sys_check(8) System Manager's Manual sys_check(8)
NAME
sys_check, runsyscheck - Generates system configuration information and analysis
SYNOPSIS
/usr/sbin/sys_check [options...]
OPTIONS
Lists all subsystems, including security information and setld inventory verification. This command may take a long time to complete.
Outputs debugging information to stderr (standard error output). Creates escalation files for reporting problems to your technical support
representative. This option produces two files: TMPDIR/escalate.tar and either TMPDIR/escalate_vmzcore.xx or TMPDIR/escalate_vmcore.xx.gz.
If you use the -escalate option, sys_check runs with the -noquick option and collects the output in the escalate.tar file. Optionally, you
can specify a number with the -escalate option to define a crash number.
See also the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section for information on how you can set the value of TMPDIR. Generates Event Manager (EVM)
warnings. When EVM is configured, warnings are posted as EVM events identified by the string evm_info-vp.syscheck.warn.. Six levels
of priority ranging from 0-500 are used, as follows: 0 - Information only. 100 - Note 200 - Tuning Note 300 - Tuning Suggestion 400
- Operational 500 - Warning Produces frame HTML output, which consists of three files: sys_checkfr.html, sys_checktoc.html, and
sys_check.html (unless you specify a different file name with the -name option). The following options are available for use with
the -frame option: Specifies the name to use for the frame files output. The default name is sys_check. Sets the directory for the
frames output. Used only with the -frame option. The default is the current directory (.). Outputs help information. Produces
text output instead of the default HTML output. Outputs configuration data and the setld scan. Excludes security information.
Outputs only performance data and excludes configuration data. This option takes less time to run than others. Displays the
sys_check version number. Executes only the warning pass. This option takes less time to run than others. Executes only the data
gathering pass.
Note
There are undocumented options for the sys_check utility that are designed for use by technical support personnel. You should only use such
options when directed by a technical support representative.
DESCRIPTION
The sys_check utility is a system census and configuration verification tool that is also used to aid in diagnosing system errors and prob-
lems. Use sys_check to create an HTML report of your system's configuration (software and hardware). The size of the HTML output that is
produced by the sys_check command is usually between .5 MB and 3 MB.
The sys_check utility also performs an analysis of operating system parameters and attributes such as those that tune the performance of
the system. The report generated by sys_check provides warnings if it detects problems with any current settings. Note that while sys_check
can generate hundreds of useful warnings, it is not a complete and definitive check of the health of your system. The sys_check utility
should be used in conjunction with event management and system monitoring tools to provide a complete overview and control of system sta-
tus. Refer to the EVM(5) reference page for information on event management. Refer to the System Administration guide for information on
monitoring your system.
When used as a component of fault diagnosis, sys_check can reduce system down time by as much as 50% by providing fast access to critical
system data. It is recommended that you run a full check at least once a week to maintain the currency of system data. However, note that
some options will take a long time to run and can impact system performance. You should therefore choose your options carefully and run
them during off-peak hours. As a minimum, perform at least one full run (all data and warnings) as a post-configuration task in order to
identify configuration problems and establish a configuration baseline. The following table provides guidelines for balancing data needs
with performance impact.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option Run time Performance Recommended At
impact
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-warn, -perf Short. Minimal. Regular updates,
at least weekly
null - no options Medium, perhaps Some likely at Run at least once
selected. 15 to 45 minutes peak system use. post-installation
depending on pro- and update after
cessor. major configura-
tion changes.
Update your ini-
tial baseline and
check warnings
regularly.
-noquick, -all, Long, perhaps 45 Very likely at Use only when
-escalate. minutes on fast, peak use. troubleshooting a
large systems to system problem or
hours on low-end escalating a
systems. problem to your
technical support
representative.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can run some sys_check options from the SysMan Menu or the /usr/sbin/sysman -cli command-line interface. Choose one of the following
options from the Menu: >- Support and Services
| Create escalation report [escalation]
| Create configuration report [config_report]
Alternatively, use the config_report and escalation accelerators from the command line. Note that the escalation option should only be used
in conjunction with a technical support request.
The runsyscheck script will run sys_check as a cron task automatically if you do not disable the crontab entry in
/var/spool/cron/crontabs/root. Check for the presence of an automatically generated log file before you create a new log, as it may save
time.
When you run the sys_check utility with no command options, it uses the -all and -noquick options by default. It is recommended that you do
this at least once soon after initial system configuration to create a baseline of system configuration, and to consider performing any
tuning recommendations.
On the first run, he sys_check utility creates a directory named /var/recovery/sys_check. On subsequent runs it will create additional num-
bered directories starting with /var/recovery/sys_check.0. Up to (sys_check.*) directories will be created before the sys_check utility
rotates, and recreates /var/recovery/sys_check. This feature ensures that you always have eight sets of data. Note that if you only perform
a full run once, you may want to save the contents of that directory to a different location.
Depending on what options you choose, the /recovery/sys_check.* directories will contain the following data: Catastrophic recovery data,
such as an etcfiles directory, containing copies of important system files. In this directory, you will find copies of files such as
/etc/group, /etc/passwd, and /etc/fstab. Formatted stanza files and shell scripts and that you can optionally use to implement any config-
uration and tuning recommendations generated by asys_check run. You use the sysconfigdb command or run the shell scripts to implement the
stanza files. See the sysconfigdb(8) reference page for more information.
NOTES
You must be root to run the sys_check command. The sys_check command does not change any system files.
The sys_check command is updated regularly. Install the latest patch kit in order to obtain new versions. You can obtain the latest kit
information from http://www.service.digital.com/patches/.
The sys_check command does not perform a total system analysis, but it does check for the most common system configuration and operational
problems on production systems.
Although the sys_check command gathers firmware and hardware device revision information, it does not validate this data. This must be
done by qualified support personnel.
The sys_check utility uses other system tools to gather an analyze data. At present, sys_check prefers to use DECevent and you should
install and configure DECevent for best results.
If DECevent is not present, the sys_check utility issues a warning message as a priority 500 EVM event and attempts to use uerfinstead. In
future releases, Compaq Analyze will also be supported on certain processors.
Note that there are restrictions on using uerf, DECevent and (for future use by sys_check) Compaq Analyze that apply to: The version of
UNIX that you are currently using. The installed version of sys_check. The type of processor.
Refer to the following table for guidelines and consult the documentation for DECevent and Compaq Analyze to obtain information on their
supported environments.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS Version Utility Processor
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.2G , 4.0 and uerf and DECevent Not all processors support
later DECevent.
4.0 and later Compaq Analyze Only some processors are sup-
ported
5.0 and 5.0A uerf, DECevent Not all processors support
DECevent.
Future Compaq Analyze Compaq Analyze will support
recent EV6 processors only.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXIT STATUS
The following exit values are returned: Successful completion. An error occurred.
LIMITATIONS
DECevent (preferred by the sys_check utility) or Compaq Analyze may not be able to read the binary error log file if old versions of
DECevent are being used or if the binary.errlog file is corrupted. If this problem occurs, install a recent version of DECevent and, if
corrupted, recreate the binary.errlog file.
HSZ controller-specific limitations include the following: The sys_check command uses a free LUN on each target in order to communicate
with HSZ40 and HSZ50 controllers. To avoid data gathering irregularities, always leave LUN 7 free on each HSZ SCSI target for HSZ40 and
HSZ50 controllers. The sys_check command uses a CCL port in order to communicate with HSZ70 controllers. If a CCL port is not available,
sys_check will use an active LUN. To avoid data gathering irregularities, enable the CCL port for each HSZ70 controller.
The sys_check command attempts to check the NetWorker backup schedule against the /etc/fstab file. For some older versions of Networker,
the nsradmin command contains a bug that prevents sys_check from correctly checking the schedule. In addition, The sys_check command will
not correctly validate the NetWorker backup schedule for TruCluster services.
EXAMPLES
The following command creates escalation files that are used to report problems to your technical support organization: # sys_check -esca-
late The following command outputs configuration and performance information, excluding security information and the setld inventory, and
provides an analysis of common system configuration and operational problems: # sys_check > file.html The following command outputs all
information, including configuration, performance, and security information and a setld inventory of the system: # sys_check -all >
file.html The following command outputs only performance information: # sys_check -perf > file.html The following command provides HTML
output with frames, including configuration and performance information and the setld inventory of the system: # sys_check -frame -noquick
The following command starts the SysMan Menu config_report task from the command line: # /usr/sbin/sysman config_report
On entering his command, the SysMan Menu is invoked and you are prompted to supply the following optional information: Save to
(HTML) - A location to which the HTML report should be saved, which is /var/adm/hostname_date.html by default. Export to Web
(Default) - Export the HTML report to Insight Manager. Refer to the System Administration for information on Insight Manager.
Advanced options - This option displays another screen in which you can choose a limited number of run time options. The options are
equivalent to certain command line options listed in the OPTIONS section.
In this screen, you can also specify an alternate temporary directory other than the default of /var/tmp. Log file - The location
of the log file, which is /var/adm/hostname_date.log by default. The following is an example of a stanza file advfs.stanza in
/var/recovery/sys_check.*: advfs: AdvfsCacheMaxPercent=8 The following is an example of a shell script apply.kshin /var/recov-
ery/sys_check.*: cd /var/cluster/members/member/recovery/sys_check/ llist="advfs.stanza vfs.stanza " for stf in $llist; do print "
$stf "
stanza=`print $stf | awk -F . '{print $1 }'` print "/sbin/sysconfigdb -m -f $stf $stanza"
/sbin/sysconfigdb -m -f $stf $stanza done print "The system may need to be rebooted for these changes to take effect"
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
The following environment variables affect sys_check command execution. Normally, you only change these variables under the disrection of
your technical support representative, as part of a fault diagnosis procedure. Provides a default location for temporary files. The
default is the /var/tmp directory. Specifies the number of lines of log file text that sys_check includes in the HTML output. The default
is 500 lines. Specifies the number of files in a directory, above which a directory is considered excessively large. The default is 15
files. Specifies the file size, above which a file is considered excessively large. The default is 3072 KB. Specifies the minimum amount
of free space that sys_check requires in the TMPDIR directory. The default is 15 MB and should not be reduced. The sys_check utility will
not run if there is insufficient disk space. Specifies the location for the sys_check recovery data. The default is /var/recovery. The
sys_check command automatically cleans up data from previous command runs. The typical size of the output generated by each sys_check com-
mand run is 400 KB. This data may be useful in recovering from a catastrophic system failure. Specifies the location at which sys_check
expects to find the text files to include in the HTML output. The default is the /var/adhoc directory. Specifies the location at which
sys_check expects to find the binaries for the tools that it calls. The default is the current directory.
FILES
The sys_check command reads many system files.
SEE ALSO
Reference Pages: EVM(5), sysman_menu(8), sysman_cli(8).
Books: System Administration, System Configuration and Tuning.
sys_check(8)