How to Create and Gather NLINK Trace Files (NLINK 8x)
- Darcy Curtin
- Rakesh
This page is for NLINK version 8x, or version 7x (7.0.0.150 or newer).
Please see How to Create and Gather NLINK Trace Files (NLINK 7x) if you are using NLINK version 7x prior to 7.0.0.150.
Please see How to Create an NLINK Trace File (NLINK 6x, 5x) if you are using NLINK version 6x or 5x.
Video
Product Note: NLINK Traces and Logs
Step-by-step guide
Follow these steps to create and gather NLINK Trace Files (aka "workset dumps" or "dump files") to send to Junot Support for help with troubleshooting data problems.
Gather Logs
Use the NLINK Management Module (NMM) to gather diagnostic trace files:
Remove old files (optional). If you are unsure whether existing log files might be helpful, just skip this step.
From the NMM menu, choose either Tools >> Clear Messages, Logs or Options >> Goto Logs Folder.
Clear out any old files and/or folders that you know are irrelevant. You may not be able to delete all the files if NLINK is running, so don't worry about those.
Gather logs.
From the NMM menu, choose Tools >> Gather Logs.
You may choose to deselect any files you know are irrelevant. If you are not sure, just leave everything selected.
Change the name of the destination zip file, if desired.
Optionally, choose the Upload to AWS S3 checkbox (the machine must have internet access)
Click the OK button to create the designated zip file.
Create Logs
NLINK 8x is designed to run in "perpetual logging" mode, but if your particular environment has been set to not generate logs, you will need to follow these steps to create the diagnostic logs.
Set the Logging Level to Debug.
In the NMM, choose Edit >> System Properties
Set Logging Level to Debug (or lower)
Click the OK button
Do whatever you need to do to create the situation that needs to be traced (e.g., run an NLINK event)
Turn off the trace properties, if desired. (Definitely do this if you selected any level lower than Debug)
In the NMM, choose Edit >> System Properties
Set Logging Level to Production (or leave it at Debug if appropriate)
Click the OK button
Gather logs as described in the previous section.
NLINK trace files tend to be small, but they do accumulate over time. Use the System Property Keep logs for n days to let the NLINK Manager service clean up the contents of the Logs folder automatically based on file modification date. Note that cumulative log files may not get purged if they are written to frequently, so you should still monitor the Logs folder to purge obsolete files on a regular basis.
Capturing NLINK crash logs
If the NLINK Server is suspected of crashing then the Windows OS generated crash logs are needed for further analysis. Typical symptoms of an NLINK Server crash are:
NLINK Server stopped without any Stopped message, or
Windows Application log will have error message entry about NLINK Server crashing.
Starting with NLINK 7.0.0.193, the registry entries required to capture Windows OS crash logs can be found in the file [NLINK Install]\Documentation\Crash Dump NLINK.reg. Run this file as administrator to create the necessary registry entries. With proper registry settings when NLINK Server crash occurs, a file (typically NLINK.dmp) will be created in the NLINK Logs folder C:\ProgramData\Junot Systems\Logs. If required, you can change the folder in the registry file before running it, or in the registry itself after creating the entry.