Collecting and saving binary JVM trace data (Java applications only)

Some of the data that is collected by Health Center from Java™ applications comes from trace points in the monitored JVM. You can specify additional data to be collected, by adding extra trace points. You can export this data as a binary JVM trace file, which you can then transform into a readable format by using the Trace Formatter utility of your Java run time.

Before you begin

Connect the Health Center client to a running Health Center agent. The Monitored System menu options are not available when you are viewing data from a saved file.

About this task

You can export data that is collected from trace points, such as Garbage Collection data, Profiling data, and Classes data, to a binary JVM trace file. You can also specify other trace points to use when collecting data. This extra data is only collected; it is not used in the generation of graphs or time lines in Health Center. You can also temporarily disable trace points, or remove them altogether.
Note: Be careful when disabling or removing trace points; you might disable or remove trace points that Health Center uses to generate graphs and time lines.

Procedure

  1. Optional: If you want to add or remove trace points, complete the following steps:
    1. Click Monitored System > Trace Settings... to open the Trace Settings window. This window shows the trace points that you have already added, if any, and their state.
    1. To add a trace point, enter the trace point and click Turn on. Use the following format:
       component. number 
      component is the name of the component that contains the trace point, and number is the numeric identifier of the trace point. For example j9vm.250.
    2. To turn off or remove a trace point, select the trace point in the displayed list, and click Turn off or Remove.
  2. Click File > Export Trace... to save the data to a trace file.

What to do next

You can change the trace file into a text format by using the Trace Formatter utility provided with the Java run time that runs the monitored application. For more information about trace formatting, see the topic about the trace formatter, in the documentation for your version of the IBM® SDK and Runtime Environment Java Technology Edition. For example, Using the trace formatter.
Note: When using the trace formatter on an exported trace file, errors might be reported. The errors are because the Health Center agent has a finite buffer size. When the buffer is full, data must be dropped.




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