Re: Netserver startup

Hello Doug,

Am 05.12.2023 um 00:04 schrieb DEnglander--- via MIDRANGE-L <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

Thank you Stefan. My question then becomes, how much time is normally
sufficient to make sure STRTCP has started?

This is dependent on the actual machine.

What would have changed all of a sudden that now STRTCP needs more time
than before?

This is the correct question which I have no definitive answer to.

Where would I find how to monitor the STRTCP command to make sure it has
completed before Netserver starts?

strtcp returns almost immediately, while the actual startup process is done by a separate batch job. AFAIK you can't easily monitor for completeness.

This asynchronous behavior has the advantage that things can start up in parallel at IPL time. SSDs and multi-core technology greatly lessen IPL time in general. Drawback is that dependency tracking and repeated error recovery/"try again" is needed. Sometimes, things work correctly by chance and a minor change on the system might suffice to introduce enough delay to break things.

The only one being able to know what changed to your system is you, unfortunately. ;-)


Some comments on your other message…

Further on down is STRTCP, DLYJOB DLY(30), and STRHOSTSVR SERVER(*ALL)

This is normally not needed since V4R5. TCP/IP is started as an autostart entry for qsyswrk (STRUPTCPIP) by default. No need to repeat this in QSTRUPPGM. Starting tcpip more or less parallel two times calls for trouble, if you ask me.

All TCP/IP servers (including host servers + *netsvr) are started according to the information in QUSRSYS/QATOCSTART. If you set the startup flag accordingly, there's no need for a separate call to strhostvr. I admit, I have not found an official menu or command to deal with automatic startup settings for host servers compared to "normal" servers like telnet or ftp.

I recommend reviewing/cleaning your startup procedure and see if this helps. Especially considering my experience about "works by chance" pointed out above.

The only message I see is CPIB683 in *SYSOPR. It appears with Reason Code 5 and Return Code 3409.

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ibm-i-netserver-debug-checklist-startup-failures says: This return code indicates a timeout.

I admit, this isn't very helpful.

even though the Primary IP on the WINS Configuration tab does not exist.

I'd correct this if I were you. Why keep a setting which doesn't make sense (anymore)?

The funny thing is, if I run the ENDTCPSVR SERVER(*NETSVR) and STRTCPSVR SERVER(*NETSVR) manually on green screen, Netserver starts and initializes. However, I do receive CPIB687 with Reason Code 1 and Return code 3435.

This is probably because the primary WINS server not being reachable. I'm pretty sure this will go away once you correct your WINS misconfiguration.

:wq! PoC