Troubleshooting Methodology

main contents:
use an organized total system approach for fault analysis and diagnosis
identify available resources used to solve technical problems
identify concurrent maintenance strategies when performing maintenance activities on Sun enterprise servers use the fault analysis worksheet to gather and document facts isolate common faults on Sun enterprise servers

Fault analysis and diagnosis is an efficient and reliable method to isolate and repair Sun Enterprise system faults using a two-stage process:
Fault analysis – Identifies the problem and organizes fact gathering and comparisons
Diagnosis – Organizes the actual discovery, testing, repair, and reporting of the problem

Fault analysis and diagnosis consists of six main steps. The first two steps deal with fault analysis, the latter four steps are diagnostic.
The steps taken are:
1. Verify the problem
2. Gather information
3. Develop a fault hypothesis
4. Test your hypothesis
5. Take corrective action
6. Feedback solution

Identify the sources of the observed facts you listed.
Customer complaints – Use the original message from the customer.
Customer interviews – Use the list of questions shown previously to interview customers about the problem. Expand and customize the question list for your own style and environment Interviews of others involved – Include other colleagues, such as administrators, programmers, and technical support staff.
System monitoring tools – Monitoring tools, such as Solstice SyMON can give you valuable insights as to the nature of the problem as it relates to the larger environment.
Diagnostics – Consider changed environments and operating system levels.
Observed facts – Check LEDs, air-flow, cabling, and smoke.
Error messages – List any explicit error messages displayed.
Configuration changes – Identify any timely and related changes on the system.
Establish comparative facts – To help isolate the probable cause, identify what works properly as well as what does not work

One of the keys to being a good troubleshooter is knowing where to find technical information associated with the problem you are trying to solve. When troubleshooting a problem, consider the following technical resources:
Field Engineer Handbook, Volumes I and II – Illustrates and describes Sun workstations, servers, and options
AnswerBook™ – Provides a variety of information about Sun hardware and software
SunSolve Online Internal Services – Provides 24 hour/7 day access to an extensive database of informational documents, technical articles, bug and patch descriptions, and white papers
Man pages – Provides reference for Solaris Operating Environment commands
Other functioning systems – Useful for making comparisons
Technical colleagues – They might have experienced similar faults