VSM/SVA - SIM or MIM with FSC79A5: PFAELG4A file grows to 5MB

Asset ID:	1-75-1021005.1
Update Date:	2012-03-04
Keywords:

Solution Type Troubleshooting Sure

Solution 1021005.1 : VSM/SVA - SIM or MIM with FSC79A5: PFAELG4A file grows to 5MB

Applies to:

Sun StorageTek VSM System - Version: 4 to 5C - Release: 4.0 to 5.0
Sun StorageTek V2X SVA Disk System - Version: Not Applicable to Not Applicable [Release: N/A to N/A]
IBM z/OS on System z
All Platforms

Purpose

Determine cause of FSC79A5:

The PFAELG4A.DAT file has grown beyond its size threshold.
FRL on the ISP has renamed the file to PFAELG4B.DAT and
has created a new PFAELG4A.DAT file. If a PFAELG4B.DAT file
existed, it was renamed to PFAELG4C.DAT. If a PFAELG4C.DAT
file existed, it was renamed to PFAELG4D.DAT. If a
PFAELG4D.DAT file existed, it was deleted.

Last Review Date

June 15, 2011

Instructions for the Reader

A Troubleshooting Guide is provided to assist in debugging a specific issue. When possible, diagnostic tools are included in the document to assist in troubleshooting.

Troubleshooting Details

After downloading base files, use the following procedure to identify the issue.

1. Using tools on the engineering server check the HIC_STAT.DIA and/or HIC.DMP

files and verify that the files are indeed for the machine serial number

documented in the case.

2. Check the same files and note the level of microcode in use. This can be 
important because some errors are addressed in more recent levels of microcode.

3. Check the PFAELG4B.CNT file and determine the error or errors that logged most

frequently (have the highest quantity of errors logged).

4. Perform an extract of the errors identified in step 2.

There are multiple extraction tools available.  The most common are as follows:

xfsc – extracts error data from the PFAELG4A files, output is xxxx.out
xfscb – extracts error data from the PFAELG4B files, output is xxxx.b_out
xfscc – extracts error data from the PFAELG4C files, output is xxxx.c_out
xfscd – extracts error data from the PFAELG4D files, output is xxxx.d_out
(where xxxx = the fsc being extracted)

5. Examine the PFAELG4B.DOM file and the extracted error log information and

look for a common pattern (domain information is found at the end of the files

created in step 3).  Can you identify a single FRU which is logging a higher

number of events than comparable FRUS?  If yes, then that FRU may be marginal

and may need to be replaced as a proactive measure (judgment call).

However, if the errors are well distributed across multiple FRUs then check to

see if a more recent level of microcode has a fix for these errors.

6. It may be appropriate to repeat steps 3 through 5 for each of the error log

files available.

7. Make a determination as to what if any action needs to be taken.  Update the

case with your findings and if appropriate dispatch it to local support to have

them follow your action plan.  If no action is required update the case with your

findings and close the case.

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