Force or create a manual memory dump on the Edge SWG (ProxySG)

Products

ProxySG Software - SGOS

Issue/Introduction

How do I force or create a manual memory dump on the Edge Secure Web Gateway (ProxySG)?
Broadcom Support wants me to force a memory dump. How do I do that?

Resolution

There are two types of memory cores or memory dumps. There is a memory dump that was created because there is an issue with the code and SGOS faulted and restarted. Then there is a forced memory dump where the proxy is hung or in a non-responsive, or the device is in a state where all other troubleshooting methods have been exhausted and a core is forced by the proxy administrator. If you are having issues, please do not force a memory dump unless Broadcom Technical Support instructs you to do so. NOTE: Forcing a memory dump will result in the proxy restarting and a loss of proxy services while the memory dump is created.

The first thing you will need to do is setup your proxy to save a full memory dump. For full instructions, please see How to enable a full core dump on the Edge SWG (ProxySG) appliance.

Forcing a restart through the command line (SSH)

After following the instructions in How to enable a full core dump on the Edge SWG (ProxySG) appliance, please do the following from the command line:

1.) SSH or Telnet (if telnet is enabled) into the ProxySG
2.) Run the following commands:

ProxySG>enable Enable Password: ProxySG#restart abrupt

The proxy will restart (all network connectivity will be lost) and write the memory core to disk. Depending on the size and the speed of the device, this may take several minutes for the core to be saved to disk. Please see Manually download a core file from a ProxySG or ASG for details on how to download the core from the ProxySG once it has written the core and restarted. Follow any instructions that Blue Coat Support may give on what files to collect and upload. For information on how to upload files to Blue Coat, please see Broadcom Support Portal - How to upload a file to a case using Broadcom Case Management?.

Forcing a restart through the serial console (please read entire instructions before proceeding)

There may be instances where the Edge SWG will not respond to the network, meaning you are unable to SSH or Telnet into the device. If that occurs and you need to force a memory dump, please do the following:

1.) Connect a null modem serial cable to the proxy and to a computer.
2.) Establish a connection via the serial cable, using a program such as Hyperterminal or PuTTY or something else that allows you to connect via the serial port.
3.) Once you have connected, type the following commands:

Ctrl x Ctrl h

So press the Control (Ctrl) key on your keyboard and while depressing the control key, press the x key. Release the x key, continue pressing the control key and then press the h key. Once you press the h key, the proxy will restart. VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The proxy may seem like it is not doing anything. Please DO NOT repeat the Ctrl x Ctrl h key strokes as you will lose the memory dump that is being created. Wait up to 20 minutes and then try to go into the Management Console and see if the proxy is up. You can review Manually download a core file from a ProxySG or ASG and look at the memory dump files that are available and see if the time on the memory dump corresponds to when the memory dump was forced. For information on how to upload files to Broadcom, please see Broadcom Support Portal - How to upload a file to a case using Broadcom Case Management?..

Forcing a restart on a ISG Proxy running on the SSP Platform

Log into the SSP device on which the proxy application is running via SSH, enter applications mode, and execute the following command:

SSP>enable Enable Password: SSP#conf tSSP#(config)applications
SSP#(config-applications)# force-core application-name

Replace application name with the configured Proxy application name

Forcing a restart through the front panel display:

For ProxySG S-Series units and SG600, SG900, SG9000, S200, S400 and S500, you can force a restart from the front panel that will force a memory core dump.

Note: This does not apply for ASG appliance.

Press up arrow, down arrow, and return buttons simultaneously.