Re: [nv-l] Format error in trapd.log

[James Shanks <jshanks@us.ibm.com>]

I say again that someone has mis-configured
trapd.conf and that's why you are having this problem.

I think someone has coded " X  $3"
as the log message for a trap, which should be something else.
If Event Configuration shows you which
one is in error, then you should fix it as I indicated before.  Change
the Log message to something more meaningful, such as  $E $*, which
will show you the enterprise name and all the incoming variables.

If there had been no entry for this
trap, then you would have received all the information you needed to do
this properly in the event window and the log.  But trapd has no choice
but to use a the format provided form him, even if it is incorrect. 

James Shanks
Level 3 Support  for Tivoli NetView for UNIX and Windows
Tivoli Software / IBM Software Group

"Gerardo Ruiz Garcia" <gerardo_ruiz@inicia.es>
Sent by: owner-nv-l@lists.us.ibm.com

09/28/2004 10:41 AM

Please respond to
nv-l

To	nv-l@lists.us.ibm.com
cc
Subject	Re: [nv-l] Format error in trapd.log

The question is that a get in trapd.log the following
input:

1096378832 12 Tue Sep 28 15:40:32 2004 MDS-20        
           X FMT ERROR:
accessing element #3, only 2 available.

I don't  know the enterprise, generic and specific in order to customize
the trap.
With this line I suppose that the source is X and it is not a legal source,
that is the reason of my question.
Any where I have catch the trap in the event browser and with Option-->EventConfiguration
menu I have discover the enterprise generic and specific: the enterprose
is Cisco generic 0 specific 4, but is near impossible to discover the trap
only with the trapd.log infomation.
Thanks. 
>-- Mensaje Original --
>To: nv-l@lists.us.ibm.com
>Subject: Re: [nv-l] Format error in trapd.log
>From: James Shanks <jshanks@us.ibm.com>
>Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 08:40:41 -0400
>Reply-To: nv-l@lists.us.ibm.com
>
>
>I'm not quite certain what question you are asking, since you provided
so
>
>little information about this trap, and about what your entry in 
>trapd.conf actually looks like.
>
>But the message FMT ERROR: accessing element #3, only 1 available.
means
>
>that in the trap log message in trapd.conf (which you can check with
>xnmtrap) it says to use $3, the third variable, when you format the
>message.  The problem is, however, that the trap only contains
two 
>varbinds, so there is no third variable to format.
>
>As for a source character of " X", NetView does not use nor
provide that,
>
>as you can tell by reading the man page for trapd.conf.  However,
you can
>
>define any source character you like in trapd.conf and that's what
trapd
>
>will use when he formats the trap.  So if you see an "X",
it is because

>whomever updated trapd.conf for this trap put it there.
>
>And finally, there is absolutely no need for you to define a catch-all

>trap with a message like "? FMT ". trapd automatically provides
that. 
If
>
>he gets a trap which is not defined, then he will issue a message to
the
>
>log and the event windows which says "trap received with no known
fmt"
and
>
>proceed to list everything he knows about it,  the enterprise
id, the 
>generic and specific ids, and all varbinds associated with it.  By
adding
>
>your own definition for unformatted traps, you circumvent that, and
make
>
>it harder for yourself to see what's going on when an unformatted trap

>arrives.
>
>My advice is to get rid of this entry because it is already confusing
you.
>
> If you think you must keep it, then change the log message to say
"$*"

>rather than "$1" "$2" and so on. "$*"
will format all the variables, if

>there are any, and prevent the format error message.
>
>Hope this helps
>
>James Shanks
>Level 3 Support  for Tivoli NetView for UNIX and Windows
>Tivoli Software / IBM Software Group
>
>
>
>"Gerardo Ruiz Garcia" <gerardo_ruiz@inicia.es> 
>Sent by: owner-nv-l@lists.us.ibm.com
>09/28/2004 08:23 AM
>Please respond to
>nv-l
>
>
>To
>nv-l@lists.us.ibm.com
>cc
>
>Subject
>[nv-l] Format error in trapd.log
>
>
>
>
>
>
>In our network enviorment we are going to test traps received from
new

>devices
>Cisco MDS.
>
>We have Netview 7.1.1 AIX 4.3.3 ML-10
>
>Trapd.conf does not included new traps as we don´t know enterprise
that
>send them, so we have in trapd.log the message "? FMT ".
>
>The question is that we receive the next line from one of these devices:
>........................  X FMT ERROR: accessing element #3, only
1 
>available.
>
>What does mean source X.
>
>Empieza el curso con buen pie. Todo lo que necesitas en Tiscali Formación.
>
>http://www.tiscali.es/formacion
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Tiscali duplicará la velocidad de todos sus ADSL a partir del 29 de
>septiembre
>sin coste adicional para el cliente.
>
>
>
>
>


Empieza el curso con buen pie. Todo lo que necesitas en Tiscali Formación.

http://www.tiscali.es/formacion
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tiscali duplicará la velocidad de todos sus ADSL a partir del 29 de septiembre
sin coste adicional para el cliente.