Using tracing

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Using tracing

The server running Routing and Remote Access has an extensive tracing capability that you can use to troubleshoot complex network problems. You can enable the components in the Windows Server 2003 family to log tracing information to files. You must enable the tracing function by changing settings in the registry under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing

Caution

  • Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on the computer.

You enable tracing for each routing protocol by setting the registry values described later in this section. You can enable and disable tracing for routing protocols while the router is running. Each routing protocol is capable of tracing and appears as a subkey (such as OSPF and RIPV2) under the preceding registry key.

To enable tracing for each routing protocol, you can configure the following registry entries for each protocol key:

  • EnableFileTracing REG_DWORD 1

    You can enable logging tracing information to a file by setting EnableFileTracing to 1. The default value is 0.

  • FileDirectory REG_EXPAND_SZ Path

    You can change the default location of the tracing files by setting FileDirectory to the path you want. The file name for the log file is the name of the component for which tracing is enabled. By default, log files are placed in the systemroot\Tracing folder.

  • FileTracingMask REG_DWORD LevelOfTracingInformationLogged

    FileTracingMask determines how much tracing information is logged to the file. The default value is FFFF0000.

  • MaxFileSize REG_DWORD SizeOfLogFile

    You can change the size of the log file by setting different values for MaxFileSize. The default value is 10000 (64K).

Notes

  • Tracing consumes system resources and should be used sparingly to help identify network problems. After the trace is captured or the problem is identified, you should immediately disable tracing. Do not leave tracing enabled on multiprocessor computers.

  • The tracing information can be complex and very detailed. Most of the time this information is useful only to Microsoft Product Support Services engineers or to network administrators who are very experienced with Routing and Remote Access.