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CHAPTER 4 Troubleshooting


CHAPTER 4 Troubleshooting

Should you experience problems with the operation of the Faximum Messaging Server there are a number of steps you can take to diagnose and correct the problem depending on your level of comfort with the technical issues involved.


Sending Your Support Provider Essential Information

While the first step is to contact your reseller, it will help them immeasurably to provide them with some background information on your system. You can do this by logging on to your FMS server as root and running the following command:

where reseller@company.com is replaced by the email address of your reseller. This will cause a summary of information about your FMS software and its recent operations to be emailed to your reseller. This will assist them immeasurably in diagnosing the cause of the problem and in suggesting a solution. Be sure to follow-up this message with another explaining the nature of the problem you are experiencing (so that your reseller understands the reason for receiving this diagnostic information).

If you are evaluating the software or have a Support Contract with Faximum Software then you may send this diagnostic information to
support@faximum.com


Diagnosing the Problem

If you wish to diagnose the cause of your problem yourself then the place to start is the system log (see "System Log, Viewing" on page 75).

The FMS system log will record many of the problems that might affect your FMS system. If the cause of the problem is not obvious from the system log then please contact your reseller for assistance.


Unable to View System Log

If you are unable to view the system log because attempts to browse the FMS system fail (i.e. unable to successfully point your browser to http://fax.company.com where fax.company.com is replaced by your FMS domain name) then this indicates:


FMS Web Server Not Running

Before the FMS system will respond to requests from your web browser you must have started the FMS web server. This is one of the FMS daemons that is normally started when your system is rebooted. You can also start the daemons manually (see "Daemons, Starting and Stopping" on page 31).

If you have rebooted your system or started the FMS daemons manually and yet still cannot access the FMS web server then verify that the FMS web server by running the following command (as root) on the FMS system:

If you do not see the fms-httpd process then something is preventing the FMS web server from running.

Please see techNote #235 (available at www.faximum.com/technotes/235) for guidance on resolving this problem.

This problem may also require assistance from Faximum Technical Support. If you are unable to resolve the problem after following the steps in TN#235, please email the diagnostic information described at the beginning of this page to support@faximum.com


FMS Domain Name Not Being Resolved

This problem will only arise if you have configured FMS to operate as a stand-alone SMTP server (please see "Faximum Messaging Software as an SMTP Server, Configuring" on page 45).

As mentioned in the chapter on installing FMS you not only need to pick a unique network name for the Faximum Messaging Server but you must also make sure that whatever method your network uses for resolving network names (/etc/hosts files, DNS, NIS, etc.) is properly configured to resolve the FMS Domain Name you have chosen.

To verify if this has been done successfully, try running the following command on any UNIX or Windows (from the MS-DOS window) system on your network:

where fax.company.com has been replaced by the FMS Domain Name you have picked (and used during installation). You ought to get a response similar to:

If you receive an error such as "Bad IP Address" or something similar then the problem is with your network and you will need to work with your network administrator to ensure that your network is properly configured so that your FMS Domain Name can be resolved.


Manually Inspecting the Log

If you are unable to use your web browser to access the FMS system log then you can, from a shell window on your FMS system, look at the file directly by changing into the /var/opt/faximum directory and examing the file named log.

© 2001 Faximum Software Inc.

Faximum Technical Support

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