to the default disk device, replace sys$sysdevice with the disk name where WEBES was installed:

$ analyze/disk/repair sys$sysdevice:

After the previous command completes, you should be able to delete the extra directories and their contents normally.

6.6.4  Post-Installation Script Sequence

The scripts used when adding WEBES to a new cluster node must be run in a specific order. First, run the following script:

$ @svctools_home:[common.bin]destacluster install <nodename>

Then, run any scripts that correspond to the desired components (in any order).

$ @svctools_home:[common.bin]cacluster install <nodename>
$ @svctools_home:[common.bin]ccatcluster install <nodename>

WEBES engineering expects to simplify this procedure in a future release. See the updated WEBES Installation Guide for details.

6.6.5  Correcting Node Data in Clusters

In clusters, the install node's configuration data propagates to the other nodes in the cluster. To correct this issue, rerun the install command on the other nodes in the cluster:

$ @svctools_home:[common.bin]webes_install

Use the WEBES update menu to enter customized values (such as option 5. System Information, and option 6. Service Obligation) that apply to the given node.

WEBES engineering expects to correct this issue in a future release.

Special Case for Separate System Disks

The previous recommendation works only if you install on a cluster where all nodes share the same system disk. If you install on a cluster-shared disk, but each node has a separate system disk, then WEBES_INSTALL.COM thinks WEBES is not installed and tries to start an installation. (It works correctly on the node from which you installed WEBES, but that node already has the desired configuration data.)

Instead of running WEBES_INSTALL on each node, the V4.2 workarounds for the WEBES_INSTALL options are as follows:

Run these only from the installing node. These options do not involve correcting node data.
To see if WEBES processes are set to start on boot:
$ MCR SYSMAN STARTUP SHOW FILE
To turn off boot time startup, where {hostname} is the name of the machine:
$ MCR SYSMAN STARTUP REMOVE FILE RCM$STARTUP_{hostname}.COM
$ MCR SYSMAN STARTUP REMOVE FILE CCAT$STARTUP.COM
$ MCR SYSMAN STARTUP REMOVE FILE/PHASE=LPMAIN DESTA$STARTUP.COM
$ MCR SYSMAN STARTUP ADD FILE/PHASE=LPMAIN DESTA_LOGICALS$STARTUP.COM
To turn on boot time startup, where {hostname} is the name of the machine:
$ MCR SYSMAN STARTUP ADD FILE RCM$STARTUP_{hostname}.COM
$ MCR SYSMAN STARTUP ADD FILE CCAT$STARTUP.COM
$ MCR SYSMAN STARTUP ADD FILE/PHASE=LPMAIN DESTA$STARTUP.COM
$ MCR SYSMAN STARTUP REMOVE FILE/PHASE=LPMAIN DESTA_LOGICALS$STARTUP.COM
In the following file, manually edit the fields that do not start with "System ___" :
SVCTOOLS_HOME:[SPECIFIC.DESTA.CONFIG]PROFILE.TXT
In the following file, manually edit customer information as needed:
SVCTOOLS_HOME:[SPECIFIC.DESTA.CONFIG]DESTA.REG
In the following file, manually edit the "System ___" fields:
SVCTOOLS_HOME:[SPECIFIC.DESTA.CONFIG]PROFILE.TXT
In the following file, manually edit the "common.SystemSerialNumber=" field:
SVCTOOLS_HOME:[SPECIFIC.DESTA.CONFIG]DESTA.REG
Instead, run the following command and enter new values.
$ desta servob install
Instead, run the commands:
$ desta start
$ desta stop
Run this option only from the installing node. This option does not involve correcting node data.

6.6.6  Continuous CPU Usage After Daylight Savings Time Change

On OpenVMS 7.3 and higher, when the time is moved forward or back for the Daylight Savings Time adjustment, multithreaded processes can go into a tight CPU loop. Applications subject to this behavior include DCPS symbiont, DECevent, and anything using the Java runtime such as the DESTA director. Stopping and restarting the processes ("desta stop" followed by "desta start") corrects the problem.

To resolve this issue, install the patch VMS73_TDF–V0100 or VMS731_TDF–V0100. Otherwise, the behavior will happen again at each Daylight Savings Time adjustment.

6.6.7  RCM Messages During WEBES Upgrade

During a WEBES upgrade, you can safely ignore any error messages about RCM directories. Note that a standalone version of RCM still can be installed separately if desired.

6.6.8  New OpenVMS Patch Removal Feature

During WEBES installation, you may see messages similar to the following:

The following product has been selected:
    DEC AXPVMS WEBES V4.2-0                Platform (product suite)

Information has been saved to allow you to uninstall the following patches:

RECOVERY DATA SET 001 created 25-JUL-2003 00:06:16.52
   -------------------------------------- --------------------------
   PATCH                                  APPLIED TO
   -------------------------------------- --------------------------
   DEC AXPVMS VMS731_LAN V6.0             DEC AXPVMS VMS V7.3-1
   -------------------------------------- --------------------------

* If you continue, recovery data for the patches listed above will be deleted.
* The deletion of recovery data does not affect the installation status of
* patches applied to products that are not participating in this operation.
* However, continuing with this operation prevents you from uninstalling
* these patches at a future time by use of the PRODUCT UNDO PATCH command.

Do you want to continue? [NO] YES

The messages appear because of a new feature that allows OpenVMS patches to be removed. You only see these messages if you have installed the new OpenVMS PCSI patch that adds the feature (or you are running a newer version of OpenVMS that includes the feature), and you have installed OpenVMS patches that use the feature.

The new feature has a limitation making it impossible to preserve patch recovery data when a product such as WEBES is installed or uninstalled, because installing or uninstalling WEBES in an operation not involving patches that alters the product database.

Prior to the addition of the feature, OpenVMS patches could not be removed. Nevertheless, note that installing WEBES will prevent you from using the new feature to remove any OpenVMS patches listed. Otherwise, you can safely ignore the messages and continue with WEBES installation.

7  Additional Documentation

Copyright Statement

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