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How do I enable tracing for Content Manager OnDemand Web Enablement Kit (ODWEK)?

Question & Answer


Question

What steps are required to enable tracing for Content Manager OnDemand Web Enablement Kit (ODWEK)?

Answer

ODWEK can be directed to write trace statements to a file named arswww.trace by specifying the TraceLevel and TraceDir arguments in the ODConfig object.
By default, the trace file will grow to an indeterminate size unless you specify an ODConfig property to limit its size (optional). Specifying a value for the ODConfig.MAX_TRACELOG_SIZE property sets the maximum size in MB to which the arswww.trace file could grow. When it reaches the specified threshold, ODWEK closes the current file, renames it by appending the timestamp of the file close, and creates a new arswww.trace file to which ODWEK writes new trace statements.
The following code sample demonstrates enabling ODWEK trace level 4 (TraceLevel) by using the ODConfig object. A file named arswww.trace is created in ‘/odwek/trace’ (TraceDir) and will grow to a maximum size of 100MB before being renamed, at which time, a new arswww.trace file will be opened in the TraceDir directory for writing.
In your application code, set the TraceDir and TraceLevel arguments similar to the following:
Properties od_props = new Properties();
od_props.setProperty( ODConfig.MAX_TRACELOG_SIZE, "100" );
ODConfig odConfig = new ODConfig(ODConstant.PLUGIN,  //AfpViewer
                                             ODConstant.APPLET,  //LineViewer
                                             null,                               //MetaViewer
                                             200,                               //MaxHits
                                             "/applets",                     //AppletDir
                                             “ENU”                          //Language
                                             "/arstmp",                     //TempDir
                                             "/odwek/trace“,          //TraceDir
                                             4,                                  //TraceLevel
                                             od_props);                   //AdditionalProperties
Then, follow these steps:
1.  Because the use of the MAX_TRACELOG_SIZE property is optional, you can omit the setProperty line from the sample to allow the file to grow without a size threshold. 
2.  If your application does not make use of a file (or similar) to load values to the Properties object, your ODWEK application must be recompiled for a new TraceLevel argument to be evaluated.
3.  Restart the ODWEK application/JRE for changes to take effect.
4.  Re-create the issue for which you need the trace.
5.  The arswww.trace file is written in binary. To convert the trace file from its binary format to text, use the ARSTFMT program found in the <OnDemand>/bin directory, where <OnDemand> is your Content Manager OnDemand installation directory. Enter something similar to the following before you send the files to IBM support:
/opt/IBM/OnDemand/V10.5/bin/arstfmt -i arswww.trace -o arswww.trace.txt
 
6.  Send all arswww.trace* files to IBM Support.
Be aware of the following:
•    As with any form of tracing, there will be an impact on performance.
•    Even if you specify a maximum trace file size, ODWEK tracing is not circular. Be sure to monitor the TraceDir directory and manually delete log files periodically, as needed.
•    ODWEK archives old arswww.trace files with the naming convention of arswww.trace.<timestamp> each time the Java process starts or when the MAX_TRACELOG_SIZE value is reached.
•    Tracing can be set to many different levels with the TraceLevel parameter. When you are troubleshooting an ODWEK issue, set the trace level to the highest level, unless otherwise instructed by IBM Support.
•    Setting the TraceLevel at lower levels, such as 1 (one), creates minimal impacts on performance and alerts you only of error conditions. The lower trace levels are ideal for monitoring an ODWEK application that is in a steady state, while higher levels are typically used for troubleshooting a current ODWEK issue.
•    If more than one ODWEK application has trace enabled on the same system and they are both pointing to the same TraceDir directory, only the first application to begin writing to the arswww.trace file can add trace entries. The others are blocked from writing trace data. To avoid this issue, set the TraceDir value to a unique value for each environment.
•    The arswww.ini file was deprecated at V8.4. This file should not be considered when you enable ODWEK tracing.
•    ODWEK trace is only intended to assist Content Manager OnDemand support in problem determination and is subject to change.
Additional information:
If you use an application package (for example, IBM Content Navigator (ICN)), and do not have access to the Java source code, check the application’s documentation or contact the application’s support group for assistance. For example, ICN provides the following screen for the user to control ODWEK tracing:
     
Remember to restart IBM Content Navigator for the changes to take effect.

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Document Information

Modified date:
15 March 2022

UID

swg21240220