Collecting data with the ifxcollect tool

You can use the ifxcollect tool to collect diagnostic data if necessary for troubleshooting a specific problem, such as an assertion failure. You can also specify options for transmitting the collected data via the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). .

The ifxcollect tool is in the $INFORMIXDIR/bin directory. Output files that ifxcollect commands generate are in the $INFORMIXDIR/isa/data directory.

The type of data that is collected per category and subcategory is in predefined XML files in the $INFORMIXDIR/isa/ directory. These XML files can be modified to add or remove specific commands.

Important: The XML files can contain commands that override the options that are specified for data collection. For example, an XML file might contain sleep commands that override the -d option with a shorter number of seconds; or an XML file might contain a call to onstat -z.

Syntax


1  ifxcollect  -c   category   -s   subcategory ?   -r   number_of_times ?   -d   seconds ?   -y 
1 -V
1 -version
1 -f
1 -e
1 -p
1 -m
1 -l
1 -u
1 -w
Table 1. Options for data collection
Element Description Key Considerations
-c category Tells the server to collect data in the specified category. You must specify the category of data to collect.
-s category Tells the server to collect data in the specified subcategory. You must specify the subcategory of data to collect.
-r number of times Specifies the number of times to repeat data collection. Optional. The default value is 1.
-d number of seconds Specifies the number of times to pause between collection operations. Optional. The default value is 0.
-y Causes the database server to automatically respond yes to all prompts. Optional.
-V Displays the software version number and the serial number. Optional.

See Obtaining utility version information
-version Displays the build version, host, operating system, number and date, and the GLS version. Optional.

See Obtaining utility version information
Table 2. FTP options if you also transmitting data
Element Description Key Considerations
-f FTP the entire collection Required for the transmission of data.
-e email address Email address Required for the transmission of data.
-p the PMR number PMR number Required for the transmission of data.
-m machine name Machine to connect to Required for the transmission of data.
-l directory Directory that contains the data Required for the transmission of data.
-u user name User name for the FTP Required for the transmission of data.
-w password Password for the FTP Required for the transmission of data.

Usage

The following table shows the combination of categories and subcategories that you can use in your commands.

Table 3. Category and subcategory combinations
Category and subcategory Explanation
-c ids -s general Collects general data for issues that are related to all Informix® products
-c af -s general Collects general data for assertion failures
-c er -s general Collects general data for Enterprise Replication
-c er -s init Collects general data for Enterprise Replication initialization issues
-c performance -s general Collects data for performance issues
-c performance -s cpu Collects data for CPU utilization issues
-c onbar -s archive_failure Collects data for onbar archive failures
-c onbar -s restore_failure Collects data for onbar restore failures
-c ontape -s archive_failure Collects data for ontape archive failures
-c ontape -s restore_failure Collects data for ontape restore failures
-c connection -s failure Collects data for connection failures
-c connection -s hang Collects data for connection hangs
-c cust -s prof Collects customer profile information

To view all ifxcollect utility command options, type ifxcollect at the command prompt.

Examples

To collect information for a general assertion failure, run this command:

ifxcollect -c af -s general

To collect information for a performance problem that is related to CPU utilization, run this command: 

ifxcollect -c performance -s cpu
To include FTP information, specify the additional information as shown in this example:
-f -e user_name@company_name.org -p 9999.999.999
-f -m machine -l /tmp -u user_name -w password