Troubleshooting Agent Issues

When the Agent for Windows or Unix generates errors and doesn’t operate properly, you need to contact Tidal Support Center to help you resolve the technical issues. However, Tidal Support Center requires specific information on how the Agent is operating before they can track down the source of the problem. Before contacting Tidal Support Center about an agent issue, you should verify the agent version and turn on diagnostic logging to collect information about the way the agent is functioning. These are the first steps that Tidal Support Center will have you do, if you have not done it before contacting them.

Troubleshooting a Unix Agent that Fails to Start

If your Unix agent fails to start or hangs on the message:

Example: TIDAL Agent for UNIX
Starting agent testagent on port 5912 Opening Connection......

Typically, this problem is caused by an IP address mismatch. Follow the procedure below to check the IP address definitions.

To troubleshoot a Unix agent that fails to start or hangs:

Check the IP of the agent server and how it is configured.

Run ifconfig.

Compare the system IP returned from ifconfig to the system's IP defined in the file /etc/hosts.

If there’s a mismatch, you need to fix it so that the IP addresses match.

Verifying the Version of the Agent

When consulting with Tidal Support Center about a problem with an agent, one of the most basic pieces of information they need is which version of the agent is being used.

To verify the version of the agent:

Click Administration > Connections on the Navigation pane of the client to display the Connections pane.

Locate the agent with the problem in the various connections listed in the pane.

Look in the Version column of that agent to see the version of the agent being used.

Configuring Diagnostics for a Windows Agent

To run diagnostics for the Windows agent:

Choose via Service Manager the Agent that you wish to use diagnose.

Add this string to the end of the Path: field.
```
Debug=high
```

Click OK at bottom of panel and respond yes to the “Would you like to restart the service?” pop-up.

To stop diagnostics, close the agent application window and restart the agent from the Service Control Manager.

Configuring Diagnostics for a Unix Agent

The first line of every Unix agent shell script must adhere to standard Unix scripting guidelines and refer to a shell; for example, #!/bin/sh. For more information, refer to your Unix system documentation or consult your System Administrator.

To turn on diagnostic logging:

Type this command on the agent machine to stop the agent:
```
./tagent <agent name> stop
```
Go to the /bin directory and locate the tagent.ini file for the desired agent.

Type ovb=Tidaldebug inside the tagent.ini file under the port setting.
Save the file and its changes.

Start the agent:
```
./tagent <agent name> start
```
Ideally, you want to reproduce the situation that caused the issue so the diagnostics can log what occurred in the system at that time. As soon as the problem reoccurs, contact Tidal Support Center.

Once the problem repeats itself and the diagnostic information is recorded, turn off the agent diagnostics by commenting out the debugging parameter:
```
#ovb=Tidaldebug
```

Go to the Log directory to get the diagnostic file to send to Tidal Support Center:
```
cd <agent directory>/<agent name>/logs
```
Each agent instance has its own directory. The diagnostic files are named <FTP>.log, <agent name>.log and <master server>.log.

Restarting the agent does not override the recorded information. Though only a small amount of information is normally recorded without the debug parameter, the file will continue to grow in size. You should delete or rename the file after you finish debugging the agent.

Note: Whenever diagnostic logging is being used, you must carefully monitor the amount of disk and database space being consumed. Diagnostic logging can generate large amounts of data and affect system performance.

Raising the Logging Levels for Windows and Unix Agents

To raise the logging level for a Windows Agent:

Open the TA Service Manager on the agent machine.

Choose the agent from the dropdown.

Click on the dots [...].

Change the path to include the DEBUG option to read "DEBUG=HIGH" in the Service tab.

Click OK to save changes.

Restart the agent.

To raise the logging level for a Unix Agent:

Navigate to the agent machine and go to the directory where the agent is installed.
Navigate to "Bin/" and edit "tagent.ini".
Put "ovb=tidaldebug" under "[config]".
Restart the agent.