The details of each server incident should be recorded in the daily log system. Each incident should include the date and time, operator's user ID, and a brief, but effective description of the incident. If any error messages were encountered, be sure to include them in the details section.
It is best if incidents are reported as they happen. However, this is not always possible if there are numerous problems occurring in parallel. At a minimum, all messaging operations operators need to record dates and times of incidents and record them in the daily log when time permits, but no later than the end of their shift.
The following is a sample report entry.
[public]
Severity B
joeuser
Location
14 Mar 1997
14:25:33
MSG-33 Message Transfer Agent (MTA) service stopped unexpectedly.
Running MTACHECK. ETA to normal service is 14:45:00. Users should be OK
to log in and send mail. Delivery times to other destination servers
may be negatively impacted.The sample daily log entry is succinct, yet informative. The messaging operations technician has documented a relatively severe ('A' being the highest) event by describing what happened, what is being done to rectify the event, an estimate time (ETA) for normal service, and how the problem will most likely manifest itself as to users.