3.7 Starting the Version 2.6 Data Analyzer Would Fail on Some I64 Systems

Starting the Data Analyzer Version 2.6 would result in a Java VM stack dump on some I64 systems that use certain versions of the Montecito chip set. The output looks similar to the example below:

I64VMS> avail/avail %SYSTEM-F-ACCVIO, access violation, reason mask=00, virtual address=000000000000 0454, PC=00000000002975D0, PS=0000001B %TRACE-F-TRACEBACK, symbolic stack dump follows image module routine line rel PC abs PC JAVA$HOTSPOT_SHR IA64_SPECS ia64_get_issue_port 9950 0000000000000060 00000000002975D0 JAVA$HOTSPOT_SHR IPACK ipack_generate_nop_bits 22580 0000000000000EA0 0000000000298C00 JAVA$HOTSPOT_SHR TL_HS ipack_init_nops 22215 0000000000000C10 00000000002A2220 ...

This problem was in earlier 1.4 versions of the Java Virtual Machine. This has been fixed since Version 3.0-2 of the Availability Manager uses a 1.5 version of the Java Virtual Machine.

3.8 System Uptime Value Wraparound Fixed

For systems up over 500 days, the system uptime wrap around and continue counting from a zero value. This has been fixed.

3.9 HIHRDP Event Changed to Use Hard Page Fault Rate

The documentation for the HIHRDP event states that the hard page fault rate is compared to the threshold. However, the read I/O rate was used instead. This has been fixed to use the hard page fault rate as advertised in the documentation.

3.10 Customization of Threshold Values Would Fail with "ERR" Status

On various occasions, trying to change a threshold value for an event would result in a red "ERR" status in the field. This has been fixed.

3.11 Single Process Pane Now Displays Process Type Correctly

In previous versions of the Data Analyzer, "(DETACHED)" process type was displayed for all processes, regardless of type. This has been fixed.

4 Operation Notes/Restrictions

The following sections contain notes pertaining to the operation of the Availability Manager Version 3.0-2. The sections are subdivided into field test versions and a final section that contains notes applying to all field test versions.

4.1 Notes for Version 3.0-2

The following sections contain notes that apply the Availability Manager Version 3.0-2.

4.1.1 Changing the Number of the Port the Data Server Uses

The default port number for the Data Server is 9819. If you want to use a different port number, do one of the following:

For Windows systems, modify the Data Server startup shortcut. Right-click the shortcut, and choose Properties. In the "Target:" field, find the number 9819. Change this number to the port you want.
For OpenVMS systems, use the /PORT_NUMBER qualifier to specify a different port number; for example:
$ AVAIL/SERVER/PORT_NUMBER=5498

4.1.2 Changing the Network Adapter the Data Server Uses on Windows Systems

On Windows systems, the Data Server picks up the first available network adapter for data communications. If it selects an undesirable network adapter---for example, a wireless adapter on a laptop---you can disable this selection by unchecking "HP Availability Manager NDIS 5.0 Protocol Driver" in the Network Properties for the network adapter.

4.1.3 Stopping the Data Server

You can stop the Data Server in one of the following ways:

On Windows systems, close the Windows console window where the Data Server is running.
On OpenVMS sysetms, Ctrl/Y stops the Data Server in interactive processes. Stopping the process stops the Data Server for batch processes.

4.1.4 Data Server Uses Only First Network Adapter

This version of the Data Server on Windows selects the first network adapter that it discovers when it starts up. The network adapter it chooses is displayed in a log message on the screen.

Plans for a future release include the ability to select the network adapter of your choice.

4.1.5 Starting the Data Server Might Trigger Windows Security Alert

On Windows systems, a security alert from the Windows firewall or third-party firewall might be displayed for the Java 2 Platform Standard Edition binary. The Data Server needs to accept connections as part of its normal operation. Tell the firewall to "Unblock" the program.

4.2 Notes for All Versions

The following sections contain notes that apply to all versions of the Availability Manager.

4.2.1 Running Reflective Memory by GE Fanuc and Availability Manager

The Reflective Memory product by GE Fanuc sets up the device RMA0: as part of its normal operation. Because the Availability Manager Data Collector also creates the device RMA0:, both products cannot run on the same node at the same time.

4.2.2 Administrator Account Required to Run the Availability Manager

On Windows 2000 and Windows XP platforms, you must run the Data Analyzer or Data Server from an account in the Administrator group. This restriction will be removed in a future release of the Availability Manager.

4.2.3 Problem Displaying Large Numbers of Processes or Disks

Very busy networks can sometimes interfere with the transfer of data between the Data Analyzer and the Data Collector. This problem is noticeable when you display large numbers of disks or processes. The number of disks or processes might change temporarily because of a lost data message. This problem will be corrected in a future release.

4.2.4 Local Administrator Account Required for Windows Installation

To install the Availability Manager on a Windows system, you must use the local Administrator account. Some users have had problems when they use a Windows domain account that has Administrator privileges instead. For example, a failure message might appear saying "Failure to install AMNDIS50" after most of the installation is complete. This problem will be corrected in a future release.

5 Display Notes

The following sections contain notes pertaining to the display of Data Analyzer data on all platforms and on OpenVMS systems.

5.1 Problems Using the Data Analyzer on All Platforms

The following sections contains subsections pertaining to the display of the Data Analyzer on Windows and on OpenVMS platforms in Version 3.0-2.

5.1.1 Events Sometimes Displayed After Background Collection Stops

The Data Analyzer sometimes displays events after users customize their systems to stop collecting a particular kind of data. This is most likely to occur when the Data Analyzer is monitoring many nodes. Under these conditions, a data handler sometimes clears events before all pending packets have been processed. The events based on the data in these packets are displayed even though users have requested that this data not be collected.

5.1.2 Truncated LAN Channel Summary Display

On versions of OpenVMS prior to Version 7.3-1, the LAN Channel Summary display might be disabled for some OpenVMS nodes if there are more than seven channels for that virtual circuit. This problem results from a restriction in the OpenVMS Version 7.3 PEDRIVER. For this condition, the following error message is displayed:

Error retrieving ChSumLAN data, error code=0x85 (Continuation data disallowed for request)

This problem was corrected in the OpenVMS Version 7.3-1 PEDRIVER.

5.2 Problem Using the Data Analyzer on OpenVMS Systems: Long Runs Exhaust XLIB Resource ID

On older versions of DECwindows Motif, a resource ID allocation scheme works poorly with the Motif support in Java for OpenVMS. As a result, long-running Availability Manager sessions might stop updating the display at a time that depends on the speed of the OpenVMS machine. For example, a session running on a dual-processor 275 MHz system reported the following after 14 hours:

Xlib: resource ID allocation space exhausted!

On faster machines, this message was reported after only 8 hours. This problem appears to be corrected in DECwindows Motif Version 1.3-1.