Troubleshoot buffering

Troubleshooting steps vary depending on which version of PI Buffer Subsystem you use. Steps below that do not indicate a specific version apply to all versions.

1. Depending on your version of PI Buffer Subsystem, do one of the following:

   If you use	Then
   PI Buffer Subsystem 4.3 or later	Start Buffering Manager and view the dashboard, which reports any problems with buffering. For information about what to do in response to specific issues, see PI Buffer Subsystem health alerts. You can start Buffering Manager from PI Interface Configuration Utility 1.4.15 or later, PI SDK Utility 2014 or later, or PI System Explorer 2014 R2 or later.
   PI Buffer Subsystem 3.4.380 or earlier	In a command window, navigate to the PIPC\BIN folder and type pibufss -cfg. This shows information about critical errors (if any), whether PI Buffer Subsystem is buffering PI API data or RPC (AF SDK or PI SDK) data, and the status of current buffer sessions. See View buffering sessions with the PIBufss for more information.

2. To find out when an issue first started to occur (PI Buffer Subsystem 4.3 or later only), open a command window, navigate to the \PIPC\bin folder and type:

   pibufss -health

   Each issue has a timestamp, for example:

   Health: critical
   Issues:
   critical: Failed to create API shared memory buffer (ID: 8)
   26-Jul-14 08:34:05
   

3. If the above steps don't provide enough information, look in the PI message log for errors or warnings posted around the time when the issue first started.

   For information about where to find the message log and what to look for, see Buffering and the PI message log.

4. If you need help resolving the problem, contact customer support.

   (PI Buffer Subsystem 4.3 or later only) To facilitate troubleshooting, use Buffering Manager to generate a buffering report as follows. You can send this report to customer support when opening a ticket.

   1. In Buffering Manager, click File > Export buffering report.

   2. In the Save As window, specify a file name and location and click Save.