Brocade Fabric OS Message Reference Guide (53-1000242-01, November 2006)

1-14 Fabric OS Message Reference
Publication Number: 53-1000242-01
Responding to a System Message
1
Panic Dump and Core Dump Files
The Fabric OS creates panic dump files and core files when there are problems in the Fabric OS kernel.
You can view panic dump files using the pdShow command. These files can build up in the kernel
partition (typically because of failovers) and might need to be periodically deleted or downloaded using
the saveCore command.
The software watchdog process (SWD) is responsible for monitoring daemons critical to the function of
a healthy switch. The SWD holds a list of critical daemons that ping the SWD periodically at a
predetermined interval defined for each daemon.
If a daemon fails to ping the SWD within the defined interval, or if the daemon terminates unexpectedly,
then the SWD dumps information to the panic dump files, which helps to diagnose the root cause of the
unexpected failure.
Run the pdShow command to view these files or the saveCore command to send them to a host
workstation using FTP. The panic dump files and core files are intended for support personnel use only.
Trace Dumps
The Fabric OS produces trace dumps when problems are encountered within Fabric OS modules. You
can initiate the sending of trace dump files to support personnel using the supportSave or traceFtp
commands. The Fabric OS trace dumps files are intended for support personnel use only.
supportSave Command
The supportSave command can be used to send the output of the system messages (RASLog), the trace
files, and the output of the supportShow command to a support location by FTP. Prior to running the
supportSave command, you can optionally set up the FTP parameters using the supportFtp command.
The supportShow command runs a large number of dump and show commands to provide a global
output of the status of the switch. Refer to the Fabric OS Command Reference for more information on
these commands.