Problem:

Getting cobesdebug to attach to a session can sometimes prove to be a challenge as there are several criteria which must be met for it to work successfully.

Here are some tips on making the process easier.

Resolution:

Firstly, there's been a lot of work done on cobesdebug recently.  A number of fixes went into Server Express 5.0 WrapPack 4 Fixpack 18 and into Server Express 5.1 WrapPack 1.  Ensuring you're using one of these two versions is a good first step.

Next ensure the answer to the next three questions is YES:

1.  Is the code compiled for animation?

2.  Is the dictionary file (.idy) and source (.cbl) available?

3.  Is the cobesdebug user id the same as the user id submitting the JCL?

The attach is worked out by using a file on disk in the /tmp or $TMPDIR location so check that the cobesdebug session and server using the same /tmp or $TMPDIR locations.  Also check that there's no automatic clean-up of the /tmp directory that could be removing the file.  N.B. The file in /tmp will be prefixed with cobsv.

Finally, if the above haven't resolved the issue then Enterprise Server diagnostics will be required.  Enable the Auxiliary Trace (in the Server >Diagnostics > Trace tab) and check the Task Control flag then restart the server for the change to be picked-up.  Then try cobesdebug again, create a support incident via the SupportLIne website and attach the casauxta.rec trace file to the incident.