JPH03271946A - Fault analytic processing system using memory dump - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the efficiency of fault anlayzing operation greatly by inputting memory dump retrieval information and providing the information with information required for various retrieval. CONSTITUTION:The name of a program or the name of a path where a fault occurs is specified and then the memory dump retrieval information is referenced to automatically retrieve and output information in a necessary irreducible area used for fault analyzing operation according to retrieval information stored there. For example, a memory dump retrieval and output program 2 refers to the memory dump retrieval information 5 corresponding to the path name 1 specified from a console, retrieves the necessary irreducible area 4 to be retrieved for fault analysis automatically, and edits and outputs fault analytic information 6. Consequently, the efficiency of the fault analyzing operation is improved greatly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a memory dump failure analysis processing method in a computer system.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, when analyzing a failure using a memory dump collected when a failure occurs in a computer system, the memory dump is first stored on an external storage device and then
As shown in Figure 6, by specifying the starting point address and output range to be referenced from the console, the information in the corresponding range is output to the display device or printer paper, and the person in charge of manufacturing the program refers to the program list. However, by visually searching and referring to the information targeted by the memory dump, it is checked whether there are any logical contradictions in the data or the control information.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Failure analysis using memory dumping is usually used for linking between tables to obtain information on the input/output data buffers used by the program and memory information corresponding to the control tables required for the program to operate. We often track pointers, and each time a failure occurs, even though the information we refer to and the search pattern is the same each time.
In order to search and check the desired information in the output memory dump by repeating the same operation from the console,
It takes a lot of time to instruct a display device or a printer list to output the information necessary for memory dump failure analysis, and to output it. In addition, when visually searching for the desired information from the output information, this can often only be done by someone who has relevant knowledge of the program, such as a person in charge of program production, leading to a shortage of personnel for failure analysis work. K will be too.

[Means to solve the problem]

The configuration of the fault analysis processing method using memory dumping according to the present invention includes memory search information that stores information of an area to be referred to when analyzing a fault in a computer program, and is collected when some fault occurs in the computer system. In a method of searching and outputting the information necessary for failure analysis from a memory dump, by specifying the program name or path name in which a failure has occurred, the memory dump search information is referenced, and the failure is detected according to the search information stored here. Must be used in analysis work! ! It is characterized by automatically searching and outputting information in a minimum area.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of a memory dump search M@, which is information for searching individual areas for the purpose of searching and outputting memory dumps - a single path name is used as a group of identification information. , individual area information includes the area name as area identification information, the starting point address and area size representing the recording position of the area, and automatic tracking of chain pointers between control tables to obtain memory information corresponding to the control table. The area type that represents the structure of the control table required for the control table, the offset from the starting address of the field that stores the number of repetitions of VOI and the field size, the offset from the starting address of the pointer field and the pointer field size, the control table a pointer termination condition that represents the logical termination of an interchain pointer;
Furthermore, a comment or the like as supplementary explanation information about the content of the information searched by the path salt is recorded in the memory dump search information file. With this information, it is possible to automatically search and output the minimum area necessary for failure analysis using memory dump.

In addition, the searched and output data can be edited and output with area names and comments so that it can be easily viewed by the person analyzing the data.

Furthermore, even if the person performing the fault analysis does not have relevant knowledge of the program, the minimum amount of information necessary for fault analysis can be output simply by inputting a path name from the console.

FIG. 2 shows that the memory dump search and output program 2 refers to the memory dump search information 5 corresponding to the path salt 1 specified from the console, and automatically searches the minimum search area 4 necessary for fault analysis. Edit and output as failure analysis information 6.

FIG. 3 shows a flow of memory dump search processing with reference to memory dump search information. Refers to the memory dump search information of the path specified from the console, and searches the memory dump for the area corresponding to the starting address. Also, depending on the area type of memory dump search information,
If it is just a data area, it will edit and output the part specified by the area size, and if it is a control table area, it will track the part of the address indicated by the control table chain pointer according to the area type. While moving, the memory dump of the portion indicated by the area size is edited and output.

This tracking of control tables is performed until the pointer termination condition is met, and the part surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 3 is the automatic tracking processing part of chain pointers between control tables. In this way, a worker who analyzes a single failure can automatically search and output the target area even if he or she does not have any relevant knowledge of the program, which is useful in resolving the shortage of workers. .

As shown in Figure 4, if you know which program caused the problem, you can check the program name 7 from the console.
Therefore, it is possible to provide more flexibility than by providing a program management file so that the memory dump search information of a plurality of paths necessary for failure analysis of the program can be targeted.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention introduces memory dump search information and provides it with information necessary for various searches, thereby improving the efficiency of failure analysis work using memory dump, which has been overlooked in the past. In addition, even people who do not have the relevant knowledge of the program to be analyzed can search and output the minimum necessary information of the memory dump used for failure analysis, and the personnel involved in failure analysis work can It is also effective in alleviating shortages.

3 is a flowchart showing its processing procedure, FIG. 4 is an example using the program management file of the present invention, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram thereof, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional example. It is.

1...Path salt, 2...Memory dump and output program, 3...Memory dump, 4...
...Search area, 5...Memory dump search information, 6...Failure analysis information, 7...
Program name, 8...Program management file, 9...Start address and area size.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A method for searching and outputting information necessary for failure analysis from a memory dump that is collected when a failure occurs in a computer system, which has memory dump search information that stores information of an area to be referred to when analyzing a failure of a computer program. By specifying the name of the program or bus in which the problem occurred, the memory dump search information is referred to, and information on the minimum area necessary for failure analysis according to the search information stored here is searched and output. A failure analysis processing method using memory dumping characterized by the following.