OpenScape 4000 V7 Assistant Not Syncing 3

[Frav82]

Good Morning,

Our OpenScape 4000 Assistant says UPLOAD_REQUIRED for the first two options, Upload Status and Stations. When I click on either one of the two it opens up to "System" but when I click search (not sure what else to do on this screen) at the bottom of this page the wheel just keeps spinning until I click Abort. I saw this happen last October when I first started working here however, the old support vender was still here for a few days longer and took care of this. I believe he stopped then restarted the Assistant process? Any help with this is greatly appreciated because Assistant is useless in the meantime.

Thank You!

Rob

 

[donb01]

I believe you can reboot the Assistant through Webmin (under Base Administration) - every time I need to do it I have to look for it. I also believe it says "Reload" or something stupid like that, but it actually restarts it.

If not there it would be in the portal, which is oftentimes one IP address lower than you use for the Assistant, and you have to use https:// to get it. Login and password should be the same as Assistant if you're supposed to be in there. BE CAREFUL in the portal - you can make bad things happen from there. If you have V7 prior to R2 there should be the entire library of system documentation in there. In V7R2 there was a bug in the install routines and the documentation didn't get copied (unless they fixed it later).


Don Bruechert, Voice Comm Analyst II
CareTech Solutions @ Holy Family Memorial
Manitowoc, WI, USA

 

[Moriendi]

Yes you can reboot Assistant from Webmin - it will reboot the Assistant VM so you can do it anytime.

Sometimes an Assistant reboot will not solve a CM problem, you neeed to restart the processes within Assistant. Easiest way is to use cs_control from a ssh session to Assistant. cs_control -h will give you a list, check stop start restart. You can stop start or just restart.

Assistant-linux:/home/engr # cs_control restart


##### RESTART of CM processes #####
##### Stopping of dbwrite ...
# Stopping of dbwrite successful

##### Stopping of dbwNotifHandler ...
# Stopping of dbwNotifHandler successful

##### Stopping of cnonserver ...
# Stopping of cnonserver successful

##### Stopping of uxbproc ...
# Stopping of uxbproc successful

##### Stopping of ldbsync ...
# Stopping of ldbsync successful

##### Stopping of SoapServer ...
# Stopping of SoapServer successful

##### Stopping of uxsstrup ...
# Stopping of uxsstrup successful

##### Stopping of ccs ...
# Stopping of ccs successful

##### Stopping of UM-proxy ...
# Stopping of UM-proxy successful

##### Phonebook Server Application ...
# Stopping of Phonebook Server Application successful

##### Phonebook Persistency ...
# Stopping of Phonebook Persistency successful

##### Stopping of cserver ...
# Stopping of cserver successful

##### Process checks ...

Information about the Process Status:
- Registered: Daemon registered but never started, or
daemon terminated per application request.
- Active: The daemon was started and is still up and running.
- Inactive: The daemon started too often and was not restarted by ProcM.

Status will be retrieved .....
cmproc_cserver Registered Thu Feb 15 11:06:42 2018 cm_subadm
cmproc_dbwNotifHandler Registered Thu Feb 15 11:06:41 2018 cm_subad m
cmproc_umproc Registered Mon Dec 18 16:57:19 2017 cm_subadm
cmproc_uxbproc Registered Thu Feb 15 11:06:42 2018 cm_subadm
cmproc_cmipbp Registered Mon Dec 18 16:57:34 2017 cm_subadm
cmproc_soapserver Registered Thu Feb 15 11:06:42 2018 cm_subad m
cmproc_ldbsync Registered Thu Feb 15 11:06:42 2018 cm_subadm
cmproc_uxsstrup Registered Thu Feb 15 11:06:42 2018 cm_subadm
cmproc_ccs Registered Thu Feb 15 11:06:42 2018 cm_subadm
cmproc_cnonserver Registered Thu Feb 15 11:06:41 2018 cm_subad m
cmproc_cmipsa Registered Mon Dec 18 16:57:34 2017 cm_subadm
cmproc_dbwrite Registered Thu Feb 15 11:06:41 2018 cm_subadm


##### Start CM processes via procadmin #####


##### Activate cserver
# Activation of cserver successful

##### Activate UM-proxy
# Activation of UM-proxy successful

##### Activate dbwrite
# Activation of dbwrite successful

##### Activate dbwNotifHandler
# Activation of dbwNotifHandler successful

##### Activate cnonserver
# Activation of cnonserver successful

##### Activate uxbproc
# Activation of uxbproc successful

##### Activate ldbsync
# Activation of ldbsync successful

##### Activate SoapServer
# Activation of SoapServer successful

##### Activate uxsstrup
# Activation of uxsstrup successful

##### Activate ccs
# Activation of ccs successful

##### Activate Phonebook Server Application
# Activation of Phonebook Server Application successful

##### Activate Phonebook Persistency
# Activation of Phonebook Persistency successful

##### Process activation finished.
##### Please wait 60 seconds for process checks ...

Information about the Process Status:
- Registered: Daemon registered but never started, or
daemon terminated per application request.
- Active: The daemon was started and is still up and running.
- Inactive: The daemon started too often and was not restarted by ProcM.

Status will be retrieved .....
cmproc_cserver Active Thu Feb 15 11:07:01 2018 cm_subadm 4986
cmproc_dbwNotifHandler Active Thu Feb 15 11:07:06 2018 cm_subadm 5323
cmproc_umproc Registered Thu Feb 15 11:07:05 2018 cm_subadm
cmproc_uxbproc Active Thu Feb 15 11:07:10 2018 cm_subadm 5420
cmproc_cmipbp Registered Thu Feb 15 11:07:21 2018 cm_subadm
cmproc_soapserver Active Thu Feb 15 11:07:15 2018 cm_subadm 5544
cmproc_ldbsync Active Thu Feb 15 11:07:13 2018 cm_subadm 5492
cmproc_uxsstrup Active Thu Feb 15 11:07:17 2018 cm_subadm 5614
cmproc_ccs Active Thu Feb 15 11:07:22 2018 cm_subadm 5666
cmproc_cnonserver Active Thu Feb 15 11:07:08 2018 cm_subadm 5375
cmproc_cmipsa Registered Thu Feb 15 11:07:21 2018 cm_subadm
cmproc_dbwrite Active Thu Feb 15 11:07:19 2018 cm_subadm 5229

##### Number of Process Starts since last manually Process Stop / Start #####
##### Last Start was at: Thu Feb 15 11:06:44 GMT 2018
##### Current date/time: Thu Feb 15 11:07:56 GMT 2018
----- dbwrite: 1
----- dbwNotifHandler: 1
----- cserver: 1
----- UM-proxy: 1
----- cmipsa: 1
----- cmipbp: 0
----- cnonserver: 1
----- uxbproc: 1
----- ldbsync: 1
----- SoapServer: 0
----- uxsstrup: 1
----- ccs: 1
##### RESTART processing ended.


Assistant-linux:/home/engr #

 

[Frav82]

Thank you Donb01 and Moriendi for this information it's MUCH appreciated. I have more confidence in doing this through the portal but I have a question about portal. I logged into portal as User: engr like I do in Assistant however I do not see where to take care of this. I believe I need to go into "Applications" however I do not get that option when logged in as engr (see screenshot below) am I missing something?

Thanks again Gentlemen.

Rob

 

[donb01]

As far as I know (which is why I always end up looking) you can't do it in both places. It is either in Webmin or the Portal, and Morendi above has confirmed my thinking it is in Webmin. Just go in there and say Reload Assistant and you're good. You would have to go into the portal if you need to REINSTALL Assistant. I have done that restart configuration manager thing he refers to as well, because after a while it gets sluggish and a good enema helps bring it back closer to normal....


Don Bruechert, Voice Comm Analyst II
CareTech Solutions @ Holy Family Memorial
Manitowoc, WI, USA

 

[Frav82]

donb01 I think I found what you're describing I just want to make sure, is this what I need to do?

 

[Frav82]

donb01

Sorry I think I found the solution you mentioned using Webmin. I started the process so I'll report back the results in a few minutes.

 

[Frav82]

Well that Webmin option didn't seem to work. I waited a while but the screen in previous post never changed so I closed that browser tab then logged off the Assistant browser tab and closed it. Then launched Assistant in a new browser and I still get this:

 

[Moriendi]

Like I said "Sometimes an Assistant reboot will not solve a CM problem, you need to restart the processes within Assistant".

Did you actually make an upload? That's what it's telling you. Click CM, Network, System, Search, then Action, Upload All. Looks like you'll need to do that whether you restart CM processes or not.

Don't confuse the Portal with the Assistant, it's not the same thing. Assistant is running in its own VM. Portal is running on the host OS. That's why Portal has an option to reinstall Assistant.

 

[Frav82]

Ok silly question time. I opened a ssh session to Assistant and ran "cs_control restart" just like you suggested. Everything went as shown in your example and now I'm sitting there at the "Assistant-linux:/home/engr #". Do I need to type something like "end" or can I just click the upper right red X on the putty window to close?

 

[Frav82]

Still no luck. I ran the Webmin Reboot Assistant, I opened a SSH session to Assistant and ran cs_control restart, and still when I open Assistant up in a browser I get

 

[Moriendi]

You can just close the putty window.

** Did you actually make an upload? That's what it's telling you. Click CM, Network, System, Search, then Action, Upload All. Looks like you'll need to do that whether you restart CM processes or not. **

 

[Frav82]

It's a beautiful thing! Weeeeee!!! You guys got us back up and running I can't thank you enough. Thank you donb01 and Moriendi you guys rock!

Take the rest of the day off guys you deserve it! hehe
Thanks again
Rob

 

[Iamnothere]

All of this information is available in the "on-demand" OpenScape 4000 Backups course. The specific info requested in this post begins on slide 144. Answers to your questions are EXPLAINED. The Backups course is THE course all 4K techs should attend, and it is "on-demand", so you can spend an hour each evening until complete. There is no test - just great information presented in a manner that ANYONE can learn. The course code: OS4BACKUDS

There are other "on-demand" courses specifically for OS4K:

OpenScape Deployment Service for OpenScape 4000: course code OS4DLSSDS​

OpenScape 4000 Separated Duplex - Featuring ESXi installation procedures: course code OS4GEOESXi​

.... and more!

Good Luck!

 

[donb01]

I don't know how I missed the updates to this - probably because they came on the weekend when I'm not looking or something....

So a few comments after the fact for those scrolling through the thread:

First, I HIGHLY recomment the courses listed above. I have taken a number of them, including the Backups course and the DLS course, and in addition to that have taken the whole recommended North American training track as of a couple of years ago. I will add that the Backups course is written in a VERY broad scope, and begins with an introduction of all the different operating hardware used in the 4K - I believe all the way back to V4 - it clearly explains how it works and how the components interact with each other, and then continues on to explain how, as each new release of the hardware came out, it differs from the previous, AND it gives you the similarities between how the old hardware used to work and how it works now in the new hardware. This is especially important because in 4K V6 they switched to Linux, and as they moved forward they took the functions of whole separate processors and Virtualized them together - so you have the Linux at the bottom of the pyramid as the "platform" that ties the hardware to the software, and then adds layers on top of that until you get to the 4 Virtual Machines that are actually handling all the traditional telephony and communications tasks. It will help you understand that Assistant is one of those 4 VMs and it can be started and stopped without taking down the whole system, and that Configuration is a "program" that runs on the "Assistant VM" along with many other "programs"... Anyway - that's my plug for those classes. When you take the class you get the class, and a downloadable copy of all the physical training materials from the course for future reference.

Secondly, whenever you have an Assistant / Config Manager problem I recommend the following order of operations:

If you get UPLOAD REQUIRED anywhere, as stated above, go into Config Manager - Network - System, then click the Search button. Then click Action from the menu above and hit Upload All. That will take a bit of time and I don't recommend doing it when the system is under high load. After that everything should say SYNCHRONIZED.

IF not:

First, use Webmin to Reboot the Assistant

If that fails then restart the Configuration Manager using the above process.
That will usually resolve the issue.

As a matter of fact, one of my techs often refers to "giving the system an enema" on occasion, and I would recommend that you periodically DO restart the configuration manager. That will allow it to clear all its caches and work areas and when it starts back up you will find it to be much more sporty and speedy - until it gets bound up again and slows back down...

I DO NOT suggest touching the "Assistant Reinstallation" function in the portal unless something really bad is going on. That is kind of Akin to reloading windows over the top of windows, and you really don't want to do it unless support tells you to, or if you have been doing this a while and KNOW that's the only solution.


Don Bruechert, Voice Comm Analyst II
CareTech Solutions @ Holy Family Memorial
Manitowoc, WI, USA

 

[Hertz]

I believe it will be "SYNCRONOUS" after you initiate the exec-updat parameters.
Both BP,BPA & BPS (if it's duplex)


Best
Hertz

 

[donb01]

Somebody is going to smack me if I'm out of line, but when you make changes to the PBX those changes are only stored in the working memory of the system. When you do EXE-UPDAT it takes the current state of the system memory and saves it to the current active-load area of the hard disk for RMX. Incidentally when you do EXE-UPDAT you should always do both of the methods twice (BP and A1). The first iteration takes what is on the active-load area of the hard disk and copies it to the backup area (generic terms) and then it takes the current memory state sand saves it to the active-load area of the HD. Now you have a current active-load area, but your backup area is the stuff that was previously in the active-load area. When you run the command the second time it copies the active-load to the backup and saves the memory to the active-load again - thus now you effectively have the same data in both areas of the HD.

ASSISTANT has its own, completely separate database. What the Synchronous vs Upload Required means is whether or not the RMX database and the Assitant database are synchronized. If they are not (typically after making a lot of changes in either AMO mode or Assistant) then when you tell the system to "Upload all" it will synchronize the two databases based on whichever records in each one are more current.

Noticible issues from not being synchronized are that you will make a change or several changes in either Assistant or AMO mode and then when you go into the other method to verify the changes it will look like the change didn't happen. Especially when doing things in Assistant. It is usually best after you hit save to wait at least 10 seconds to be sure everything is written out before you search on the device again to verify the changes. Also if you make a lot of changes in a day you should remember to do your UPDATs - do not rely on the system to save that data - if it reboots before it gets saved your changes are lost. Normally as far as I know UPDAT will run as part of the 2:00 AM maintenance procedures. Also it's not normally a good idea to schedule any backups or other intensive procedures between 0200 and 0430 to give the system time to do it's nightly chores.

I guess that got longer than I expected - hope it helps someone!!

Don Bruechert, Voice Comm Analyst II
CareTech Solutions @ Holy Family Memorial
Manitowoc, WI, USA

 

[Moriendi]

Correct Don, and Hertz is wrong (sorry Hertz).

exe-updat is nothing to do with the synchronous state of Assistant. Updat saves the DB in memory to the RMX DB. It has no effect on Assistant.

 

[donb01]

Just a clarification to my earlier comments...

I've been given additional information on the "Perform UPDAT twice" train of thought. It is absolutely necessary to do it twice when you first set up a system, or after a hard disk recovery or something along those lines. After that it could be considered at the discretion of the tech. The reasons FOR doing it twice are that you will have "identical" copies of your data on both the Primary and Backup areas of your hard disk. The potential reasons AGAINST doing it twice are that it takes the active memory image of the PBX and saves it on disk. If, in the process of saving that data, the image on the disk becomes corrupted, then when you run UPDAT the second time you could conceivably overwrite what might have been a good, slightly older backup with a corrupted image.

Of course it's not possible to have too many backups of your system, and with all the different ways to backup your system, if you are NOT doing a full slate of backups you are just asking for trouble. with 4K V7 and up, you can create backups to off-site servers, you can actually make a clone of the system disk called a revoery diak, you can do a REGEN of your whole system and copy it off to a safe place, and several other possibilities. For the few hundred bucks that web-based BackUps course costs it's well worth the investment and the reference material you get - which also explains the acrchitecture of the whole system and how it all works.

The other comment I made about UPDAT is that the system performs an UPDAT as part of it's normal nightly maintenance at 2AM, which is true and correct. The consensus now is that you don't have to be concerned about doing it anymore when you just are making a few changes (and I rarely remember to do it), but in my personal opinion if I just renumbered a whole department, added a bunch of users, or make some other big pile of changes there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing an UPDAT after that. Again, just to clarify, those changes will all get written to disk around 2AM, but if I am making that many changes I have to trust that my system won't reboot or do something strange between the time I made all those changes and 2AM - otherwise I get to do them all over again!!


Don Bruechert, Voice Comm Analyst II
CareTech Solutions @ Holy Family Memorial
Manitowoc, WI, USA