Tools for Debugging Server Problems

Advanced Server includes UNIX system commands that can be used to troubleshoot server problems. These commands are executed at the Advanced Server command prompt. This section summarizes these commands and describes the roles they can play in troubleshooting a server.

For more information about each command, type man command at the Advanced Server command prompt.

lmshell

The lmshell command is useful for emulating an MS-DOS client session when you do not have access to an actual MS-DOS client. This command is especially useful when troubleshooting a connectivity problem between a client and server. Using the lmshell command, you can mimic a client logon and resource linking by executing the net logon and net use commands in lmshell at the Advanced Server command prompt.

lmstat

The lmstat command interrogates the server’s shared memory image to gather a variety of data about the current state of the server. This command is especially useful when you want to determine which server process a client session is on.

Advanced Server is composed of a set of cooperative processes. When the server is running, enter the following command:

Executing this command generates a display similar to the following:

In this example, there are two lmx.srv server processes (17713 and 17722). The server may have nine clients with current sessions.

How does the administrator know to which lmx.srv process a client is connected? Executing the lmstat -c command at the server prompt usually provides the answer. The system displays output similar to the following:

Notice that each client name has an associated process ID number. This is the process ID of the lmx.srv process that currently is serving that client. The vcnum value specifies whether this is the client computer’s first VC or an additional one.

Being able to determine the process ID of the lmx.srv process that is serving a client is particularly useful when using lmstat -w or the UNIX system truss( ) command. Both commands require a process ID as part of their startup arguments. (The -w option is not valid on all operating systems.)

regconfig

The regconfig command is used to query or change Advanced Server Registry key information. You can use this command to change any value in the registry. (You also can use the Windows NT Registry Editor and the AS/U Administrator to change key values.)

The regconfig command also can be used to reinitialize the Advanced Server Registry with system defaults.

For more information about the registry, see Appendix A, "Advanced Server Registry."

regcheck

The regcheck command is used to check and repair the Advanced Server Registry file. This command checks only the internal structure of the Advanced Server Registry file; it does not check the validity of any data that may be stored in it.

If the internal structure of the registry file is found to be invalid, use the regcheck command to make the necessary repairs.

samcheck

The samcheck command is used to check, dump, and fix the SAM database. You can use this command to determine whether the user accounts database has been corrupted and optionally, to fix it.

The samcheck command also can be used to output the contents of the user accounts database to stdout in human-readable format.

srvconfig

The srvconfig command is used to display the current default settings of all the server parameters in the lanman.ini file. (It also is a good way to check the location and spelling of any parameter you wish to modify.)

The lanman.ini file contains several parameters that you can modify to change. Default settings are used for most of these parameters. However, a certain number of them can be changed, overriding the default values set at server installation.

To display the default settings of the lanman.ini file, use the following command:

This command generates a listing of all of the parameters in the lanman.ini file and their default settings.

For more information about the lanman.ini file, see the Appendix B, "Lanman.ini File."

acladm

The acladm command is used to check and repair problems found in the access control list.

Be sure to examine the options that are available with this command before executing it. Type man acladm at the Advanced Server command prompt.

Troubleshooting Procedures

Troubleshooting Advanced Server involves using a systematic approach to isolate the problem and then gathering detailed data in order to identify the specific module causing the problem. The following sections provide simple procedures that you can use to isolate a server problem. It then offers some suggestions on how to gather additional information on the problem.

This section discusses the following topics:

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