Overview of Abend-AID Viewer

This section describes the Abend-AID Viewer products architecture. Additionally, it lists the functions and features available for dump analysis, and it details how to access online help for the product’s screens, fields, messages, and commands.

Product Components

The Abend-AID Viewer architecture consists of two major components: the viewing server component and an optional component, the MVS Post-Dump exit. Installation of the Abend-AID Viewer is required for Abend-AID for CICS report/dump viewing. The Abend-AID Viewer is an optional viewing method for batch Abend-AID, but is required if your site wants to use the new Abend-AID Web Browser Interface for batch reports and dump analysis.

The Abend-AID Viewer also requires BMC AMI Enterprise Common Components, Release 17.02 or more current, which is comprised of the following single-image, SMP/E-installed components:

• BMC AMI Common Shared Services
• License Management System (LMS)
• BMC AMI Common Mainframe Services Controller 
• Host Communications Interface (HCI)
• BMC AMI Base Services.

Refer to the Enterprise Common Components (ECC) documentation set for a description of these ECC facilities. The ECC documentation set is available on the BMC Support site .

Viewing Server Component

The viewing server is an MVS address space that allows users to view captured dump information. It also performs import and analysis of region dumps for use by the product. The viewing server must be active for the Abend-AID Viewer to display batch/transaction abend information or to import or display SVC dumps. The viewing server does not have to be active for Abend-AID  to capture batch, transaction, or SVC dumps.

The following figure illustrates the Abend-AID viewing server component. You must have at least one viewing server, but you can configure more than one. The number of viewing servers you have depends on your site’s configuration requirements. See Advanced-configuration guide for examples of situations requiring one versus multiple Abend-AID viewing servers.

Viewing Server Component

A Scratchpad listing file (CWPDDIO) is included in the viewing server startup JCL. This file is required — without it the viewing server will not start. The Scratchpad listing file is a single DDIO source file. It will be allocated and formatted during the creation of the other viewing server data sets. It will hold the listings that are created from compiler listings. As new listings are added to the file, older listings are removed.

The viewing server handles automatic and manual import of region dumps. If you’re using automatic region dump import, the viewing server periodically scans for the presence of new dumps to import. This scan results in minimal CPU overhead, and you can tune the scan interval using the IMPORT_SAMPLE_RATE viewing server configuration parameter.

You can view Abend-AID Viewer dump information from four interfaces: TSO/ISPF, a VTAM application, CICS, or the Abend-AID Web Browser Interface.

Distributed Viewing Support

Distributed Viewing Support (DVS) enables users to access Abend-AID Viewer source listing files that are on different MVS systems that don’t share DASD. Users can view dumps captured at remote sites using source information maintained at a central site. This support eliminates the need to distribute the source listing information to remote sites in order to view diagnostics for batch abends in source format. Users access the files through the Abend-AID Viewer online displays as they normally would.

MVS Post-Dump Exit

This optional exit performs the following tasks:

• Determine if your site wants to copy a SYS1.DUMPxx data set to another data set after an SVC dump is initially taken to the SYS1.DUMPxx data set.
• Schedule automatic import of SVC dumps copied from SYS1.DUMPxx data sets by the Abend-AID Viewer or for SVC dumps taken to automatically allocated dump data sets.

Remember, if your site does not configure the Abend-AID Viewer installation to import SVC dumps automatically, you can still import them manually via the dump data set import facility. See Manually-importing-dumps.

Product Functions

The Abend-AID Viewer provides dump navigation and diagnostic functions to help identify the problems that produce batch abends and SVC dumps. Some of these functions are always available, regardless of whether you have selected a dump to analyze. Collectively, they are referred to as dump-independent functions. The remaining functions are available only after you have selected a dump to analyze, and they are specific to either batch abend or SVC dump analysis.

Once you select a dump, the Abend-AID Viewer displays one of two Report menus. The version for batch abends is shown in Report Menu for Batch Abend Analysis, and the version for SVC dumps is shown in Report Menu for SVC Dump Analysis.

Report Menu for Batch Abend Analysis

Report Menu for SVC Dump Analysis

Dump-Independent Functions

The following functions are available by entering the associated fast-path command even when no dump is currently selected:

• Fault Summary — The Abend-AID Fault Summary lists the number of batch, transaction, SVC dump entries for each region and each user-defined region group. When you select a region, a region group, or a dump type subset of a region or region group from the Fault Summary, the Abend-AID Viewer displays an Abend-AID Directory of the entries specific to your selection.
• Abend-AID  Directory — The Abend-AID Directory lists the type and number of batch, transaction, and SVC dump entries available for each described region or region group.
• SVC Dump Import — The import function makes SVC dumps available to the Abend-AID  Viewer. Three methods for importing dumps are possible:
  • Automatically via the MVS post-dump exit or the SVC 51 interface
  • Manually from the SVC Dump Import screen
  • IX_list_of_functions –Manually from the MVS console.
• User Control Facility — The User Control Facility provides a wide range of administrative features that enable you to tailor the user interface, and access the product customization screens.
• Source Directory — The Source Directory displays the source listings/source listing shared directories that have been written to a source support data set. Although the Source Directory is a dump-independent function, source support is available for batch entries only.
• Distributed Viewing Support (DVS) — This facility lets users view dumps captured at remote sites using source information maintained at a central site. DVS eliminates the need to distribute the source listing information to remote sites in order to view diagnostics for batch abends in source format.

Batch Abend Analysis Functions

The Abend-AID  Viewer lists the following functions on the Report Menu for Batch Abend Analysis (Report Menu for Batch Abend Analysis):

• Diagnostic Summary — The Abend-AID Viewer conducts a thorough analysis of batch abends, including COBOL, PL/I, Assembler, Language Environment, IMS, IDMS, and Db2, abends, and then produces a diagnostic summary to help you determine the cause of the failure.
• Program Information — This function identifies all programs involved in an abending task, and it provides direct access to specific program information, such as program storage and the program listing.
• File Summary — The File Summary lists all files with areas remaining on the storage chain for the failing program. For each file, detailed statistics are available, including information on file access and file requests.
• IMS Information — This optional function provides information about the IMS DB and TM environments, the application program, and the abending program’s PCBs and JCBs.
• Abend Re-creation – Lists out information required to re-create an abend. 
• Db2 Information — This optional function displays DB2 information such as SQL information, pertinent dates, and Db2 subsystem information.
• IDMS Information — This optional function provides a true analysis of the IDMS data is provided at the time of abend.
• MQSeries Information —If your site is licensed for and has installed the Abend-AID for WebSphere MQ option, the Abend-AID Viewer provides access to MQSeries information for batch abends.
• Language Environment Info — This option provides access to the Language Environment (LE) information, including the LE Options Control Block screen, which lets customers using Language Environment (LE) easily identify LE runtime options in effect at the time of the failure and the LE Information Summary screen, which also provides LE heap and stack analysis.

SVC Dump Analysis Functions

The Abend-AID Viewer lists the following functions on the Report Menu for SVC dump analysis (Report Menu for SVC Dump Analysis):

• Diagnostic Summary — The Abend-AID Viewer conducts a thorough analysis of an SVC dump, and then it produces a Diagnostic Summary designed to help determine the cause of the region failure. You can display this summary in either a full-text format for novice users, or an abbreviated format for experienced users.
• z/OS SVC Dump Analysis — This function provides information about SVC dumps in the z/OS environment, including information from the prefixed saved area (PSA), the communications vector table (CVT), the address space control block (ASCB), and the address space extension block (ASXB). It also provides a summary of the subsystems found in the dump and detailed information for each of the address spaces active in the MVS image at the time of the dump. This function also displays the address of the SVC dump parameter list and the settings at the time of the dump.
• Control Blocks/Storage — The Control Blocks/Storage screen lists the dump control blocks from which you can display information in interpreted, hexadecimal, or DSECT format. It also provides access to a dump’s hexadecimal storage. To help with dump analysis, FIND and CHAIN commands are provided. In addition, its paperclip function tracks your navigation through storage.
• MVS Information — General MVS information provided by the Abend-AID Viewer consists of the following:
  • Summary information about the MVS environment, including job step run time, CPU time, paging statistics, EXCP count, and MVS region size.
  • A TCB summary that includes the TCB address and type, request block address and type, PSW, instruction length, interrupt code, offset, and last instruction. Further, for both CICS and non-CICS dumps, it provides access to the RTM2 work area, the save area trace, and the request block registers for each TCB in the dump.
  • The JES2 SYSLOG that lists the SYSLOG messages for the abending region from the last two JES2 buffers.
  • MVS virtual storage analysis that shows allocations of virtual storage in the Private, Common Service (CSA), and Global System Queue (SQA) areas of address spaces contained in the SVC dump data set when the dump was taken.
  • Summary that displays a list of programs found in the job pack area (JPA) of the selected address space.
  • Summary that displays a list of programs found in all of the task load lists.
  • Language Environment (LE) information, including an LE information summary from which you can access additional LE heap and stack analysis information.
• IPCS Command Facility — If your site elects to use IPCS as an Abend-AID Viewer option, you will have access to an IPCS Command Facility screen from which to enter IPCS commands.

General Features

The Abend-AID Viewer has several features that enhance its analysis capabilities, including the following:

• Tab-selectable fields that display control blocks in interpreted, hexadecimal, or DSECT format, or that display additional related information.
• Extensive print capabilities that allow you to print individual screens, groups of screens, formatted DSECTs, and storage.
• Screen attributes you can customize to change screen colors, to turn screen borders on or off, to turn reverse video on or off, and to show or hide line command and screen footer information.
• A FIND command that is available on all scrollable screens, including storage displays.
• A facility that allows you to define your own control blocks to the system, so that the Abend-AID Viewer can display them in DSECT format.
• A notepad facility that you can use to maintain notes (ISPF access only).

Online Help

Online help is available for any Abend-AID Viewer screen, field, system message, or command.

Screen Help

Screen help explains the purpose of each screen. To display screen help, use either of the following methods:

• Position the cursor off any data field or system message, and then press PF1. (PF1 is the default Help key.)
• Type HELP in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field on any Abend-AID Viewer screen, including field-level help screens, and then press the Enter key.

Field Help

At a minimum, field help defines a field’s label; for example, “TCB is the task control block.” In many cases, field help also describes the purpose of the field and how to use the information it contains. To display field help, use either of the following methods:

• Position the cursor on the field, and then press PF1.
• Type HELP in the COMMAND field, move the cursor to the appropriate field, and then press the Enter key.

Message Help

The Abend-AID Viewer displays error, warning, and informational messages on the third line of each screen. To display help text that explains the meaning and significance of these messages, use one of the following methods:

• Position the cursor on the message, and then press PF1.
• Type HELP in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field, position the cursor on the message, and then press Enter.
• Type MSGHELP messageid in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field, and then press Enter.

Command Help

Command help describes the function, syntax, and restrictions (if any) of primary and fast-path commands. If warranted, an example showing the use of the command is also provided.

To display command help, use one of the following methods:

• In the COMMAND (or OPTION) field, type HELP followed by the name of the command. Then press the Enter key. For example, to display help text for the FIND command, type:HELP FIND

  For example, to display help text for the PRINT command, type:

  HELP PRINT

• Type either CMDLIST or HELP COMMANDS in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field, and then press Enter to display the list of commands. Place the cursor on the desired command, and then press Enter.
• Position the cursor on the line command or its descriptive text, and then press Enter.

To list the commands available from the currently displayed screen or field, use the ASSIST command or press PF24. (PF24 is the default ASSIST key.) For more information, see ASSIST.