Overview

Everyone who uses Lotus Notes/Domino should know what to do when Notes/Domino hangs or crashes. This article explains how to use the main features of the Lotus Notes Diagnostic (LND) tool; specifically, we discuss which Notes/Domino diagnostic files can be processed using LND and describe how to:

• Process an automatic diagnostic collection (ADC) database
• Analyze and compare NSDs
• Analyze memory dumps
• Analyze semaphore files
• Reconstruct server Configuration documents

Downloading and installing the LND tool

The IBM Support Assistant (ISA) tool enables you to gather configuration and log files that can help Lotus Technical Support troubleshoot issues you may have with IBM products. In order get the LND, if you don't already have access to ISA, first refer to Support Technote # 1410608,​ “IBM Support Assistant (ISA) Quick Start Guide,” for all the details to get started.

Figure 1 shows the ISA Welcome page:


Figure 1. IBM Support Assistant Welcome page


To analyze the various configuration and log files, follow the steps below:

1. Choose which tools you want to add for supporting the IBM products by selecting Update – Find New – Tools Add-ons (see figure 2):


Figure 2. Tools Add-ons


Figure 3 shows the Tools Catalog window, with the tool name you want to download; in this case, IBM Lotus Notes Diagnostics (Tech preview):


Figure 3. IBM Lotus Notes Diagnostics (Tech preview)

In figure 4, ISA is checking the registry for the Lotus Notes Diagnostics, after which the tool is opened in the Notes client.


Figure 4. Registering the LND tool

Note that, after installation, you may be prompted to restart the Lotus Notes client.

Using the tool

Figure 5 shows the LND tool user interface:


Figure 5. LND tool UI


Figure 6 shows the Open and Process a File option in the LND tool's Inbox:


Figure 6. Open and Process a file option


1. Now, to automatically process an NSD file, right-click on the "nsd_W32I_S1LD852_2011_01_30@17_47_22.log" NSD and select Lotus Notes Diagnostic – Automatic process, as shown in figure 7:


Figure 7. Automatic process option


The LND database should open automatically (see figure 8). You can use the tool to compare two NSD's and create several NSD's to investigate a performance problem.

It should provide general information on memory blocks that are causing problems, and you can even select different tabs such as stacks, memory usages, top 10 memory blocks used, etc. The analysis shows the changes that took place in the stacks.


Figure 8. LND memory block analysis


2. Select the Knowledgebase tab to see relevant content matches found by the LND (see figure 9):


Figure 9. Knowledgebase tab


3. Select the Thread & Process infos tab to see more information about stacks (see figure 10):



Figure 10. Thread & Process infos tab


We can even find the replication of an unread entry involved, and we can see the databases involved or used (see figure 11).



Figure 11. Database(s) involved


4. Select the Client or Server infos tab to see memory usage, top 10 shared memory-blocks usage, log entries, and system information (see figure 12):



Figure 12. Client or Server infos tab


You are also able to find the unusually high memory usage for the crashing process (see figure 13):



Figure 13. Unusually high memory usage for crashing process

Processing a semaphore file

To process a semaphore file:

1. Right-click the SEMDEBUG.TXT file and select Lotus Notes Diagnostic – Automatic process, as shown in figure 14:


Figure 14. SEMDEBUG.TXT automatic process

2. The Semaphore debug view shown in figure 15 should open automatically. Select the Frequency tab and expand “Owning threads” (you may be able to determine from the stack that a search that was in progress caused the semaphore):


Figure 15. Semaphore debug view

Processing a memory dump file

To process a memory dump file:

1. Right-click the memory dump file and select Lotus Notes Diagnostic – Annotate all memory dumps, as shown in figure 16 (you will find two new files created in the directory):


Figure 16. Annotate all memory dumps option


Figure 17 shows the Command Prompt window providing information about identifying the memory dumps in the designated directory:


Figure 17. Command Prompt window

2. Right-click the memory dump file, and select Lotus Notes Diagnostic – Analyze all annotated dumps (see figure 18):


Figure 18. Analyze all annotated dumps option


The view in figure 19 opens, showing the memory used by each memory block.



Figure 19. Memory used by each memory block


3. As you click on the highlighted tabs in the figure above, you can see important diagnostic information (such as the amount of memory used by each memory block).

Processing a DXL file

To process a Domino XML Language (DXL) file:

1. Right-click the .dxl file and select Lotus Notes Diagnostic – Automatic process (see figure 20):


Figure 20. Automatic process for .dxl file


2. After processing the file, you see a Server document in which you can check for the configuration settings, as shown in figure 21:



Figure 21. Server document Configuration Settings

Conclusion

You should now be able to perform the troubleshooting procedures to analyze and fix Lotus Notes/Domino hangs and crashes, using the LND tool.

Resources

Read the Lotus Notes wiki article, “Analyzing IBM Lotus Notes Client hangs and crashes:”
http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/dominowiki.nsf/dx/06262009085854AMWEBH8V.htm

Refer to the IBM Support Assistant Home page:
http://www.ibm.com/software/support/isa/

Watch the LND instructional video:
http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/dominowiki.nsf/xsp/.ibmmodres/domino/OpenAttachment/ldd/dominowiki.nsf/BBC5B2E80E0F77D68525760100709873/attach/LND.swf

developerWorks® Lotus Notes and Domino product page:
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/products/notesdomino/

About the author

Sriram Chalasani is an IT Software Engineer currently working as the Lotus Notes/Domino Administrator with the CIO team at IBM’s Pune, India, facility. He holds a Masters degree in Information Systems and Management from Central Queensland University, Melbourne, Australia, and earned his undergraduate degree in Electronics and Computers from Acharya Nagarjuna University, India. He can be reached at srchalas@in.ibm.com.