FAQ: Understanding BlackBerry Enterprise Server Debug Logs

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1 FAQ: Understanding BlackBerry Enterprise Server Debug Logs When attempting to solve an issue with a BlackBerry user s calendar, what should I be looking for after I search the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log files for the terms CICAL and CDOCalendar? The methodology that should be used depends on the issue which you are attempting to diagnose. In general terms, the first thing that should be done is to isolate debug events for a particular user. This is accomplished by filtering the debug log files based on the user s SMTP address. The next filter would use one of the search terms mentioned, as this would harvest the specific debug events that are related to the user s calendar activities. If you can identify the timeframe of the issue, there may be a specific debug log line that provides insight into what occurred during the issue (for example, an error returned from the mail server). What is the difference between BlackBerry Enterprise Server IM error code 102 and 110? The 102 error code refers to invalid credentials and the 110 error code refers to invalid account. I have noticed that my BlackBerry Enterprise Server is not logging any information for PIN and SMS. Where on the BlackBerry Manager do I configure the logging for these? Using BlackBerry Enterprise Server software version 4.1 and later, BlackBerry smartphone Personal Identification Number (PIN) messages and Short Message Service (SMS) messages that have been sent and received on a BlackBerry smartphone can be logged on a daily basis. The logs are kept in a central repository and saved as Comma Separated Value (CSV) files. By default, only BlackBerry phone call logging is turned on. To modify the settings for PIN and SMS message logging, complete the following steps: 1. Open BlackBerry Manager and select the BlackBerry Enterprise Server to be modified. 2. Select the Server Configuration tab and click Edit Properties. 3. Click Sync Server. 4. Double click Audit Root Directory. 5. To save the log files, type the file path where the files are to be saved and click OK. 6. In the left pane, click BlackBerry Domain. 7. Select the Global tab and click Edit Properties. 8. Click IT Policy. 9. In the IT Policy Administration section, double click IT Policies. 10. Select one of the policies in the list. 11. Click Properties > PIM Sync Policy Group. 12. To monitor SMS or BlackBerry smartphone PIN messages, complete the steps in the following table: Action Monitoring the SMS messages that BlackBerry smartphone users send and receive on BlackBerry smartphones. Monitor the PIN messages that BlackBerry smartphone users send and receive on BlackBerry smartphones. Procedure 1. Click Disable SMS Messages Wireless Sync. 2. In the drop down list, select False. 3. Click Disable PIN Messages Wireless Sync. 4. In the drop down list, select False.

2 13. Click OK to close the open windows. 14. Restart the BlackBerry Synchronization Service. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server creates the log files using the following formats: o BlackBerry smartphone PIN messages: PINLog_<YYYYMMDD>.csv o SMS messages: SMSLog_<YYYYMMDD>.csv o Phone calls: PhoneCallLog_<YYYYMMDD>.csv How do you view RefId values on the BlackBerry 7100 Model? The same command is used across BlackBerry smartphones. To observe the RefId on an item, you must open the item and type ALT + VIEW. The RefId will then be presented at the top of the BlackBerry smartphone screen (you may have to scroll upward to see this). What does this BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log error mean? CDOCalendar::Initialize Code = , WCode = 0505, Code meaning = IDispatch error #1285 This BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log line is only written to a debug log for BlackBerry Enterprise Server for Microsoft Exchange, as the result codes provided within the log line are being returned by Microsoft Exchange. This debug event often means that a specific error condition was encountered while trying to work with a BlackBerry user s calendar. There are additional debug log lines that would be logged before and after this one and they would likely provide additional insight to the problem. Is there a reference guide available for BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log error messages? No, there is no such reference document available at this time. Customers are encouraged to search for specific error messages or strings in the BlackBerry Technical Solution Center: Is there any tool to index BlackBerry Enterprise Server logs? No, there is no such tool available at this time. Many customers have written their own text parsing scripts however, using a variety of programming languages. We experience frequent BlackBerry Enterprise Server SRP connection drops but the BlackBerry Enterprise Server re connects within one minute, before we can troubleshoot. How can we troubleshoot this issue? It is recommended that you use the timestamp in the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log lines to identify the time period(s) associated with the SRP disconnect activity. Using this information, you may be able to link the SRP disconnections to specific events in your network environment. Can the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs be searched for related events? Yes. Using values such as an EntryId, RefId and Tag, it is possible to trace the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log lines that are associated with specific BlackBerry Enterprise Server activities. Depending on what is being traced, it may be necessary to follow the activity through multiple BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs, across multiple BlackBerry Enterprise Server components. What would you recommend that we search for in the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs if a BlackBerry user did not receive all s on his BlackBerry smartphone but they are present in their desktop client?

3 The first action should be to collect information regarding the timeframe of the messages being delivered to the BlackBerry user s desktop client. Using that information, it is possible to review the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs for events that occurred during that timeframe, for that BlackBerry user. In many cases, this basic information may be sufficient to isolate the information needed to diagnose the problem. If that is not the case, obtaining additional information, such as the RefId of affected messages, helps to narrow the investigation further and will reduce the debugging review to specific debug log lines. These debug log lines may contain errors or information that could explain why the messages were not delivered to the BlackBerry user s smartphone. Another item to check is whether the BlackBerry user has forwarding disabled while their BlackBerry is connected to their desktop. Is there a debug log for the BlackBerry browser that would help us troubleshoot authentication failures? Yes. The BlackBerry Mobile Data Service debug log is associated with Internet/Intranet browsing via the BlackBerry Browser. This debug log is identified with MDAT in the filename. When BlackBerry users are browsing using the BlackBerry Browser, their activities are logged to this debug log. It is possible to increase the log level associated to the Mobile Data Service and also specifically increase HTTP logging, if it is necessary to review HTTP activities on a gran0u0lar level. For additional debugging, it is often suggested that a network level packet capture be collected also, so the HTTP traffic can be further examined. How do we configure our BlackBerry Enterprise Server to keep 14 days of debug logs automatically? The BlackBerry Enterprise Server retains debug logs on a daily basis (by default). If an administrator wishes to change the default settings for debug log retention, they must follow these steps: 1. Click Start>Programs>BlackBerry Enterprise Server 2. Select BlackBerry Server Configuration from the menu 3. In the BlackBerry Server Configuration panel, click the Logging tab 4. Locate the appropriate BlackBerry Enterprise Server component to modify the debug log settings for 5. Change the Setting value for Debug log maximum daily file age to the desired value (the maximum value which can be entered is 999 days) What is the duration of a 'waitcount' in the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs? Each waitcount represents ten minutes. For example, if a waitcount of 4 is logged, this means that the BlackBerry Enterprise Server has waited for forty minutes to obtain the status of a thread that is performing work. If we have one Messaging Agent that is hung and stops logging to the debug log, how can we restart that Messaging Agent exclusively? Is there a way to do this or must we restart the BlackBerry controller and therefore, have all Messaging Agents restarted? Each BlackBerry Messaging Agent is represented within Windows by a process named BlackBerryAgent. When BlackBerry Messaging Agents are spawned as Windows processes, they are assigned unique Process Identifiers (PID s). If you know the PID that is associated to the Messaging Agent which is hung (the debug logs for each Messaging Agent will have this information), you can terminate the BlackBerryAgent process PID belonging to that specific Messaging Agent using Windows Task Manager and only that Messaging Agent will be restarted. If your Windows Task Manager is not currently configured to display the PID s of running Windows processes, you must change this in the View settings under Select Columns. Can the parsing tools in the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Resource Kit be run directly on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, against the current debug logs?

4 Yes, the parsing tools in the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Resource Kit can be run directly on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, against the current debug logs. It is not recommended that customers do this, however. Since most of the tools are being run against historical data, it is recommended that customers run the tools on a separate computer using logs other than. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server Resource Kit can be downloaded here: Which BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log file is used to troubleshoot issues with PIM synchronization? Typically, the BlackBerry Messaging Agent (MAGT) and Synchronization Server (SYNC) debug log files would be used for troubleshooting issues relating to BlackBerry PIM synchronization. How long do you recommend keeping BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log files? The BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log retention time is completely optional and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server is configured (by default) to retain debug logs each day, with no limit. BlackBerry support generally recommends that debug logs be retained for one to two weeks, so that if problems occur, this historical data can be reviewed prior to the immediate period of the incident. There are issues that may have taken a few days to develop and therefore, debug logs from the days prior to the report date may be required. If BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log are redirected to a network drive, what happens if the drive becomes unavailable for a period of time? The BlackBerry Enterprise Server must have consistent, uninterrupted access to the location where the debug logs are stored, as information is being written to the debug logs constantly. If the BlackBerry Enterprise Server cannot access the location where the debug logs are supposed to be written, one or more errors will be displayed on the server hosting the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Any events that occur in the interim will not be logged. Is it fine to access the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs for the current day if troubleshooting is necessary? Will accessing the current debug logs cause any logging issues? Generally speaking, it is fine to access the current debug logs if necessary. No logging issues should be observed while this is done, unless you are accessing the debug logs with a third party script or software application that is locking the debug log files while it s using them. We are assisting a BlackBerry smartphone user with their Enterprise Activation. In the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs, we see a debug log line that says he is Still handled by desktop. What does this mean? It is normal to observe this debug log line being written. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log line still handled by desktop is a log line that is most commonly written when a BlackBerry user is in the pending state to be added to a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log line looks like this: [40239] (03/23 14:43:04):{0x1428} {user@domain.com} Still handled by desktop How can we delete call logs from a BlackBerry smartphone before providing it to a new user? When a BlackBerry smartphone is being moved from one BlackBerry user to another one, it is considered best practice to perform a security wipe on the BlackBerry smartphone prior to giving it to the new user (this option is available with BlackBerry Device Software 3.8 and later). Performing a security wipe will delete all information that exists on the BlackBerry, including call logs. To perform a security wipe on a BlackBerry smartphone, please follow these steps, which are also provided in BlackBerry Technical Solution Center article KB02318:

5 1. On the Home screen of the BlackBerry smartphone, click Options. 2. If you are running BlackBerry Device Software 4.1 or later, click Security Options > General Settings. Otherwise, click Security. 3. Open the menu and then select Wipe Handheld > Continue. 4. Type blackberry and then press the Enter key. All the data on the BlackBerry smartphone is deleted. What is the key sequence to open the event log on BlackBerry smartphones? To access the event log on a BlackBerry smartphone, you must type ALT + LGLG. If you need to send the event log to a third party, you can use a menu option to copy the events to the clipboard on the BlackBerry smartphone, so that they can be pasted into an . Alternatively, event logs can be extracted from a BlackBerry using the Javaloader utility (the BlackBerry must be connected to a desktop to use this option). How can we increase the debug logging level on a BlackBerry smartphone? The debug logging level on a BlackBerry smartphone can be modified by following these steps: 1. On the BlackBerry device Home screen, press and hold the Alt key and type LGLG. 2. Release the Alt key. 3. Click the trackwheel (or press the trackball) and select Options. 4. Select Warning, click the trackwheel (or press the trackball) and select Change Option. 5. In the drop down list, select Debug Info. We are currently running BlackBerry Enterprise Server 4.1Service Pack 6. Where do we configure the debug log paths and debug logging levels for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server components? The debug log paths and debug logging levels for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server components are configured in the BlackBerry Server Configuration panel. Each BlackBerry Enterprise Server component has an area within the resulting window where its individual logging settings can be configured. The BlackBerry Server Configuration panel can be accessed by following these instructions: 1. Click Start>Programs>BlackBerry Enterprise Server 2. Select BlackBerry Server Configuration from the menu 3. In the BlackBerry Server Configuration panel, click the Logging tab We are running BlackBerry Enterprise Server for Novell GroupWise and are observing SOAP errors in the GW Soap Connector debug logs. What do these mean? If SOAP errors are observed in the GW Soap Connector debug logs, the meaning of these errors will depend on the error and associated message that are returned. In many instances, the nature of the problem is described in the debug log line containing the SOAP error or in adjacent debug log lines. Common areas that involve SOAP errors being logged include incompatible/outdated file versions, login issues and general configuration problems. What is the recommended debug log level for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server components? The recommended debug log level for BlackBerry Enterprise Server components is 4. At this logging level, most events are being written, including both informational events and warnings. In specific circumstances, it may be necessary to increase the debug log level of BlackBerry Enterprise Server components; however this increased logging is not suggested for persistent use. Certain debug log levels include superfluous amounts of information regarding BlackBerry Enterprise Server activity and therefore, the debug logs will increase greatly in size.

6 Additionally, specific debug log levels include details about BlackBerry user items, such as calendar items. As mentioned during the webcast, the increased debug logging level should be used judiciously. We are running BlackBerry Enterprise Server for Lotus Domino. What does the debug event mean when it refers to constructing CMIME message? This event refers to the process that is entered to build the message that is sent to a BlackBerry smartphone. CMIME is a proprietary protocol used by Research In Motion for BlackBerry messaging and reconciliation purposes. This event looks like this in the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs: [40000] (08/15 17:13:16):{0x1550} {Ella Smith/Headquarters /National/NYC!/US} Constructing CMIME message size=4584, t=p.npt unid=852573ba006e087c852574a nid=8534a RefId= , Tag= What date/time is used in the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs? Is it using GMT or the local time? The time used on the local host server is the one used for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs. What causes hung threads in the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs and how can our organization detect them in the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs in a proactive manner? Hung threads are typically a result of problems completing work that the BlackBerry Enterprise Server is attempting to perform. If a thread is working on completing an operation and a network issue is encountered or a database/mail server takes longer than expected to respond, the thread is left in a perpetual waiting state until it can finish its activities. By the time a non responsive thread is logged, it is too late to prevent the instigating issue proactively, however you can use the debug log line to identify the work that was being performed and depending on the operation, you may be able to determine the target server that the thread is waiting for. The NoResponse tool in the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Resource Kit can be used to extract instances of busy/hung threads from the debug logs and to qualify some of the circumstances. If you desire to be informed of hung threads in real time, you are encouraged to implement an alerting or monitoring solution, such as the BlackBerry Monitoring Service. The use of dynamic mechanisms such as SNMP and syslog can alert you in situations where a non responsive thread is being encountered. Which type of BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log errors would best indicate mail server issues? Mail server issues are best identified on the mail servers themselves, using the associated debugging provided by the mail server vendor. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server however, may experience degraded performance for BlackBerry users on the affected mail server, as threads which are communicating with affected mail servers may become non responsive. It is recommended that administrators be aware of non responsive threads that are logged in the BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs, as these may potentially be the first indication for them that a mail server performance or responsiveness issue is occurring. Which BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log records administrative actions? Administrative actions are generally recorded in the BlackBerry Manager (MNGR) debug log. Can we determine if BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log lines refer to an individual user or to all users? Yes. BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug log lines that refer to an individual BlackBerry smartphone user typically display unique information such as the user s SMTP address or PIN within the debug log line.