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Web-based System Manager Administration Guide

Appendix A. Troubleshooting

The following troubleshooting topics are available:

Troubleshooting Remote Machines


Problem Action
Cannot manage a remote host as a Web-based System Manager managed machine. Verify the following:
  • The host you are attempting to manage has operating system earlier than AIX 5.1. Systems at levels prior to AIX 5.1 can only be managed by systems at the same level. Therefore, to manage this system, a system at the same level must be used, the system must be updated to AIX 5.1 or later, or the system must be managed locally.
  • The host you are attempting to manage has a sysmgt.websm.framework at a level prior to AIX 5.1 installed. Machines with sysmgt.websm.framework levels prior to AIX 5.1 can only be managed by systems at the same level. Therefore, to manage this system, a system with sysmgt.websm.framework at the same level must be used, the system must be updated to AIX 5.1 or later, or the system must be managed locally.
Cannot manage a remote host as a Web-based System Manager managed machine. (continued)
  • The host you are attempting to manage is listening on inetd port 9090. If this is the case, there will be a line in the /etc/services file similar to: 
    wsmserver 9090/tcp

    In addition, there will be a line in the /etc/inetd.conf file similar to the following: 

    wsmserver stream tcp nowait root \
/usr/websm/bin/wsmserver wsmserver -start

    If this is not the case, use the following command: 

    /usr/websm/bin/wsmserver -enable

    This can be tested using the following command: 

    tn hostname 9090

    If the remote host is configured correctly, it will respond with a message similar to the following: 

    Trying...
 
Connected to saga.austin.ibm.com.
Escape character is '|T'.
Language received from client:
Setlocale: en_US
WServer.HANDSHAKING 41292 WServer.HANDSHAKING
  en_US

    where en_US is replaced by the language fileset installed on your machine.

    If it does respond with the previous output, there is an idle server process running on the machine that is consuming system resources. Log in to the remote server and use the kill command on the idle WServer process.

Plug-in installed on a remote host is not showing up when managing from a client.
  • The plug-in on the remote host may be at a level that cannot be managed by the sysmgt.websm.framework level that is installed on the client system. In this case, an error message is displayed when the connection is made to the remote host, which lists the plug-in and the plug-in's version and required sysmgt.websm.framework version needed to manage the plug-in. To manage this plug-in, you will need to find a system where the sysmgt.websm.framework version is at the correct level for the plug-in, or manage the plug-in locally on that host.
  • The App*.db file on the remote host is not formatted correctly. An error message is displayed for the plug-in warning that the App*.db file is not in the correct format for that plug-in and that the plug-in could not be loaded. If this occurs, please contact your customer representative for corrective action.

Troubleshooting Web-based System Manager in Applet Mode


Problem Action
When using Netscape Communicator on a PC, the browser prompts you to download the Java plug-in. Netscape Communicator opens the page, but cannot find the Java plug-in.
  1. Verify you are using Netscape Communicator 4.7 or 4.7x. Netscape Communicator 6.0 is not supported.
  2. Netscape Communicator does not always find the correct plug-in. Manually download and install the plug-in.

The browser freezes after pressing the Refresh or Reload button bringing theWeb-based System Manager back up. Browsers sometimes do not reload applets correctly. You can try either of the following: 
  • Refresh or delete the browser's cache.
  • Restart the browser. This forces the browser to reload the applets.
Attempting to connect to http://yourmachine/wsm.html shows only your Web server's home page. The html files did not get linked to the web server's pub directory. To correct the problem:
  1. Run configassist.
  2. Configure a Web server to run Web-based System Manager.
  3. Verify that there are Web-based System Manager files in the web server's pub directory.

Troubleshooting Web-based System Manager in PC Client Mode


Problem Action
Double-clicking on PC Client icon does not launch the application System environmental variables are created or modified during installation. From the Environment tab in the Control Panel, check that the value of the WSMDIR variable only contains the value of the installation directory, for example C:\ProgramFiles\websm. This directory must also be contained within the PATH variable.
Installation fails The installation might have failed for any of the following reasons:
  • There must be 60 MB free on the default drive.
  • There must 50 MB free on the destination drive.
  • The correct version of browser must be used. Netscape Communicator 6.0 is not supported.
  • The AIX server must be configured correctly to install PC Client.
For more information, see Installing Web-based System Manager PC Client.

Troubleshooting Security


Problem Action
Security functions do not operate. Make sure that you are logged in as the root user, and that you are operating Web-based System Manager on the local machine.
When trying to use the Certificate Authority (CA) for generating key rings or signing certificate requests, a message displays indicating that the Certificate Authority is in use. If you are sure that no other administrator is currently using the CA, remove the CA lock file /var/websm/security/SMCa.lock.
In SMGate configuration, the browser does not recognize the CA certificate file as a CA certificate. Check that the mime type being sent by the Web server for the certificate file is application/x-x509-ca-cert.
Secure remote activation of Web-based System Manager fails.
  • Verify that Web-based System Manager works in non-secure remote mode. You might need to change the server's setting if it does not support non-secure connections.
  • Certificate matching and expiration:
    • Log in to the server as the root user and use the Server Properties dialog of the Server icon (or the smserverprop command) to verify the server's certificate expiration date. Record the CA name.
    • If the problem occurred in application mode, type: /usr/websm/bin/smlistcerts /usr/websm/codebase on the client and verify that the client includes a certificate of the CA that signed the server's certificate (above), and that this certificate has not expired. If the problem is in applet mode, run the following: /usr/websm/bin/smlistcerts /usr/websm/codebase on the server, because the public key ring resides on the server and is transferred to the client.

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