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Status Planned for future release
Created by Guest
Created on May 30, 2019

include server, username, date/time in error dialog/pop-up

When a user gets an error that they can work around but they want to report to administrators, they often include a screenshot of the error in the email or support ticket. The problem is that a lot of questions the administrator will ask during triage cannot be answered satisfactorily by the screenshot or the user. Yes, the user can probably state their User ID, but they don't know precise time of the error (down to the second) or which server (mxe.name) they are connected to. And normally the screenshot they send in is of the app and the error, not the desktop where the time is shown.

To help administrators find the right logs faster, I request that the standard error pop-up/dialogue show, discretely along the bottom:
* (optionally) a "Support Info" heading / label

* mxe.name
* userid
* MXServer.getDate()

Idea priority Medium
  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    May 31, 2019

    This would be a very useful RFE to deliver.
    The raiser makes a very valid point about users not providing the right details and it being hard to identify the JVM just from the user information.

    Please ensure that this information is always presented. The user must NOT have to click on any button/link to display the extra information - they will forget and the effort will be completely wasted.

    Extending it to include the node name
    ==
    Please extend the RFE further and include the node name. This is particularly important where the system is using multiple servers and the same JVM name is being used on different servers.

    Technote 1446387 describes the situation where JVMs have been setup on mutiple servers without defining the mxe.name value
    https://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21446387

    "Note: If this parameter is not used, each physical server will have its own unique names so the result can be multiple servers named MXServer and MXServerc1 etc. This method should be used in conjunction with the deployment of the RMI Registry (rmireg.war): "

    Security concern over node name
    --
    I know that some installations are very security conscious so they would be concerned about the node name (or more likely the IP address) being shared on these screens.
    This could be overcome by creating a cached system property that controls if the node name/IP address is included in the text.

    It should be ENABLED by default as most installations I have worked with wowuld not object to the node name/IP address being shared if it sped up fault investigations. Users may have the node name/IP but they don't have a port number so they can't make a direct connection.

    There must be a clear note in the installation documentation about changing this value if the system administrator doesn't want this information made available.

    Value to organisations using Maximo
    --
    This would be a very useful change to make to the framework. I appreciate that this would be in a central part of the Maximo code so there could be some reluctance to deliver it.

    I have talked about the importance of providing the time/userID/node/JVM details in my blog here.
    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-serverjvm-select-correct-logs-analyse-call-mark-robbins
    The information in that blog article can also help justify why this should be implemented.

    The other articles in the call details mini series explain about the other values (date & time/userID/node/JVM).
    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/maximo-support-advice-from-non-ibm-engineer-article-mark-robbins/ - scroll to the "Call Details mini-series" section.

    Happy to discuss this privately with IBM Dev if people want more information on the value of this.