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Collection Troubleshooting

This page provides guidance for diagnosing and resolving common issues encountered during source connectivity and data collection. Troubleshooting typically involves verifying reachability, credentials, and collection configuration, and reviewing diagnostic information when collection does not succeed.

General troubleshooting workflow​

When collection or connectivity fails, use the following high-level workflow:

  1. Verify the source is reachable from the Collector.
  2. Verify credentials and permissions.
  3. Run a connectivity test.
  4. Review error details and logs.
  5. Enable collection debugging if deeper investigation is required.

Each step is described in more detail below.

Verifying source reachability​

Ensure the Forward Collector can reach the source over the required network paths and ports.

Common checks include:

  • Network routing between the Collector and the source
  • Firewall or security policy rules permitting access
  • Correct hostname or IP address configuration
  • Required service ports open (for example, SSH or HTTPS depending on source type)

If reachability is not established, connectivity tests and collection will fail.

Verifying credentials and permissions​

Authentication failures are commonly caused by incorrect credentials or insufficient privileges.

Verify that:

  • The correct credential profile is assigned to the source or eligible for auto-association
  • Credentials are valid and not expired or locked
  • The account has sufficient read access for the source type
  • Required privilege levels (for example, enable mode) are available where applicable

If multiple credentials exist, Forward attempts available credentials in sequence. Authentication failures may occur if none of the available credentials succeed.

Running a connectivity test​

A connectivity test validates reachability and authentication between the Collector and a source.

To run a test:

  • Open Sources
  • Select the appropriate category for the source
  • Select one or more sources
  • Run Test connectivity

Connectivity test results indicate whether the source is reachable and authenticated successfully, and include error details when a test fails.

For details on test behavior and interpretation of results, see Connectivity Test.

Reviewing error details​

When a connectivity test or collection attempt fails, error details are shown with the source status. These details help determine whether the failure is due to reachability, authentication, or other conditions.

For a complete list of connectivity and collection error statuses and their meanings, see Connectivity Test and Collection error reference pages.

Enabling collection debugging​

When standard error details are insufficient, collection debugging can be enabled to gather detailed logs during the next snapshot.

To enable collection debugging:

  • Open Sources
  • Select the appropriate category
  • Edit the affected source
  • Enable Collection debugging
  • Save the changes

Debug logs are collected during the next snapshot and can be used to investigate command execution, authentication behavior, and unexpected failures.

Common failure scenarios​

Connectivity failures​

Typically caused by network reachability issues such as routing problems, blocked ports, or incorrect addresses.

Authentication failures​

Often caused by invalid credentials, insufficient privileges, or account restrictions.

Partial or missing data​

May occur when:

  • Required permissions are missing
  • Optional components (such as ESX host collection or SNMP configuration/state collection) are not enabled
  • Some sources are unreachable during snapshot collection

When to escalate​

If troubleshooting steps do not resolve the issue:

  • Collect debug logs
  • Note the exact error messages and source type
  • Contact Forward Support with the collected information

Providing detailed logs and timestamps significantly reduces time to resolution.