Technical Notes

Using Debug Mode to Troubleshoot F-Secure SSH for Windows
Technical Note 1928
Last Reviewed 01-Feb-2008
Applies To
F-Secure SSH Server for Windows version 5.x
F-Secure SSH Client for Windows version 5.x
Summary

This technical note describes how to run F-Secure SSH Server for Windows and F-Secure SSH Client for Windows in debug mode to gather details for troubleshooting problems.

Note: For information about using debug mode in Reflection for Secure IT Windows Server, see Technical Note 2291.

Running in Debug Mode—Best Practices

The following tips will help you create a debug log with information you can use to troubleshoot issues.

• You must have administrative privileges to turn on debug mode on the server side.
• You can run debug at several levels. Level 1 (example: ssh2 –d1) gives you very simple debug output, while level 9 provides very detailed debug output. Typically, level 4 is sufficient for troubleshooting most issues.
• To get the best results, run both the server and client in debug mode simultaneously. This way you can compare the debug output for both of them and better pinpoint your problem. This is especially helpful when troubleshooting authentication issues.

Attachmate technical support may require a debug log in order to troubleshoot your problem.

Starting Debug Mode

Use the method appropriate for the application you are running:

F-Secure SSH Client for Windows 5.x

You can run debug from the command line or from the user interface.

Running Debug from the Command Line

To start debug from the command line, enter the following:

or

Note: The 2> parameter will overwrite the contents of an existing logfile.txt.

The debug output is written to the file after you issue an exit command at the host prompt or when the session disconnects.

Running Debug from the User Interface

To use the Debugging dialog box, load the profile you want to use to connect to the server.

1. Click Help > Debugging to open the dialog box:

2. In the Debug section, select the Debug options you want. We recommend that you select "Log debug messages in file."
3. Accept the default Level, 4.
4. In the Debug file section, enter an existing path and a file name with a .TXT extension in the File box. If the file does not exist, it will be created when debug runs.
5. Clear the "Clear File on Startup" check box. By clearing this check box you will ensure that debug information is not overwritten.
6. Click OK.
7. Click File > Save Settings to save the debug settings to the profile.
8. Click Quick Connect to connect and capture the problem in the debug log file.
9. After capturing the problem, disconnect.

Once you have finished gathering debug information, open the Debugging dialog box and clear the check boxes in the Debug section to stop running in debug mode. Save these settings.

Obtaining Troubleshooting Information

The user interface offers access to basic troubleshooting information. You can view this information by clicking Help > Troubleshooting.

To send this information to Attachmate Technical Support, click the Copy to Clipboard button. Then, open a text editor, such as Notepad, and paste the contents. Save the file and send it to technical support as directed.

SCP2

You can run debug from the command line. To start debug for scp2, enter the following command on the command line:

This command will put the file located in the current directory on the local client workstation to the user's home directory on the server and log debug information to the command window.

This command will put the file located in the current directory on the local client workstation to the user's home directory on the server and log output to the file, scp2debug.txt. The file that was transferred will display in the terminal window.

Note: The debug switch for scp2 requires that you use an upper-case D.

SFTP2

You can run debug from the command line or from the user interface.

Running Debug from the Command Line

To start debug from the command line, enter the following:

The log file is written after you issue the quit command at the sftp> prompt.

Running Debug from the User Interface

Follow the steps in the F-Secure SSH Client for Windows 5.x section above.

F-Secure SSH Windows Server

The Application Event Viewer utility logs events on the F-Secure SSH Windows Server. Follow the steps below to use and configure the Application Event Viewer.

If the event viewer does not provide the information you need to troubleshoot a problem, try Running Debug from the Command Line, described below.

Using the Application Event Viewer

To use the event viewer, follow these steps:

1. Click Start > Programs > F-Secure SSH Server > Configuration.
2. In the right pane of the Server settings screen, click the View Event Log button.
3. In the left pane under Event Viewer, click Application. In the right pane, click the Source column heading to sort by source.
4. Scroll to the F-Secure SSH Server entries. There will be Information, Warning, and Error messages.
5. Double-click an entry to open the Event Properties dialog box and view specific information about the event.

Configuring the Application Event Viewer

You can configure which events are logged in the F-Secure SSH Server Configuration dialog box.

1. Click Start > Programs > F-Secure SSH Server > Configuration.
2. In the left pane under Server Settings, click General.
3. In the right pane in the Event log filter section, select the check boxes for the events you want logged: Errors, Warnings, and Information. By default, just errors and warnings are selected.
4. Click OK.

Running Debug from the Command Line

To run debug from the command line, follow these steps:

1. At the server console, or as a remote administrator, log in to the server.
2. Change to the "<Drive>:\Program Files\F-Secure\ssh server" directory.
3. Stop the server:

4. Start the debug receiver and the ssh service:

5. Connect to the server using an ssh client to capture debug output to the terminal window or debug log file.
6. Use the keystroke Ctrl+c to exit debug.
7. Restart the server:

SFTP Server

You can view SFTP server events in the Application Event Viewer. Follow these steps to configure which sftp events are logged in the F-Secure SSH Server Configuration dialog box.

1. Click Start > Programs > F-Secure SSH Server > Configuration.
2. In the left pane under Server Settings, click SFTP Server.
3. In the right pane in the Event log categories section, select the check boxes for the events you want logged: User login/logout, Uploads, Downloads, Directory listings, or Modifications.
4. Click OK.

Related Technical Notes

2291	Using Debug Mode to Troubleshoot Reflection for Secure IT Windows Server