Creating trace data from recent software output and activity

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10095604-B2
Application number	US-201414304355-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 13, 2014
Priority date	Dec 23, 2013
Publication date	Oct 9, 2018
Grant date	Oct 9, 2018

Abstract

Creating additional trace entries by dynamically processing recently captured output data, working data, and input data to diagnose a software error. Integrating additional trace entries in chronological order with conventional trace entries into a single trace dataset for analysis.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
operating a computer using a platform running on a set of processor(s), the platform including file system memory structured and/or programmed to hold working data produced during a period of time leading up to an occurrence of an error in the operation of the computer;
storing recently captured output data in the file system memory while running an application on the computer, the recently captured output data being formatted as a conventional trace data format;
holding the working data in the file system memory;
detecting the error;
responsive to the detected error, formatting the working data held in the file system memory according to the conventional trace data format;
generating a first trace entry including the recently captured output data and the working data being formatted according to the conventional trace data format; and
producing a trace dataset including the first trace entry and a set of trace entries produced while running the application for problem diagnosis by integrating the first trace entry chronologically with the set of trace entries;
wherein: the first trace entry includes data generated from system log data.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the first trace entry causes the first trace entry and the set of trace entries to have a uniform trace entry format.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
diagnosing the detected error based, at least in part, on the first trace entry.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the formatting step occurs during a system recovery operation.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the first trace entry further includes data generated from footprint information within in-memory control blocks and in-memory state data.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
collecting the recently captured output data according to a trace data collection policy.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the trace data collection policy is for minimal trace data collection.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Burghard Stephen J
• Smith Samuel J
• Woolley Mark A
• Wright Andrew

Classifications

• G06F11/3636 Primary

  by tracing the execution of the program · CPC title

• G06F11/0709

  in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems · CPC title

• G06F11/0778

  Dumping, i.e. gathering error/state information after a fault for later diagnosis · CPC title