ACE DataCollector: Overview and Usage Guide

1. Introduction

The App Connect Enterprise (ACE) DataCollector is a diagnostic tool designed to automate the collection of environment and configuration data from an ACE Integration Node. This data is essential for troubleshooting, performance analysis, and support engagements.

2. Running the ACE DataCollector

Command Syntax

To initiate data collection, use the following command:

./aceDataCollector.sh -b <IntegrationNodeName>

Example:

./aceDataCollector.sh -b myBroker2

⚠️ Note: Ensure you run this command from a directory where you have read, write, and execute permissions. Otherwise, the tool will not be able to generate the output files.

Execution Output

Upon execution, the tool will display progress messages such as:

***********************************************

* App Connect Enterprise (ACE) Data Collector *

***********************************************

Data collection started

 - Creating temporary file structure ACE_Data_Collector_20250414-125728

 - Capturing environment and version data for Integration Node myBroker2

 - Capturing data for Integration Node myBroker2

Product version is  BIP8996I: Version:    12.0.12.3  isIIB N

 - Archiving collected data

 - Compressing archived data

 - Removing temporary file structure ACE_Data_Collector_20250414-125728

Data collection completed

Output file:

  ACE_Data_Collector_20250414-125728_myBroker2.tar.gz

logout

Saving session...

...copying shared history...

...saving history...truncating history files...

This compressed archive can be shared with IBM Support for further analysis.

3. Contents of the DataCollector Archive

The archive contains a structured directory with several subfolders and files. Below is an overview of the key components:

3.1. Key Files

- MQSI_WORKPATH_LISTING: Recursive listing of the MQSI workpath directory. If you are looking for missing files or directories, this is a great place to start.
- mqsisystemreport: System analysis report highlighting configuration issues, warnings, and environment checks.
Example:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INFO Analysing macOS 15.1.1 (arm64) for IBM App Connect Enterprise 12.0.12.3

WARN This script is in currently in technical preview. Results may be inaccurate

INFO Operating system and machine

Check                                                                      | Current value             | Pass value                | Result

----------------------------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|--------

CPU architecture                                               | arm64                                                | x86_64                    | FAIL***

Developer edition                                            | true                                                      | false                     | WARN

----------------------------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|--------

FAIL Failure details:

FAIL      CPU architecture: IBM App Connect Enterprise 12.0.12.3 on macOS is only available for 64-bit Intel processors.

WARN Warning details:

WARN      Developer edition: IBM App Connect Enterprise 12.0.12.3 on macOS is only available as a developer edition and is not suitable for production use.

INFO Environment variables

Check                                                                      | Current value             | Pass value                                            | Result

----------------------------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|--------

LANG                                                                      | en_US.UTF-8               | Not set / Valid locale     | PASS

ODBCINI                                                                | Not set                              | Not set / Readable file                 | PASS

ODBCSYSINI                                    | Not set                                | Not set / Valid directory          | PASS

----------------------------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|--------

INFO ulimits for ‘user’

Check                                                                                      | Current value             | Pass value                | Result

----------------------------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|--------

Max open file count (soft NOFILE)                             | 2560                      | 10240                     | FAIL***

Max open file count (hard NOFILE)                         | unlimited              | 10240                     | PASS

Max user process count (soft NPROC)           | 5333                      | 32768                     | FAIL***

Max user process count (hard NPROC)          | 8000                      | 32768                     | FAIL***

----------------------------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|--------

FAIL Failure details:

FAIL      Max open file count (soft NOFILE): A minimum of 10240 is recommended for the soft ulimit for NOFILE on any user who will run an Integration Node or Integration Server to prevent file handle exhaustion

FAIL      Max user process count (soft NPROC): A minimum of 32768 is recommended for the soft ulimit for NPROC on any user who will run an Integration Node or Integration Server to prevent thread exhaustion.

FAIL      Max user process count (hard NPROC): A minimum of 32768 is recommended for the hard ulimit for NPROC on any user who will run an Integration Node or Integration Server to prevent thread exhaustion.

FAIL 4/9 check(s) failed

WARN 1/9 check(s) passed with warnings

INFO 4/9 checks passed

As you can see, based on the above there are quite a few concerns with my system.  I expect many of these are related to running the Developer Edition on a MacOS, but it gives an idea of what type of warning/errors you may see when running the command.

4. Directory Structure Overview

4.1. abends

Contains abend files generated by unexpected process terminations of Integration Nodes or Integration Servers

4.2. backup

Backup of the Integration Node, including:

• components: this directory is where you can find configurations, overrides and the stderr/stdout(console.txt) files for the Integration Node
  
  - config: this directory would contain any customer configurations the users have created such as profile scripts, etc.  For example in my case, I have a profile script:
  
  
• registry: this directory contains information regarding the broker registry such as the versioning, how to locate the adminagentPID, DataSourceNames, etc.
• 

4.3. general

General system and node information:

- env: Environment variables set on the Integration Node
- error_dir_listing: Files in <workpath>/common/errors, such as abends, javacores and heapdumps
- java_version: Java version in use by the Integration Node
- mqsilistd0: list all Integration Nodes running on the OS.  Not version specific, so will list older versions as well
- mqsiservice: details of the Integration Node for which the acedatacollector was run against.  It will show the current version, operating system and if any iFixes are  applied.
- mqversion: MQ version (if installed)
- netstat: Equivalent of running netstat -an. Network port status
- OSVersion: Operating System information
- processlist: equivalent to running ps -ef on the OS.  This will list all of the processes running, and can be useful for troubleshooting orphaned Integration Servers, etc
- ulimit: equivalent to running ulimit -a on the OS.  This will list the soft limits for the user.  Since in many cases ACE will ignore soft limits, getting a ulimit -Ha to list hard limits may be useful
- uname: OS-level diagnostics
- odbc.ini: If ODBCINI is set, this file is included

4.4. logs

Includes service and user traces, and exception logs (if enabled).  This collects for both Integration Servers and Integration Nodes

4.5. <IntegrationNodeName>

Node-specific monitoring and statistics:

- mqsireportflowmonitoring: Flow monitoring status
- mqsireportflowstats: Statistics collection status

4.6. properties

Detailed configuration reports:

- mqsiAuthorizationMode: What type of authorization, if any is being used on the Integration Node as well as if Admin Security is active on the Integration Node
- mqsicvp: equivalent to running mqsicvp <Integration Node Name> .  This will verify that the Integration Node is configured properly, and will verify certain components, such as the registry and java version. This will also confirm connectivity to the datasources that are in the odbc.ini file that are referenced in the environment variable ODBCINI.  This will also confirm MQ if assoctiated with the Integration Node
- mqsiHTTPConnectorProperties: equivalent to running:
mqsireportproperties <Int Node Name> -b httplistener -o HTTPConnector -a

And will report how the HTTPConnector is configured

- mqsiHTTPSConnectorProperties: equivalent to running:
mqsireportproperties <Int Node Name> -b httplistener -o HTTPConnector -a

And will report how the HTTPConnector is configured

- mqsilist_detail_listing: equivalent to running

mqsilist <Int Node Name> -d2

and will list all Integration Servers as well as a detailed listing of what is deployed to each

- mqsi<int node>_AllComponentsProperties: equivalent to running

mqsireportproperties <Int Node Name> -r

and will list all of the node level components that are configured on the Integration Node as well as a recursive listing of how they are configured.
- mqsiWebAdminHTTPConnector: equivalent to running

mqsireportproperties <Int Node Name> -b webadmin -o HTTPConnector -a

and will list how the webadmin HTTPConnector is configured.

- mqsiwebusers: equivalent to running

mqsiwebuseradmin <Int Node Name> -l

and  will return a list of the webusers that have been configured on the Integration Node as well as their role and if they have a password.

❌ Note: Some commands (e.g., mqsiWebAdminHTTPSConnector, mqsiWebAdminServer) are not valid and will return errors.

5. Summary

The ACE DataCollector is a powerful utility for gathering comprehensive diagnostic data from an Integration Node. By automating the collection of logs, configurations, and system information, it simplifies troubleshooting and accelerates support resolution.

For more information, consult the IBM App Connect Enterprise Knowledge Center or contact IBM Support.