Capturing component trace data

The component trace can be started before the job to be traced is started or while the job is running. The trace is active for the first instance of the job. For example, if the same job name is used for multiple jobs, only the first job with that name is traced. Subsequent jobs with the same name are not traced unless the component trace is stopped and then restarted.

A trace external writer is required if the trace records are to be written to a data set. A sample started procedure is shipped as GSK.SGSKSAMP(GSKWTR). Copy this procedure to SYS1.PROCLIB(GSKWTR) and modify as necessary to meet your installation requirements. This MVS™ operator command starts the trace external writer:

TRACE CT,WTRSTART=GSKWTR

A single SSL component trace may be active at a time and the trace can include from 1 to 16 separate jobs. The trace buffer size must be between 64K and 512K and defaults to 256K.

System SSL supports these options for CTRACE: 
OPTIONS=([LEVEL={nnn | 15}][,JOBSUFFIX={NONE | ANY}])
LEVEL
A bit mask specifying the types of events that System SSL is to trace. At least one of these indicators must be specified in the supplied bit mask. All trace options are enabled if the bit mask is 0xffff. The bit mask can be specified as a decimal (nnn), octal (0nnnn) or hexadecimal (0xhh) value. The SSL trace level is set to decimal 15 if level is not specified in the CTRACE options.
These trace options are available:
  • 0x01 = Trace function entry
  • 0x02 = Trace function exit
  • 0x04 = Trace errors
  • 0x08 = Include informational messages
  • 0x10 = Include EBCDIC data dumps
  • 0x20 = Include ASCII data dumps
JOBSUFFIX
A switch specifying how the list of jobnames provided from the JOBNAME parameter are to be filtered:
ANY
Any specified jobnames of 7 letters or less are considered to be wildcard entries and tracing is started for jobs whose names match those entries for the length of the entry.
NONE
Only jobs whose names match precisely one of the entries supplied in the JOBNAME parameter are traced. This is the default value.

For example, to start an SSL component trace for jobs CS390IP and DB1G which includes all non-dump trace entries and writes the trace records using the GSKWTR trace writer:

TRACE CT,ON,COMP=GSKSRVR
R n,JOBNAME=(CS390IP,DB1G),OPTIONS=(LEVEL=15),WTR=GSKWTR,END

To start an SSL component trace for job CICS1 which includes all trace entries and writes the trace records using the GSKWTR trace writer:

TRACE CT,ON,COMP=GSKSRVR
R n,JOBNAME=(CICS1),OPTIONS=(LEVEL=255),WTR=GSKWTR,END

These commands stop the SSL component trace and close the trace writer data set:

TRACE CT,OFF,COMP=GSKSRVR
TRACE CT,WTRSTOP=GSKWTR

System SSL does not require a default trace member in SYS1.PARMLIB since SSL component trace is not activated until the operator enters the TRACE command. SYS1.PARMLIB members can be created for frequently used trace commands and the member name can then be specified on the TRACE command to avoid the operator prompt for trace options.

Starting and stopping the in-storage trace is done the same way as the external writer trace except the external writer name on the trace command should not be specified.

These commands start the SSL component trace using the in-storage trace table:

TRACE CT,ON,COMP=GSKSRVR
R n,JOBNAME=(CS390IP,DB1G),OPTIONS=(LEVEL=15,JOBSUFFIX=ANY),END

Before stopping the SSL component trace, an SVC dump of the GSKSRVR address space is required to access the in-storage trace table. For more information, see Capturing component trace data without an external writer.

This command stops the SSL component trace using the in-storage trace table:

TRACE CT,OFF,COMP=GSKSRVR