The IIS Request-Based Tracing Process

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 with SP1

This section describes, from a high level, the process of setting up, executing, and handling the post-processing for a request-based tracing session in IIS. This section is intended to give the reader an overview of the tracing process, including the technical details of tracing. This section does not include the step-by-step procedure for executing a trace in IIS. For the step-by-step procedure to execute a trace in IIS, see Advanced Troubleshooting with IIS Tracing.

Tracing a request in IIS involves the following:

• Configuring the IIS Request-Based Tracing Session

• Starting the IIS Request-Based Tracing Session

• Reproducing the Problem

• Stopping the IIS Request-Based Tracing Session

• Post-processing and Viewing IIS Request-Based Tracing Data

The following section discusses tracing using a provider file. A provider file is a simple text file that contains a list of the providers you want to trace. When you execute tracing, you can identify which providers (components) to trace at the command-line using switches, or, you can identify which providers to trace using a provider file. The provider file method is described here because a provider file reduces the amount of information you need to type if you plan to use tracing regularly.