Using the IBM Support Assistant Workbench

IBM Support Assistant (ISA) V4 is a free, standalone serviceability workbench that you can download from IBM. The workbench, using product-specific add-ons, provides a central location to learn more about products, gather data for troubleshooting problems, and manage problem submissions.

The IBM Service Management and add-ons to the IBM Support Assistant Workbench provide a quick and direct way to learn more about the product. If you encounter a problem while runningIBM® Tivoli® Asset Management for IT, you can use IBM Support Assistant with these add-ons to search support documents for fixes or recommendations and quickly gather relevant logs for diagnosis. You can use the Log Analyzer to view the logs, use the filter feature to reduce the amount of data to examine, and use the symptom catalogs to analyze the logs.

You can use IBM Support Assistant to perform these tasks:

Search documents concurrently. Rapidly search IBM documentation in many different locations at the same time for answers to your questions or problems. IBM Support Assistant returns results that are categorized by source for easy review.
Access product information. Quickly access key product information links, such as the product support page and home page, online product documentation, and RSS feed information for the latest Flash notes, APARs, fixes, and technotes.
Gather data. Collect files to document problems related to installation, databases, security, and general problems relevant to troubleshooting your environment. The collected data is packaged in compressed form for transmission to IBM.
Analyze log data. Use the Log Analyzer to review collected log files and troubleshoot problems.
Report problems. Connect to the IBM Electronic Service Request system to open and update Problem Management Records and then send the information that the IBM Service Management data collection scripts gather to IBM for diagnosis.

To learn about supported platforms, system requirements, and how to install the IBM Support Assistant, go to http://www.ibm.com/software/support/isa/isa40/install.html .