Server issues

2021-10-04T18:41:20+00:00

Introduction

Reporting a problem will not lead to resolution. This article is an example of a good ticket that led to a resolution.
A resolution could be a bug fix or a settings change that resolves the issue. In this example, a settings change led to resolution.

Original ticket

I have a program crashing issue. Beginning on the 18th of this month, BI crashes when the ‘Night’ profile changes to ‘Day’ profile. Synced with sunrise. No other profile changes affect the program.

I marked those locations in the log with ‘*******’.

It started 4-5 days after an update on the 14th. I doubt that was the problem but I tried reverting to a previous version anyway and the problem is persisting.

I can only hope it is a known issue and you have an easy fix. As it is, I have to start the program as soon as I wake up every day.

Why is it a good ticket

Clear and concise explanation of issue

User suspects Profile changes linked to the sunrise is causing the issue.
Furthermore, he is very specific based on his analysis.

Supporting evidence

This user does not just make blank claims.
He also provides the supporting evidence, I marked those locations in the log with ‘*******’.
Again, this information was provided on the initial ticket. No back and forth for more information.
If you do not know what information to provide, you may want to review the self-help content in the Checklist first to understand how BI works and try to self-correct.

Highlights from his attached logs:

// comments at top of log to guide support
crash issues began on the 18th. marked them with ***********.

0 8/19/2021 5:29:58.808 AMNew Move: 11 items 35.6M [988/2160 hrs, 40.0G/40.0G, 29.6G free]
3 8/19/2021 5:30:09.245 AMCam19 MOTION_A
3 8/19/2021 5:31:17.845 AMCam19 MOTION_A
0 8/19/2021 5:32:00.050 AMApp Current profile: day
************************* Crash
2 8/19/2021 7:31:50.012 AMApp Restarted after unexpected shutdown (5.4.9.18/1500/230)
0 8/19/2021 7:31:50.840 AMServer Started on port 9005
0 8/19/2021 7:31:50.886 AMApp Shield: Green
108/19/2021 7:31:50.948 AMlocal_console ::: Login

4 8/19/2021 7:31:56.918 AMClips F:: 9924, 242.7G/3.41T (+225.6G)
0 8/19/2021 7:32:00.962 AMAction Email: Skip <skiponpost@gmail.com> with 0 attachment/s
0 8/19/2021 7:36:57.109 AMNew Move: nothing to do [982/2160 hrs, 39.9G/40.0G, 29.7G free]
108/19/2021 7:49:27.970 AMlocal_console ::: Logout, 17:37
*********************** Tried reverting to previous version to fix crash problem
0 8/19/2021 7:49:27.972 AMApp Stopped
0 8/19/2021 7:49:33.560 AMApp Started version 5.4.7.11
0 8/19/2021 7:49:33.560 AMApp Updated from version 5.4.9.18
0 8/19/2021 7:49:35.459 AMServer Started on port 9005
0 8/19/2021 7:49:35.500 AMApp Shield: Green
108/19/2021 7:49:35.535 AMlocal_console ::: Login

4 8/21/2021 4:55:57.905 AMCam19 Signal: restored
3 8/21/2021 5:06:01.888 AMCam10 MOTION
3 8/21/2021 5:27:29.470 AMCam15 MOTION
0 8/21/2021 5:35:00.391 AMApp Current profile: day
************************** Program crash
2 8/21/2021 7:47:15.334 AMApp Restarted after unexpected shutdown (5.4.7.11/1500/240)
0 8/21/2021 7:47:15.873 AMServer Started on port 9005
0 8/21/2021 7:47:15.923 AMApp Shield: Green
108/21/2021 7:47:15.992 AMlocal_console ::: Login

The attached log file had 8969 lines. I would have preferred he just copy/pasted the above into the ticket to make it easier on me. But perhaps it was also good he sent the entire log. I was able to identify other issues that were worth fixing.

Either way, his analysis led to a level credibility. It was clear that he was not just a user making empty claims.

Final resolution

Turned out Profile changes were not causing crashes, it was just a red herring.
We resolved other errors in the logs that improved stability. See Routine Maintenance section of Windows Tuning article.
We also switched BI to run as a service so the software would automatically restart.

Conclusion

Identifying the root cause for a crash can be challenging.
The Windows Tuning article is where you start.
The goal is

Identifying root cause by isolating features/functionality.
Support can then simulate/reproduce the same conditions on their servers to recreate the crash and identify the issue.
Or be able to identify the steps to reproduce the crash.

Statistics: Posted by varghesesa — Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:41 pm

Blue Iris

Server issues