BSOD Analysis Report

Sometimes, in IT environments, critical servers may unexpectedly crash multiple times due to a recurring BSOD error. Each crash may cause service interruptions, loss of productivity, and also potential data corruption thus hindering business operations and frustrating users. Without understanding the root cause, IT administrators are left guessing, often applying generic fixes that do not resolve the issue. This is where the BSOD Analysis helps administrators.

By generating a BSOD Analysis report, administrators can examine the crash dump files to identify the exact driver or hardware component causing the failure. For example, the analysis may reveal that an outdated network driver is triggering the crash under heavy load. With this insight, administrators can apply a precise fix - such as updating the driver - eliminating the crash and restoring stability. This report helps administrators in targeted troubleshooting which not only saves time but also prevents further disruptions, ensuring smooth and reliable system performance.

To generate this report, do the following:

  1. Select the BSOD Analysis option by following the menu sequence: REPORTS BY FUNCTION -> Analytical Reports.

  2. Figure 1 will then appear.

    Figure 1 : Generating the BSOD Analysis report

  3. Here, select a criterion for analysis from the Analyze By list box. Using this report, you can analyze the blue scree of death occurrence on one/more components, or those that are part of a zone or service or segment. The options provided by the Analyze By list box are discussed hereunder:

    • Component: Select this option to choose the component(s) from across all the managed components in the environment.
    • Service: If you want to generate a report for one/more components involved in the delivery of a service, select the Service option from Analyze By, and then pick the required Service from the drop-down list that appears
    • Segment: If you want to generate a report for one/more chosen components that belong to a segment, select the Segment option from Analyze By list box, and then pick the Segment from the drop-down list that appears.
    • Group: If you want to generate a report for one/more chosen components that belong to a group, select the Group option from Analyze By list box, and then pick the Group from the drop-down list that appears.
    • Zone: To generate a report for one/more components that are included in a zone, pick the Zone option. A Zone drop-down list will then appear, from which you would have to select the zone to which the components of interest to you belong. A Sub zone flag also appears. Indicate whether the components present within the sub-zones of the chosen zone are also to be to be considered for report generation, by setting the Sub zone flag to Yes.
  4. Pick a component type for which you wish to generate the report from the Component Type list. By default, All Component Types option is chosen from this list.
  5. In the Component list box, all the components pertaining to the chosen Component Type will be listed. Select the component for which this report is to be generated. If the Components list consists of too many components, then viewing all the components and selecting the ones you need for report generation could require endless scrolling. To avoid this, you can click the Components button next to the Component list. A Component pop up window will then appear using which you can view almost all the components in a single interface and Select the ones to be included in this report. You can narrow your search further by using the Search text box. Specify the whole/part of the component name to search for in this text box, and click the icon next to it.

  6. Then, specify the Timeline for the report. You can either provide a fixed time line such as 1 hour, 2 days, etc., or select the Any option from the list to provide a From and To date/time for report generation.

    Note:

    For every user registered with the eG Enterprise, the administrator can indicate the maximum timeline for which that user can generate a report. Once the maximum timeline is set for a user, then, whenever that user logs into eG Reporter and attempts to generate a report, the Timeline list box in the report page will display options according to the maximum timeline setting of that user. For instance, if a user can generate a report for a maximum period of 3 days only, then 3 days will be the highest option displayed in the Timeline list - i.e., 3 days will be the last option in the fixed Timeline list. Similarly, if the user chooses the Any option from the Timeline list and proceeds to provide a start date and end date for report generation using the From and To specifications, eG Enterprise will first check if the user’s Timeline specification conforms to his/her maximum timeline setting. If not, report generation will fail. For instance, for a user who is allowed to generate reports spanning over a maximum period of 3 days only, the difference between the From and To dates should never be over 3 days. If it is, then, upon clicking the Run Report button a message box will appear, prompting the user to change the From and To specification.

  7. In addition to the settings discussed above, this report comes with a set of default specifications. These settings are hidden by default. If you do not want to disturb these default settings, then you can proceed to generate the report by clicking the Run Report button soon after you pick the criteria for generating the report. However, if you want to view and then alter these settings (if required), click on the button. The default settings will then appear in the More Options drop down window (see Figure 2). The steps below discuss each of these settings and how they can be customized.

    Figure 2 : The default settings for generating the BSOD Analysis report

  8. Next, indicate the report Time Period.

    Note:

    By default, the Time Period is set to 24 hours. Accordingly, the From and To parameters in the [timeframe] section of the eg_report.ini file (in the <eG_INSTALL_DIR>\manager\config directory) are set to 00:00 and 24:00 respectively. If need be, you can override this default setting by configuring a different timeframe against the From and/or To parameters.

  9. In large environments, reports generated using months of data can take a long time to complete. Administrators now have the option of generating reports on-line or in the background. When a report is scheduled for background generation, administrators can proceed with their other monitoring, diagnosis, and reporting tasks, while the eG manager is processing the report. This saves the administrator valuable time. To schedule background processing of a report, you can either select the Background Save - PDF option or the Background Save - CSV option from the Report Generation list. In this case, a Report Name text box will appear, where you would have to provide the name with which the report is to be saved in the background. To process reports in the foreground, select the Foreground Generation - HTML option from this list.

    Note:

    • The Report Generation list will appear only if the EnableBackgroundReport flag in the [BACKGROUND_PROCESS] section of the eg_report.ini file (in the [EG_INSTALL_DIR]\manager\config directory) is set to Yes.
    • The default selection in the Report Generation list will change according to the Timeline specified for the report. If the Timeline set is greater than or equal to the number of days specified against the MinDurationForReport parameter in the [BACKGROUND_PROCESS] section of the eg_report.ini file, then the default selection in the Report Generation list will be Background. On the other hand, if the Timeline set for the report is lesser than the value of the MinDurationForReport parameter, then the default selection in the Report Generation list will be Foreground. This is because, the MinDurationForReport setting governs when reports are to be processed in the background. By default, this parameter is set to 2 weeks - this indicates that by default, reports with a timeline of 2 weeks and above will be processed in the background.

  10. Click the Done button if any changes were made to the More Options drop down window.

  11. Finally, click on the Run Report button to generate the report.

  12. If the Report Generation list is Foreground Generation - HTML, then, clicking on the Run Report button will invoke Figure 3.

    Figure 3 : The generated BSOD Analysis report

  13. The generated report consists of the following sections (see Figure 3):

    • The Summary section reveals the count of BSOD occurrences and the count of servers that are affected by Blue Screen of Death.

    • The Analysis of Occurrences section reveals a bar graph that displays the exact date on which maximum number of Blue Screen of Death occurrences were noticed during the chosen period of time.

    • The BSOD Details tabular column (see Figure 4) reveals bug check code that corresponds to the BSOD occurrence and the count of times each code appeared. Further expanding the bug check code by clicking the > arrow preceding the bug check code reveals a table that reveals the full path to the dump file, the exact time at which the BSOD crash occurred, the size of the dump file, the driver that caused the crash etc.

      Figure 4 : Expanding the Bug Check code of the BSOD Details Section page

    • The Details of Occurrences section (see Figure 5) provides further information on the BSODs that occurred during the chosen period of time.

      Figure 5 : The Details of Occurrences table