Technical Notes

Obtaining Host Integrator Traces and Configuration Files for Technical Support
Technical Note 10019
Last Reviewed 30-May-2008
Applies To
Verastream Host Integrator version 5.0 or higher
Summary

If you are working with an Attachmate Technical Support engineer to resolve a Verastream issue, you may be asked to obtain and forward one or more trace or configuration file to technical support. This document provides steps for obtaining and sending these files.

This technical note describes Obtaining Trace and Configuration Files and Uploading Files to Technical Support.

Obtaining Trace and Configuration Files

This section provides steps for obtaining the following trace and configuration files:

Model Files

These files are located in the <VHI installation directory>\models\<model name> directory. This includes files with .model and .snapshot extensions. Additional subdirectories may contain trace, deployment, and event handler Java files, depending on the version of Verastream installed and the features enabled.

When sending model files to Technical Support, please provide the model deployment package created in version 5.5 or higher (or zip the entire <model name> directory, including all subfolders).

Model Debug Messages (.vmr)

Beginning in version 6.0 Session Server and Design Tool can generate model debug messages files with .vmr extension.

For more information on configuring Session Server to record these files, see Technical Note 10066. By default, the server .vmr files are created in subdirectories under <VHI installation directory>/etc/reports.

For information on using model debug messages in Design Tool, see Technical Note 10065.

Server Configuration Details (sesssrvr.config)

Obtain the server configuration file, <VHI installation directory>/etc/sesssrvr.config, which contains the current Verastream server configuration information.

Design Tool Debug Trace (.trace)

Capture a Design Tool debug trace.

To configure the trace:

Note: You can skip these steps by downloading a .cfgtrc file for your version, if it is available: everything65.cfgtrc, everything55.cfgtrc or everything50.cfgtrc.

1. Open the Design Tool.
2. Select Debug > Debug Trace > Configure Debug Trace.
3. Select all options.

4. Click Save As and save the configuration file with a name you will remember. For example, you might name the file VHIfulltrace.cfgtrc.

To start the trace:

1. Click Debug > Debug Trace > Start Debug Trace.
2. Specify a filename and make note of the directory where the file will be saved. For example, C:\Program Files\VHI\etc\tracing\debug.trace.
3. Duplicate the problem from the Design Tool.

To stop the trace:

Design Tool Event Log (.applog)

Follow the steps below to capture a Design Tool Event Log (.applog).

1. Load the Verastream model in Design Tool.
2. Click Debug > Event Log > Logging Options.
3. In the Log the following drop-down box, select Log All Messages, and then click OK.

By default, this log file is stored in the <VHI>\etc\logs\destool directory.

Server Trace (.trace)

Follow the steps below to capture a server trace (.trace file). This may be necessary if the problem cannot be captured by debug tracing in the Debug Tool.

Before creating a server trace:

1. Follow the steps presented in the Design Tool Debug Trace (.trace) section above to obtain a Design Tool configuration trace file.
2. Copy or FTP (binary) the .cfgtrc file to the Verastream Host Integrator server machine, to the <VHI>/etc/tracing directory.
3. Start the Verastream Administrative WebStation console:

To configure the trace:

1. Click Config.mode (on the top navigation bar) to go into configuration mode.
2. In the navigation tree, click Servers > [your Verastream server] > Server Configuration > Tracing > Load Trace Configuration.
3. Specify the exact location of the configuration trace file. For example, \Program Files\VHI\etc\tracing\VHI5fulltrace.cfgtrc in Windows, or /usr/local/vhi/etc/tracing/VHI5fulltrace.cfgtrc in UNIX/Linux.
4. Click Save.

To start the trace:

1. Navigate back to Server Configuration > Tracing.
2. Specify a trace filename. For example, C:\Program Files\VHI\etc\tracing\server.trace in Windows, or /usr/vhi/etc/tracing/server.trace in UNIX/Linux.
3. Select Trace New Sessions.
4. Click Save.
5. In the navigation tree, click Start Trace (above the Navigation tree).
6. Run the client application to duplicate the problem.

To stop the trace:

1. Select Tracing.
2. Click Stop Trace (above the navigation tree).
3. From the top navigation bar, select the 'View Mode' button to exit configuration mode.

Design Tool Datastream Trace (.hst)

This feature is only available for IBM (3270 and 5250) emulations. For VT or HP emulations, use Design Tool Debug Trace (.trace) instead.

With the Design Tool's datastream trace feature, you can record data transmissions to and from the host. Although this trace is intended primarily for diagnostic purposes, you can use the playback feature to redisplay the host's output to your screen. Playback does not redisplay the user's input.

If the problem exists close to when you log into the host application, make sure that you are disconnected from the host within the Design Tool before starting the trace; otherwise, verify that Verastream is open to a working entity when you start the trace (before getting into the entity where the problem actually occurs). This way the trace will display a clear view of what is happening when the problem entity is displayed.

To start the trace:

1. Select the menu Connection > Datastream Trace > Start Trace.
2. Specify a filename. For example: \Program Files\VHI\etc\tracing\datastream.hst.
3. Click Trace.
4. Duplicate the problem.

To stop the trace:

Server or AADS Log Files (message.dat)

To enable Verastream Server or AADS Server logging, see Technical Note 40032.

Obtain the server or AADS log files message.dat and message.idx. These log files are stored in the following locations:

Session Server log: <VHI installation directory>/logs/server

Authentication log: <VHI installation directory>/etc/aads/aalog

Directory Server log: <VHI installation directory>/etc/aads/dslog

Patch or Service Pack Installation Log Files

If you have an issue related to the installation of a VHI Service Pack (or patch), the log file from this installation may be useful to help diagnose the issue. It is typically created in the same directory where the rtpatch executable was run. (For example, after installing VHI version 5.5 Service Pack 1 on Sun Solaris, the file, solaris55_p611.log, is created in the same directory where rtpatch was run.)

Dr. Watson Log (drwtsn32.log)

In the rare event that you receive the following Microsoft Windows Dr. Watson error, please provide Technical Support with the systems Drwtsn32.log log file.

The Drwtsn32.log text file is automatically generated by Microsoft Windows. By default, this file is located in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\DrWatson.

WCP Client Trace

For information on VHI client connector WCP tracing, see Technical Note 40007.

Startup Debug Logs (atstart.*.out)

For information on generating atstart debug output for service startup issues, see Technical Note 10078.

Operating System Log

For service startup events, information may be found in the operating system log:

Uploading Files to Technical Support

After obtaining the trace and configuration files requested by Technical Support, go to http://upload.attachmate.com/ to send the files for your Service Request.

Related Technical Notes

10018	Tools for Troubleshooting Verastream Host Integrator
10065	Using Verastream Model Debug Messages
10066	Configuring Recording of Model Debug Messages on the Verastream Server
10078	Debug Output for Verastream Host Integrator Service Startup
40007	WCP Data Object Tracing
40032	Verastream Host Integrator Server Logging
40999	Verastream Host Integrator Technical Notes