Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 : Analysis and Troubleshooting Tools - Using SMS Trace (part 1) - Obtaining SMS Trace

Log files are simply text files that can be read using any text editor. However, trying to scroll through several long log file entries using Notepad can become tedious, if not frustrating. Fortunately, there is a utility named SMS Trace that provides a nicer interface for viewing log files. Each log entry is easy to read, ordered, and time-stamped. In addition, the view is dynamically updated as components modify the log file. You can even view multiple log files at one time—a great way to learn how various components interact with one another.

Obtaining SMS Trace

SMS Trace is one of several tools that Microsoft has made available to help you manage your SMS site. This set of tools is called the SMS 2003 Toolkit 1, and you can obtain it through the SMS Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/smserver). You can download these tools as a bundle to your site server or desktop and extract them by running the self-extracting executable and following the instructions given.

After you install SMS Trace, you might want to place a shortcut to it on the desktop of your site server or your SMS Administrator console computer. If you’ve used the version of SMS Trace that came with SMS 2.0, you’ll notice a couple of welcome enhancements with this updated version. For example, all error and warning entries are now highlighted in the SMS Trace viewer to make it easier for you to find. To use SMS Trace to view log files, follow these steps:

1.	Start SMS Trace using either of the methods described above. The SMS Trace window appears, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. The SMS Trace window.
2.	Choose Open from the File menu or click the File Open icon on the toolbar to display the Open dialog box. SMS Trace automatically defaults to the SMS\Logs directory.
3.	Select the log file you want to open and click Open or double-click the filename. The contents of the log file are displayed in the SMS Trace window, as shown in Figure 2. Figure 2. The log file contents displayed in the SMS Trace window.

Notice how nicely this utility displays the contents of the log file. Each entry is easy to read, ordered, and time-stamped. In addition, the view is dynamically updated as the component modifies the log file. Compare this window to the same log file opened in Notepad, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. The log file contents displayed using Notepad.

The SMS Trace interface offers several nice features. You can, of course, print the log file and modify how much data appears on the screen. SMS Trace also lets you search for text, highlight text, and filter what’s displayed on screen.