IBM Tivoli Monitoring, Version 6.3

Setting RAS trace parameters

Objective

Pinpoint a problem by setting detailed tracing of individual components of the monitoring agent and modules.

Background Information

Monitoring Agent for Windows OS uses RAS1 tracing and generates the logs described in Table 1. The default RAS1 trace level is ERROR.

RAS1 tracing has control parameters to manage to the size and number of RAS1 logs. Use the procedure described in this section to set the parameters.
Note: The KBB_RAS1_LOG parameter also provides for the specification of the log file directory, log file name, and the inventory control file directory and name. Do not modify these values or log information can be lost.

Before you begin

See Overview of log file management to ensure that you understand log rolling and can reference the correct log files when you managing log file generation.

After you finish

Monitor the size of the logs directory. Default behavior can generate a total of 45 to 60 MB for each agent that is running on a computer. For example, each database instance that you monitor could generate 45 to 60 MB of log data. See the "Procedure" section to learn how to adjust file size and numbers of log files to prevent logging activity from occupying too much disk space.

Regularly prune log files other than the RAS1 log files in the logs directory. Unlike the RAS1 log files which are pruned automatically, other log types can grow indefinitely, for example, the logs in Table 1 that include a process ID number (PID).

Consider using collector trace logs (described in Table 1) as an additional source of troubleshooting information.

Procedure

Specify RAS1 trace options in the KNTENV file. You also need specify tracing options for kcawd in the environment file, KCAENV. You can manually edit the KNTENV configuration file to set trace logging:
  1. Open the trace options file: install_dir\tmaitm6_x64\KNTENV if you have installed a 64-bit agent or install_dir\tmaitm6\KNTENV if you have installed a 32-bit agent.
  2. Edit the line that begins with KBB_RAS1= to set trace logging preferences.
    For example, if you want detailed trace logging, set the Maximum Tracing option:
    KBB_RAS1=ERROR (UNIT:knt ALL) (UNIT:kra ALL)
  3. Edit the line that begins with KBB_RAS1_LOG= to manage the generation of log files:
    • Edit the following parameters to adjust the number of rolling log files and their size.
      • MAXFILES: the total number of files that are to be kept for all startups of a given program. Once this value is exceeded, the oldest log files are discarded. Default value is 9.
      • LIMIT: the maximum size, in megabytes (MB) of a RAS1 log file. Default value is 5.
    • IBM® Software Support might guide you to modify the following parameters:
      • COUNT: the number of log files to keep in the rolling cycle of one program startup. Default value is 3.
      • PRESERVE: the number of files that are not to be reused in the rolling cycle of one program startup. Default value is 1.
    Note: The KBB_RAS1_LOG parameter also provides for the specification of the log file directory, log file name, and the inventory control file directory and name. Do not modify these values or log information can be lost.
  4. Restart the monitoring agent so that your changes take effect.
(Windows only) Alternate method to edit trace logging parameters:
  1. Open the Manage Tivoli Enterprise Monitoring Services window.
  2. Right-click the icon of the monitoring agent whose logging you want to modify.
  3. Select Advanced > Edit Trace Parms. The Tivoli Enterprise Monitoring Server Trace Parameters window is displayed.
  4. Select a new trace setting in the pull-down menu in the Enter RAS1 Filters field or type a valid string.
    The selections are as follows:
    • No error tracing. KBB_RAS1=-none-
    • General error tracing. KBB_RAS1=ERROR
    • Intensive error tracing. KBB_RAS1=ERROR (UNIT:knt ALL) (UNIT:knz ALL) (UNIT:knl ALL)
    • Maximum error tracing. KBB_RAS1=ERROR (UNIT:knt ALL) (UNIT:kra ALL)
      Note: As this example shows, you can set multiple RAS tracing options in a single statement.
      Note: For more detailed tracing, you can substitute DETAIL for ERROR in the above selections.
  5. Modify the value for "Maximum Log Size Per File (MB)" to change the log file size (changes LIMIT value).
  6. Modify the value for "Maximum Number of Log Files Per Session" to change the number of logs files per startup of a program (changes COUNT value).
  7. Modify the value for "Maximum Number of Log Files Total" to change the number of logs files for all startups of a program (changes MAXFILES value).
  8. (Optional) Click Y (Yes) in the KDC_DEBUG Setting menu to log information that can help you diagnose communications and connectivity problems between the monitoring agent and the monitoring server.
    Note: The KDC_DEBUG setting and the Maximum error tracing setting can generate a large amount of trace logging. Use them only temporarily, while you are troubleshooting problems. Otherwise, the logs can occupy excessive amounts of hard disk space.
  9. Click OK. You see a message reporting a restart of the monitoring agent so that your changes take effect.


Feedback