Schedule and Report Tracing

When the Schedule Trace parameter is set to SCHEDULE, ReportCaster produces trace files containing ReportCaster Distribution Server information related to the specific job(s) being run. Each job creates the following trace files in the /ibi/ReportCaster76/trc/ directory, each with a unique Job Process ID (Jobid):

Jobid.trc (for example, J0ud2a6kqk01.trc) - Contains all information related to the execution of a job. This includes information about the scheduled procedure, distribution information, and the log creation and its contents.

Jobid.fex (for example, J0ud2a6kqk01_0000.fex) - Contains distribution information, report parameters (if any), pre and post-processing steps (if any), procedure code (if Managed Reporting), or a -INCLUDE FOCEXEC (if WF Server Procedure).
Jobid.err - If there is a processing error, ReportCaster generates a jobid.err file containing information about why the report was not distributed successfully. Information Builders recommends searching for *.err files when viewing trace files.

Note: You can identify the Job Process ID of the target job by running a log report (for more information about log reports, see Tracking a Schedule Using the Log Option). A Job Process ID begins with a J and is followed by a series of random digits and lowercase letters.

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ReportCaster Distribution Server Startup Trace Files

When schedule tracing is enabled, the following core ReportCaster Distribution Server trace files are created in the /ibi/ReportCaster76/trc/ directory. When a new instance of the ReportCaster Distribution Server starts, these trace files replace the previous trace files:

main.trc traces the commands processed by the main ReportCaster Distribution Server thread. These commands include initialization, shutdown, and running a job immediately.
reader.trc traces when the ReportCaster Distribution Server checks for schedules (the default polling interval is 1 minute).
disp.trc traces the thread between the ReportCaster Distribution Server and the WebFOCUS Reporting Server. The number of threads is defined by the Maximum Thread setting in the ReportCaster Server Configuration tool. The default number of threads is 3.
Note: If you are on the Windows machine where the ReportCaster Distribution Server resides, you can view the above trace files from the Start Programs menu. Select Information Builders, ReportCaster 76, Configuration, Traces, and then click the appropriate option (for example, View Communications Trace (disp.trc)).
console.trc traces all communications between the ReportCaster API and the ReportCaster servlets to the ReportCaster Distribution Server.

Note: If the ReportCaster Distribution Server is started as a service, a service.log file is created containing initialization information about the service.

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Example: Using the Schedule Trace File

The following excerpt of a schedule trace file is for job ID J0udpqfhj601. The J0udpqfhj601.trc file shows the date and time that the worker thread began, the parameters associated with the scheduled job, and the connection information for the ReportCaster Repository.

Tue Feb 18 20:17:09 EST 2003: Beginning run of worker thread: 
J0udpqfhj601(Run ID: J0udpqfhj601)
Tue Feb 18 20:17:10 EST 2003: [Schedule Info]:
<reportcaster><schedule><SCHEDULEID>S0udp4mpfa01</
SCHEDULEID><PACKETID>P0udp4mpgi02</PACKETID><CASTER_USER>admin</
CASTER_USER><JOBDESC>car sales</JOBDESC><ACTIVE>Y</ACTIVE><PRIORITY>3</
PRIORITY><RECOVERY>N</RECOVERY><RUNEVERY>15</RUNEVERY><INTERVALTYPE>N</
INTERVALTYPE><WEEKDAYS>0100000</
WEEKDAYS><DATES>00000000000000000000000000000000</
DATES><STARTDATE>20030218</STARTDATE><STARTTIME>1355</
STARTTIME><ENDDATE>20991231</ENDDATE><ENDTIME>2359</
ENDTIME><UPDATEDATE>20030218</UPDATEDATE><UPDATETIME>1411</
UPDATETIME><NEXTRUNTIME>00000000000000000001045602600000</
NEXTRUNTIME><LISTTYPE>O</LISTTYPE><DISTLIST/><METHOD_CODE>L</
METHOD_CODE><MAILHOST>ibismtp</MAILHOST><MAILUSER>baker-2000</
MAILUSER><MAILFROM>chuck_hill@ibi.com</MAILFROM><MAILSUBJECT>bursted car 
sales</MAILSUBJECT><MAILCOMPANY/><MULPART>Y</MULPART><MULPARTTID/
><ATTACHMENT>Here is your car sales...</ATTACHMENT><FTPHOST>baker-2000</
FTPHOST><FTPLOCATION/><FTPUSER>mb03324</FTPUSER><FTPPASS/><FTPPUBLISH>N</
FTPPUBLISH><FTPPUBLISHNAME/><MR_OUTPUT_FOLDER/><SYNC>N</
SYNC><NOTIFY_FLAG>E</NOTIFY_FLAG><NOTIFY_ADDRESS>chuck_hill@ibi.com</
NOTIFY_ADDRESS><NOTIFY_BRIEF/><NOTIFY_REPLY>baker-2000</
NOTIFY_REPLY><NOTIFY_SUBJECT>bursted car sales</
NOTIFY_SUBJECT><ALERTJOB>N</ALERTJOB><ALERTTID/><RESETEVERY>1</
RESETEVERY><RESETALERT>C</RESETALERT><TRIGGERED>N</
TRIGGERED><LIBEXPTYPE>M</LIBEXPTYPE><LIBEXPINT>3</
LIBEXPINT><ADDRSERVERNAME/><INDEXFILE/><DELETEJOB>N</DELETEJOB><AUDITOR/
><LIBEMAIL>Y</LIBEMAIL><LIBRARYURL>http://localhost/rcaster/library/
libreport.jsp</LIBRARYURL><ZIPRESULT>N</ZIPRESULT><ZIPFILENAME/
><ADDREXECID/><ADDRSERVERTYPE/></schedule></reportcaster>
Tue Feb 18 20:17:10 EST 2003: [Packet Info]:
Tue Feb 18 20:17:10 EST 2003: Begin to Get the ConnectionManager for 
DataServer Repository
Tue Feb 18 20:17:10 EST 2003: Got ConnectionManager successfully.
Tue Feb 18 20:17:10 EST 2003: Begin to create a new connection in 
Repository
Tue Feb 18 20:17:10 EST 2003:    [URL]: jdbc:db2:rc76
Tue Feb 18 20:17:10 EST 2003:    [User]: db2admin
Tue Feb 18 20:17:10 EST 2003:    [Password]: ********
Tue Feb 18 20:17:14 EST 2003: Created the connection successfully.
Tue Feb 18 20:17:14 EST 2003: Create a new Connection for Repository
Tue Feb 18 20:17:14 EST 2003: BEGIN TO RUN SQL QUERY....

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Reference: J0udpqfhj601.fex

The following Schedule trace file shows the procedure associated with the J0udpqfhj601.trc file:

EX * RCASTER
-SET &DSTSCHEDID='S0udp4mpfa01';
-SET &DSTJOBNAME='app/carsales';
-SET &DSTPRERPC1='';
-SET &DSTPRERPC2='';
-SET &DSTPOSTRPC1='';
-SET &DSTPOSRPC2='';
-SET &DSTEDAUSER='mb03324';
-SET &FOCUSDB='NO';
-SET &DSTOWNER='admin';
SET ONLINE-FMT=HTML
SET DISTRIBUTE=BHTML
TABLE FILE CAR
PRINT DCOST RCOST BY COUNTRY BY CAR
IF SALES GT 2000
END
SET DISTRIBUTE=OFF
END*

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Trace Error Files

When ReportCaster encounters an unexpected error or abend, the following trace error files are created:

console.err when the console terminates.
disp.err when the dispatcher terminates.
main.err when the main thread terminates.
reader.err when the reader terminates.
Jobid.err when there is a job processing error.

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Schedule Trace File Clean Up

When the Schedule Trace setting is turned OFF, the files and folders in the ReportCaster Distribution Server /temp directory, and the Schedule trace files J*.* in the /trc directory, are deleted when the ReportCaster Distribution Server is started up. Therefore, if you want to keep any of these files you must either back them up or make sure that schedule tracing is enabled (meaning that Schedule Trace is set to either SCHEDULE or SCHEDULE & REPORT in the ReportCaster Server Configuration tool).

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Resource Analyzer Support

ReportCaster supports Resource Analyzer. When ReportCaster runs a WebFOCUS procedure (WF Server Procedures, Managed Reporting Standard Reports or My Reports), it sends commands to the WebFOCUS Reporting Server. Resource Analyzer then retrieves these commands for the purpose of monitoring the resources used to distribute the report. If you are not using Resource Analyzer, the commands are ignored by the WebFOCUS Reporting Server.

You can view these commands in the Schedule Trace file for the specific job (provided that Schedule tracing is enabled in ReportCaster). For more information about the commands catalogued by Resource Analyzer, see the Resource Analyzer Administrator's and User's Manual.