How to gather information when troubleshooting core dump files from NetBackup processes on UNIX or Linux

Description

The following steps should be taken when a NetBackup process or daemon has generated a core file.  This will help to ensure that the relevant information is collected for when the core file needs to be analyzed as part of a support escalation.

If a core file exists on the system, run the following command to verify that the core file was created by a NetBackup process. This example shows that the core file with name /core was created by the NetBackup bpdm process.

# file /core
/core:  ELF 32-bit MSB core file SPARC Version 1, from 'bpdm'

The following information will need to be gathered when submitting a core file for review as part of an NetBackup Support case.

1. The output of running the file command on the core file, as shown above.
2. A copy of the core file.
3. A copy of the NetBackup binary that generated the core file.
4. The time that the core file was created.  The ls -l command will show the time on the file.
   
   Example:
   # ls -l /core 
-rw-------  1 root   root   2501096 Mar 14 17:50 /core 
    
5. What was occurring on the system when the core file was generated?
   Provide any details about what was happening in the period leading up to the failure.  This should include what type of job (backup, restore, duplication, import, etc) was running.  If any add-on or database extensions were in use, this should be noted as well.
    
6. Any log files related to the backup, restore, or whatever process was occurring when the core file was generated.  A NetBackup support engineer will be able to advise on where to find the relevant log files for the process that generated the core file.

7. The output from running nbsu on the system where the core file was created.
   
   Example:
   # cd /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/support
   On NetBackup 8.1 and older run the following:
   # ./nbsu -c -t
   On NetBackup 8.1.1 and newer run the following:
   # ./nbsu
   The location of the output file will be reported by nbsu when it has finished running.

8. The stack trace information from the core file.  In the Related Articles section are links to Articles containing examples of operating system specific commands that can be used to analyze a core file.
    

Send all of the above information, including the output from the operating system specific commands in step 8, to NetBackup support. It is important to note that sending only the core file will not provide enough information to determine why the core file was generated.