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.\" 5799-WZQ (C) COPYRIGHT IBM CORPORATION 1986, 1987,1988
.\" LICENSED MATERIALS - PROPERTY OF IBM
.\" REFER TO COPYRIGHT INSTRUCTIONS FORM NUMBER G120-2083
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IBM Academic Operating System 4.3
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Support Procedures
.sp
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PRPQ Number 5799-WZQ
.br
PRPQ Number 5799-PFF
.sp
IBM ACIS Development
1510 Page Mill Road, MS 35A
Palo Alto, CA 94304
.sz
.)l
.sp 5
.lp
This document describes the support IBM Academic Information Systems
provides 
for the      
IBM Academic Operating System 4.3 product.
.lp   
Keep this document for future reference.
.bp
.rs
.sp 42
.lp
Copyright International Business Machines Corporation, 1988
.sp
.lp
Ethernet is a registered trademark of Xerox Corporation.
.br
UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T Bell Laboratories.
.br
AIX, RT and RT PC are trademarks of International 
Business Machines Corporation.
.pn 1
.eh 'IBM/4.3-SP:%''Support Procedures'
.oh 'Support Procedures''IBM/4.3-SP:%'
.fo 'PRPQ 5799-WZQ, 5799-PFF: IBM/4.3''January 1988'
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.sh 1 "Introduction" 1
.lp
This document describes the support mechanism
for IBM Academic Operating System 4.3 (IBM/4.3).
It includes the following information:
.ip \(bu
The role of the Advanced Computing Support Center
.ip \(bu
The procedures to establish the
uucp link between IBM Academic Information Systems (ACIS) 
and a
Customer Central Support Site 
.ip \(bu
The procedures to track and
report system problems through 
Authorized Program Analysis Reports (APARs)
.ip \(bu
The mechanics of submitting an APAR
.ip \(bu
The procedures to review
and respond to APARs
.ip \(bu
The response objectives of
IBM ACIS 
.ip \(bu
The procedures to request
and apply Program Temporary Fixes (PTFs)
.lp
The appendices to this article contain support reference information.
.lp
You can find a complete list of supported functions
available to licensees of this product in the 
\fIIBM Academic Operating System 4.3\fP
manual.
.sh 1 "Role of the Advanced Computing Support Center"
.lp
The Advanced Computing Support Center (ACSC) in 
Los Angeles, California provides IBM RT PC, IBM 6152 Academic System,
and IBM/4.3 assistance to Customer Central Support Sites.
The ACSC is staffed by personnel from the University of
Southern California and IBM Academic Information Systems.
The mission of the ACSC is to provide technical support
for the IBM RT PC, the IBM 6152 Academic System, and their
associated operating systems and to
provide an additional dimension of support required to meet demands
generated by the availability of the IBM/4.3 source code.
If you or any other member of your 
Customer Central Support
Site staff has a question about IBM/4.3, call the ACSC at their
toll free
number:
.ip
800-642-ACSC (2272)
.lp
In California, call:
.ip
800-443-ACSC (2272)
.lp
Report IBM/4.3 code problems 
directly to IBM ACIS  
via an APAR.
(See section 4.1, \*(lqSubmitting
an APAR.\*(rq)
.lp
The ACSC offers a series of classes at introductory and advanced
levels for IBM/4.3 users.  The classes are offered in Los Angeles.
They include information about installing and using IBM/4.3.  
Contact the ACSC for more information.
.sh 1 "Connecting to the IBM ACIS uucp Network"
.lp
To connect to the IBM ACIS uucp network, you need: 
.ip \(bu
One of the following:
.ba +5
.ip \-
One asynchronous communications port.  This can be either:
.ba +5
.ip \-\-
One of the two serial ports on the system board, labeled S1 and S2.
In the device file, S1 is ttys1 and S2 is ttys0
.ip \-\-
One of the four ports on an IBM RT PC four-port asynchronous
(RS-232C) adapter (P/N 6299224)  
.ba -5
.ip
plus one IBM RT PC RS-232C modem cable (P/N 6298240)
.ip \-
The serial port of the PC AT 
Serial/Parallel card (P/N 8286147)
and one IBM PC AT modem cable RS-232C/9 (P/N 8286170)
.ba -5
.ip \(bu
One modem.  The procedures have been used with:
.ba +5
.ip \-
IBM 5841
.ip \-
Hayes Smartmodem
.ip \-
Racal-Vadic Autodial VA3451
.ip \-
Racal-Vadic Autodial VA212
.ba -5
.ip
Users with a different modem are responsible for making any necessary
changes to the \fIuucp\fR files.
.sh 2 "Procedure" 
.np
Call IBM ACIS in Palo Alto, California at 415-855-4445 and
ask for the uucp coordinator.
Tell the coordinator that you are ready to tailor your
work station for the uucp connection to ibmsupt, the
support work station at IBM ACIS.
The coordinator will help you pick your uucp site name
and will add your site to ibmsupt.
.np
On your uucp-connection work station, type:
.ip
login: \fBguest\fP
.np
Type:
.ip
\fBsu <ENTER>\fP
.ip 
Password:  (supply the appropriate password) 
.np
Type \fBtailor <ENTER>\fP
.ip
Follow the instructions displayed by the program.
See the \fItailor\fP(8) manual page for more information.
.np
Type \fBexit <ENTER>\fP
.lp
The installation is now complete.  Call the IBM ACIS
uucp coordinator again and arrange
to test your uucp connection.
.sh 1 "Overview of the Problem Tracking and Reporting Process
.lp
This is an overview of the procedure that should be followed when an
end-user discovers a problem in the system:
.np
The end-user reports the problem to the user's
Customer Central Support Site.
.np
The Customer Central Support Site verifies that
the problem occurs on a
system containing only the IBM/4.3
operating system.
The Customer Central Support Site consults a
notesfile of known problems to find out
whether the problem has already
been reported and whether a fix is available.
If it is a known problem,
the Customer Central Support Site coordinator
responds to the end-user with
suggested bypasses or fixes, as available.
If the problem is new,
the Customer Central Support Site coordinator assigns it a 
severity code (1 - 4) and
uses the \fIsendapar\fP command to forward it 
to IBM ACIS.
The APAR is sent when your site polls ibmsupt,
which should be at least twice a week and can be as often as once a day.
.np
Each morning and each afternoon
the APARs
received by IBM ACIS are reviewed
for completeness and added to a
networked notesfile called ibm.apars on ibmsupt.
.np
IBM ACIS addresses
problems according to the
schedule described in \*(lqResponse Objectives for 
APARs.\*(rq
When a problem is resolved,
a response is posted to ibm.apars, and
the APAR is closed.
For Severity 1 and 2 APARs,
the appropriate fix
is sent to those
Customer Central Support Sites requesting a fix.
.lp
The details of the reporting process are
discussed in the following sections.
.sh 2 "Submitting an APAR
.lp
This section is intended for Customer Central Support Site coordinators.
A site coordinator should be the only person to submit
an APAR.
.lp
Before you submit an APAR,
check the ibm.apars notesfile to see if an APAR has already
been submitted for the problem.
If the problem is new, 
submit an APAR by following these steps:
.np
Type \fB/sys/support/sendapar\fP
.ip
The APAR template (shown in Appendix A) appears on the screen.
.ip
Note that you must be a member of group \*(lqstaff\*(rq or a superuser
to use the \fIsendapar\fP command.  See the \fIsendapar\fR(8) manual 
page for
more information.
.np
Complete the template using \fIvi\fP (by default) or the editor
specified by the environment variable EDITOR.
The strings \*(lq%%\*(rq and \*(lq%@\*(rq indicate where to supply 
information.
Some fields are filled in by \fIsendapar\fP, some fields are optional,
and others must be completed by the coordinator.  Supply as much
information as possible.
Be sure to type over the leading \*(lq%\*(rq signs on any line
you modify.
.np
After you complete the template, issue a \fB:wq\fP if you're using
\fIvi\fP or the appropriate write-quit sequence for your editor.
The APAR is stripped of blank lines and lines containing
\*(lq%@\*(rq and forwarded to IBM ACIS.
.lp
To cancel a report, 
quit the editing session without writing changes to the template
file.  Unchanged APAR templates are not forwarded to 
IBM ACIS.
.sh 3 "Some Practical Suggestions
.lp
To standardize the APARs in the
ibm.apars notesfile and to ease the
processing of new APARs, 
please keep the following in mind 
when completing the sendapar template:
.ip \(bu
Overwrite the leading ``%'' signs on any modified
lines.  Lines beginning with a \*(lq%\*(rq sign are deleted before
the report is sent to IBM ACIS.
.ip \(bu
Complete the ``Repeat-By'' field with a concise example.
It is important that
IBM ACIS programmers
be able to recreate the problem you have reported.
.ip \(bu
Specify the ``Configuration'' of your workstation as
precisely as possible.  Indicate which release you are using
(for example, January 1988 release),
which PTFs (if any) you have already applied
to the system, and the type of hardware you are using.
.ip \(bu
Definitions of the APAR severity codes are specified in Appendix B.
Do not designate an APAR as a Severity 1
unless your problem is
truly stopping all reasonable progress.
If your system locks up and you
cannot reboot it, or if a disk is destroyed, 
your problem is a Severity 1.
If you can reboot the system but it locks up again every hour or so,
this is also a Severity 1.  However, if you are able to reboot
your system and stay up for several hours without problem, you have 
a Severity 2 problem.
.ip \(bu
If you use the output from \fIdiff\fP to specify a fix or
a workaround, be sure to specify the exact level
of the \*(lqoriginal\*(rq file 
being \fIdiff\fP'd 
with the fixed file.  
Use the \fB-c\fP option of \fIdiff\fP
to provide details about any differences.
.sh 2 "Reviewing and Responding to APARs
.lp
Any user can review existing APARs, but
only Customer Central Support Site coordinators
can send 
responses that are posted by IBM ACIS personnel
to the ibm.apars notesfile.
A response might be, for example, a suggested fix,
a question about the problem, or
information about the problem at a local site.
The end-user must route suggested responses
through a local Customer Central Support Site coordinator.
The end-user can personally send comments to IBM ACIS through
the ibm.conf notesfile described in section 4.6.
.lp
To review previous APAR reports,
issue the command:
.(l
.b
notes ibm.apars
.r
.)l
.lp
An index of subject lines for existing APARs 
appears on the screen.
This index and a keyword search option
are provided by the notes
program to facilitate easy viewing 
of a particular APAR.
From within the notesfile, type a \*(lq?\*(rq for more
detailed information about notesfile command options.
See also the \*(lqNotesfile Reference Manual\*(rq provided
in the 4.3BSD
.i
UNIX User's Supplementary Documents
.r
manual.
.lp
To enter a response:
.np
Type the number of the appropriate
ibm.apars note.
.np
Type \fBp\fP
.np
Type the text of the response.
.lp
To save the response, type \fB<Ctrl>D\fP.
To cancel the response,
type \fB<Ctrl>C\fP.
.sh 2 "Response Objectives for APARs
.lp
IBM ACIS  
is dedicated to resolving all system
problems as quickly as possible.
This section presents the specific response
objectives for closing APARS.
.lp
Response time is defined as the elapsed time from when a completely
specified APAR is opened by IBM ACIS 
until the APAR is closed or suspended.
Most Severity 1 and 2 APARs are posted immediately
upon receipt.
If the information provided in the APAR is complete, the APAR
is considered open at the time it is posted in the ibm.apars notesfile.
If the APAR is incompletely specified,
it is posted immediately
with an ``Open Date'' of
``Awaiting Further Information.''
IBM ACIS contacts
the Customer Central Support Site coordinator
and requests the missing information.
When all required information is available,
a real ``Open Date'' is assigned, and
the APAR is considered open.
An APAR is considered closed if a fix has been tested
successfully and a closing response posted to ibm.apars.
Appendix C contains a full list of closing codes. 
.lp
The response objectives of
IBM ACIS are as follows:
.ip \(bu
Provide a temporary fix to a Severity 1 APAR
within three working days of its open date
.ip \(bu
Close a Severity 1 APAR within one week of its open date
.ip \(bu
Close a
Severity 2 APAR within two weeks of its open date
.ip \(bu
Close a Severity 3 or a Severity 4 APAR after Severity 1 and Severity 2
APARs
.lp
Severity 1 and 2 APARs that remain incompletely specified
for more than one and two weeks, respectively, may be closed
with codes of
``RET - The APAR was returned to the submitter for more information''
or ``UR3 - The problem could not be reproduced on the current release.''
.lp
Fixes to closed Severity 3 and 4 APARs are posted to the ibm.apars notesfile 
whenever possible, and may be applied by the customer.
.lp
All APAR fixes are incorporated in system updates and any 
subsequent releases.
.sh 2 "Fix Request and Application Procedures
.lp
Route all requests for PTFs 
through a Customer Central Support Site coordinator.
Only a coordinator can
receive,
apply, and distribute PTFs. 
.sh 3 "To Request a Fix
.lp
To request a fix for a Severity 1 or 2 APAR:
.np
Consult the ibm.apars notesfile to see if
a fix is available for
the APAR of interest.
If a fix is provided in the ``Fix'' field,
you can apply it.
.np
If the APAR has not yet been closed,
or if it has been closed but the fix is not posted
in ibm.apars, you can
request a fix by issuing the command:
.(l
.b
mail ibmsupt\e!ibmptf
.)l
.lp
Specify by number the APAR
for which a fix is needed.
.lp
PTFs are made available for Severity 1 and 2 APARs 
with the following closing codes:
.(l
ADM
DOC
PER
.)l
.lp
.sh 3 "To Receive a Fix
.lp
IBM ACIS responds
to requests for available PTFs 
to Severity 1 and 2 APARs
by shipping 
a PTF package via uucp
to root at your uucp-connection work station,
indicating the location of the package 
and the associated PTF number.
To have this mail forwarded to a user other than root,
create a \fI.forward\fP file in the root directory (/) that
contains the userid of the desired recipient.
.sh 3 "To Apply a Set of PTFs 
.lp
The tools for applying PTFs are in the
directory \fI/sys/support\fP.
To apply a set of PTFs, 
issue the command:
.(l
\fB/sys/support/ptfinstall\fR [ \fB-d\fIinstall_path\fR] \fIptf#\fR [...]
.)l
.lp
where \fIptf#\fP is the set of PTF numbers, separated by spaces, 
you received.
.lp
The PTFs are applied relative to the \fIinstall_path\fP directory
named in the \fB-d\fP option.
The default is the scratch directory \fI/sys/support/ptftest\fP.
The PTFs can be previewed there.
To install the PTFs permanently, specify \fB-d/\fP.
You must be superuser to install them permanently.
See the \fIptfinstall\fP(8) manual page for more information.
.sh 2 "System Updates"
.lp
From time to time, IBM ACIS distributes 
system updates containing
the fixes to all closed APARs.  Installation instructions 
accompany each system update.  
Any subsequent releases incorporate
applicable fixes to closed APARs reported against a prior release.
.sh 2 "The IBM Conference Notesfile"
.lp
IBM ACIS has a notesfile named ibm.conf on the ibmsupt
system that has read and write permission for all customers.
This file is for topics that relate to the use of the
IBM RT PC work station, the IBM 6152 Academic System, and IBM/4.3.
The purpose of ibm.conf is to provide a forum for the 
exchange of information.
.lp
When you create a base note, make your subject line
meaningful.  This line appears in the index.  Avoid
subjects like ``New Super Fast Support,'' or
``I Have a Problem.''
.lp
When you respond to a base note,
keep your response confined to the base note's subject.
If you want to write about some other topic, create a
new base note.
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.eh 'IBM/4.3-SP:%''APAR Template'
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Appendix A.  APAR Template
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Appendix A.  APAR Template
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.lp
Shown below
is the APAR template the Customer Central Support Site coordinator 
completes to report an APAR.
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Appendix B.  APAR Severity Codes
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Appendix B.  APAR Severity Codes
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Listed below are the APAR severity codes and their meanings.
.sp
.TS
center, tab (+);
c c
c10 l.
\fBCode\fP+\fBDescription\fP
 
1+T{
The user is unable to use the workstation, either
because the system locks up and cannot be rebooted
or because the system loses data on the disk.
This condition requires an immediate solution.
T}

2+T{
A critical component does not work or its
usage is severely restricted, but the rest of
the system operates normally.
T}
 
3+T{
A critical/non-critical component has minor
restrictions or a non-critical component does not
work, but the system operates normally.
T}
 
4+T{
The problem can be easily bypassed but must be corrected.
T}
.TE
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NOTE: If the system panics or crashes so frequently that
no useful work can be done, the problem is considered a Severity 1 APAR.
If the system stays up long enough between crashes so that
useful work can be done, the problem is considered a Severity 2 APAR.
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.eh 'IBM/4.3-SP:%''APAR Closing Codes'
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Appendix C.  APAR Closing Codes
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Appendix C.  APAR Closing Codes
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.lp
Listed below are the APAR closing codes and their meanings.
.sp
.TS
center, tab(+);
c c
c10 l.
\fBCode\fP+\fBDefinition\fP
 
ADM+T{
The problem was caused by an administrative error,
not by an error in the code or the publications.
T}

CAN+T{
The APAR was canceled.  This closing code may
mean that the report should never have been created
or that the submitter has requested that the report
be canceled.
T}

DOC+T{
An error in a publication was found and will be
corrected in an update or future reprinting of the
publication.
T}
 
DUP+T{
The problem was closed as a duplicate of another
problem.
T}

MCH+T{
The problem was caused by a hardware or microcode
failure.
T}

PER+T{
A programming error was found and will be corrected
in a future release of the product.
T}
 
PRS+T{
A programming error was found, but it will not be
corrected in a future release of the product.  The
error will be a permanent restriction.
T}
 
RET+T{
The APAR was returned to the person who created it
because more information was needed to close it.
T}

SUG+T{
The APAR does not describe a defect in IBM code.
Instead, it suggests a change in the code.
T}
 
URx+T{
IBM ACIS either could not reproduce the problem
or they determined that the problem has already been corrected.
``x'' is one of the following:

\ \ 1  The problem could not be reproduced
\ \ \ \ on the next available release. 

\ \ 3  The problem could not be reproduced
\ \ \ \ on a currently supported release.
T}

USE+T{
The problem was caused by a user error or misunderstanding.
T}
.TE
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