Error message formatting

A log file is created in the BASEDIR/smarts/local/logs directory for each
VMware Smart Assurance
application started with the
--
output option. (Any
VMware Smart Assurance
application installed as a service automatically has
--
output in its invocation.) The log file is the primary tool for tracking the startup and progression of an
VMware Smart Assurance
application, and for resolving application and discovery errors.
Following image shows through example the formatting structure of error (exception) messages that are written to an
VMware Smart Assurance
log file.
VMware Smart Assurance
exception message formatting
The first line of an error message identifies the following information:
  • VMware Smart Assurance
    software subsystem that reported the error
  • Severity level of the error:
    • F for Fatal
    • E for Error
    • W for Warning
    • N for Notice
    • I for Informational
    • D for Debug
  • Name of the error table from which the
    VMware Smart Assurance
    subsystem took the error
  • Name of the error
    In the example error message, the reporting subsystem is ASL, for Adapter Scripting Language, the message severity level is Warning, the error table name is ERROR_RULE_SOURCE, and the error name is “While executing rule set.” The combination of an error table name and an error name uniquely identifies a particular error.
    The remaining lines in an error message, referred to as chained exceptions, provide more detail about the exception appearing in the top line. The last chained exception identifies the root cause of the error. In Smarts exception message formatting, the root cause of the error is that the code was instructed to access a class that the code could not find.
    Below table identifies and briefly defines some of the
    VMware Smart Assurance
    subsystems.
Some
VMware Smart Assurance
subsystems and their descriptions
VMware Smart Assurance
subsystem
Description
ASL
Adapter scripting language subsystem. (Most
VMware Smart Assurance
Adapters are implemented in ASL code.) Generates errors detected by ASL code.
DNS
Network name translation subsystem.
DVST
Device status polling subsystem.
DX
Correlator subsystem.
ICF
VMware Smart Assurance
framework subsystem.
ICS
VMware Smart Assurance
service assurance subsystem.
MR
Repository manager. Throws generic Repository errors; the Repository is the database that stores the discovered topology (inventory).
OSA
Operating system accessor.
RTLD
Module loading. Throws errors due to configuration problems that cause the code to be unable to locate parts of itself.
TOPO
Topology subsystem.
<SYS>
Not an
VMware Smart Assurance
subsystem; represents an operating system component that generated an error.