linux crontab issue

Question

I got this funny problem. I have an entry in the in cron like this

50 15 * * * /pmecs/log/lsmon/techsupportscript.sh 2>/pmecs/log/lsmon/cronerror.log

Now, from what i know, this is correct syntax. This script is supposed to run at 15:50 everyday. But it doesn't. I checked the date,timezone etc, everything is fine.. I change it to

* * * * * /pmecs/log/lsmon/techsupportscript.sh 2>/pmecs/log/lsmon/cronerror.log

i.e run every minute, it runs perfectly.. Can anyone give any suggestions as to how do i find out what is going wrong here?

Answer 1

few ways to troubleshoot

1) Check /var/log/cron 
2) check /pmecs/log/lsmon/cronerror.log for clues. 
3) check your mail using mailx/mail. 
4) add a cron.debug to /etc/syslog.conf (search google for examples)
5) try changing the order of redirection

50 15 * * * /pmecs/log/lsmon/techsupportscript.sh >/pmecs/log/lsmon/cronerror.log 2>&1