Trace files of the ROBAR-SV instances

Trace files are files in which all actions of a ROBAR-SV instance are logged. The current trace file of a ROBAR-SV instance is called robar.trace in the directory /var/lib/robar_abba/<instance>/trace/.

ROBAR-SV also creates in this directory other internal trace files which are required for diagnostic purposes. These are nbs2.trace, vbs2.trace, netgate_in.trace, netgate_out.trace, inotrc.<bs2000_partnername> and inotrc.monstg. These internally used files contain above all information relevant to the connections.
You will find examples of the files robar.trace, nbs2.trace and vbs2.trace and their structure in section "ROBAR-SV trace files".

When a trace file reaches the size defined in the interface-specific configuration file (configuration parameter trace_limit), it is copied to a file with the name <trace_file>.<timestamp>. <timestamp> is the time at which the old trace file is closed and the new one opened.

The trace files of a ROBAR-SV instance are administered in the ROBAR-SV Manager (ROBAR-SV Instances menu) using the Logging Files tab and in the robar menu program via the LIST menu.

Switching trace logging on/off

You can activate or deactivate the logging of trace information in ongoing operation by means of the command SET_DIAG_TRACE_ABBA (ABBA interface) without having to terminate the ROBAR-SV instance.

The command has the following format:

SET_DIAG_TRACE_ABBA <instance> [ON/OFF [*ALL/<components>]]

The variable operands have the following meaning:

<instance>	is the name of the ROBAR-SV instance.
<components>	is a list of either process IDs (PID) or component names separated by comma.

Possible component names:

• robar_abba (all robar_abba processes that are running)

• robar_drive

• robar_netgate (robar_netgate parent and child processes)

• robar_mon

• robar_vbs2

• robar_nbs2

• robar_serv (all “Ext processors” with a connection to a client server)

• robar_trace

You can determine the process IDs (PIDs) of the processes running for a specified ROBAR-SV instance with the following command: ps -ef | grep <instance>
<instance> is the name of the ROBAR-SV instance.

The maximum size of a trace file is defined in the interface-specific configuration file of ROBAR-SV: trace_limit=<1000 .. 2147483647> (bytes)
The value to be specified (1000 .. 2147483647) defines the maximum file size before a new file is opened.

Sufficient storage space has to be available for the trace files, see section"Automatic disk storage monitoring".

Displaying, downloading and printing out trace files

You use the Logging Files tab in the ROBAR-SV Manager (ROBAR-SV Instances menu, see "Editing logging files of ROBAR-SV instances") and the EDIT parameter of the DISPLAY menu in the robar menu program to display the trace files of a ROBAR-SV instance.

You use the Logging Files tab in the ROBAR-SV Manager (ROBAR-SV Instances menu) to download trace files.

The PRINT parameter of the DISPLAY menu allows you to print the trace file for a given period.

Evaluating trace files - generating statistics

You can evaluate the information gathered in the trace files for outputting statistics.

You can output the following statistics for a given period:

• Summary statistics

• Host statistics

• Statistics on manual inputs

• Error statistics

The Diagnostics tab in the ROBAR-SV Manager (ROBAR-SV Instances menu, see "Diagnostic information on the ROBAR-SV instance") and the EVAL parameter in the LIST menu in the robar menu program are available to you to output statistics. You can display the result using the SHOW parameter and print it using the PRINT parameter.

The statistics and their report lists are described on "ROBAR statistics".

Deleting trace files

You can delete trace files in the following ways:

• Automatic, periodical deletion of the trace files according to age using the max_trace_file_age parameter in the global configuration file of ROBAR-SV, see section "max_trace_file_age configuration parameter" in chapter "Global configuration file for ROBAR-SV"

• Automatic, unconditional deletion of the trace files when a ROBAR-SV instance is started, see "Starting a ROBAR-SV instance" and section "Delete trace files" in chapter "START Start ROBAR-SV instance.".

• For information on deleting individual trace files using the ROBAR-SV Manager, see "Removing the instance's logging file".

• Deletion of trace files individually using the DELETE parameter in the LIST menu (see "LIST Obtain information on trace files and archive number ranges").

For storage space saving reasons you are recommended to delete old trace files regularly.