Maximo Open Forum

Hello All, 

New to the group and please excuse me if this topic already exists:

My daily life as a new Maximo SA is diagnosing JVM crashes. Its a real pain and happens often. 

What kind of tools and or recomeded methods do you use to determine crash sources?

Thanks in advance. 

#Administration
#Architecture
#EverythingMaximo
#MaximoApplicationSuite

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Frank Lucato - Solutions Architect
Entergy - New Orleans
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Hi Frank,

Could you please provide a clearer definition of "crashes". One person's crash could be another person's poor performance.

My questions below should help:

• What version are you on? You want to be on the latest possible version to take advantage of bugs reported by other system administrators e.g. like my organisation (Cohesive)
• Is your WebSphere version up to date? This is particularly important if you are running older versions of Maximo Asset Management
• Are you running MAS or Maximo Asset Management? This is critical for some of the troubleshooting methods that you will need to employ
• Does the JVM/POD actually stop? If the JVM stops then you need to review the SystemOut.log (Maximo) or POD logs (MAS). If you you are running MAS then you need to configure your system to ensure that the POD logs are kept when the POD stops
• I talk about where to find SystemOut.log files here - http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/introduction-most-important-maximo-log-file-mark-robbins
• I discuss the MAS log files here - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/showing-how-default-mas-configuration-doesnt-capture-all-mark-robbins
• If you are using MAS then it is important to use the Must Gather tool to capture the logs/configuration before the POD stops - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/must-gather-mini-series-generating-file-masmustgather-mark-robbins-icehe
• Is your system generating any files e.g. heapdumps / core dumps ? - these would be in the profile folder - these require specialist tools to investigate and a detailed knowledge about how Maximo uses memory
• Have you reviewed the memory entries in the SystemOut/POD logs? - these can give you a good picture as to when the memory was being used and you can correlate that against user activity
• Have you reviewed the MBO counts to understand what is using the memory? I discuss MBO Counts in my MboSets mini-series - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/seeing-which-mbosetsmbos-using-memory-mark-robbins
• Have you checked for database connection leaks? - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/db-connections-mbosets-understanding-which-piece-code-mark-robbins/ 
• Do you have separate JVMs/PODs for different tasks e.g. Separate JVM  for UI so it doesn't process BIRT work
• Do your logs show lots of Slow SQL queries that could be slowing down the JVM / affecting other users ? - http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/individual-bmxaa6720w-slow-sql-entries-maximo-logs-need-mark-robbins

If all of this feels like a lot of work then consider consultancy.

I work for Cohesive and we have an automated log analysis tool that goes through your logs/configuration and finds problems and helps you understand what is wrong with your system. It produces graphs showing you your memory usage and detailed reports about your user's behaviour so you can action them.

We also offer training about how to analyse problems / logs / dumps and resolve performance problems.

For 9 years IBM have recognised me as a technical expert through the IBM Champion programme and I focus mainly on Support / architecture including MAS.

Dealing with crashes can be a frustrating experience but it can be very interesting once you understand what is happening in the background.

My signature contains a link to the index page of my blog where I discuss important log entries/concepts

I'm happy to discuss this further offline

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mark robbins
Cohesive
IBM Champion 2017-2024 Inclusive
See my blog on Maximo support related topics here:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/maximo-support-advice-from-non-ibm-engineer-article-mark-robbins/
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-30-2025 08:29
From: Frank Lucato
Subject: JVM crashes - Debugging

Hello All, 

New to the group and please excuse me if this topic already exists:

My daily life as a new Maximo SA is diagnosing JVM crashes. Its a real pain and happens often. 

What kind of tools and or recomeded methods do you use to determine crash sources?

Thanks in advance. 

#Administration
#Architecture
#EverythingMaximo
#MaximoApplicationSuite

------------------------------
Frank Lucato - Solutions Architect
Entergy - New Orleans
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