Automic Workload Automation

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  • 1.  [TUTORIAL] 3 ways to activate traces on server processes

    Posted Jan 13, 2017 04:58 AM
    Traces are a more detailed version of logs. They can be used to perform a more in depth investigation of technical issues.

    Server traces are stored in the location defined in this section of ucsrv.ini :
    [TRACE]
    file=..\temp\$$srv_trc_*_##.txt

    Disclaimer : activating traces may cause latency and produce huge size files. For these reasons it should only be done for a short time and upon request of Automic's support.

    In this post we're going to see how to activate traces on the Automation Engine server from the GUI, with a script or by editing the server's ini file.

    1. From the GUI

    A/ Up to version 11.2 : with the User Interface

     This can be done from the System Overview > Automation Engine.
    Right-click on any WP from the list and select 'Properties'.

    y4j6h6be7wpf.png

    Turn on traces : fill in the cells in the left with the desired values.
    yc0rsfkd935r.png

    Turn off traces : Set the values back to '0' in the cells.

    B/ In AWI (v12 only)

    Go to the "Administration" panel > Automation Engine Management > Processes & usage then right-click on a server process and choose "Trace Options".

    4q8c4x9jwxfr.png

    Turning traces on / off can be done by adjusting values in the drop-down boxes.
    74yn5tdj68ob.png


    2. With a script


    The script function SET_UC_SETTING can be coupled with GET_UC_SYSTEM_NAME() for that purpose.

    A/ Turning on traces
    !Set a DB=4 trace on the WPs
    !Get System Name
    :SET &TRC# = GET_UC_SYSTEM_NAME()
    !Turn on tracing for WPs
    :SET_UC_SETTING SET_TRACE, &TRC#, "0400000000000000"


    B/ Turning off traces : apply the same principle to set values back to 0.

    :SET &TRC# = GET_UC_SYSTEM_NAME()
    !Turn on tracing for WPs
    :SET_UC_SETTING SET_TRACE, &TRC#, "0000000000000000"

    3. From ucsrv.ini


    Manually edit ucsrv.ini and set values in the [TRACE] section

    tcp/ip=
    database=
    trc03=
    srcall=
    memio=
    jcl=
    memsv=
    snmp=
    zuxml=
    cache=
    trc11=
    ucds=
    xscript=
    uc4global=
    trc15=
    trc16=
    Please make sure to not forget de-activating them afterwards! This option is not really recommended as it is taken into account every time the server is started.

    Going further


    Here are a few ready-to-use scripts developed by Automic staff members

    Trace scheduler : https://automic.force.com/support/apex/CommunityArticleDetail?id=ka4b00000004MP5
    Rolling traces :     https://automic.force.com/support/apex/CommunityArticleDetail?id=ka4b00000004MCp



  • 2.  Re: [TUTORIAL] 3 ways to activate traces on server processes

    Posted Jul 25, 2018 08:54 AM

    In AWI - My experience is that the tracing starts as per above procedure in CP version '12.0.2+hf.2.build.1257'. However, it does not stop tracing. The WP process version '12.0.2+hf.2.build.17516' starts and stops as expected.



  • 3.  Re: [TUTORIAL] 3 ways to activate traces on server processes

    Posted Jul 26, 2018 07:18 AM

    Hi AselaPilapitiya607750

     

    Thanks for your feedback. Not sure if I completely understand: do you mean that even after setting traces off in the AWI, trace files are still being written ? 

    Please note that unlike for WPs traces must be set individually for each CP. If you activate traces for one WP it will reflect on all WPs, however for CPs you need to set traces on or off on each one of them.

     

    Does that make sense in your case ?

     

    Best regards,

    Antoine



  • 4.  Re: [TUTORIAL] 3 ways to activate traces on server processes

    Posted Jul 26, 2018 07:46 AM

    Hi,

     

    "do you mean that even after setting traces off in the AWI, trace files are still being written" - yes, i see that the CP trace file is still being written to, i have checked the ucsrv.ini and it states zero for all trace settings, which indicates it was updated but the writing process did not stop. We have only 1 CP process so i am wiser now regarding the settings. thanks for the information.



  • 5.  Re: [TUTORIAL] 3 ways to activate traces on server processes

    Posted Jul 26, 2018 07:58 AM

    Thank for your answer.

     

    Actually when you change settings in the AWI it will not modify the ucsrv.ini file. The file can be amended manually to set traces on, but in this case it will need to be edited again to set traces off.

     

    So if you have set traces on from the AWI you will have to set them off from the AWI as well, or with scripting as explained in the original post. Otherwise settings will be valid until the next restart of the affected process.

     

     

    It may not be a good idea in your case if you have only one CP. By the way, having a single CP is also not recommended, because other processes cannot take over if it fails. I would strongly recommend to add more CPs to increase your system's reliability.

     

    Best regards,

    Antoine