Connectivity problems typically involve multiple systems, including
software, hardware, and communications. The best way to troubleshoot connectivity
problems is through a process of elimination.
First, collect relevant data and determine what you know, what data you
have not yet collected, and what paths you can eliminate. At a minimum, answer
the following questions:
- Are the communication paths operational?
- Has the initial connection been successful?
- Is the problem intermittent or persistent?
- Have changes been made to the communication network that would invalidate
the previous directory entries?
- Where is the communication breakdown encountered? For example, was the
breakdown between your workstation and Power® Systems?
- Is the problem encountered only within a specific application?
- What can you determine by the content of the message and the tokens that
are returned in the message?
- Are other systems able to perform similar tasks successfully?
- If this is a remote task, is it successful when performed locally?
Next, try to isolate the problem by answering the questions in the troubleshooting
checklist for connectivity problems.