FAQ #: 46
My Nightly Processing Did Not Run.

The first step to perform is to trace down why the nightly processing did not run, and then take the correct steps to correct the problem(s).

The nightly processing creates a report, called RUN.LOG.SPL which normally prints out at night. This report can be found in the Spooled Reports Management. First, check the Spooled Reports Management for this report. Next, check the date and time on the report. If the report does not show the correct date and time for when the nightly processing was supposed to run, then it is likely that the processing did not start running at all. The very first step completed by the day end process is to clear this report and start a new log with the correct date and time. If this has not happened, then it is likely that your nightly processing did not even attempt to run. If the report is there, dated correctly, then print out the log. The log should hold some clues as to what went wrong with the nightly processing.

Check System Management > Answers Software Maintenance > Batch Processing Scheduler to verify that the end of day process is scheduled to run for the night in question.

If the end of day procedure did start, then the RUN.LOG.SPL report should have some clues as to why the procedure did not finish correctly. First, you should be aware of the parts of the RUN.LOG.SPL file. The first part of the run log shows the time the process started. This section may also include the names of any users who were still logged onto the system. If you see users still logged in, this may definitely have caused a problem. Next, it shows the time the backup procedure started. Your run log may even give a list of files that were backed up. After the backup procedure, you should see a section showing files being "recovered". This includes several lines per file. The recovery process allows the system to validate and check the integrity of the major data files involved in the nightly procedure. If the files are damaged, the system will attempt to repair the files before the nightly process starts. Once the recovery phase is complete, the system begins to run the scheduled programs. You will see lines where each program starts, as well as any ooutput generated by the program. You should check the recovery areas and the program output lines for any error messages. Any error messages may have caused the program to abort, therefore causing the nightly registers not to have finished properly. Depending on the programs that did not finish, you may need to consider loading on the data backup and re-running the nightly registers. Many times, if users are logged onto the system, the registers will not have started. In these cases, you will most likely see references to "File Already Open" or "File in use by Another User" on the log. If no programs were completed in the program section, and you can still log into ANSWERS, then it is probably safe to assume that the registers did not even really start. If you get an error message when trying to log into ANSWERS, then this means that the registers did start and were unsuccessful. The most effective option here is to re-load your backup and re-run the registers. Realize that the backup is made prior to the registers trying to start. So, reloading the backup tape will put all data files back to where they were the night before.