Use > Application deployment > Manage Application Deployments jobs > Debug a deployment job > Troubleshoot a job

Troubleshooting a job

The topics in this section show you how to perform the following troubleshooting tasks using the debugger:

See for information about navigating the Job Debugger window, see Debugger window.

Launching the debugger

There are two ways to launch the debugger:

  • If you want to troubleshoot a Deployment job from the beginning, launch the debugger from the Deployment screen.
  • If you want to troubleshoot a job that is already In Progress or Paused, launch it from the Jobs screen.

    From the Jobs screen, you can launch the debugger for Deployment jobs, Rollback jobs, and Undeploy jobs (you cannot debug Make Version jobs).

You can only launch the debugger for jobs that are in the Paused, In Progress, or Attention Required state. You cannot launch the debugger for a Scheduled, Completed, Cancelled, or Failed job.

To launch the debugger from the Deployment screen:

  1. Under Scheduling and Options, select Debug mode.


    The deployment schedule and options are automatically set when you select Debug mode.

    For more information about these options, see Scheduling and options.
  2. Click Start.

To launch the debugger from the Jobs screen:

  1. In the right pane, select the job that you want to debug.
  2. Click Debug on the tool bar.

Selecting or skipping specific components or target items

When a debug job is in the Paused state, you can use the Job Selections settings to specify which components will be deployed to which target servers when the job resumes. You can deploy any, all, or none of the components in a tier to any, all, or none of the target items in that tier.

You can only change the setting for a particular component before any steps involving that component have started. Similarly, you can only change the setting for a particular server before any steps involving that target item have started

When you launch the debugger by selecting “Debug” mode on the Deployment page (see Launching the debugger), your job is automatically placed in the Paused state before any steps are executed. In this case, you have full control over which components and target items are included or excluded.

When you launch the debugger from the Jobs screen, you will only have access to the Job Selections settings if one of the following conditions is true:

  • The job was in the Paused state before you clicked Debug on the Jobs screen.
  • You clicked Pause in the debugger.

In either case, you will only be able to change the settings for a component or target item if no steps involving that component or target item have started.

The following instructions show you how to implement some common debugging scenarios. All of these examples assume that you have launched the debugger by selecting “Debug” mode on the Deployment page.

To deploy all components to all target items in all tiers:

In the Job Options area, select the Select all box.

To skip all steps pertaining to a particular component or target item:

In the Job Selections area, clear the box for the component or target server that you want to skip.

All steps involving that component or target item will show “Skip” status in the Steps area.

To deploy a single component to all target items in a tier:

  1. In the Job Options area, clear the Select all box.
  2. In the Job Selections area, select the component that you want to deploy. All servers in the tier are automatically selected.

To deploy all pertinent components to a single server:

  1. In the Job Options area, clear the Select allbox.
  2. In the Job Selections area, select the server where you want to deploy the components. All components in the tier are automatically selected.

To deploy a single component to a single server:

  1. In the Job Options area, clear the Select all box.
  2. In the Job Selections area:
    1. Select the component that you want to deploy. All servers in the tier are automatically selected.
    2. Clear the boxes for all of the servers tier except the server where you want to deploy this component.

Pausing a debug job

When a debug job is in the In Progress state, and you want to change the Job selections settings to include or skip individual components or servers, you must first pause the job.

When a debug job is in the Paused state, the Job selections settings are enabled, and you can change the setting for any component or server for which no steps have been either executed or skipped.

To pause a debug job that is in the In Progress state, click the “Pause” button on the tool bar.

The job will first transition to the Pause-Pending state (to finish executing any steps currently in progress), and then it will transition to the Paused state.

Resuming a debug job

To resume a debug job that is in the Paused state, click Resume on the tool bar.

If you click the “Resume” button for a debug job that is in the Attention Required state, a message appears warning you that the job will transition to the Failed state if you resume. You must explicitly click OK to resume the job. Application Deployment will then set the status of the original Deployment job to Failed and initiate a Rollback job (if applicable).

Single-stepping a debug job

To single-step a debug job that is in the Paused state, click Single Step on the tool bar. The next scheduled (not skipped) step is executed.

If you click Single Step button for a debug job that is in the Attention Required state, a message appears warning you that the job will transition to the Failed state if you proceed to single-step. You must explicitly click OK to single-step the job. Application Deployment will then set the status of the original Deployment job to Failed and initiate a Rollback job (if applicable).

Working with breakpoints

When a debug job is in the Paused state, you can set a breakpoint at any scheduled (not skipped, not yet executed) step. When you resume the job, the debugger will run all scheduled (not skipped) steps prior to that breakpoint and then pause.

Breakpoints are persistent within an Application Deployment user interface (UI) session. If you exit the Application Deployment UI and then open it again later, you will lose any breakpoints that you set in the previous session.

After a job has completed and is either in the Succeeded or Failed state—where it can no longer be debugged—any breakpoints are automatically removed.

To set a breakpoint:

  1. In the Steps area, select the step where you want to set the breakpoint.
  2. Click Set Breakpoint on the tool bar.

You cannot set a breakpoint on a step that has already started.

To remove a breakpoint:

  1. In the Steps area, select the step with the breakpoint.
  2. Click the Remove Breakpoint on the tool bar.

You cannot remove a breakpoint from a step that has already started.

Viewing detailed information about a step

When you select (single-click) a step in the Steps area, the Parameters and Output areas show information pertaining to that step.

When you double-click a step in the Steps area, detailed information about that step is displayed in a pop-up window. See the Step Detail window for a summary of the information displayed.

Adding a comment to a deployment

You can add or modify the comment associated with a debug job. This is useful if you want to be able to distinguish debug jobs in the Jobs screen by using the contents of the comment field. You can add a comment regardless of the state of the debug job.

To add a comment:

  1. In the debugger, expand the Details area.
  2. Type a comment in the Comment box.
  3. Click Save.
  4. If you want to undo any changes to the comment, click Reset.

Skipping backup steps

If you launch the debugger from the Deployment screen by selecting “Debug” mode (see Launching the debugger), you can enable or disable any backup steps in the debug job. By default, the backup steps are enabled. Disabling these steps can save time during debugging.

Not all component types have backup steps. For example: Script, Application Configuration, and OO Flow components do not have backup steps. If a debug job has no components with backup steps, the “Enable backup” is disabled.

You can only change the Job Options settings before any steps have been executed. After any step in the job begins running, you cannot change these settings.
If you launch the debugger by clicking Debug on the Jobs page, the settings in the Job options area are disabled. This is because some steps have already been executed by the time that you enter the debugger.

To disable all backup steps:

In the Job Options area, clear the “Enable backup” box.

Skip tier policy or provisioning

If you launch the debugger from the Deployment screen by selecting “Debug” mode (see Launching the debugger), you can enable or disable the Software Policy or OS Sequence associated with any tier. These steps are typically time-consuming and may not be necessary, depending on where the deployment that you are debugging is failing.

You can only change the tier settings when the debug job is in the Paused state and before any tier provisioning steps pertaining to that tier have been executed.

To disable tier policy or OS provisioning:

  1. In the Job Selections area, clear the Tier Policy/OS Provision box for each pertinent tier.

    Only those tiers that have a Software Policy, an OS Sequence, or both will have this setting (see Administer tiers).
  2. Using the tool bar buttons, resume or single-step the deployment job.

Canceling a debug job

You can cancel a debug job that is either running or paused.

To cancel a debug job:

  1. In the debugger, click Cancel on the tool bar.
  2. In the Cancel Job dialog box, click Yes.

    At this point, the following things happen:
    • The job transitions to the Cancel-Pending state (to finish executing any steps currently in progress).
    • The debug job is terminated.
    • The original Deployment job is placed in the Cancelled state.
    • The original Deployment job is rolled back (if applicable).

Debugging a rollback or undeployment job

You can use the debugger to troubleshoot a Rollback or Undeployment job. The process is similar to debugging a Deployment job.

To debug a rollback or undeployment job:

  1. On the Jobs screen, select a Rollback or Undeploy job that is In Progress.
  2. Click Pause to pause the job.
  3. After the job transitions to the Paused state, click Debug to launch the debugger.

The same constraints apply to debugging Rollback and Undeployment jobs. Because you are launching the debugger after job steps have started, the Job options settings are not available. You cannot change the Job selections settings for components or servers for which steps have already been executed or skipped.

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