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Text Part Number: OL-11469-02
IOS System Message Guide
800 553-NETS (6387)
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This preface describes the audience, organization, and conventions of this publication, and provides
information on how to obtain related documentation.
Audience
This publication is for experienced network administrators who are responsible for configuring and
maintaining Catalyst 6500 series switches that are configured with the Supervisor Engine 32 and the
Programmable Intelligent Services Adapter (PISA).
Organization
The major sections of this publication are as follows:
ChapterTitleDescription
1System Message
2Messages and
Overview
Recovery
Procedures
Describes how to read a system or error
message.
Contains the message descriptions and
recovery procedures.
Related Documentation
The following publications are available for the Catalyst 6500 series switches:
• Catalyst 6500 Series Switch Module Installation Guide
• Catalyst 6500 Series Switch Cisco IOS Command Reference
NoteMeans reader take note. Notes contain helpful suggestions or references to material not covered in
the publication.
Cautions use the following conventions:
Caution Means reader be careful. In this situation, you might do something that could result in equipment
damage or loss of data.
Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request
For information on obtaining documentation, submitting a service request, and gathering additional
information, see the monthly What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation, which also lists all new and
revised Cisco technical documentation, at:
Subscribe to the What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation as an RSS feed and set content to be
delivered directly to your desktop using a reader application. The RSS feeds are a free service. Cisco currently
supports RSS Version 2.0.
This publication lists and describes the Cisco IOS system messages for Catalyst 6500 series switches.
The system software sends these error messages to the console (and, optionally, to a logging server on
another system) during operation. Not all system error messages indicate problems with your system.
Some messages are purely informational, while others may help diagnose problems with
communications lines, internal hardware, or the system software.
This publication also includes error messages that appear when the system fails.
This chapter contains the following sections:
• System Message Structure, page 1-1
• System Message Example, page 1-8
• Using the Error Message Decoder to Search for System Messages, page 1-8
• Searching for System Messages in Online Documentation, page 1-8
• Terminology, page 1-9
• Error Message Traceback Reports, page 1-9
System Message Structure
System error messages are structured as follows:
%FACILITY-SEVERITY-MNEMONIC: Message-text
• FACILITY code
The facility code consists of two or more uppercase letters that indicate the facility to which the
message refers. A facility can be a hardware device, a protocol, or a module of the system software.
The severity level is a single-digit code from 0 to 7 that reflects the severity of the condition. The
lower the number, the more serious the situation. Tab l e 1- 2 lists the message severity levels.
System Message Structure
Table 1-2 Message Severity Levels
Severity LevelDescription
0 – emergencySystem is unusable
1 – alertImmediate action required
2 – criticalCritical condition
3 – errorError condition
4 – warningWarning condition
5 – notificationNormal but significant condition
6 – informationalInformational message only
7 – debuggingMessage that appears during debugging only
• MNEMONIC code
The MNEMONIC code uniquely identifies the error message.
• Message-text
Message-text is a text string that describes the condition. The text string sometimes contains detailed
information about the event, including terminal port numbers, network addresses, or addresses that
correspond to locations in the system memory address space. Because variable fields change from
message to message, they are represented here by short strings enclosed in square brackets ([ ]). A
decimal number, for example, is represented as [dec]. Table 1-3 lists the variable fields in messages.
Table 1-3Representation of Variable Fields in Messages
RepresentationType of Information
[chars] or [char]Character string
[dec]Decimal
[hex]Hexadecimal integer
[int]Integer
[num]Number
System Message Example
The following is an example of a system error message:
%LINK-2-BADVCALL: Interface [chars], undefined entry point
• LINK is the facility code.
Chapter 1 System Message Overview
• 2 is the severity level.
• BADVCALL is the mnemonic code.
• “Interface [chars], undefined entry point” is the message text.
Some messages also indicate where the system condition occurred. These messages are structured as
follows:
%FACILITY-SOURCE-SEVERITY-MNEMONIC: Message-text
SOURCE indicates the location of the condition. Examples of SOURCE are SP, which indicates that the
condition occurred in the switch processor, or DFC5, which indicates that the condition occurred in the
Distributed Forwarding Card on the module in slot 5.
Using the Error Message Decoder to Search for System
Messages
The Error Message Decoder (EMD) is a tool that will help you to research and resolve error messages
for Cisco software. EMD helps you to understand the meaning of the error messages that display on the
console of Cisco routers, switches, and firewalls.
To use the EMD, copy the message that appears on the console or in the system log, paste it into the
window, and press the Submit button. You will automatically receive an Explanation, Recommended
Action, and, if available, any related documentation for that message.
Searching for System Messages in Online Documentation
To search for messages in online documentation, use the search function of your browser by copying and
pasting the message that appears on the console or in the system log.
Some messages that appear on the console or in the system log indicate where the system condition
occurred. These messages are structured as follows:
%FACILITY-SOURCE-SEVERITY-MNEMONIC: Message-text
SOURCE indicates the location of the condition. Examples of SOURCE are SP, which indicates that the
condition occurred in the switch processor, or DFC5, which indicates that the condition occurred in the
Distributed Forwarding Card on the module in slot 5.
If you search for the explanation and recommended action of a message that contains a SOURCE,
remove the SOURCE from the text first, and then search for the message in the documentation.
For example, instead of searching the documentation for the message C6KPWR-SP-4-DISABLED,
remove the SOURCE identifier and search for the message C6KPWR-4-DISABLED.
Terminology
In this publication, the terms “module” and “line card” both refer to a switch module.
Terminology
Error Message Traceback Reports
Some messages describe internal errors and contain traceback information. This information is very
important and should be included when you report a problem to your technical support representative.
The following sample message includes traceback information: