Chapter 2. Problem determination essentials for Tivoli
Intelligent Orchestrator
This chapter describes how to approach troubleshooting in Tivoli Intelligent
Orchestrator. Providing methodologies and troubleshooting methods for
identifying problems in Tivoli Intelligent Orchestrator will help you to reduce the
time spent finding resolutions to these problems.
The following sections are described:

v “Problem determination methodologies”

v “Troubleshooting methods for Tivoli Intelligent Orchestrator and prerequisites”

on page 9

Problem determination methodologies
The keys to the problem determination process are understanding the problems
and identifying the causes of problems. Problem determination in Tivoli Intelligent
Orchestrator might be quite a difficult process at times, due to the complexity of
the product, the fact that it integrates with many different products, the number of
software prerequisites the product relies on, and also to the variety of platforms
the product can be installed and configured on.
The following steps are required to identify and resolve a problem in a Tivoli
Intelligent Orchestrator environment in a systematic manner:

v “Defining the problem”

v “Identifying the cause of the problem” on page 8

v “Fixing the problem” on page 9

Defining the problem
The first step is made when you determine that the product is not functioning in
the expected manner. Then, you try to correctly identify the problem, by gathering
information about the context that triggered the problem and about the problem
itself. This phase requires the following steps:

v Identifying the problem symptoms

v Providing a complete description of the error messages generated by the system

During this phase, you must be prepared to answer questions like:

v How did you first notice the problem?

v Where were you in the process when the problem occurred?

– Are you a first-time user of Tivoli Intelligent Orchestrator?

– Were you installing a prerequisite?

– Were you configuring a prerequisite?

– Were you installing Tivoli Intelligent Orchestrator? If yes, was this the first

installation?

– Were you performing post-installation configurations?

– Were you performing a runtime task?

v
Have you previously performed the same procedure without getting errors?
What was done differently this time?
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