Policy Server Guides › Policy Server Administration Guide › Configuring the Policy Server Profiler › Configure the Policy Server Profiler

Configure the Policy Server Profiler

The Policy Server Profiler allows you to trace internal Policy Server diagnostics and processing functions.

Follow these steps:

1. Start the Policy Server Management Console.

   Important! If you are accessing this graphical user interface on Windows Server 2008, open the shortcut with Administrator permissions. Use Administrator permissions even if you are logged in to the system as an Administrator. For more information, see the release notes for your CA SiteMinder® component.

2. Click the Profiler tab.
3. Set the Enable Profiling option to enable profiling.
4. To select configuration settings for the Profiler, do one of the following:
   • Accept the Profiler settings specified by the default smtracedefault.txt file presented in the Configuration File drop-down list.
   • Select another configuration file that has already been selected during this management session from the Configuration File drop-down list.
   • Click the Browse button to select another configuration file.
5. To change the Profiler settings stored in a Profiler configuration file and save them in the same or a new file, click the Configure Settings button to open the Policy Server Profiler dialog.
6. Adjust the settings presented in the Output group box to specify the output format for information generated by the Policy Server Profiler.
7. Click Apply to save your changes.

Notes:

Changes to the Profiler settings take effect automatically. However, if you restart the Policy Server, a new output file (if the Profiler is configured for file output) is created. The existing Profiler output file is automatically saved with a version number. For example:

smtracedefault.log.1

If changes to the Logging or Tracing facility settings are not related to the Profiler output file, for example, enabling/disabling the console logging on Windows, the existing file is appended with new output without saving a version of the file.

By default The Policy Server retains up to ten output files (the current file and nine backup files). Older files are replaced automatically with newer files when the ten file limit is reached. You can change the number of files to retain by configuring the TraceFilesToKeep DWORD registry setting to the required decimal value. The TraceFilesToKeep registry setting must be created in the following registry location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Netegrity\SiteMinder\CurrentVersion\
LogConfig\TraceFilesToKeep

The Profiler tab has a "Buffered Tracing" option, which is set by default to improve Policy Server performance. This option is on Solaris systems only.

Change Profiler Settings

You can specify which components and data fields must be included in Policy Server tracing. You can then apply the filters to tracing output so that the profiler only captures specific values for a given component or data field.

Follow these steps:

1. Start the Policy Server Management Console.

   Important! If you are accessing this graphical user interface on Windows Server 2008, open the shortcut with Administrator permissions. Use Administrator permissions even if you are logged in to the system as an Administrator. For more information, see the release notes for your CA SiteMinder® component.

2. Click the Profiler tab.

   Note: For more information about the settings and controls on this tab, click Help, Management Console Help.

3. Click the Configure Settings button.

   Note: This button is only active when you select the Enable Profiling check box.

   The Policy Server Profiler dialog opens.

4. Optionally, select a Profiler template file that contains a predefined set of components and data fields appropriate for a particular tracing task from the Template drop down list:

   general_trace.template

   Provides the options for general, broad scope tracing.

   authentication_trace.template

   Provides the options for tracing user authentications.

   authorization_trace.template

   Provides the options for tracing user authorizations.

   samlidp_trace.template

   Provides the options for tracing the SAML Identity Provider assertions.

   samlsp_trace.template

   Provides the options for tracing SAML Service Provider Authentication.

   You can use the Profiler templates as a starting point for the Profiler configuration. Once a template has been loaded, you can manually modify the components and data fields that it specifies and apply the data filters.

5. Review/configure trace options by doing one or more of the following:
   • Select Components--Specify which components--actions that are executed by the Policy Server--to trace on the Components tab.
   • Select Data Fields--Specify which data fields--actual pieces of data that is used by the Policy Server to complete its tasks--to trace on the Data tab.
   • Add Filters--Specify data filters that include or exclude information from the tracing process on the Filters tab.
6. To save your new settings, do one of the following:
   • To save the settings in the currently selected configuration file, click OK.
   • To save the settings to a new configuration file, select File, Save As and specify a new text file.
7. Select File, Close to close the profiler and return to the Policy Server Management Console.
8. Select the Browse button to the right of the Configuration File field.

Avoid Profiler Console Output Problems on Windows

On Windows Policy Servers, you should disable QuickEdit Mode and Insert Mode to avoid problems when you enable console debugging. QuickEdit Mode and Insert Mode are features that you can enable from a Windows command prompt window.

To Disable QuickEdit Mode and Insert Mode

1. Access the command prompt window.
2. Right click in the window's title bar to display the pull-down menu.
3. Select Properties.
4. If QuickEdit Mode and Insert Mode are checked, deselect them.
5. Click OK.

Configure Profiler Trace File Retention Policy

By default the Policy Server retains up to ten output files (the current file and nine backup files). Older files are replaced automatically with newer files when the ten file limit is reached. You can change the number of files to retain by configuring the TraceFilesToKeep DWORD registry setting to the required decimal value. The TraceFilesToKeep registry setting should be created in the following registry location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Netegrity\SiteMinder\CurrentVersion\LogConfig\
TraceFilesToKeep