FTP troubleshooting to/from testcase.boulder.ibm.com

Use the following troubleshooting information if you are unable to access the testcase.boulder.ibm.com server to transfer test cases to IBM, or you encounter other problems with the file transfer.

• Check the connection.
  • Is testcase.boulder.ibm.com server up?
    To check if the site is responding, click on the following button: A separate browser window should open, and if the site is up and your connection is active, text will be loaded.

  • Run ping testcase.boulder.ibm.com The command ping should work from all platforms (OS/390, VM, Unix and Windows). Note: If you are behind a firewall, ping generally only works within your local network.

  • How far did the connection get or where did it fail?
    Run traceroute, which shows the path to the server. The last IP address is the probable source of connection failure. View a sample tracert output. Note: If you are behind a firewall, traceroute generally only works within your local network.
    • MS/DOS command - tracert
    • Unix command - traceroute
    • MVS, VM, OS/390 command - tracerte

• Check for timeouts
  • The testcase server timeout is 10 minutes if no data transfer. If your FTP session times out in less than 10 minutes, it is not the testcase server that is timing out. The timeout value for the FTP client can usually be specified when FTP is invoked (i.e. timeout=nn where nn is in seconds). Check the documentation for the FTP client you are using to verify the parameter and syntax.

  • If you are submitting a large file via batch FTP, the batch job may time out. This is a function of the TIME= parameter on the JOB card. The file size can be reduced by compression (TRSMAIN), or the TIME= parameter increased or set to 1440.

• Files not on the server
  • Files are routinely purged from the testcase server.
    Files loaded on testcase.boulder.ibm.com remain for 3 business days. (Business days are Monday-Friday and all holidays that fall on Monday-Friday.) Therefore, a file placed on the server at 10:00 AM Friday will be eligible for removal at 10:00 AM Wednesday. A file placed on the server at 10:00 AM Monday will be eligible for removal at 10:00 AM Thursday. Files are not removed on Saturday or Sunday.

  • Did the file get loaded on the server?
    Because of security considerations, the display of files on the testcase site '/toibm/' directories is limited to the directories themselves. No individual files can be listed. Files in the '/fromibm/' directories may be listed.
    View the FTP site.

• Server error messages
  If you receive error messages from the server, a connection is occurring. The server will return a 'Permission Denied ...' message for any of the following conditions:

  Permission Denied upload name ((accept.

  The filename cannot contain quotes or national characters (#,@,$). It can contain only a-z, A-Z, 0-9 and . (period).

  Permission Denied upload.

  The file already exists. You cannot replace existing files. Any 'replacements' must be loaded with a new file name.

  Permission Denied on Server.

  Invalid directory is specified.

If none of these procedures solves the problem, further diagnosis can be performed to identify the failure. The testcase server maintains logs of all activity, and the date and time of the transfer problem is needed for further diagnosis. Use the PMR for which the file is being transferred to report any FTP problems you are unable to resolve.