63.19. How to trace the internal events for debugging purposes

Enter into the Abilis control-program with a Terminal Emulator with file transfer support (e.g. Windows HyperTerminal, Zoc, ecc...), and type the following commands.

d pstackIdentify the internal port number associated to the resource for which you want to activate the trace. (e.g. suppose the ETH100-1 resource).
trace act po:24 data:1600Activate the trace function.
trace startStart saving the events.
trace stopStop tracing the events.
trace get zDownload the trace from Abilis.
[Warning]Warning

Verify the parameters settings of the internal events trace using the command trace param. If a trace is runnig the following message is shown:

[14:04:34] ABILIS_CPX:trace act po:19,18 data:1600

TRACE RUNNING

The trace continues to be active on ports shown by trace param command and not on those specified by trace act command.

[14:04:50] ABILIS_CPX:trace param

        Configured Value       Active Value           Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PO:     024,019                024,019                Ports to be traced
SIZE:   8192 (Kbytes)          8192 (Kbytes)          Tracer buffer size
DATA:   1600 (bytes)           1600 (bytes)           Max. event buffer size
CMD:    STD                    STD                    Command(s) to be traced
LSN:    ALL                    ALL                    SD/RV lsn to be traced
TYPE:   ALL                    ALL                    SD/RV type to be traced
STATE:  -                      RUNNING                Current Tracer state
TSAVE:  NO                     NO                     Automatic trace saving
EVENTS: -                      49929                  Number of events
SNDRCV: -                      24943                  Number of send & receive
LENGTH: -                      8191 (Kbytes)          Current trace length

Stop the trace and set it inactive:

[14:13:42] ABILIS_CPX:trace stop

COMMAND EXECUTED 

[14:15:14] LUIGI_DEMURO:trace inact

COMMAND EXECUTED

Configure the trace and follow the steps of the how to:

[14:17:40] ABILIS_CPX:trace act po:24,18 data:1600

COMMAND EXECUTED 

[14:17:48] ABILIS_CPX:trace param                 

        Configured Value       Active Value           Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PO:     024,019                024,018                Ports to be traced
SIZE:   8192 (Kbytes)          8192 (Kbytes)          Tracer buffer size
DATA:   1600 (bytes)           1600 (bytes)           Max. event buffer size
CMD:    STD                    STD                    Command(s) to be traced
LSN:    ALL                    ALL                    SD/RV lsn to be traced
TYPE:   ALL                    ALL                    SD/RV type to be traced
STATE:  -                      ACTIVE/READY           Current Tracer state
TSAVE:  NO                     NO                     Automatic trace saving
EVENTS: -                      0                      Number of events
SNDRCV: -                      0                      Number of send & receive
LENGTH: -                      0 (Kbytes)             Current trace length

For example, if you use Zoc program:

Abilis CPX traces are saved in a proprietary format “cpx”. Follow these instructions to convert them in other formats (pcap, bxa, ...).

63.19.1. How to convert Abilis CPX traces

Go to http://abilis.antek.it/downloads/cpx2k/download.html and click the System and tools link of the firmware Release that you want to use; in the following page, download download a “Trace Converter” program (cpxbxa.exe, cpxtab.exe, cpxpcap.exe or trcmgrw.exe).

[Note]Note

Access to download section is restricted, before proceeding you need to obtain a valid username/password from Abilis technical support ().

For example, the “GUI CPX trace converter” (trcmgrw.exe) converts Abilis CPX traces into:

  • BXA : is an old format used by FELINE data analyser.

  • TAB separated”: is a general purpose format usable to import data into OpenOffice or Excel speadsheets.

  • PCAP: is used by Ethereal/Wireshark/Tcpdump for Ethernet/PPP/RawIP representation.

  • I4B: it is a format for ISDN layer 1 representation and it can be loaded by Ethereal/Wireshark.

  • VN: Visual Network format; it can be loaded by Ethereal/Wireshark for PPP representation.

For example, if you want to convert the trace in PCAP format, follow these instructions.

  1. Double click the trcmgrw.exe file: the following window will appear.

  2. In the To PCAP tab, select the in the Source file name field the trace that must be converted and in the Target file name field the name of the new trace.

  3. Click the OK button: in the next window select the port traced and the format.

  4. Click the OK button: the result of the conversion is shown.

  5. Click the OK button to close the window and then the Exit button to close the program.