CA Application Performance

Management

Java Agent Implementation Guide

Release 9.1.0.1

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CA Technologies Product References

This document references the following CA Technologies products and features:

CA Application Performance Management (CA APM)

CA Application Performance Management ChangeDetector (CA APM

ChangeDetector)

CA Application Performance Management ErrorDetector (ErrorDetector)

CA Application Performance Management for CA Database Performance (CA APM

for CA Database Performance)

CA Application Performance Management for CA SiteMinder (CA APM for CA

SiteMinder)

CA Application Performance Management for CA SiteMinder Web Access Manager

(CA APM for CA SiteMinder Web Access Manager)

CA Application Performance Management for CA SYSVIEW (CA APM for CA

SYSVIEW)

CA Application Performance Management for IBM CICS Transaction Gateway (CA

APM for IBM CICS Transaction Gateway)

CA Application Performance Management for IBM WebSphere Application Server

(CA APM for IBM WebSphere Application Server)

CA Application Performance Management for IBM WebSphere Distributed

Environments (CA APM for IBM WebSphere Distributed Environments)

CA Application Performance Management for IBM WebSphere MQ (CA APM for

IBM WebSphere MQ)

CA Application Performance Management for IBM WebSphere Portal (CA APM for
IBM WebSphere Portal)

CA Application Performance Management for IBM WebSphere Process Server (CA

APM for IBM WebSphere Process Server)

CA Application Performance Management for IBM z/OS (CA APM for IBM z/OS)

CA Application Performance Management for Microsoft SharePoint (CA APM for

Microsoft SharePoint)

CA Application Performance Management for Oracle Databases (CA APM for Oracle
Databases)

CA Application Performance Management for Oracle Service Bus (CA APM for
Oracle Service Bus)

CA Application Performance Management for Oracle WebLogic Portal (CA APM for
Oracle WebLogic Portal)

CA Application Performance Management for Oracle WebLogic Server (CA APM for
Oracle WebLogic Server)

CA Application Performance Management for SOA (CA APM for SOA)

CA Application Performance Management for TIBCO BusinessWorks (CA APM for

TIBCO BusinessWorks)

CA Application Performance Management for TIBCO Enterprise Message Service

(CA APM for TIBCO Enterprise Message Service)

CA Application Performance Management for Web Servers (CA APM for Web
Servers)

CA Application Performance Management for webMethods Broker (CA APM for

webMethods Broker)

CA Application Performance Management for webMethods Integration Server (CA

APM for webMethods Integration Server)

CA Application Performance Management Integration for CA CMDB (CA APM

Integration for CA CMDB)

CA Application Performance Management Integration for CA NSM (CA APM

Integration for CA NSM)

CA Application Performance Management LeakHunter (CA APM LeakHunter)

CA Application Performance Management Transaction Generator (CA APM TG)

CA Customer Experience Manager (CA CEM)

CA Embedded Entitlements Manager (CA EEM)

CA eHealth Performance Manager (CA eHealth)

CA Insight Database Performance Monitor for DB2 for z/OS

CA Introscope (CA Introscope)

CA SiteMinder

CA Spectrum Infrastructure Manager (CA Spectrum)

CA SYSVIEW Performance Management (CA SYSVIEW)

Contact CA Technologies
Contact CA Support
For your convenience, CA Technologies provides one site where you can access the
information you need for your Home Office, Small Business, and Enterprise CA
Technologies products. At http://ca.com/support, you can access the following:

Online and telephone contact information for technical assistance and customer
services

Information about user communities and forums

Product and documentation downloads

CA Support policies and guidelines

Other helpful resources appropriate for your product

Providing Feedback About Product Documentation

If you have comments or questions about CA Technologies product documentation, you
can send a message to techpubs@ca.com.
If you would like to provide feedback about CA Technologies product documentation,
complete our short customer survey, which is available on the CA Support website at
http://ca.com/docs.

Product Documentation
CA APM documentation includes information for CA APM, CA Introscope, CA CEM, and
CA APM extensions and integrations.
You can view and search all the titles in the CA APM documentation set from the CA
APM bookshelf on the CA Support Online (CSO) website.
The following list shows the documentation specific to CA APM.

CA APM Release Notes Release summary information for CA APM.

Note: In previous releases, this document was titled CA APM ReadMe.

CA APM Readme Important last-minute release information for CA APM;

available on the CA APM software download site or CA Support site.
Note: In previous releases, this document was titled CA APM Known Issues.

CA APM Installation and Upgrade Guide Installation requirements; installing CA

APM, including installing CA Introscope, Enterprise Manager, APM database,
Workstation, WebView, CA CEM, TIM; upgrading from previous releases.

CA APM Overview Guide A broad overview of CA APM components and

architecture. Explains terms and concepts used in a CA APM deployment.

CA APM Configuration and Administration Guide Combines configuration and

administration information for CA Introscope and for CA CEM. CA Introscope and
CA CEM properties are documented in the appendix.

CA APM Security Guide Choosing and configuring CA APM, CA Introscope, and CA

CEM security solutions. Includes information about Embedded Entitlements
Manager.

CA APM Sizing and Performance Guide Sizing, tuning, and capacity planning for
your CA APM deployment and components.

CA APM Transaction Definition Guide Transaction definition processes and

procedures for CA APM; describes the necessary steps to record, define, and verify
customer transactions.

The following list shows the documentation specific to CA Introscope. CA APM

documentation is also pertinent for CA Introscope.

CA APM Java Agent Implementation Guide Installation, configuration, and use of

the CA APM Java Agent.

CA APM .NET Agent Implementation Guide Installation, configuration, and use of

the CA APM .NET Agent.

CA APM Environment Performance Agent Implementation Guide Implementing

Environment Performance Agent (EPAgent) with CA Introscope to monitor system
information, including process availability, disk statistics, web application server
and web server logs, Solaris KStat and HTTP service availability. The guide provides
instructions for installing, configuring, and using EPAgent.

CA APM Workstation User Guide Using CA Introscope dashboards, Investigator

tree and application triage map, Transaction Tracer, and reporting. Includes CA
Introscope metrics overview and descriptions.

CA APM WebView User Guide Using WebView to view CA Introscope data in

dashboards and the Investigator.

CA APM ChangeDetector User Guide Using CA APM ChangeDetector to monitor

and report changes in application files and configuration.

CA APM Transaction Generator Implementation Guide Using the CA APM

Transaction Generator (CA APM TG) to monitor the availability, health, and
performance of web sites and web services from the perspective of a user
attempting to access web sites. How to use the CA APM TG Agent to generate
synthetic transactions that you can monitor using CA APM.

The following list shows the documentation specific to extensions and integrations.

CA APM API Reference Guide Contains data and components managed within CA
APM that is exposed to consumers with an application programming interface (API).

CA APM Catalyst Connector Guide Installing and using the Catalyst Connector for
CA APM.

CA APM for CA SiteMinder SNMP Collector Guide Installing and configuring CA

APM for CA SiteMinder SNMP Collector. Understanding the associated metrics.

CA APM for CA SiteMinder Web Access Manager Guide Installing, configuring,

and using CA APM for CA SiteMinder Web Access Manager.

CA APM for IBM CICS Transaction Gateway Guide Installing, configuring, and
using CA APM for IBM CICS Transaction Gateway.

CA APM for IBM WebSphere Application Server for Distributed Environments Guide
Installing, configuring, and using CA APM for IBM WebSphere Distributed
Environments.

CA APM for IBM WebSphere Application Server for z/OS Guide Installing,
configuring, and using CA APM for IBM WebSphere for z/OS.

CA APM for IBM WebSphere MQ Guide Using CA Introscope to view metrics from
IBM WebSphere MQ.

CA APM for IBM WebSphere Portal Guide Installing, configuring, and using CA
APM for IBM WebSphere Portal.

CA APM for IBM z/OS Guide Installing, configuring, and using CA APM for IBM
z/OS.

CA APM for Microsoft SharePoint Guide Installing and configuring CA APM for
Microsoft SharePoint to monitor your SharePoint components during development,
QA, staging, and production.

CA APM for Oracle Databases Guide Installing, configuring, and using CA APM for
Oracle Databases.

CA APM for Oracle WebLogic Portal Guide Installing, configuring, and using CA
APM for Oracle WebLogic Portal.

CA APM for Oracle WebLogic Server Guide Installing, configuring, and using CA
APM for Oracle WebLogic Server.

CA APM for SOA Implementation Guide Installation and configuration

information for using CA APM for SOA and SOA platform extensions with CA
Introscope.

CA APM for Web Servers Guide Installing, configuring, and using CA APM for Web
Servers.

CA APM Integration for CA CMDB Guide Installing, configuring, and using CA APM
for CA CMDB.

CA APM Integration for CA Infrastructure Management Guide Installing,

configuring, and using CA APM for CA Infrastructure Management.

CA APM Integration for CA NSM Guide Installing, configuring, and using CA APM
for CA NSM.

CA Cross-Enterprise Application Performance Management Integration Guide

Installing, configuring, and using the SYSVIEW Agent extension, which allows you to
manage application performance of distributed applications accessing mainframe
back ends and trace transactions from distributed applications to mainframe CICS
transactions. Allows you to monitor the health metrics of critical mainframe
components.

CA Introscope SAP NetWeaver Conversion Guide Using CA APM for SAP

NetWeaver.

CA Introscope WebView User Guide for SAP This guide is for SAP WebView users.

Note: In some product documentation, screenshots contain a logo or other reference to

Wily, which CA Technologies has replaced with APM. Ignore Wily logos, as they have
been removed in the current APM Workstation. References to Wily in diagrams refer
to CA Introscope.

Documentation Changes
The following documentation updates have been made since the last release of this
documentation:

Java agent enhancements

The Java agent architecture has been modified to provide more efficient
correlation of traces in cross-process transactions.

The Java agent directory structure (see page 38) has been modified to enable
easier upgrades.

Administrators can remotely issue commands from the Java agent to generate
thread dumps (see page 67) as needed, directly from the Workstation user
interface.

The GC Monitor (see page 245) reports detailed information about Garbage
Collectors and Memory Pools to detect memory-related issues that could
adversely affect performance.

Java agent properties

New properties:

introscope.agent.threaddump.enable

introscope.agent.threaddump.deadlockpoller.enable

introscope.agent.threaddump.deadlockpollerinterval

introscope.agent.threaddump.MaxStackElements

introscope.agent.primary.net.interface.name

Changed properties:

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.failbackRetryIntervalInSecondsThis
property can now specify the number of seconds between attempts by the Java
agent to reconnect to:

the primary Enterprise Manager based on the Java agent profile

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.connectionorder property value.

any Enterprise Manager based on the loadbalancing.xml configuration.

Documentation changes

CA APM product names have been updated to reflect the current naming
conventions.

This guide is renamed from the Introscope Java Agent Guide to the CA APM
Java Agent Implementation Guide.

Virtual agents are not agents; they are conglomerations of agent metrics,
therefore Enterprise Manager-related entities. Information about configuring
and using virtual agents has been moved to the CA APM Configuration and
Administration Guide.

Understanding Directory and File Name Conventions

This guide uses the following conventions in file names and directory paths:
Convention

Refers to

<Agent_Home>

The top-level directory where the CA Introscope agent is

installed. This directory is typically named wily.

<APM_Db_Home>

The top-level directory where the APM database is installed,

when referring to Database-only installations.

<AppServer_Home>

The top-level directory where your application server is

installed. This directory is often the same as <Agent_Home>.

<EM_Home>

The top-level directory where the Enterprise Manager is

installed.

<ProductName_Home>

The installation directory of a third-party product or type of

application. For example, it is the installation directory of
the application server if you are using WebLogic.

<version>

Version-specific identifier included in file names or displayed

in the user interface.
For example, the following file name:
com.wily.introscope.soa.dependencymap_<version>.jar
represents a version-specific file name, such as:
com.wily.introscope.soa.dependencymap_9.1.0.jar

<File_Name><VersionNu
mber><Operating
System or other
identifier>.FileType

A file name that includes specific identifying information.

For example, if you extract files from a tar package for CA
APM ChangeDetector 9.1.0.0 on a UNIX operating system,
then download this file:
ChangeDetector9.1.0.0unix.tar
But, view it in this guide as follows:
ChangeDetector<VersionNumber>.unix.tar

Convention

Refers to

Forward slash (/) path

separators

The path separator used in directory names on your

operating environment.
The forward slash (/) is used on UNIX platforms and in
examples throughout this guide, but use the separator
appropriate for your operating system.

Dollar sign ($)

environment variables

The environment variable notation used on your operating

system.
The dollar sign ($) is used in UNIX environments and in
examples throughout this guide, but you use the character
appropriate to your environment.

Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Java Agent

25

About Introscope and Java Agents ............................................................................................................................. 25

Planning a Java Agent Deployment ............................................................................................................................ 26
Install and Evaluate the Default Functionality .................................................................................................... 26
Determine Configuration Requirements ............................................................................................................. 27
Define a Baseline Agent Profile with Appropriate Configuration Properties ...................................................... 27
Evaluate Agent Performance Overhead .............................................................................................................. 28
Validate and Deploy the Agent Configuration .................................................................................................... 28
Deploying the Java Agent ........................................................................................................................................... 28

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent

29

View the Product Compatibility Guide ....................................................................................................................... 29

Before You Install the Agent ...................................................................................................................................... 30
Select the method for installing the Java agent ......................................................................................................... 30
Install the Java Agent Interactively ..................................................................................................................... 31
Install the Java Agent Silently .............................................................................................................................. 33
Install Manually Using Installation Archives........................................................................................................ 37
About the Java Agent Directory Structure ................................................................................................................. 38
How to instrument applications ................................................................................................................................. 39
Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent ....................................................................................... 40
Configure Apache Tomcat to use the Java agent ................................................................................................ 40
Configure JBoss to use the Java agent ................................................................................................................ 41
Configure Oracle WebLogic to use the Java agent .............................................................................................. 42
Configure WebLogic with JRockit JVM to Use the Java Agent ............................................................................ 46
Configure WebLogic with JRocket JVM to View Socket Metrics ......................................................................... 47
Configure IBM WebSphere to use the Java agent............................................................................................... 47
Configure Oracle Application Server to use the Java agent ................................................................................ 55
Configure GlassFish 2.1 to use the Java agent .................................................................................................... 56
Configure SAP Netweaver 7.1 to use the Java agent .......................................................................................... 56
Configuring the connection to the Enterprise Manager ............................................................................................ 57
Connect to the Enterprise Manager Using a Direct Socket Connection ............................................................. 57
Connect to the Enterprise Manager with HTTP tunneling .................................................................................. 58
Configure a proxy server for HTTP tunneling ...................................................................................................... 59
Connect to the Enterprise Manager with HTTPS tunneling ................................................................................ 59
Connect to the Enterprise Manager over SSL ..................................................................................................... 60
Configure Agent Load Balancing ......................................................................................................................... 61

Contents 13

Upgrading multiple agent types ................................................................................................................................. 61

Uninstalling the Java agent ........................................................................................................................................ 62
Uninstalling the Java agent from z/OS ................................................................................................................ 63

Chapter 3: Configuring Agent Properties

65

How to modify communication with Enterprise Manager ......................................................................................... 65

How to configure backup Enterprise Managers and failover properties ................................................................... 65
How to enable and use additional GC metrics ........................................................................................................... 67
How to enable and configure thread dumps ............................................................................................................. 67

Chapter 4: AutoProbe and ProbeBuilding Options

71

AutoProbe and ProbeBuilding overview .................................................................................................................... 71

Unsupported instrumentation methods ............................................................................................................. 72
Configuring ProbeBuilding ......................................................................................................................................... 72
Full or typical tracing options .............................................................................................................................. 72
Dynamic ProbeBuilding ....................................................................................................................................... 73
Dynamic ProbeBuilding vs. dynamic instrumentation ........................................................................................ 75
ProbeBuilding class hierarchies (JVM 1.5) .......................................................................................................... 76
Removing line numbers in bytecode ................................................................................................................... 79

Chapter 5: ProbeBuilder Directives

81

ProbeBuilder Directives Overview ............................................................................................................................. 81

Components traced by the default PBDs ............................................................................................................ 82
Default PBD Files ................................................................................................................................................. 83
Default PBD Files From Previous Releases .......................................................................................................... 86
Default PBL files .................................................................................................................................................. 86
Default tracer groups and toggles files ............................................................................................................... 86
Turning tracer groups on or off ........................................................................................................................... 95
Adding classes to a tracer group ......................................................................................................................... 96
EJB naming .......................................................................................................................................................... 98
Using the IntroscopeAgent.profile, PBLs, and PBDs together .................................................................................... 99
Applying ProbeBuilder Directives ............................................................................................................................... 99
Using JVM AutoProbe ....................................................................................................................................... 100
Using the ProbeBuilder Wizard or command-line ProbeBuilder ...................................................................... 100
Instrumenting with new and changed PBDs ..................................................................................................... 100
Creating custom tracers ........................................................................................................................................... 102
Using a custom BlamePointTracer tracer for common metrics ........................................................................ 102
Directive names and arguments used in tracer syntax ..................................................................................... 103
Commonly used tracer names and examples ................................................................................................... 105
Advanced single-metric tracers......................................................................................................................... 107

14 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Skip directives ................................................................................................................................................... 110

Counting object instances ................................................................................................................................. 110
Turning on InstrumentPoint directives ............................................................................................................. 111
Combining custom tracers ................................................................................................................................ 111
Instrumenting and inheritance ......................................................................................................................... 111
Java 1.5 annotations ......................................................................................................................................... 112
Using Blame Tracers to mark blame points.............................................................................................................. 113
Blame Tracers .................................................................................................................................................... 113
High agent CPU overhead from deep nested frontend transactions ................................................................ 114
Custom FrontendMarker directive.................................................................................................................... 114
Blame Tracers in standard PBDs ....................................................................................................................... 115
Boundary Blame and Oracle backends ............................................................................................................. 115

Chapter 6: Java Agent Naming

117

Understanding the Java Agent name ....................................................................................................................... 117

How the agent determines its name ................................................................................................................. 118
How Introscope resolves agent naming conflicts ............................................................................................. 119
Agent naming considerations for clustered applications ......................................................................................... 120
Specifying an agent name using a Java system property ......................................................................................... 120
Specifying an agent name using a system property key .......................................................................................... 121
Obtaining an agent name from the application server ............................................................................................ 121
Application servers that support agent naming ................................................................................................ 121
Automatic agent naming .......................................................................................................................................... 122
Automatic agent naming and renamed agents ................................................................................................. 123
Advanced automatic agent naming options ..................................................................................................... 123
Enabling cloned agent naming in clustered environments ...................................................................................... 124
Cloned agent naming scenario .......................................................................................................................... 125
Configuring unique names for application instances ........................................................................................ 125
Application triage map and the agent name ............................................................................................................ 125

Chapter 7: Java Agent Monitoring and Logging

127

Configuring agent connection metrics ..................................................................................................................... 127

Socket metrics .......................................................................................................................................................... 128
Restricting socket and SSL metric collection ..................................................................................................... 128
Fine-tuning socket and SSL metric collection .................................................................................................... 129
SSL, NIO, and socket tracing in the application triage map .............................................................................. 129
Turning off socket and SSL metric collection .................................................................................................... 130
Backwards compatibility ................................................................................................................................... 131
Configuring logging options ..................................................................................................................................... 131
Running the agent in verbose mode ................................................................................................................. 132
Redirecting agent output to a file ..................................................................................................................... 132

Contents 15

Changing the name or location of the agent logfile .......................................................................................... 133

Agent log files and automatic agent naming .................................................................................................... 133
Rolling up logs by date or size ........................................................................................................................... 134
Managing ProbeBuilder Logs ................................................................................................................................... 135
Command-line ProbeBuilder and ProbeBuilder Wizard log name and location ............................................... 135
AutoProbe log name and location .................................................................................................................... 136

Chapter 8: Configuring LeakHunter and ErrorDetector

137

LeakHunter ............................................................................................................................................................... 137

How LeakHunter works ..................................................................................................................................... 138
What LeakHunter tracks in Java ........................................................................................................................ 138
What LeakHunter does not track ...................................................................................................................... 139
System and version requirements .................................................................................................................... 139
Enabling and disabling LeakHunter .......................................................................................................................... 140
Configuring LeakHunter properties .......................................................................................................................... 140
Ignoring collections that cause poor performance ........................................................................................... 142
Running LeakHunter ................................................................................................................................................. 143
Identifying potential leaks with collection IDs ......................................................................................................... 143
LeakHunter log file ................................................................................................................................................... 144
Potential leak first identified log entry ............................................................................................................. 144
Identified potential leak stops leaking log entry ............................................................................................... 145
Identified potential leak is leaking again log entry ........................................................................................... 146
LeakHunter timeout log entry ........................................................................................................................... 146
Using LeakHunter ..................................................................................................................................................... 146
ErrorDetector ........................................................................................................................................................... 147
Types of errors .................................................................................................................................................. 147
How ErrorDetector works ................................................................................................................................. 148
Enabling ErrorDetector in the Java Agent ................................................................................................................ 148
Configuring ErrorDetector options ........................................................................................................................... 149
Advanced error data capture ................................................................................................................................... 150
Defining new error types.......................................................................................................................................... 150
ExceptionErrorReporter .................................................................................................................................... 150
MethodCalledErrorReporter ............................................................................................................................. 151
ThisErrorReporter ............................................................................................................................................. 151
HTTPErrorCodeReporter ................................................................................................................................... 152
Using error tracer directives with caution ........................................................................................................ 152
Using ErrorDetector ................................................................................................................................................. 152

Chapter 9: Configuring Boundary Blame

153

Understanding Boundary Blame .............................................................................................................................. 153

Using URL groups ..................................................................................................................................................... 153

16 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Defining keys for URL groups ............................................................................................................................ 154

Defining membership of each URL group ......................................................................................................... 154
Define the name for a URL group ..................................................................................................................... 155
Advanced naming techniques for URL groups (optional) ................................................................................. 155
Running the URLGrouper .................................................................................................................................. 159
Using Blame tracers ................................................................................................................................................. 159

Chapter 10: Configuring Transaction Trace Options

161

Controlling automatic Transaction Tracing behavior ............................................................................................... 161

Transaction Trace component clamp ................................................................................................................ 161
Transaction trace sampling ............................................................................................................................... 162
Agent heap sizing .............................................................................................................................................. 162
Configuring cross-process Transaction Tracing ........................................................................................................ 163
Extending transaction trace data collection ............................................................................................................. 163
About User ID data ............................................................................................................................................ 163
About servlet request data ............................................................................................................................... 164
Configuring Agent to collect additional transaction trace data ........................................................................ 164
Disabling the capture of stalls as Events .................................................................................................................. 166

Chapter 11: Configuring the Introscope SQL Agent

167

The SQL Agent overview .......................................................................................................................................... 167

The SQL Agent files ................................................................................................................................................... 168
SQL statement normalization ................................................................................................................................... 168
How poorly written SQL statements create metric explosions......................................................................... 168
SQL statement normalization options .............................................................................................................. 170
Turn Off Statement Metrics ..................................................................................................................................... 176
SQL metrics............................................................................................................................................................... 176

Chapter 12: Enabling JMX Reporting

179

Java Agent JMX support ........................................................................................................................................... 179

Introscope support for WebLogic 9.0 JMX metrics ........................................................................................... 180
Default JMX metric conversion process ................................................................................................................... 180
Using primary key conversion to streamline JMX metrics ....................................................................................... 181
Managing metric volume with JMX filters ............................................................................................................... 182
JMX filters for WebLogic ................................................................................................................................... 182
Configuring JMX reporting ....................................................................................................................................... 183
Enabling JSR-77 data for WAS 6.x............................................................................................................................. 184

Contents 17

Chapter 13: Configuring Platform Monitoring

187

Understanding platform monitors ........................................................................................................................... 187

Enabling platform monitors on Windows Server 2003 ............................................................................................ 189
Enabling platform monitors on AIX .......................................................................................................................... 189
Disabling platform monitors .................................................................................................................................... 190
Configure Permissions to Access Platform Monitors on HP-UX ............................................................................... 191
Troubleshooting platform monitoring ..................................................................................................................... 191
Troubleshooting platform monitoring on Windows ......................................................................................... 192

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties

193

Configuring the IntroscopeAgent.profile location ................................................................................................... 194

Command-line property overrides ........................................................................................................................... 195
Agent failover ........................................................................................................................................................... 196
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.connectionorder ................................................................................... 196
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.failbackRetryIntervalInSeconds ............................................................ 197
Agent HTTP tunneling .............................................................................................................................................. 198
Agent HTTP tunneling for proxy servers ........................................................................................................... 198
Agent HTTPS tunneling...................................................................................................................................... 200
Agent memory overhead ......................................................................................................................................... 201
introscope.agent.reduceAgentMemoryOverhead ............................................................................................ 202
Agent metric aging ................................................................................................................................................... 202
Configuring agent metric aging ......................................................................................................................... 203
Agent metric clamp .................................................................................................................................................. 206
introscope.agent.metricClamp ......................................................................................................................... 206
Agent naming ........................................................................................................................................................... 207
introscope.agent.agentAutoNamingEnabled .................................................................................................... 208
introscope.agent.agentAutoNamingMaximumConnectionDelayInSeconds .................................................... 208
introscope.agent.agentAutoRenamingIntervalInMinutes ................................................................................ 209
introscope.agent.agentName ........................................................................................................................... 209
introscope.agent.agentNameSystemPropertyKey ............................................................................................ 210
introscope.agent.disableLogFileAutoNaming ................................................................................................... 210
introscope.agent.clonedAgent .......................................................................................................................... 211
introscope.agent.customProcessName ............................................................................................................ 211
introscope.agent.defaultProcessName ............................................................................................................. 212
introscope.agent.display.hostName.as.fqdn .................................................................................................... 212
Agent recording (business recording) ...................................................................................................................... 212
introscope.agent.bizRecording.enabled ........................................................................................................... 213
Agent thread priority................................................................................................................................................ 213
introscope.agent.thread.all.priority .................................................................................................................. 214
Agent to Enterprise Manager connection ................................................................................................................ 214
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT ................................................................. 214

18 Java Agent Implementation Guide

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT ................................................................. 215

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT .................................................. 215
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.local.ipaddress.DEFAULT ................................................ 216
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.local.port.DEFAULT ......................................................... 216
Application triage map ............................................................................................................................................. 216
introscope.agent.appmap.enabled ................................................................................................................... 217
introscope.agent.appmap.metrics.enabled ...................................................................................................... 217
introscope.agent.appmap.queue.size ............................................................................................................... 218
introscope.agent.appmap.queue.period .......................................................................................................... 218
introscope.agent.appmap.intermediateNodes.enabled................................................................................... 219
Application Triage Map and Catalyst Integration ..................................................................................................... 219
Configure the Ability to Send Information ........................................................................................................ 219
Configure a List of Available Networks ............................................................................................................. 220
Application triage map business transaction POST parameters .............................................................................. 221
introscope.agent.bizdef.matchPost .................................................................................................................. 221
Known limitations ............................................................................................................................................. 222
Application triage map managed socket configuration ........................................................................................... 223
introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportToAppmap ..................................................................................... 224
introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportClassAppEdge................................................................................. 224
introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportMethodAppEdge ............................................................................ 225
introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportClassBTEdge ................................................................................... 225
introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportMethodBTEdge .............................................................................. 226
AutoProbe ................................................................................................................................................................ 226
introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile ................................................................................................................. 226
introscope.autoprobe.enable ........................................................................................................................... 227
introscope.autoprobe.logfile ............................................................................................................................ 227
Bootstrap Classes Instrumentation Manager........................................................................................................... 228
introscope.bootstrapClassesManager.enabled ................................................................................................ 228
introscope.bootstrapClassesManager.waitAtStartup ....................................................................................... 228
CA CEM Agent Profile Properties ............................................................................................................................. 229
introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile ................................................................................................................. 229
introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.allowedFiles .............................................................................. 230
introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.enabled ..................................................................................... 231
introscope.agent.decorator.enabled ................................................................................................................ 232
introscope.agent.decorator.security ................................................................................................................ 232
introscope.agent.cemtracer.domainconfigfile.................................................................................................. 233
introscope.agent.cemtracer.domainconfigfile.reloadfrequencyinminutes ...................................................... 233
Configure the Session ID Collection .................................................................................................................. 234
ChangeDetector configuration ................................................................................................................................. 235
introscope.changeDetector.enable................................................................................................................... 235
introscope.changeDetector.agentID ................................................................................................................. 235
introscope.changeDetector.rootDir .................................................................................................................. 236

Contents 19

introscope.changeDetector.isengardStartupWaitTimeInSec............................................................................ 236
introscope.changeDetector.waitTimeBetweenReconnectInSec....................................................................... 236
introscope.changeDetector.profile ................................................................................................................... 237
introscope.changeDetector.profileDir .............................................................................................................. 237
introscope.changeDetector.compressEntries.enable ....................................................................................... 238
introscope.changeDetector.compressEntries.batchSize .................................................................................. 238
Cross-process tracing in WebLogic Server ............................................................................................................... 238
introscope.agent.weblogic.crossjvm ................................................................................................................. 239
Cross-process transaction trace ............................................................................................................................... 239
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.tailfilterPropagate.enable ........................................................................ 239
Dynamic instrumentation ........................................................................................................................................ 240
introscope.autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.enabled ......................................................................................... 240
autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.pollIntervalMinutes ........................................................................................ 240
introscope.autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.classFileSizeLimitInMegs .............................................................. 241
introscope.autoprobe.dynamic.limitRedefinedClassesPerBatchTo .................................................................. 241
introscope.agent.remoteagentdynamicinstrumentation.enabled ................................................................... 242
introscope.autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.pollIntervalMinutes ...................................................................... 242
ErrorDetector ........................................................................................................................................................... 243
introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.enable .......................................................................................................... 243
introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.throttle ........................................................................................................ 243
introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.ignore.<index> ............................................................................................. 244
Extensions ................................................................................................................................................................ 244
introscope.agent.extensions.directory ............................................................................................................. 244
introscope.agent.common.directory ................................................................................................................ 245
GC Monitor ............................................................................................................................................................... 245
introscope.agent.gcmonitor.enable.................................................................................................................. 245
Java NIO .................................................................................................................................................................... 246
Buffers ............................................................................................................................................................... 246
Channels ............................................................................................................................................................ 247
NIODatagramTracing metrics ............................................................................................................................ 247
Restricting Java NIO metrics ............................................................................................................................. 248
JMX ........................................................................................................................................................................... 252
introscope.agent.jmx.enable ............................................................................................................................ 252
introscope.agent.jmx.ignore.attributes ............................................................................................................ 253
introscope.agent.jmx.name.filter ..................................................................................................................... 253
introscope.agent.jmx.name.jsr77.disable ......................................................................................................... 254
introscope.agent.jmx.name.primarykeys ......................................................................................................... 255
introscope.agent.jmx.excludeStringMetrics ..................................................................................................... 256
LeakHunter ............................................................................................................................................................... 256
introscope.agent.leakhunter.collectAllocationStackTraces .............................................................................. 257
introscope.agent.leakhunter.enable ................................................................................................................. 258
introscope.agent.leakhunter.leakSensitivity..................................................................................................... 258

20 Java Agent Implementation Guide

introscope.agent.leakhunter.logfile.append .................................................................................................... 259

introscope.agent.leakhunter.logfile.location .................................................................................................... 259
introscope.agent.leakhunter.timeoutInMinutes .............................................................................................. 260
introscope.agent.leakhunter.ignore.<number> ............................................................................................... 260
Logging ..................................................................................................................................................................... 261
log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent ............................................................................................................................ 262
log4j.appender.logfile.File................................................................................................................................. 263
log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent.inheritance ........................................................................................................ 263
log4j.appender.pbdlog.File ............................................................................................................................... 264
log4j.appender.pbdlog ...................................................................................................................................... 264
log4j.appender.pbdlog.layout ........................................................................................................................... 265
log4j.appender.pbdlog.layout.ConversionPattern ............................................................................................ 265
log4j.additivity.IntroscopeAgent.inheritance ................................................................................................... 266
Metric count ............................................................................................................................................................. 266
introscope.ext.agent.metric.count ................................................................................................................... 267
Multiple inheritance ................................................................................................................................................. 267
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.enabled ............................................................................................ 268
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.runOnceOnly .................................................................................... 268
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.pollIntervalMinutes .......................................................................... 269
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.executionCount ................................................................................ 269
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.disableLogging .................................................................................. 270
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.disableDirectivesChange .................................................................. 270
Platform monitoring ................................................................................................................................................. 270
introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system ...................................................................................................... 271
Remote configuration .............................................................................................................................................. 271
introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.enabled ..................................................................................... 271
introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.allowedFiles .............................................................................. 272
Security ..................................................................................................................................................................... 272
introscope.agent.decorator.security ................................................................................................................ 272
Servlet header decorator ......................................................................................................................................... 273
introscope.agent.decorator.enabled ................................................................................................................ 273
Socket metrics .......................................................................................................................................................... 273
introscope.agent.sockets.reportRateMetrics ................................................................................................... 274
introscope.agent.io.socket.client.hosts ............................................................................................................ 274
introscope.agent.io.socket.client.ports ............................................................................................................ 275
introscope.agent.io.socket.server.ports ........................................................................................................... 275
SQL Agent ................................................................................................................................................................. 275
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension ............................................................................................. 276
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.matchFallThrough ...................................................................... 277
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.keys ............................................................................................ 278
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.pattern .............................................................................. 278
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceAll .......................................................................... 279

Contents 21

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceFormat ................................................................... 279

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.caseSensitive ..................................................................... 280
introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.artonly .............................................................................................................. 280
introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.rawsql ............................................................................................................... 280
introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.turnoffmetrics .................................................................................................. 281
introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.turnofftrace ...................................................................................................... 281
SSL communication .................................................................................................................................................. 282
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT ................................................................. 282
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT ................................................................. 283
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT .................................................. 283
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.truststore.DEFAULT ........................................................ 284
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.trustpassword.DEFAULT ................................................. 284
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.keystore.DEFAULT .......................................................... 284
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.keypassword.DEFAULT ................................................... 285
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.ciphersuites.DEFAULT ..................................................... 285
Stall metrics .............................................................................................................................................................. 285
introscope.agent.stalls.thresholdseconds ........................................................................................................ 286
introscope.agent.stalls.resolutionseconds ....................................................................................................... 286
Thread dumps .......................................................................................................................................................... 287
introscope.agent.threaddump.enable .............................................................................................................. 287
introscope.agent.threaddump.deadlockpoller.enable ..................................................................................... 288
introscope.agent.threaddump.deadlockpollerinterval ..................................................................................... 288
introscope.agent.threaddump.MaxStackElements .......................................................................................... 289
Transaction tracing ................................................................................................................................................... 289
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httprequest.headers .............................................................. 290
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httprequest.parameters ........................................................ 290
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httpsession.attributes ............................................................ 291
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.key ................................................................................................. 291
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.method ......................................................................................... 292
introscope.agent.transactiontrace.componentCountClamp ............................................................................ 293
introscope.agent.crossprocess.compression .................................................................................................... 294
introscope.agent.crossprocess.compression.minlimit...................................................................................... 295
introscope.agent.crossprocess.correlationid.maxlimit ..................................................................................... 296
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.enabled ..................................................................................... 296
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.perinterval.count ...................................................................... 297
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.interval.seconds ....................................................................... 297
introscope.agent.transactiontrace.headFilterClamp ........................................................................................ 298
introscope.agent.ttClamp ................................................................................................................................. 299
URL grouping ............................................................................................................................................................ 299
introscope.agent.urlgroup.keys ........................................................................................................................ 300
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.default.pathprefix........................................................................................ 300
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.default.format ............................................................................................. 300

22 Java Agent Implementation Guide

WebSphere PMI ....................................................................................................................................................... 301

introscope.agent.pmi.enable ............................................................................................................................ 302
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.alarmManager ................................................................................................... 302
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.bean ................................................................................................................... 303
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.cache .................................................................................................................. 303
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.connectionPool .................................................................................................. 304
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.hamanager ......................................................................................................... 304
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.j2c ...................................................................................................................... 305
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.jvmpi .................................................................................................................. 305
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.jvmRuntime ....................................................................................................... 306
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.objectPool .......................................................................................................... 306
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.orbPerf ............................................................................................................... 307
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.scheduler ........................................................................................................... 307
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.servletSessions................................................................................................... 308
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.system ................................................................................................................ 308
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.threadPool ......................................................................................................... 309
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.transaction ......................................................................................................... 309
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.webApp .............................................................................................................. 310
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.webServices ....................................................................................................... 310
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.wlm .................................................................................................................... 311
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.wsgw .................................................................................................................. 311
introscope.agent.pmi.filter.objref .................................................................................................................... 312
WLDF metrics ........................................................................................................................................................... 312
introscope.agent.wldf.enable ........................................................................................................................... 313

Appendix B: Alternative Methods for Instrumentation

315

Deploying the Java Agent on other application servers ........................................................................................... 315

Configuring Sun ONE 7.0 .......................................................................................................................................... 316
Configuring Oracle 10g 10.0.3 .................................................................................................................................. 317
Configuring WebLogic Server ................................................................................................................................... 318
Configuring HTTP servlet tracing .............................................................................................................................. 318
Creating an AutoProbe connector file ...................................................................................................................... 319
Running the AutoProbe Connector for a JVM ................................................................................................... 319
About running ProbeBuilder manually ..................................................................................................................... 322
AutoProbe for WebSphere 6.1 and 7.0 for z/OS ...................................................................................................... 322

Appendix C: Using the PBD Generator

325

About the CA PBD Generator ................................................................................................................................... 325

Configuring the PBD Generator ................................................................................................................................ 326
Required PBD Generator parameters ............................................................................................................... 326
Using the PBD Generator ......................................................................................................................................... 326

Contents 23

Appendix D: Using the Network Interface Utility

329

Determine Network Interface Names ...................................................................................................................... 329

Index

24 Java Agent Implementation Guide

331

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Java Agent

This section contains the following topics:
About Introscope and Java Agents (see page 25)
Planning a Java Agent Deployment (see page 26)
Deploying the Java Agent (see page 28)

About Introscope and Java Agents

CA Introscope is an enterprise application performance management solution that
enables you to monitor complex web applications in production environments 24x7,
detect problems before they affect your customers, and resolve these issues quickly and
collaboratively. A key part of the architecture for this solution is the low overhead
agent.
The agent is a data gathering component of Introscope that collects detailed
performance information about applications and the computing environment as
transactions are executed. The Java agent collects this information from applications
and resources running on Java Virtual Machines (JVMs) and sends the information to
the Enterprise Manager for further processing.
The Java agent inserts probes into the bytecode of the components that make up the
JVM that the application uses. Inserting the probes into the bytecode is part of the
instrumentation process that enables the monitoring of your applications.
Instrumenting an application also requires tracers that are defined in ProbeBuilder
Directive (PBD) files. The instructions or directives in PBD files identify the application
components to monitor. The tracers identify the metrics the agent should collect from
which probes as the application runs in the JVM. You can control what is monitored by
changing the PBD files to suit your environment.
When you install the Java agent, several default PBD files are deployed to enable default
monitoring of your environment. You can modify the default monitoring to achieve the
balance of visibility and performance that you require. After the application is
instrumented, the Java agent collects the data you are interested in and reports the
data to the Enterprise Manager. The Enterprise Manager then processes and stores the
data for real-time and historical reporting. You can then view and work with the
collected data using the Introscope Workstation to create alerts or take responsive
action.

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Java Agent 25

Planning a Java Agent Deployment

For application management, the key activities are:

Deploy agents to monitor the performance and availability of application servers.

Test, adjust, and optimize monitoring of application components.

Customize the agent profile to control agent operations as needed.

Create application- or agent-specific metric groupings, dashboards, alerts, and

actions

Investigate, triage, and diagnose application issues.

Planning a Java Agent Deployment

When planning a deployment, your goal is to develop the right balance between agent
overhead and the visibility of application performance. Low overhead agents allow for
real-time monitoring of all transactions in production environments. Keeping overhead
low helps performance and availability of critical applications and server resources.
However, keeping overhead low does not provide enough information to diagnose
problems when they occur. Therefore, it is common to deploy and adjust the agent
configuration throughout the lifecycle of an application. In addition, monitoring more
components when an application is being developed or tested, then reducing the
components after an application is released to production.

Install and Evaluate the Default Functionality

The first step in deploying agents involves installing and evaluating the default agent
configuration. The default agent configuration demonstrates data collection for many
common components of the application and the computing environment. The default
agent configuration also includes several features enabled and other, less frequently
used features, disabled.
Your goal is to evaluate the depth and breadth of data collection provided by default
and become familiar with Introscope and how to monitor applications. After you are
familiar with the performance metrics the agent provides by default, you can customize
the agent to collect data, as needed.
As you evaluate the default performance, keep in mind that when the agent collects
more metrics, it consumes more system resources. If the agent collects fewer metrics,
you have less visibility into potential problems. As you refine the agent configuration,
try to strike a balance between the depth of data collection and an acceptable level of
performance. The appropriate level of instrumentation typically depends on where the
agent is deployed. For example, an agent monitoring within a test environment is
typically configured to collect large numbers of metrics. An agent on a production
server, however, is typically configured to deliver essential information.

26 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Planning a Java Agent Deployment

Determine Configuration Requirements

Before you deploy the agent, determine your data collection requirements. This
information lets you tailor the data collection behaviors of the agent, and evaluate the
impact on overhead through alternative configurations of the agent.
Introscope can be used throughout the lifecycle of an application. For example, from
development through testing, load verification, staging, and into production. At each
stage in the lifecycle, the monitoring goals, environmental constraints, and service level
expectations are likely to be different. To address these differences, you configure the
agent to behave differently for the type of environment that is monitored.
Your goal is to determine the appropriate trade-off between the visibility of
performance details and resource overhead. Also consider the optimum level of visibility
at a reasonable cost for the environment being monitored.
In preproduction application environments, such as development, you typically
configure a higher level of data collection to provide deeper visibility into the
application performance. In production or high-volume transaction environments, you
typically reduce the metrics reported to control agent overhead. Depending on your
requirements, you can also configure agent properties to control specific agent
behavior. For example, track the maximum number of metrics collected and the
removal of old metrics.
For your environment, determine the appropriate level of visibility and acceptable
performance overhead, so you can configure the agent to match your requirements.

Define a Baseline Agent Profile with Appropriate Configuration Properties

After you identify the type of application environment to monitor, you can create a
"candidate" agent configuration. Most agent operations are controlled using properties
in the agent profile (IntroscopeAgent.profile). For example, the IntroscopeAgent.profile
file defines ProbeBuilder Directive and ProbeBuilder List files the agent uses. The files
listed in the agent profile then control the specific metrics that the agent gathers. The
IntroscopeAgent.profile file also provides properties that enable or disable specific
features or tune operations such as polling intervals.
Depending on your configuration and environment, you can adjust the properties in the
agent profile to evaluate the impact of each change. For example, you can start with a
default agent profile that does not have ChangeDetector enabled. Later, you can enable
ChangeDetector properties in the profile and evaluate agent performance after the
change before adding any other features.

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Java Agent 27

Deploying the Java Agent

Evaluate Agent Performance Overhead

When evaluating an agent configuration, verify that the metrics collected provide
sufficient visibility into application performance and availability. In addition, verify that
the volume of metrics cannot impose an unacceptable load on the operating
environment. The agent cannot report more metrics than are necessary to identify and
localize performance and availability problems.
You can effectively evaluate agent performance by understanding the performance
characteristics of the application. For example, you can load test your application before
and after implementing default monitoring to verify impact.
To extend data collection in a controlled way, verify agent operation and overhead
before and after implementing changes. For example, only add monitoring support for
one application at a time, so you can evaluate the performance of each add-on
individually.

Validate and Deploy the Agent Configuration

After verifying that the candidate agent configuration provides the visibility required,
deploy the configuration across that environment.
You can deploy a validated configuration by installing the following configuration items
to the target environment:

IntroscopeAgent.profile file

modified or custom PBD files

Deploying the Java Agent

Deploying the agent involves the following high level steps:
1.

Install the agent on the target computer.

2.

Configure the application server (see page 39) to instrument your applications.

3.

Configure the startup script (see page 40) or Java command for the application
server to include the agent and the location of the agent profile.

4.

Configure the agent connection (see page 57) to the Enterprise Manager.

5.

Restart the application server to instrument the application and start data
collection.

6.

Configure the IntroscopeAgent.profile (see page 65) if you want to change any
properties set during installation or want to modify data collection or other agent
operations.

28 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the

Java Agent
This section contains the following topics:
View the Product Compatibility Guide (see page 29)
Before You Install the Agent (see page 30)
Select the method for installing the Java agent (see page 30)
About the Java Agent Directory Structure (see page 38)
How to instrument applications (see page 39)
Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent (see page 40)
Configuring the connection to the Enterprise Manager (see page 57)
Upgrading multiple agent types (see page 61)
Uninstalling the Java agent (see page 62)

View the Product Compatibility Guide

The product Compatibility Guide provides a list of all supported operating
environments.
Follow these steps:
1.

Open a browser and go to http://www.ca.com/support.

The CA Support Online page appears.

2.

Log in to CA Support Online.

3.

Select CA Application Performance Management from the Support By Product,

Select a Product page drop-down list.
The CA Application Performance Management page appears.

4.

Scroll to the Product Status section and click the Application Performance
Management Compatibility Guide link.
The Application Performance Management Compatibility Guide page appears.

5.

Click the link that corresponds to the release you want.

The Compatibility Matrix appears.

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 29

Before You Install the Agent

Before You Install the Agent

Before you install the agent, do the following steps:
1.

Review the Java agent deployment process.

2.

Verify that you have a supported version of the application server.

Note: The server where you plan to install the agent must have a supported version
of the JVM available locally. For application server and JVM requirements, see the
CA APM Compatibility Guide.

3.

4.

Verify that you have a supported version of the JVM. If you are unable to use a
supported version, use a previous version:

Use the 8.x Java agent for Java 1.4.x.

Use the 7.2 Java agent for Java 1.3.x.

Verify that the Introscope Enterprise Manager and Workstation components are
installed. Note the host name and port number for the Enterprise Manager
connection with the agent.
You can use ping or telnet to verify connectivity between the agent and the
Enterprise Manager.

Note: For information about installing the Enterprise Manager, Workstation, and
WebView components, see the CA APM Installation and Upgrade Guide.
More information:
View the Product Compatibility Guide (see page 29)
Planning a Java Agent Deployment (see page 26)
Deploying the Java Agent (see page 28)

Select the method for installing the Java agent

You can install the Java agent in one of the following ways:

interactively using a graphical user interface (GUI) or text-based console installer

silently without interactive prompts using an edited response file

manually by extracting and configuring files for individual application servers

In most cases, you use the interactive installer when you want to install files locally on a
computer. If you install interactively, the prompts displayed are the same for the
graphical or text-based interface. However, the option to choose the GUI or text-based
installer depends on the operating system of the computer where you run the installer.
For example, most UNIX environments support the GUI or text-based console installer,
but start the console installer by default.

30 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Select the method for installing the Java agent

If you want to install files remotely on a computer or deploy a preconfigured set of

installation instructions, you can run the installer silently using an edited response file.
If you do not want to run the installer interactively or silently, you can manually install
and configure the agent using an installation archive. Manual installation enables you to
extract specific sets of agent files from application server- and operating system-specific
archives, and then manually configure deployment options. CA Technologies provides
these archives to expedite deployment of the Java agent onto multiple systems that
share the same type of application server and operating system.
For more information about installing interactively, silently, or manually see the
appropriate section.

Install the Java Agent Interactively

You can install the Java agent interactively by selecting the Java agent installer
appropriate for your operating system, starting the installer, and responding to the
prompts. If you use the GUI installer, you can make selections using drop-down menus
and clicking checkboxes. In the text-based console installer, you make selections by
entering text.
Follow these steps:
1.

2.

Select the installation archive appropriate for your operating system. For example:

IntroscopeAgentInstaller<version>windows.zip to install on Microsoft

Windows.

IntroscopeAgentInstaller<version>unix.tar to install on supported UNIX or Linux

operating systems.

IntroscopeAgentInstaller<version>zOS.tar to install on IBM z/OS.

IntroscopeAgentInstaller<version>os400.zip to install on IBM OS/400 (IBM i

operating system).

Extract the installation archive files using a command appropriate to your operating
system. For example, on UNIX or Linux:
tar xvf IntroscopeAgentInstaller<version>unix.tar

3.

Follow the prompts displayed to start the installation.

4.

Specify the location of the application server root directory.

If you do not want to specify an application server root directory, then accept the
default response (C:\ on Windows, / on UNIX).

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 31

Select the method for installing the Java agent

5.

Select the application server type from the list of valid application servers:

Default

JBoss

Tomcat

WebLogic

WebSphere

Sun ONE

Oracle Application Server

Interstage

The application server you select determines the additional monitoring options
available.
6.

Specify the root installation directory for the Java agent. In most cases, use the
application server root directory.
Within the root installation directory, the installer creates the wily directory that
is the <Agent_Home> directory.

7.

Specify whether you want to create an agent profile or use an existing agent profile.
If you create an agent profile, you are prompted to select:

Typical or Full instrumentation

Agent name and process name

Enterprise Manager host and port number

If you select an existing profile, you are prompted for the location of the file. Specify
the fully qualified path to the file.
The settings you specify can be changed after installation if needed, by editing the
IntroscopeAgent.profile file.
8.

Specify the path to the Java executable that is used to launch your application
server.

9.

Specify the ProbeBuilding method for instrumenting your application. In most

cases, use JVM AutoProbe.

32 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Select the method for installing the Java agent

10. Specify whether to enable the ChangeDetector agent extension.

If you enable ChangeDetector, you are prompted to name the ChangeDetector
agent.
If you do not to enable ChangeDetector, the ChangeDetector files are installed in
the <Agent_Home>/examples directory. You can enable ChangeDetector later by
copying the files to the <Agent_Home>/core/ext directory and modifying the
IntroscopeAgent.profile file.
Note: For more information about ChangeDetector, see the CA APM
ChangeDetector Guide.
11. Select additional monitoring options to install. For example, select CA APM for SOA
if you want to monitor web services and other SOA environment components.
If you do not enable other monitoring options during installation, the files are
installed in the <Agent_Home>/examples directory and can be enabled later.
12. Specify the location of a pickup folder for .zip or .tar files that contain add-ons
you want installed with the agent.
Any .zip or .tar files found in the specified location are extracted into the
<Agent_Home> directory.
13. Review your selections and continue to install the agent, and then complete the
installation.
Note: Installing the agent does not stop or start the application server, or configure the
application server startup script. These tasks must be performed manually after
installation. The specific steps depend on the type of application server you are
monitoring.

Install the Java Agent Silently

In silent mode, you invoke the agent installer from a command line and specify a
response file that contains installation instructions. The installation then runs in the
background without displaying any information about its progress. Because this
installation method enables you to install the agent without user interaction, it is most
commonly used to install agents on remote computers or to install multiple agents with
the same configuration.
If you have previously installed a Java agent, you can use the automatically-generated
response file to install additional agents. Alternatively, you can manually edit the sample
response file provided in the installation or create your own response file using a text
editor.

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 33

Select the method for installing the Java agent

About Automatically Generated Response Files

Any time you run the Java agent installer (interactively or silently), the installer creates a
response file that records the installation options you selected. This automatically
generated response file is saved in the <Agent_Home>/install directory. The file name
indicates the date and time that the installer created the response file in the following
format:
autogenerated.responsefile.<year>.<month>.<day>.<hour>.<minutes>.<seconds>

For example, an installation done April 30, 2005 at 7:10:05 a.m. would have an
automatically generated response file with this name:
autogenerated.responsefile.2005.4.30.7.10.05

You can use this automatically generated response file for subsequent silent
installations with the same settings or edit it to use new settings.

About the sample response file

If you have not previously installed the Java agent or want to use default instead of
previously selected installation options, you can edit the default sample response file
included with the Java agent installer. The default sample response file is located in the
<Agent_Home>\install directory and named:
SampleResponseFile.Agent.txt

The sample response file provides default settings for most properties, but you must
manually edit the file before you can use it for silent installation.

34 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Select the method for installing the Java agent

Configure the response file properties and install the agent

Whether you use the automatically-generated response file, the default sample
response file, or create a custom response file, you must configure the properties in the
file appropriately before invoking the Java agent installer in silent mode. The properties
you set in the response file are equivalent to the selections you make when running the
installer interactively.
Note: For additional details about setting any property, see the comments in the
<Agent_Home>/install/SampleResponse.Agent.txt file.
Follow these steps:
1.

Open the response file in a text editor.

2.

Set the appropriate property values. The properties to configure are:

USER_INSTALL_DIR=<root_installation_directory>
Specifies the directory for installing the agent. In most cases, you should use
the application server root directory.
silentInstallChosenFeatures=Agent
Specifies the components you want to install. Add Docs to this property is you
want to install the agent files and documentation. For example:
silentInstallChosenFeatures=Agent,Docs

appServer=Default
Specifies the type of application server to monitor. Valid values are Default,
JBoss, Tomcat, WebLogic, WebSphere, Sun, Oracle, or Interstage. The value is
case-sensitive.
This setting controls the ProbeBuilder Directives (PBDs) that are installed with
the agent and which additional monitoring options are valid.
(Optional) appServerHome=
Specifies the home directory of the application server. This property is not
needed if you have set the USER_INSTALL_DIR property to the application
server root directory.
(Optional) appServerJavaExecutable=
Specifies the path to the Java executable that is used to launch the application
server.
instrumentationLevel=Typical
Specifies whether you want to use Full or Typical instrumentation. The value is
case-sensitive.
agentName=Default Agent
Specifies the agent name that should be displayed in the Workstation.

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 35

Select the method for installing the Java agent

processName=Default Process
Specifies the process name that should be displayed in the Workstation.
emHost=localhost
Specifies the host name of the computer running the Enterprise Manager that
the agent should connect to by default.
emPort=5001
Specifies the port number the agent should use to connect to its Enterprise
Manager.
(Optional) alternateAgentProfile=
Specifies the absolute path to an existing agent profile.
(Optional) pickupFolder=
Specifies the absolute path to a "pickup folder" that contains .zip or .tar files for
any add-ons you want to install with the agent.
(Optional) changeDetectorEnable=false
Specifies whether to enable the ChangeDetector agent extension. If you set this
property to false, ChangeDetector files are installed but not enabled. You may
enable it later.
(Optional) changeDetectorAgentID=
Specifies a name for the ChangeDetector agent extension. If you enable
ChangeDetector, uncomment and set this property.
(Optional) shouldEnable*
Specifies which additional CA APM monitoring solutions you want to enable. All
of the properties for optional CA APM monitoring solutions are set to false by
default. The options that are valid to enable depend on the application server
type.
3.

Save the response file and close the text editor.

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Select the method for installing the Java agent

4.

Invoke the installer in silent mode by specifying the path to the installer executable
and the absolute path to the response file.
<path_to_installer> -f <absolute_path_to_response-file>

The command you use to invoke the installer depends on the operating system
where you are running the command.
For example, on Windows, the command format looks like this:
IntroscopeAgent<version>windows.exe -f C:\temp\myResponseFile.txt

On Linux or UNIX, the command format looks like this:

./IntroscopeAgent<version>unix.bin -f /

Select the appropriate command format for your operating system.

5.

Check the <Agent_Home>/install/Introscope_Agent_<version>_InstallLog.log file to

verify the agent has been installed successfully.

Install Manually Using Installation Archives

You can put the agent files on a system without running the Java agent installer
interactively or configuring a response file. Application server-specific archives let you
install the agent.
The installation archives contain all of the files that would have been installed had you
run the agent installer. After you copy an archive to a computer, you extract the
contents and configure the agent profile to identify the Enterprise Manager to connect
to and other properties. Use these files to deploy multiple agents in a batch job, or keep
the files as an archive of the default set of agent files.
To install the Java agent manually from an archive, verify that the computer where you
plan to install has 35 MB of free disk space.
Follow these steps:
1.

Select the appropriate installation archive for your application server and operating
system.

2.

Extract the contents of the archive into a location your JVM can access using a
command appropriate to your operating system. For example, on UNIX or Linux:
tar -xvf

3.

IntroscopeAgentFilesOnly-NoInstaller<version><app_server>.<os>.tar

Open the <Agent_Home>/core/config/IntroscopeAgent.profile file in a text editor

and configure the connection to the Enterprise Manager.
For more information about setting the properties for communication with the
Enterprise Manager, see Configuring the connection to the Enterprise Manager (see
page 57).

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 37

About the Java Agent Directory Structure

4.

Configure any additional properties, then save and close the

IntroscopeAgent.profile file.

5.

Configure the application server with the location of the Java agent startup file and
the agent profile.

6.

Restart the application server.

About the Java Agent Directory Structure

When you install the agent, the following directory structure is created in the root
installation directory:
wily
This directory is the <Agent_Home> directory, which contains Agent.jar that is used
to start the agent.
Within the <Agent_Home> directory, additional subdirectories provide the libraries
and extension files that enable various features of the Java agent.
core

config
Contains the IntroscopeAgent.profile, ProbeBuilder Directive files (.pbd), and
ProbeBuilder List files (.pbl) files that control agent operations, metric data
collection, and the instrumentation process. The specific properties defined in
the IntroscopeAgent.profile and the .pbd and .pbl files that are deployed and
referenced in the agent profile depend on choices you made during
installation.
Within the config directory, the hotdeploy subdirectory enables you to deploy
new directives without editing the IntroscopeAgent.profile or restarting
applications. If files placed in the hotdeploy directory contain invalid syntax or
collect too many metrics, instrumentation can fail or application performance
can suffer.

ext
Contains the files for enabled agent extensions or features. For example, the
directory contains files for the application triage map, and LeakHunter.

connectors
Contains the CreateAutoProbeConnector.jar utility that is used to configure an
AutoProbe Connector to enable instrumentation in certain environments.
common
Contains the configuration and property files for the extensions.

38 Java Agent Implementation Guide

How to instrument applications

examples
Contains folders and files for optional agent extensions, such as CA APM for
SOA. If you did not enable an extension at installation, you can use the files in
this directory to configure the extension at a later time.
install
Contains log files that record the installation process and the files you can use
for silent installation. For example, the generated response file and the
SampleResponseFile.Agent.txt file are located in this directory.
This directory is not created if you manually install the Java agent from an
installation archive.
logs
Stores agent log files.
tools
Contains the URLGrouper.jar command line utility that analyzes web server log
files.
This directory also includes the list of the files of extensions. For example,
configurePMI.bat, CreateIU.jar, listServers.bat, MergeUtility.jar,
NetInterface.jar, and setPmiModules.jacl files are located in this directory.
UninstallerData
Contains a subdirectory with the executables and associated resources used to
uninstall the agent and related resources.
This directory is not created if you manually install the Java agent from an
installation archive.
version
Contains version information for optional CA APM monitoring solutions. This
information is installed regardless of what you enable at installation time.

How to instrument applications

After you have installed the agent, you must configure the application server to
instrument your applications. The most common method for instrumenting applications
is to use JVM AutoProbe and the javaagent command line option. JVM AutoProbe
instruments applications dynamically during runtime. It is suitable for all J2EE
application servers that provide a hook in the bootstrap or application server class
loader for Introscope to see all bytecode loaded from the file system.
Most JVM providers support the javaagent option. If you are using a JVM that does not
provide support for this option you must use an alternate method for instrumentation.

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 39

Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent

Running ProbeBuilder manually is only required if you must instrument bytecode

statically before an application is started. You can run ProbeBuilder manually using the
ProbeBuilder wizard or from a command-line prompt. It instruments bytecode and
outputs a newly named, instrumented jar or class file. This newly instrumented
bytecode is then placed ahead on the classpath (or renamed in place) for the application
prior to its being started.
For more information about the alternatives to using JVM AutoProbe, see Appendix B:
Alternative Methods for Instrumentation.

Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent

You must configure the application server you are instrumenting to include the path to
the agents primary .jar file and the agent profile. In most cases, you do this by editing
the application server's startup script, then restarting the application server. When the
application server restarts, the Java agent instruments the classes discovered for default
components of the JVM and application environment. The specific steps involved
depend on the application server.

Configure Apache Tomcat to use the Java agent

To configure Apache Tomcat to use the Java agent, you must edit the Tomcat startup
script. By default, the Tomcat startup script is catalina.sh or catalina.bat in the
$CATALINA_HOME/bin directory. Depending on the requirements of your web server,
you may use a different startup script or a different location for the startup script.
Follow these steps:
1.

Navigate to the directory that has the Tomcat startup script. For example:
cd /apache-tomcat-6.0.18/bin

2.

Open the Tomcat startup script in a text editor. For example:

vi catalina.sh

3.

Locate the command line for setting Java options and add the following
command-line options to specify the path to the agent's startup .jar file and the
agent profile:
-javaagent:<PathToAgentJar>
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=<PathToAgentProfile>

For example, if using Agent.jar, add code similar to the following before the
command that starts the server:
set JAVA_OPTS=%JAVA_OPTS% -javaagent:c:\apache-root\wily\Agent.jar
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=
c:\apache-root\wily\core\config\IntroscopeAgent.profile

4.

Save the startup script.

5.

Restart the Tomcat server.

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Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent

Tomcat PBD tracing options

After you install the Java agent on an Apache Tomcat server, the following PBDs are
available to customize data collection:

tomcat41x.pbd

tomcat50x.pbd

tomcat55x.pbd

Configure JBoss to use the Java agent

To configure JBoss to use the Java agent, you must edit the JBoss startup script. By
default, the JBoss startup script is run.sh or run.bat in the $JBOSS_HOME/bin directory.
Depending on the requirements of the web server, you may use a different startup
script or a different location for the startup script.
To modify the JBoss server to include the agent
1.

Navigate to the directory that has the JBoss startup script. For example:
cd /jboss-4.2.3.GA/bin

2.

Open the JBoss startup script in a text editor. For example:

vi run.sh

3.

Locate the command line for setting Java options and add the following
command-line options to specify the path to the agent's startup .jar file and the
path to the agent profile:
-javaagent:<PathToAgentJar>
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=<PathToAgentProfile>

4.

For example, if using Agent.jar, add code similar to the following before the
command that starts the server:
set JAVA_OPTS= -javaagent:%JBOSS_HOME%\wily\Agent.jar
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=%JBOSS_HOME%\wily\core\config\IntroscopeAg
ent.profile %JAVA_OPTS%

5.

Save the run.bat file.

6.

(Optional) If you want to enable the reporting of JBoss JMX metrics, you must
configure the agent profile to collect JMX metrics by opening the
IntroscopeAgent.profile and setting the following property:
introscope.agent.jmx.enable=true

Note: If you want to see JMX metrics from JBoss in a JConsole by using the JMX
remote management server with a platform-specific MBeanServer, you should add
com.wily.use.platform.mbeanserver=true to the IntroscopeAgent.profile. This
reflects a change from previous versions of Introscope where the use of the
platform-specific MBeanServer was set in the command line.
7.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 41

Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent

JBoss-specific PBDs and PBLs

When you install the Java Agent on a JBoss application server, the following
JBoss-specific PBDs and PBLs are available for you to customize data collection:

jboss4x.pbd

jsf.pbd

jsf-toggles-full.pbd

jsf-toggles-typical.pbd

jboss-full.pbl

jboss-typical.pbl

Configure Oracle WebLogic to use the Java agent

To configure Oracle WebLogic to use the Java agent, you must edit the WebLogic
startup script. Depending on your requirements, the startup script you use can be
specific to a WebLogic domain. By default, the WebLogic startup script is
startWebLogic.sh or startWebLogic.cmd in the
$WEBLOGIC_HOME/samples/domain/<domain_name>/bin directory. Depending on the
requirements of the application server, you may use a different startup script, such as
an application-specific startup script or a different location for the startup script.
To modify the WebLogic 9.x or 10.x server to include the agent
1.

Navigate to the directory that has the WebLogic startup script you want to modify.
For example:
cd $WL_HOME/samples/domain/wl_server

2.

Open the WebLogic startup script in a text editor. For example:

vi startWebLogic.sh

3.

Locate the command line for setting Java options or the Java command line and add
the following command-line options. For example: -javaagent:<PathToAgentJar>
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=<PathToAgentProfile>

4.

Save and close the WebLogic startup script or application-specific startup script.

Create a startup class for WebLogic

Creating a WebLogic startup class for an application server or cluster enables the Java
agent to collect additional information from the application server. If you configure a
startup class, the Java agent can automatically determine its name. The startup class
also enables the Java agent to report JMX metrics that are used to determine
application health in the Workstation.

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Follow these steps:

1.

Open the WebLogic Administrative Console.

2.

In the left pane, expand the Environments folder.

3.

Click the Startup & Shutdown folder.

The Startup and Shutdown page opens.

4.

Click Configure a New Startup Class.

The Configuration tab is shown.

5.

In the Name field, enter:

Introscope Startup Class

6.

In the ClassName field, enter:

com.wily.introscope.api.weblogic.IntroscopeStartupClass

7.

Click Create.
The Target and Deploy tab appears.

8.

Select the boxes for the servers you want to make this startup class available to.

9.

Click Apply and select the Run before application deployments option.

10. Add the location of the WebAppSupport.jar to the <server or application server>
startup classpath.
11. Restart the application server.

Enable cross-process tracing in WebLogic Server

Transaction trace sessions enable you to trace all of the operations that take place in a
transaction, including transactions that cross JVM boundaries on computers with
compatible JVM versions.
Cross-process transaction tracing is supported for synchronous transactions, for
instance servlets to EJBs, and asynchronous transactions.
To enable cross-process transaction tracing for WebLogic
1.

Create a startup class as described in Creating a startup class for WebLogic (see
page 42).

2.

Add "-Dweblogic.TracingEnabled=true" to the java command line for starting

WebLogic Server.

3.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

4.

Locate and set introscope.agent.weblogic.crossjvm property to true. For example:

introscope.agent.weblogic.crossjvm=true

5.

Save and close the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 43

Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent

About Java agent support for JMX metrics

Introscope can collect management data that application servers or Java applications
expose as JMX-compliant MBeans, and present the JMX data in the Investigator metric
tree. In older versions, WebLogic provided only a single MBeanServer as a source of JMX
metrics. WebLogic 9.x and later provide three:

RuntimeServiceMBean: per-server runtime metrics, including active effective

configuration

DomainRuntimeServiceMBean: domain-wide runtime metrics

EditServiceMBean: allows user to edit persistent configuration

Introscope polls only RuntimeServiceMBean for metrics because it supports local access
(an efficiency issue), and because it contains most of the data expected to be relevant.
However, Introscope can support any MBean built to the Sun JMX specification. For
more information on the Sun JMX specification, see
http://java.sun.com/products/JavaManagement/.
To support the collection of JMX metrics, the following keywords are defined and
enabled by default in the IntroscopeAgent.profile file for WebLogic:

ActiveConnectionsCurrentCount

WaitingForConnectionCurrentCount

PendingRequestCurrentCount

ExecuteThreadCurrentIdleCount

OpenSessionsCurrentCount

For more information see Enabling JMX Reporting (see page 179).
Introscope displays the JMX metrics it collects in the Investigator tree under the
following node:
<Domain>|<Host>|<Process>|AgentName|JMX|

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Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent

How to Set Up Resource Metrics in Weblogic

Various agents can report resource metric categories in the CA Introscope Workstation.
You can configure an Oracle WebLogic server so that a Java agent can report resource
metrics.
To set up resource metrics for Oracle WebLogic, follow these steps:
1.

Install CA APM for Oracle WebLogic using the instructions in the CA APM for Oracle
WebLogic Server Guide.

2.

Enable the CA APM for Oracle Databases option using the CA APM for Oracle
Databases Guide.

3.

Follow the instructions for configuring resource metrics in the CA APM

Configuration and Administration Guide.

About WebLogic Diagnostic Framework (WLDF)

The WebLogic Diagnostic Framework (WLDF) is a monitoring and diagnostic framework
that defines and implements a set of services that run within the WebLogic Server
process and participate in the standard server life cycle. Using WLDF, you can create,
collect, analyze, archive and access diagnostic data generated by a running server and
the applications deployed within its containers. This data provides insight into the
run-time performance of servers and applications and enables you to isolate and
diagnose faults when they occur.
WLDF enables dynamic access to server data through standard interfaces and the
volume of data accessed at any given time can be modified without shutting down and
restarting the server.

How WLDF data is converted into Introscope metrics

In WLDF, information is organized into a set of Data Accessors, each with multiple
Columns. Introscope converts this WLDF information into an Introscope-specific metric
format and displays it in the Investigator under the following node:
<Domain>|<Host>|<Process>|AgentName|WLDF|

Information in the Data Accessors is defined by a domain name and one or more
key/value pairs. Introscope converts Data Accessor Columns into key and value
information displayed in alphabetical order in the Introscope-generated metrics. The
following example shows the syntax used:
<Domain>|<Host>|<Process>|AgentName|WLDF|<domain
name>|<key1>=<value1>|<key2>=<value2>:<metric>

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 45

Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent

For example, this table shows the information for the BYTECOUNT Column from the
HTTPAccessLog Data Accessor:
Domain name

Key/Value pairs

Metric names

WebLogic

Name=HTTPAccessLog,
Type=WLDFDataAccessRuntime=Accessor,

BYTECOUNT

WLDFRuntime=WLDFRuntime
The Data Accessor information in the table above would be converted to the following
Introscope metric:
<Domain>|<Host>|<Process>|AgentName|WLDF|Weblogic|Name=HTTPAccessLog
|Type=WLDFDataAccessRuntime=Accessor|WLDFRuntime=WLDFRuntime:BYTECOUNT

Note that the key/value pairs are displayed alphabetically in the Introscope metric.

Enable WLDF reporting

By default, WLDF reporting is not enabled in Introscope. You can modify the agent
profile to enable reporting of WLDF metrics.
To enable WLDF reporting
1.

Shut down the managed application, if it is running.

2.

Configure a WebLogic startup class.

3.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

4.

Locate and set the following property:

introscope.agent.wldf.enable=true

5.

Save and close the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Configure WebLogic with JRockit JVM to Use the Java Agent

If you are using WebLogic 9.0 or later with JRockit JVM 5.0 or later, use the following
command-line options to start the JVM:
JAVA_VENDOR=Bea
JAVA_OPTIONS=%JAVA_OPTIONS% -javaagent:PathToAgentJar
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=PathToIntroscopeAgent.profile

If you are using an older version of WebLogic or JRockit JVM, create and run an
AutoProbe connector file (see page 319) to instrument applications.

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Configure WebLogic with JRocket JVM to View Socket Metrics

Due to a third-party compatibility issue, running WebLogic 9.0 with JRockit JVM 1.5.0
may experience a problem with viewing metrics for socket clients. To address this
problem, use the following option to turn on metrics for socket clients.
Follow these steps:
1.

Open the file toggles_typical.pbl or toggles_full.pbl in a text editor.

2.

Turn on the Managed Socket option to trace socket metrics. For example:
#######################
# Network Configuration
# ================
#TurnOn: SocketTracing
# NOTE: Only one of SocketTracing and ManagedSocketTracing should be 'on'.
ManagedSocketTracing is provided to
# enable pre 9.0 socket tracing.
TurnOn: ManagedSocketTracing
TurnOn: UDPTracing

3.

Save your changes.

The Managed Socket option is turned on.

Configure IBM WebSphere to use the Java agent

To configure IBM WebSphere to use the Java agent, you must edit the WebSphere
startup script. Depending on your requirements, the startup script you use can be
specific to an application server node. By default, the WebSphere startup script is the
server.xml file in the $WEBSPHERE_HOME/profiles/<App Server Name/config/cells/<Cell
Name>/nodes/<Node name>/servers/server1directory. Depending on the requirements
of the application server, you may use a different startup script, such as an
application-specific startup script or a different location for the startup script. In
addition, different combinations of WebSphere on different operating systems or using
different JVM vendors or JVM versions can have special requirements. For more
information, see the section that most closely describes you WebSphere Application
Server environment.

WebSphere Application Server 6.1 - UNIX, Windows, OS/400, z/OS - IBM JVM 1.5
The CA Introscope dynamic instrumentation feature requires class redefinition support.
Use of class redefinition can significantly impact performance when running on IBM JDK
version 5. IBM has provided technical information about this performance overhead in
the Java Diagnostics Guide.

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 47

Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent

CA Introscope and IBM JDK version 5 customers that would like to take advantage of
dynamic instrumentation should keep this performance overhead in mind. When
employing this configuration, CA Technologies recommends using the dynamic
instrumentation feature only in a QA environment.
For more information about dynamic instrumentation, see Dynamic ProbeBuilding vs.
dynamic instrumentation (see page 75).
When you are running WebSphere 6.1 using an IBM JVM 1.5, use the alternate versions
of the Java agent .jar file and Java agent profile. These files, named AgentNoRedef.jar
and IntroscopeAgent.NoRedef.profile, are located in the <Agent_Home>/core/config
directory.
Note: If you are using the AllAppServer agent distribution, the alternate profile is named
IntroscopeAgent.websphere.NoRedef.profile.
As a result of using the previous files and syntax, metrics are no longer reported for the
following:

System classes

NIO (Sockets and Datagrams)

SSL

The following features are also affected:

Socket instrumentation reverts to pre-Introscope 9.0 ManagedSocket style.

Remote dynamic instrumentation is disabled

Changes to PBD files require that you restart the instrumented JVM before being
applied

Deep inheritance and hierarchy support instrumentation is disabled.

When using the previous files and syntax, the agent reports class redefinition status by
the following actions:

Adding a metric named Agent Class Redefinition Enabled under the agent node in
the Investigator. Metric values are true or false.

Writing a log message to agent log file.

When class redefinition is enabled, the log message is written at the WARN
level and reads:
Introscope Agent Class Redefinition is enabled. Enabling class redefinition
on IBM 1.5 JVMs is known to incur significant overhead.

When class redefinition is disabled, the log message is written at INFO level and
reads:
Introscope Agent Class Redefinition is disabled.

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Writing a message to standard error (only when class redefinition is enabled), which
reads:
Warning: Introscope agent has been configured to support class redefinition.
IBM JVMs version 1.5 and higher are known to incur significant overhead with
redefinition enabled. To avoid this overhead please use AgentNoRedef.jar
instead of Agent.jar.

If you use a non-IBM JVM or an IBM JVM that is a version other than 1.5, the previous
metric and messages are not output.
To modify the WebSphere Application Server 6.1 - UNIX, Windows, OS/400, z/OS IBM JVM 1.5 to use the agent
1.

Open the WebSphere Administrator Console.

2.

Navigate to Application Servers > your server > Server Infrastructure > Java and
Process Management > Process Definition > Java Virtual Machine.

3.

Set the Generic JVM Argument field as follows:

-javaagent:<Agent_Home>/AgentNoRedef.jar
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=<Agent_Home>/core/config/IntroscopeAgent.N
oRedef.profile

If you have both instrumented and non-instrumented applications on the same

computer, include the -Xshareclasses:none setting in the Generic JVM Argument to
avoid errors on AIX.
Note: A unique directory is required when there is more than one version of
WebSphere using the same agent directory.

WebSphere Application Server 6.1 - UNIX, Windows - Sun, HP, Other JVM 1.5
If you use a non-IBM JVM or an IBM JVM that is a version other than 1.5, not all metrics
and messages are output.
The following examples indicate which Java argument and .jar file to use with a specific
JVM when installing the Java Agent on WebSphere 6.1.
To modify the WebSphere Application Server 6.1 - UNIX, Windows - Sun, HP, all other
JVM 1.5 to use the agent
1.

Open the WebSphere Administrator Console.

2.

Navigate to Application Servers > your server > Server Infrastructure > Java and
Process Management > Process Definition > Java Virtual Machine.

3.

Set the Generic JVM Argument field as follows:

-javaagent:<Agent_Home>/Agent.jar
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=<Agent_Home>/core/config/IntroscopeAgent.p
rofile

4.

Restart the WebSphere application server.

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 49

Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent

WebSphere Application Server 7.0 - UNIX, Windows, OS/400 - JVM 1.5 or later
If you are monitoring WebSphere 7.0, verify you have build 7.0.0.8 or later installed
before configuring the server to start the Java agent.
To modify WebSphere Application Server 7.0 to use the agent
1.

Open the WebSphere Administrator Console.

2.

Navigate to Application Servers > your server > Server Infrastructure > Java and
Process Management > Process Definition > Java Virtual Machine.

3.

Set the Generic JVM Argument field as follows:

-javaagent:<Agent_Home>/Agent.jar
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=<Agent_Home>/core/config/IntroscopeAgent.p
rofile

4.

Restart the WebSphere application server.

WebSphere Application Server 7.0 - z/OS - JVM 1.5 or later

If you are monitoring WebSphere 7.0, verify you have build 7.0.0.8 or later installed
before configuring the server to start the Java agent.
To modify WebSphere Application Server 7.0 to use the agent
1.

Open the WebSphere Administrator Console.

2.

Navigate to Application Servers > your server > Server Infrastructure > Java and
Process Management > Process Definition > Java Virtual Machine.

3.

Set the Generic JVM Argument field as follows:

-Xbootclasspath/a:<Agent_Home>/Agent.jar -javaagent:<Agent_Home>/Agent.jar
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=<Agent_Home>/core/config/IntroscopeAgent.p
rofile

4.

Restart the WebSphere application server.

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Modifying Java2 Security Policy

For AutoProbe to run correctly in WebSphere environments with Java2 Security
enabled, it may be necessary to add permissions to your Java2 Security Policy.
To add permissions to your Java2 Security Policy
1.

Open the file $WebSphere home/properties/server.policy in a text editor.

2.

Add the following permissions to the file:

// permissions for Introscope AutoProbe
grant codeBase "file:${was.install.root}/-" {
permission java.io.FilePermission "${was.install.root}${/
}wily${/}-", "read";
permission java.net.SocketPermission "*", "connect,resolve";
permission java.lang.RuntimePermission "setIO";
permission java.lang.RuntimePermission "getClassLoader";
permission java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThread";
permission java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThreadGroup";
permission java.lang.RuntimePermission "loadLibrary.*";
permission java.lang.RuntimePermission "accessClassInPackage.*";
permission java.lang.RuntimePermission "accessDeclaredMembers";
};
grant {
permission java.util.PropertyPermission "*", "read,write";
};

Note: Line breaks are shown for user readability and are not needed when adding
the permissions to the server.policy file.
3.

Save and close the file.

Configuring a custom service in WebSphere

Creating a custom service in the WebSphere Application Server enables the Java agent
to collect additional information from the application server. If you configure a custom
service, the Java agent can automatically determine its name. The custom service also
enables the Java agent to report JMX and Performance Monitoring Infrastructure (PMI)
metrics that are used to determine application health displayed in the Introscope
Workstation on the Application Overview tab.
To configure a custom service in WebSphere 6.1
1.

Open the WebSphere Administrator Console.

2.

Select the server you'd like to configure, then navigate to Server Infrastructure >
Administration > Custom Services.

3.

Click New to add a new Custom Service.

4.

In the Classname field, enter:

com.wily.introscope.api.websphere.IntroscopeCustomService

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Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent

5.

In the Display Name field, enter:

Introscope Custom Service

6.

In the Classpath field, enter:

<WebSphere_Home>/wily/WebAppSupport.jar

7.

Click OK.

8.

Restart the application server.

Enable the collection of WebSphere PMI metrics

Introscope can provide WebSphere performance data by extracting WebSphere
Performance Monitoring Infrastructure (PMI) metrics via the PMI interface provided
with WebSphere 6.1 and higher.
You must first enable PMI data collection in WebSphere before the data will be available
to Introscope. In WebSphere, all performance monitoring settings are off by default.
To enable PMI reporting
1.

Configure a custom service for Introscope in WebSphere.

2.

Enable PMI data collection in WebSphere.

3.

Enable the reporting of PMI data in the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

After you have enabled PMI data collection in WebSphere, the PMI data can be
displayed as Introscope metrics. You can filter which metric categories to bring into
Introscope, depending on your needs.
Note: For WebSphere on z/OS. CA Technologies recommends you us CA APM for
WebSphere z/OS. CA APM for WebSphere z/OS provides WebSphere-specific PBDs and
metrics that use low overhead tracer technology to retrieve WebSphere-specific
metrics. CA APM for WebSphere z/OS does not require you to enable PMI in WebSphere
for z/OS. You can also enable PMI reporting in WebSphere for z/OS, but this approach
consumes more system resources.

Configure the reporting of WebSphere PMI metrics in Introscope

After you turn on Performance Monitoring Settings in WebSphere, you must enable PMI
data collection in Introscope, and enable the metric categories youd like to see
reported.
To configure the reporting of PMI metrics in Introscope
1.

Shut down your managed application.

2.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

3.

Locate the property, introscope.agent.pmi.enable, under the WebSphere PMI

Configurations section, and verify it is set to true.

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4.

Locate the following properties for high-level PMI metric categories:

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.threadPool=true
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.servletSessions=true
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.connectionPool=true
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.bean=false
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.transaction=false
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.webApp=false
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.jvmRuntime=false
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.system=false
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.cache=false
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.orbPerf=false
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.j2c=true
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.webServices=false
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.wlm=false
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.wsgw=false
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.alarmManager=false
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.hamanager=false
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.objectPool=false
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.scheduler=false
# introscope.agent.pmi.enable.jvmpi=false

Four categoriesthreadPool, servletSessions, connectionPool, and j2care set to

true by default. You can enable additional metric categories by setting the
appropriate properties to true or comment out categories to reduce the metrics
reported.
5.

Save the changes and close the file.

6.

Restart the managed application.

After youve enabled PMI collections in Introscope, available PMI metrics are displayed
under the WebSpherePMI node in the Investigator tree.

Configure the Reporting of Resource Metric Map Data for WebSphere

Various agents can report resource metric categories in the CA Introscope Workstation.
After you enable PMI data collection in WebSphere, you can configure the application
server to report the Resource Metric Map data.
Follow these steps:
1.

Log in to the WebSphere console.

2.

Select Monitoring and Tuning, Performance Monitoring Infrastructure.

3.

Select the server you want to use for reporting, such as server1.

4.

Click the Configuration tab, and select the Custom option.

5.

Click the Custom link.

A configuration tree of options appears.

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Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent

6.

Select JDBC Connection Pools on the tree, and enable WaitingThreadCount on the
right pane.

7.

Select ThreadPools on the tree, and enable ActiveCount on the right pane.

8.

Save the configuration and restart the application server.

The application server is configured to report resource metrics.

Note: For more information about the Resource Metric Map data, see the CA APM
Configuration and Administration Guide.

Enable cross-process tracing in WebSphere

Transaction trace sessions enable you to trace all of the operations that take place in a
transaction, including transactions that cross JVM boundaries on computers with
compatible JVM versions. Cross-process transaction tracing is supported for
synchronous transactions, for instance servlets to EJBs, and asynchronous transactions.
To enable cross-process transaction tracing in WebSphere
1.

Create a custom service as described in Configuring a custom service in WebSphere

6.1 (see page 51).

2.

Turn on the work area service.

From the administration page, Servers > Application servers, click on server1, click
on Business Process Services, click on Work Area Service, check the "Enable service
at server startup" box.

3.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

4.

Locate and set introscope.agent.websphere.crossjvm property to true. For example:

introscope.agent.websphere.crossjvm=true

5.

Save and close the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Logging considerations on WebSphere for z/OS

There are some things to consider when logging in a WebSphere z/OS environment. For
more information about Java Agent logging options, see Java Agent Monitoring and
Logging (see page 127).

Tagging log output as EBCDIC

WebSphere for z/OS changed its default encoding from EBCDIC CP1047 to ASCII
ISO8859-1. Because z/OS is normally an EBCDIC machine, any logging data written by
the Java Agent or AutoProbe must be tagged to use EBCDIC as the final output stream,
instead of ASCII.

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Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent

To tag data as EBCDIC instead of ASCII

1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile, located in the <Agent_Home>\wily\core\config

directory.

2.

Add these properties to the IntroscopeAgent.profile:

log4j.appender.console.encoding=IBM-1047
log4j.appender.logfile.encoding=IBM-1047

3.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Eliminating startup timing issues with logging facilities

A new property has been added for WebSphere for z/OS 6.1 and later, which is used to
eliminate any startup timing window exposures that can occur with the Introscope
logging facilities.
To eliminate the timing window exposures
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile, located in the <Agent_Home>\wily\core\config

directory.

2.

Add this property to the IntroscopeAgent.profile:

introscope.agent.logger.delay=100000

The value is in milliseconds, so the default delay in this example is 100 seconds.
3.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Configure Oracle Application Server to use the Java agent

Oracle Application Server (OAS) uses one configuration file for the management of every
application, and therefore every JVM, that is managed by the Oracle Console. This file is
usually called opmn.xml.
To modify Oracle Application Server to use the Java agent
1.

Shut down your application server and make a backup of opmn.xml.

2.

Locate the section in the opmn.xml file for the application you want to instrument.
You will most likely want to instrument more than one application at this time.

3.

Under <category id="start-parameters"> for the selected application, locate the

section called <data id="java-options".

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 55

Configuring the Application Server to Start the Java Agent

4.

Insert the following at the end of the java-options line, before the end "/> using the
appropriate path for your environment:
-javaagent:<PathToAgentJar>
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=<PathToAgentProfile>

For example, the entire entry for one application would be on one line:
<data id="java-options" value="-server -XX:MaxPermSize=128M -ms512M -mx1024M
-XX:AppendRatio=3
-Djava.security.policy=$ORACLE_HOME/j2ee/home/config/java2.policy
-Djava.awt.headless=true -Dhttp.webdir.enable=false
-javaagent:$ORACLE_HOME/wily/Agent.jar
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=$ORACLE_HOME/wily/core/config/IntroscopeAg
ent.profile/>

Configure GlassFish 2.1 to use the Java agent

GlassFish is an open source application server project led by Sun Microsystems for the
J2EE platform.
To configure GlassFish 2.1 for Introscope
1.

In GlassFish, open the domain.xml file, located at

/appserver-install-dir/domains/domain1/config/

2.

Add the full path for the Agent.jar file and the IntroscopeAgent.profile as
jvm-options to the java-config element in the domain.xml file. For example:
<java-config ..........>
<jvm-options>-javaagent:/sw/wily/Agent.jar</jvm-options>
<jvm-options>-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=/sw/wily/core/config/Introsco
peAgent.profile</jvm-options>
.....>

3.

Copy the WebAppSupport.jar from the <Agent_Home> root directory to the

<Agent_Home>/core/config/ext directory.

4.

Start the application server.

Configure SAP Netweaver 7.1 to use the Java agent

To configure JVM AutoProbe for NetWeaver 7.1
1.

Start the SAP Configtool (configtool.bat).

2.

Select an instance to modify.

3.

In the right pane, select VM Parameters > System.

4.

Create a new parameter (without providing -D). For example:

name: com.wily.introscope.agentProfile
value: <Agent_Home>/core/config/IntroscopeAgent.profile

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Configuring the connection to the Enterprise Manager

5.

Click the Additional tab and create a new parameter, for example:
name: -javaagent:<Agent_Home>\Agent.jar
value: <leave empty>

6.

Save your changes.

7.

Restart the SAP server.

8.

To verify that the changes made with the Configtool were made, open the following
file:
<drive>:\usr\sap\...\j2ee\cluster\instance.properties

9.

Find the line beginning with ID<server_id>.JavaParameters, and confirm that it

contains the information you entered above.

Configuring the connection to the Enterprise Manager

To report metrics, the agent must connect to an Enterprise Manager. The default
communication settings enable an agent to connect to a local Enterprise Manager using
port 5001. However, the agent and the Enterprise Manager do not typically reside on
the same system. You can modify the default settings when you install the agent, or
after installing the agent by modifying the IntroscopeAgent.profile.
Depending on your requirements, you can configure the communication between the
agent and Enterprise Manager to use:

Direct socket connections

HTTP tunneling connections or HTTP tunneling through a proxy server

HTTP over Secure Sockets Layer connections (HTTPS)

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connections

Connect to the Enterprise Manager Using a Direct Socket Connection

The most common way for the agent to connect to the Enterprise Manager is through a
direct socket connection. CA Technologies recommends using a direct socket connection
to the Enterprise Manager if possible.
To configure a direct socket connection from the agent to the Enterprise Manager
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

2.

Locate the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT

property and specify the host name or IP address of the Enterprise Manager the
agent should connect to by default. For example:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT=sfcollect01

If you use a cluster with more than one Enterprise Manager, be sure to specify a
Collector Enterprise Manager.

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 57

Configuring the connection to the Enterprise Manager

3.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT property

to the Enterprise Manager listening port. For example:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT=5001

4.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT

property to the socket factory used for connections to the Enterprise Manager. For
example:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT=com.wi
ly.isengard.postofficehub.link.net.DefaultSocketFactory

5.

(Optional) Specify one or more backup Enterprise Managers for the agent to
connect to, if the connection to the primary Enterprise Manager is lost.

6.

Save and close the IntroscopeAgent.profile file.

Connect to the Enterprise Manager with HTTP tunneling

If a direct socket connection to the Enterprise Manager is not feasible, you can configure
agents to connect to an Enterprise Manager over HTTP. This configuration allows
communication to pass through firewalls that only permit HTTP traffic.
Note: HTTP tunneling imposes more CPU and memory overhead on the application
server and Enterprise Manager than a direct socket connection.
To configure HTTP tunneling for an agent
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

2.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT property

to the host name or IP address of the Enterprise Manager the agent should connect
to by default. For example:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT=webhost

3.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT property

to the HTTP listening port of the Enterprise Managers embedded web server. For
example:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT=8081

This property should match the value specified in the

<EM_Home>/config/IntroscopeEnterpriseManager.properties file on the Enterprise
Manager for the introscope.enterprisemanager.webserver.port property. By default,
this port is 8081.
4.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT

property to the HTTP tunneling socket factory. For example:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT=com.wi
ly.isengard.postofficehub.link.net.HttpTunnelingSocketFactory

5.

Save and close the IntroscopeAgent.profile file.

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Configure a proxy server for HTTP tunneling

You can configure the HTTP tunneled agent to connect through a proxy server to the
Enterprise Manager. This configuration is necessary for a forwarding proxy server where
the agent is running behind a firewall that only allows outbound HTTP traffic routed
through the proxy server.
The proxy server configuration properties apply only if the agent is configured to tunnel
over HTTP. The proxy server configuration applies to any configured HTTP tunneled
connection on the agent, not to a single connection. This is especially important to
consider when configuring failover between multiple Enterprise Managers, where the
connection to each Enterprise Manager is over HTTP.
Important! HTTP/1.1 is required to enable agent HTTP tunneling. In addition, the proxy
server must support HTTP Post.
To configure a proxy server for HTTP tunneling
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

2.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.http.proxy.host property to

the host name or IP address of the proxy server.

3.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.http.proxy.port property to

the port number of the proxy server.

4.

(Optional) If the proxy server requires user credentials for authentication, set the
following additional properties:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.http.proxy.username=<user_name>
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.http.proxy.password=<user_passwo
rd>

5.

Save and close the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Connect to the Enterprise Manager with HTTPS tunneling

The agent can connect to the Enterprise Manager using HTTP over Secure Sockets Layer
(SSL) by configuring properties in the IntroscopeAgent.profile file.
To configure a connection through HTTPS
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

2.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT property

to the host name or IP address of the target Enterprise Manager.

3.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT property

to the HTTPS listening port of the Enterprise Manager's embedded web server. For
example:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT=8444

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 59

Configuring the connection to the Enterprise Manager

4.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT

property to use an HTTP tunneling socket factory. For example:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT=com.wi
ly.isengard.postofficehub.link.net.HttpsTunnelingSocketFactory

5.

Save and close the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Connect to the Enterprise Manager over SSL

If you are using direct Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connections, you can configure the
agent communication with the Enterprise Manager using SSL without HTTP tunneling.
To configure the agent to connect using SSL
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

2.

Configure the agent to connect to the Enterprise Managers SSL listening port using
an SSL socket factory.

3.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT property

to the host name or IP address of the target Enterprise Manager.

4.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT property

to the Enterprise Manager's SSL listening port.

5.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT

property to the SSL socket factory. For example, set the property to:
com.wily.isengard.postofficehub.link.net.SSLSocketFactory

6.

If the agent needs to authenticate the Enterprise Manager, uncomment and set the
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.truststore.DEFAULT property to
the location of the truststore containing the Enterprise Managers certificate. If you
do not specify a truststore, the agent trusts all certificates.You can specify an
absolute path or a path relative to the agent profile. For example:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.truststore.DEFAULT=/certs

7.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.trustpassword.DEFAULT

property to specify the truststore password, if needed.

8.

If the Enterprise Manager requires client authentication, set the

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.keystore.DEFAULT property to
the location of a keystore containing the agent's certificate. You can specify an
absolute path or a path relative to the agent profile. On Windows, backslashes must
be escaped. For example:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.keystore.DEFAULT=C:\\keystor
e

9.

Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.keypassword.DEFAULT

property to the keystore password, if needed.

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Upgrading multiple agent types

10. Set the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.ciphersuites.DEFAULT

property to a comma-separated list of allowed cipher suites.
If you do not specify a value for this property, the default cipher suites are used.
11. Save and close the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Configure Agent Load Balancing

In clusters where the workload is primarily metrics reported by Introscope agents, you
can optimize the overall cluster capacity by configuring MOM agent load balancing.
Note: For more information about MOM agent load balancing, see the CA APM
Configuration and Administration Guide.

Upgrading multiple agent types

Some environments have thousands of agents distributed across many different
application servers. For example, an environment might have 8,000 agents, with 3,000
agents on WebLogic, 2,000 on WebSphere, and 3,000 on JBoss. To make it easier to
upgrade agents across multiple application servers, you can use agent superset package.
Agent superset packages are operating system-specific packages that contains files for
all supported application servers, except SAP NetWeaver.
The agent superset packages available are:

IntroscopeAgentFiles-NoInstaller<version>allappserver.windows.zip

IntroscopeAgentFiles-NoInstaller<version>allappserver.unix.tar

IntroscopeAgentFiles-NoInstaller<version>allappserver.zOS.tar

IntroscopeAgentFiles-NoInstaller<version>allappserver.os400.zip

Note: In these file names, <version> refers to the current release number of the Java
agent.
Each package contains:

All application server-specific PBDs and PBLs

All application server agent profiles, with the application server name embedded in
the file name. For example:
IntroscopeAgent.weblogic.profile
IntroscopeAgent.websphere.profile

The default IntroscopeAgent.profile is not been included. See step 3 for more
information.

All agent .jars and platform monitors suitable for the operating system type

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 61

Uninstalling the Java agent

To upgrade multiple agent types using the superset agent packages

1.

Select a superset package appropriate for the target operating system.

2.

Extract the selected agent package into the application servers home directory.
Follow the manual installation instructions for Java agent installation. For more
information, see Install manually using installation archives (see page 37).
Note: The extra PBDs and PBLs in the <Agent_Home>/core/config directory that
refer to application servers you are not using can be safely ignored.

3.

If you have not already configured an IntroscopeAgent.profile, select the

appropriate IntroscopeAgent.<application_server_name>.profile, rename it to
IntroscopeAgent.profile, and configure the file for use with your environment.
Note: If you have already configured an IntroscopeAgent.profile, open the
corresponding IntroscopeAgent.<application_server_name>.profile file in an editor
and look for new properties you may want to use. Transfer these properties to your
existing IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Uninstalling the Java agent

Uninstalling the Java agent requires you to know where the Java agent was installed for
each application being monitored.
If you used the Java agent installer to install the Java agent, you can use the uninstall
program to remove the installed agent files. Launch the uninstaller and follow the
on-screen directions.
To uninstall the Java agent from any supported JVM
1.

Stop the application server.

Note: Monitored JVMs must be shut down before you run the uninstall program.

2.

Open the application server startup script and remove the Java agent switches from
the Java command line. Depending on the application server, the startup options
include the following:

-Xbootclasspath

-javaagent:<path_to_the_agent_jar>

-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=<path_to_the_agent_profile>

3.

Reboot the application server.

4.

Run the Uninstall_Introscope_Agent program located in

<Agent_Home>/UnstallerData directory.

5.

Manually delete the <Agent_Home> directory.

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Uninstalling the Java agent from z/OS

The recommended way to uninstall the Java agent from z/OS is to delete the
<Agent_Home> directory using an rm -rf command. This is necessary because the
executable uninstaller does not run properly on z/OS due to a third party bug.
Important! Only remove files after shutting down the monitored JVM.
For an active Introscope installation on z/OS, it is important to keep the UninstallerData
folder intact. If you delete the UninstallerData folder, you will not be able to upgrade to
future versions of Introscope. Do not delete the UninstallerData folder unless you have
decided to uninstall the entire instance.

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Java Agent 63

Chapter 3: Configuring Agent Properties

Most agent operations are configured using properties in the IntroscopeAgent.profile
file. This section describes the most common agent properties to set. Additional
properties may be appropriate for your environment. Different versions of the agent
may have different properties available for you to set or different default values.
This section contains the following topics:
How to modify communication with Enterprise Manager (see page 65)
How to configure backup Enterprise Managers and failover properties (see page 65)
How to enable and use additional GC metrics (see page 67)
How to enable and configure thread dumps (see page 67)

How to modify communication with Enterprise Manager

To report metrics, the agent must connect to an Enterprise Manager. After installing the
agent, you can modify the communication channel used by modifying the
IntroscopeAgent.profile.
Depending on your requirements, you can configure the communication between the
agent and Enterprise Manager to use:

Direct socket connections

HTTP tunneling connections or HTTP tunneling through a proxy server

HTTP over Secure Sockets Layer connections (HTTPS)

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connections

The most common way for the agent to connect to the Enterprise Manager is through a
direct socket connection. CA Technologies recommends using a direct socket connection
to the Enterprise Manager, if possible. If you want to use a different type of connection,
see the appropriate section.

How to configure backup Enterprise Managers and failover

properties
When you install the agent, you specify the Enterprise Manager host name and port
number that the agent should connect to by default. Optionally, you can also specify
one or more backup Enterprise Managers. If the agent loses the connection to its
primary Enterprise Manager, it can then attempt to connect to one of its backup
Enterprise Manager.

Chapter 3: Configuring Agent Properties 65

How to configure backup Enterprise Managers and failover properties

To enable an agent to connect to a backup Enterprise Manager, you specify the

communication properties for the Enterprise Managers in the agent profile, including
the order in which the agent should attempt to contact backup Enterprise Managers. If
the primary Enterprise Manager is not available, the agent tries to connect to the next
Enterprise Manager on its list of allowed connections. If the agent does not connect
with its first backup Enterprise Manager, it tries the next Enterprise Manager in the list.
It continues trying to connect to each Enterprise Managers in the list, in order, until it
succeeds in connecting. If the agent is unable to connect to any of its Enterprise
Managers, it waits ten seconds before retrying.
To configure one or more backup Enterprise Managers for an agent
1.

Open the Introscope.Agent.profile file in a text editor.

2.

Specify one or more alternative Enterprise Manager communication channels by

adding the following properties to the agent profile for each backup Enterprise
Manager:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.NAME
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.NAME
Introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.NAME

Replace NAME with an identifier for the new Enterprise Manager channel. Do not
use DEFAULT or the name of an existing channel when creating a new channel. For
example to create two backup Enterprise Managers:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.BackupEM1=paris
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.BackupEM1=5001
Introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.BackupEM1=com.
custom.postofficehub.link.net.DefaultSocketFactory
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.BackupEM2=voyager
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.BackupEM2=5002
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.BackupEM2=com.
wily.isengard.postofficehub.link.net.DefaultSocketFactory

3.

Locate the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.connectionorder property and set it

to a comma-separated list of identifiers for the primary and backup Enterprise
Managers. The order in which you list the identifiers defines the order in which they
are contacted. For example:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.connectionorder=DEFAULT,BackupEM1,BackupEM
2

4.

Locate the introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.failbackRetryIntervalInSeconds

property and specify how frequently the agent should try connecting to its primary
Enterprise Manager. The default interval is 120 seconds (two minutes). For
example:
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.failbackRetryIntervalInSeconds=120

5.

Save the changes and close the IntroscopeAgent.profile file.

6.

Restart the application.

66 Java Agent Implementation Guide

How to enable and use additional GC metrics

How to enable and use additional GC metrics

Garbage collection and memory management can have a significant effect on an
applications performance. Basic GC Heap metrics are available by default. There are also
optional metrics that you can enable to provide additional details about garbage
collection processing and memory pool usage. These additional metrics display under
the GC Monitor node in the Investigator when enabled. The GC Monitor metrics report
information to help you optimize memory pool allocation and garbage collection
processing. Therefore, these metrics are typically enabled when developing or testing
applications or when researching application performance issues. In most cases, the
metrics are not used for real-time application management in a production environment
and are disabled by default.
If you want to enable the GC Monitor metrics, you can open the agent profile in a text
editor and set the introscope.agent.gcmonitor.enable property to true. After you enable
the property, you can view details about the Garbage Collectors and Memory Pools for
the JVM you are monitoring. For more information about the metrics, see the CA APM
Workstation User Guide.

How to enable and configure thread dumps

Thread dumps can provide useful detailed information about what is happening within
the agent JVM. Thread dump functionality is provided in the Thread Dumps tab
associated with each agent node in the metric browser tree.
For information about collecting and analyzing thread dumps, see the CA APM
Workstation User Guide. Setting the Thread_Dump permission allows users to see the
Thread Dumps tab and use all the functionality. For more information, see the CA APM
Security Guide.
Both IntroscopeAgent.profile and IntroscopeEnterpriseManager.properties properties
are required to enable thread dumps. By default, the Thread Dumps tab and its
functionality are enabled. However, if either or both of the thread dump enable
properties are set to false, then users cannot see the Thread Dumps tab.
If you enable or disable thread dumps on a MOM, that configuration applies to all the
Collectors in the cluster. Therefore, if you disable thread dumps on a MOM, thread
dumps are disabled on all the Collectors too.
To enable thread dumps
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile file in the <Agent_Home>/wily/core/config

directory and set this property:
introscope.agent.threaddump.enable=true

2.

Save and close IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Chapter 3: Configuring Agent Properties 67

How to enable and configure thread dumps

3.

Open the IntroscopeEnterpriseManager.properties file located in the

<EM_Home>/config directory and set this property:
introscope.enterprisemanager.threaddump.enable=true

4.

Save and close IntroscopeEnterpriseManager.properties.

For CA Introscope users to view the Deadlock Count metric, configure the
IntroscopeAgent.profile. You can perform additional configuration to display agent
Thread node metrics.
To enable Deadlock Count metric collection
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile file in the <Agent_Home>/wily/core/config

directory.

2.

Set this property to true to enable the Deadlock Count metric to be collected.
introscope.agent.threaddump.deadlockpoller.enable=true

3.

(Optional) Set the full version of the PBL to display metrics in the agent Threads
node.

Specify the name of the PBL file in this property:

introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile.
For example, to use the full version of the standard PBL for WebLogic server,
set the property to:
introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile=weblogic-full.pbl

User can see metrics such as Active Threads counts and thread groups under
AgentName | Threads.
4.

Save and close IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Configure thread dumps using both IntroscopeAgent.profile and

IntroscopeEnterpriseManager.properties properties.
To configure thread dumps
1.

Open the IntroscopeEnterpriseManager.properties file located in the

<EM_Home>/config directory.

2.

(Optional) Set this property to save thread dump files to a specific directory on the
Enterprise Manager. For example, TestThreadDumps.
introscope.enterprisemanager.threaddump.storage.dir=TestThreadDumps

3.

(Optional) Set this property to purge thread dump files older than a specified
number of days. For example, older than 30 days.
introscope.enterprisemanager.threaddump.storage.clean.disk.olderthan.days=30

4.

(Optional) Set this property to purge thread dump files after a specified number of
days. For example, after every two days.
introscope.enterprisemanager.threaddump.storage.clean.disk.freq.days=2

68 Java Agent Implementation Guide

How to enable and configure thread dumps

5.

(Optional) Set this property to limit the maximum number of thread dump files that
can be stored on the Enterprise Manager. For example, 5000 files.
introscope.enterprisemanager.threaddump.storage.max.disk.usage=5000

Note: If:
* the number of thread dump files stored exceeds the limit set in the
introscope.enterprisemanager.threaddump.storage.max.disk.usage property
and
* there are no files older than the number of days set in the
introscope.enterprisemanager.threaddump.storage.clean.disk.olderthan.days
property
Then the Enterprise Manager does not store any thread dump files.
6.

Save and close IntroscopeEnterpriseManager.properties.

7.

Restart the Enterprise Manager.

If an Enterprise Manager goes down, you can copy thread dump files to another
Enterprise Manager so users can view thread dump data.
Important! Restart the Enterprise Manager when you add files to or remove files from
the thread dump directory. CA Technologies does not recommend moving thread dump
files from one Enterprise Manager to another.
To copy thread dump files from one Enterprise Manager to another
1.

Navigate to the <EM_Home>/threaddumps directory on the Enterprise Manager

containing thread dump files (EM1).

2.

Copy the thread dump files.

3.

Paste the files into the <EM_Home>/threaddumps directory on the Enterprise

Manager where users are to view the thread dumps (EM2).

4.

Restart both Enterprise Managers EM1 and EM2.

5.

If needed, establish the agent connection and enable and configure thread dumps
on EM2.
EM2 users can select the agent node then click the Load Previous button in Thread
Dumps tab. A list displays the thread dumps moved from EM1.

Chapter 3: Configuring Agent Properties 69

Chapter 4: AutoProbe and ProbeBuilding

Options
This section contains the following topics:
AutoProbe and ProbeBuilding overview (see page 71)
Configuring ProbeBuilding (see page 72)

AutoProbe and ProbeBuilding overview

The Java agent inserts probes into the bytecode of applications you want to monitor.
ProbeBuilding is the process by which you choose which probes to insert into
applications using ProbeBuilder Directives (PBDs) and ProbeBuilder Lists (PBLs). The
default PBD and PBL files included with the Java agent provide a basic level of metric
collection. In most cases, you will want to modify the default settings in these files to
better tune metric collection specifically for your environment.
After you have configured PBDs and PBLs to insert the probes for the metrics you want
to collect in your applications and environment, you use these files to instrument
applications automatically using JVM AutoProbe or manually using ProbeBuilder. In
most cases, you should use JVM AutoProbe to instrument applications. Configuring JVM
AutoProbe, however, depends on the application environment.
To instrument your applications on JVMs 1.5 and higher, use the following methods

JVM AutoProbe, with -javaagent property. CA Technologies highly recommends

using JVM AutoProbe to instrument applications on JVMs 1.5 or higher.

Manual ProbeBuilding. Manual ProbeBuilding is an advanced instrumentation

technique. Contact CA Support before using this method.

Important! When instrumenting your applications, use only one method of

instrumentation.
The instructions in this section assume that you have performed the installation and
configuration tasks outlined in Installing and Configuring the Java Agent (see page 29).

Chapter 4: AutoProbe and ProbeBuilding Options 71

Configuring ProbeBuilding

Unsupported instrumentation methods

The AutoProbe for Application Servers method for instrumentation is no longer
supported for Java agents.You can use AutoProbe for Application Servers to instrument
applications that use older versions of the JVM (1.4 and earlier) with earlier versions of
the Java agent, but CA Technologies recommends that you use JVM AutoProbe for
applications that use JVM 1.5 or later.
For more information, see The Java Agent and Application Server AutoProbe (see
page 315).

Configuring ProbeBuilding
The instrumenting process is performed using ProbeBuilding technology, in which
probes defined in ProbeBuilder Directive (PBD) files identify the metrics an agent will
gather from web applications and virtual machines at run-time.
By default, AutoProbe will use the typical PBD set provided with the Java agent, which
results in the collection of a moderate number of metrics. The following sections have
instructions on how to customize the metric collection level and how to configure
optional ProbeBuilding behaviors.

Full or typical tracing options (see page 72)

Dynamic ProbeBuilding (see page 73)

ProbeBuilding class hierarchies (JVM 1.5) (see page 76)

Removing line numbers in bytecode (see page 79)

Full or typical tracing options

In Introscope, ProbeBuilder List (PBL) files govern which tracer groups are used in the
instrumentation process. The introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile property specifies one
or more PBL files.
Introscope provides two versions of each default PBLa full version which enables a
larger set of Tracer Groups than the typical version which results in more detailed
metric reporting, and a typical version that enables a smaller set of Tracer Groups. This
results in less detailed metric reporting and reduced overhead. By default,
introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile specifies the typical version of the default PBL file.

72 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Configuring ProbeBuilding

To change the tracing level between full and typical

1.

Stop the managed application.

2.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

3.

Specify the name of the PBL file you want to use in this property:
introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile.
For example, to use the Full version of the standard PBL for WebLogic Server, set
the property to:
introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile=weblogic-full.pbl

4.

Restart the managed application.

Dynamic ProbeBuilding
Introscope uses dynamic ProbeBuilding to implement new and changed PBDs without
restarting managed applications or the agent itself. Dynamic ProbeBuilding is useful for
making corrections to PBDs, or to change data collection levels during triage without
interrupting application service.
Important! Dynamic ProbeBuilding is only available for use with Java 1.5 or higher.
Dynamic ProbeBuilding is dependent on Java 1.5 capabilities, so previous versions of
Java are not able to use this Introscope function. Dynamic ProbeBuilding is also
dependent on the -javaagent command.
Note: The Introscope Workstation allows you to perform dynamic instrumentation
through the Transaction Trace viewer. For more information, see the CA APM
Workstation User Guide.
When dynamic ProbeBuilding is enabled, Introscope periodically checks for new and
changed PBDs. To minimize overhead, Introscope selectively re-instruments classes
affected by the modified PBDs. To improve performance, the scope of dynamic agent
re-instrumentation is limited to reloading only those classes whose instrumentation has
changed when PBDs were edited.
When a PBD is edited or added to the hotdeploy directory, only user directives (such as
adding or removing directives for a class, or toggling tracer groups) are re-instrumented.
System directives (such as adding a tracer or changing a new tracer mapping) are not
re-instrumented. Arrays, interfaces, and classes specified in Skip directives are not
re-instrumented, as well as any transformations. In addition, you can exclude all classes
loaded by particular classloaders from the re-instrumentation process and limit the
scope of the re-instrumentation process to specific class packages.
Note: Dynamic ProbeBuilding is not enabled by default.

Chapter 4: AutoProbe and ProbeBuilding Options 73

Configuring ProbeBuilding

If a class is re-instrumented so that it no longer reports data for a metric, the metric is
still displayed in the Introscope Investigator. Existing metrics do not disappear from the
Investigator window if their classes are re-instrumented.
Important! Due to a limitation in Java 1.5, access to some class bytes is not available,
with the following effects:
Modifications to the j2ee.pbd file may not be picked up, and metrics may continue
to be published under old names.
Some exceptions may appear in the agent log.
To avoid this issue, restart the application server after modifying the j2ee.pbd file.
When configuring dynamic ProbeBuilding, CA Technologies recommends that you base
your changes on tracer groups. For example, if you want to control the level of
instrumentation for the tracer group XYZ, you should create two tracer groups:

XYZTracing - regular tracing options

XYZTracingLite - fewer components are traced

Once these two tracer groups have been created, you can toggle between them, turning
off XYZTracing and turning on XYZTracingLite. By toggling between the two tracer
groups, you can view the impact that dynamic ProbeBuilding has on your environmental
performance and adjust the tracing groups accordingly. This would affect all classes
being traced as part of each tracer group.
Important! Changes to directives not using tracer groups are not supported. For
example, changes in any directive like TraceAllMethods that does not have an IfFlagged
switch are not supported. However, Introscope does not ship any out of the box
directives without tracer groups or flags. Changes to skips or transformations are also
not supported.
To configure dynamic ProbeBuilding
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

2.

Verify that the property, introscope.autoprobe.enable, is set to true.

3.

Uncomment and set the following properties:

introscope.autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.enabled=true
This property enables dynamic ProbeBuilding. You must restart the managed
application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.pollIntervalMinutes=1
The polling interval in minutes to check for PBD changes. The default is set to
one minute intervals. You must restart the managed application before
changes to this property take effect.

74 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Configuring ProbeBuilding

introscope.autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.classFileSizeLimitInMegs=1
Some classloader implementations have been observed to return huge class
files. This is to prevent memory errors. You must restart the managed
application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.autoprobe.dynamic.limitRedefinedClassesPerBatchTo=10
Re-defining too many classes at a time might be very CPU intensive. In cases
where the changes in PBDs trigger a re-definition of a large number of classes,
this property attempts to batch the process at a comfortable rate.

4.

Save changes to the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

5.

Restart the managed applications (if appropriate).

Dynamic ProbeBuilding vs. dynamic instrumentation

Dynamic ProbeBuilding and dynamic instrumentation are not the same thing.
As outlined in Dynamic ProbeBuilding (see page 73), dynamic ProbeBuilding is based on
manual changes you make to PBD files and manual configurations you make in the
IntroscopeAgent.profile. If you update or change a PBD file and save it in the correct
location, dynamic ProbeBuilding picks up the changes and implements them. Dynamic
ProbeBuilding requires you to make configuration changes in the
IntroscopeAgent.profile, as well as all changes to the PBD files you want updated, and
all changes are permanent (until you manually update or change the files again).
Dynamic instrumentation is performed from the Introscope Workstation transaction
trace viewer. The changes to instrumentation you select using the interface are made
automatically for you, and are often only temporary. Instrumenting a method
dynamically means inserting the instrumentation during runtime. You can dynamically
instrument one, more, or all of the methods during a transaction trace session, and
subsequently view metrics returned by the newly instrumented methods. This allows
you to do dynamic application performing tuning. Dynamic instrumentation does not
require any changes to the IntroscopeAgent.profile, and if you decide to make
instrumentation changes permanent, a new PBD is created and saved in the correct
location for you.
Note: For more information on how to use dynamic instrumentation from the
Introscope Workstation transaction trace viewer, see the CA APM Workstation User
Guide.
Important! To use dynamic instrumentation, you (the user) must have write access to
the <Agent_Home> directory as well as the <Agent_Home>/logs directory. Since you
must sign in to the Workstation to perform dynamic instrumentation, your permissions
must allow you write access to the directories above. If you do not have write access to
these directories, dynamic instrumentation cannot create the <Agent_Home>/Dynamic
directory or create the dynamic instrumentation cache which it needs to function.

Chapter 4: AutoProbe and ProbeBuilding Options 75

Configuring ProbeBuilding

Dynamic instrumentation requires class redefinition support. Use of class redefinition

can significantly impact performance when running on IBM JDK version 5. IBM has
provided technical information on this performance overhead in the Java Diagnostics
Guide.
Introscope and IBM JDK version 5 customers that would like to take advantage of
dynamic instrumentation should keep this performance overhead in mind, and when
employing this configuration, CA Technologies recommends using the dynamic
instrumentation feature only in a production environment. The Introscope
documentation contains details about configuring Introscope on IBM JDK Version 5 with
class redefinition both enabled and disabled. For more information see:

AutoProbe for WebSphere 6.1 (see page 47)

Socket metrics (see page 128)

Note: There is no performance overhead with the use of class redefinition when using
Introscope with IBM JDK version 6.

ProbeBuilding class hierarchies (JVM 1.5)

In pre-1.5 JVMs, Introscope does not automatically instrument classes in the deeper
levels of class hierarchyonly the classes that explicitly extend a probed class. For more
information, see Instrumenting and inheritance (see page 111).
With a 1.5 JVM and higher, you can configure Introscope to instrument multiple levels
of subclasses of a probed classthe tracer groups in the associated internal directive
are updated appropriately and the classes are dynamically instrumented. Directive
changes are written to a log file as well.
If you prefer to update your PBDs manually, you can disable directive updates and use
the log file to determine appropriate updates.

Enable instrumentation of multiple levels of subclasses

Follow these steps to configure Introscope to dynamically update internal directives.
To enable instrumentation of multiple levels of subclasses
1.

Verify that dynamic instrumentation is enabled as described in Dynamic

ProbeBuilding (see page 73).

2.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

3.

To enable instrumentation of multiple levels of subclasses, uncomment this

property setting:
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.enabled=true

4.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

76 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Configuring ProbeBuilding

Support for multiple inheritance, interfaces, and abstract methods

The Java agent supports instrumentation by interface and by inheritance. This ability has
been extended to dynamic instrumentation in Introscope 9.0.
In addition, the 9.0 Java agent supports the instrumentation of methods through a call
to subclasses by using the Introscope API getMethodCalls. When used, getMethodCalls
allows you to better understand the consequences of instrumentation of inherited
methods or interface methods by providing the following information:

if the class defining the method is an interface.

the number of classes affected by a possible instrumentation of the method. This is

the number of subclasses or the number of implementing classes.

if the method is called within a specific stack trace.

In addition, Introscope 9.0 also supports the instrumentation of methods through a call
to subclasses by using the Introscope API getMethodCalls. When used, getMethodCalls
allows you to better understand the consequences of instrumentation of inherited
methods or interface methods by providing the following information:

if the class defining the method is an interface.

the number of classes affected by a possible instrumentation of the method. This is

the number of subclasses or the number of implementing classes.

if the method is called within a specific stack trace.

A new tracer to instrument interfaces and abstract methods is available with the 9.0
Java Agent, using the following syntax:
TraceOneMethodWithlabelIfInherits: <class> <method> <Label> <Tracer Group> <Tracer
Type> <Resource>

This tracer instruments a method of any class implementing interface or extending

superclass if the method is either defined in the interface or is abstract in the superclass
Important! Using this tracer could have a heavy impact on the performance of your
system. You should test the impact of this tracer during your system startup and
instrumentation processes before deploying to a larger agent configuration.
For more information on tracers and creating customs tracers, see Creating custom
tracers (see page 102).

Chapter 4: AutoProbe and ProbeBuilding Options 77

Configuring ProbeBuilding

Configure periodic polling for uninstrumented subclasses

When multi-level subclass instrumentation is enabled, Introscope will check for
uninstrumented subclasses at application startup.
To configure Introscope to poll for uninstrumented subclasses
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

2.

Uncomment this property setting:

introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.runOnceOnly=false

3.

To change the frequency with which Introscope polls for uninstrumented subclasses
from its default value of 5, uncomment this property and set it to the desired
polling frequency:
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.pollIntervalMinutes

4.

Optionally, you can limit the number of times Introscope polls uninstrumented
subclasses by uncommenting this property and setting it to the desired limit:
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.executionCount

The default of this property is 3 minutes.

5.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Disable directive updates

If multi-level subclass instrumentation is enabled, when Introscope detects
uninstrumented subclasses, by default, it updates internal directives appropriately to
ensure the classes are instrumented. If you prefer to update PBDs manually, you can
disable internal directive updates by uncommenting this property in the
IntroscopeAgent.profile:
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.disableDirectivesChange=true

78 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Configuring ProbeBuilding

Controlling directive logging

When multi-level subclass instrumentation is enabled, you must uncomment the
following properties in the IntroscopeAgent.profile to have multi-level subclass
instrumentation logs created. When these properties are configured, a log file named
pbdupdate.log is created in the <Agent_Home>/wily directory (by default), or in the
custom location (if specified). The multi-level instrumentation details are written to the
agent logs.
log4j.additivity.IntroscopeAgent.inheritance=false
log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent.inheritance=INFO,pbdlog
log4j.appender.pbdlog.File=pbdupdate.log
log4j.appender.pbdlog=com.wily.introscope.agent.AutoNamingRollingFileAppender
log4j.appender.pbdlog.layout=com.wily.org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
log4j.appender.pbdlog.layout.ConversionPattern=%d{M/dd/yy hh:mm:ss a z} [%-3p] [%c]
%m%n_

You must restart the managed application before changes to these properties take
effect.

Removing line numbers in bytecode

When you instrument application bytecode, the bytecode line numbers are preserved
by default. Preserving bytecode line number information is helpful when using
debuggers or when obtaining stack trace information.
You can turn off this feature by adding a system property on the Java command line.
Turning off this feature removes all line numbers when AutoProbe or ProbeBuilder
instruments the application code.
To remove line numbers in bytecode when using AutoProbe or ProbeBuilder

Define this system property on the Java command line with the -D option:
com.wily.probebuilder.removeLineNumbers=true

Chapter 4: AutoProbe and ProbeBuilding Options 79

Chapter 5: ProbeBuilder Directives

This section describes how to create and modify ProbeBuilder Directives.
This section contains the following topics:
ProbeBuilder Directives Overview (see page 81)
Using the IntroscopeAgent.profile, PBLs, and PBDs together (see page 99)
Applying ProbeBuilder Directives (see page 99)
Creating custom tracers (see page 102)
Using Blame Tracers to mark blame points (see page 113)

ProbeBuilder Directives Overview

ProbeBuilder Directive (PBD) files tell the Introscope ProbeBuilder how to add probes,
such as timers and counters, to instrument an application. PBD files govern what
metrics your agents report to the Introscope Enterprise Manager.
Note: All metrics are calculated using the time set by your system clock. If the system
clock is reset during a transaction, the elapsed time reported for that transaction can be
misleading.
Introscope includes a set of default PBD files. You can also create custom Introscope
PBD files to track any classes or methods to obtain specific information about your
applications.
Two kinds of files specify ProbeBuilder Directives:

ProbeBuilder Directive (PBD) files

A ProbeBuilder Directive (PBD) file contains directives used by ProbeBuilder to
instrument your applications. This file determines which metrics the agents report
to the Enterprise Manager.

ProbeBuilder List (PBL) files

A ProbeBuilder List (PBL) file contains a list of multiple PBD filenames. Different PBL
files can refer to the same PBD files.

Important! PBDs and PBLs only support ASCII characters. Placing other characters (such
as Unicode characters) in PBDs or PBLs could result in problems with AutoProbe.
When you install the Java agent and you are using Introscope AutoProbe, the relevant
PBD and PBL files for your specific application server are included. These files are
located in the <Agent_Home>\wily\core\config directory.

Chapter 5: ProbeBuilder Directives 81

ProbeBuilder Directives Overview

More information:
Default PBD Files (see page 83)
Default PBL files (see page 86)
Creating custom tracers (see page 102)

Components traced by the default PBDs

The default Introscope PBD files implement tracing of the following Java components:

Oracle JDBC

JSP Tag Libraries

JSP IO Tag Libraries

JSP DB Tag Libraries

Struts

Servlets

JavaServer Faces (JSF)

JavaServer Pages (JSP)

Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs)

Java Database Connectivity (JDBC)

Network Sockets

Remote Method Invocation (RMI)

Extensible Markup Language (XML)

Java Transaction API (JTA)

Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI)

Java Message Service (JMS)

Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)

User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

File Systems

Threads

System Logs

Thrown and Caught Exceptions (off by default)

82 Java Agent Implementation Guide

ProbeBuilder Directives Overview

Occasionally, too many Java classes are selected for monitoring in a ProbeBuilder
Directive (PBD) file, causing the Java agent to start incorrectly, or to experience a
"hang". If this happens, use the AutoProbe.log file to identify the classes that caused the
Java agent to hang and add a skip directive to the PBD file, skipping the classes that may
have caused the problem. For more information about adding skip directives to your
custom PBD files, see Skip directives (see page 73).

Default PBD Files

The Java agent includes the following default PBD files:
appmap.pbd
Provides tracer directives for application triage map instrumentation.
appmap-ejb.pbd
Provides tracer directives for application triage map EJB instrumentation.
appmap-soa.pbd
Provides tracer directives for application triage map SOA instrumentation for SPM
supported Java SOAP stacks.
Note: For more information, see the CA APM for SOA Implementation Guide.
bizrecording.pbd
Provides tracer definitions and directives to setup agent business recording.
biz-trx-http.pbd
Provides tracer directives for business-centric HTTP instrumentation.
di.pbd
Provides directives ProbeBuilder to not instrument Apache Derby implementation
classes.
errors.pbd
Configures Error Detector by specifying what code-level events constitute serious
errors. By default, only front-end and back-end errors are considered serious. That
is, only errors that manifest as a user-facing error page or that indicate a problem
with a back-end system (ADO.NET, Messaging, and so on).
j2ee.pbd
Provides tracer groups for common Java Enterprise Edition components. Use either
toggles-full.pbd or toggles-typical.pbd to TurnOn specific tracing.
java2.pbd
Provides tracer groups for common Java 2 components. Use either toggles-full.pbd
or toggles-typical.pbd to TurnOn specific tracing.

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jsf.pbd
Provides tracer groups for Java Server Face (JSF) components.
jsf-toggles-full.pbd
Provides on/off switches in the form of TurnOn directives for the tracing provided in
the jsf.pbd. Most tracer groups are turned on.
jsf-toggles-typical.pbd
Provides on/off switches in the form of TurnOn directives for the tracing provided in
the jsf.pbd.
jvm.pbd
Provides directives which implement support for various Java Virtual Machines. You
use this property with the Introscope default files.
leakhunter.pbd
Provides instrumentation settings for CA APM LeakHunter, a leak detection utility.
Typically, you do not modify the contents of this file.
oraclejdbc.pbd
Provides tracer groups for Oracle JDBC components. Comment or uncomment the
TurnOn directives to alter the set of Oracle JDBC components that are traced.
ServletHeaderDecorator.pbd
Enables the servlet header decorator, which is part of the integration with CA CEM.
smwebagentext.pbd
Provides tracers for the SiteMinder Web Agent Introscope plug-in.
soaagent.pbd
Provides tracers for TransactionMinder Agent, part of the CA SOA Security Manager
(SOA Agent for Web Server and Application Server).
spm-correlation.pbd
Provides directives that control the correlation of transaction traces across
components. This file is required to enable cross-process transaction tracing when
you use CA APM for SOA.

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struts.pbd
Provides directives which monitor Apache struts. Use this property with the
Introscope default files.
summary-metrics-6.1.pbd
Provides directives necessary for JSP tracing, Servlet tracing, and EJB tracing in
pre-7.0 Introscope instances.
taglibs.pbd
Provides directives that monitor classes that should be traced as JSP tag libraries,
Jakarta I/O libraries, and DGTags tag libraries.
TIBCO pbd
The Java agent is installed with several PBDs related to monitoring TIBCO through
the SOA extension.
Note: For more information, see the CA APM for SOA Implementation Guide.
toggles-full.pbd
Provides on/off switches in the form of TurnOn directives for the tracing provided in
other directives files. Most tracer groups are turned on.
toggles-typical.pbd
Provides on/off switches in the form of TurnOn directives for the tracing provided in
other directives files. Only a small section of tracer groups is turned on.
webMethods pbds
The Java agent is installed with several PBDs related to monitoring webMethods
through the CA APM for webMethods Broker.
Note: For more information, see the CA APM for SOA Implementation Guide.
WebSphere MQ pbds
The Java agent is installed with several PBDs related to monitoring WebSphere MQ
connectors and messaging system through the CA APM for IBM WebSphere MQ.
Note: For more information, see the CA APM for IBM WebSphere MQ Guide.
The Java agent also installs application server-specific PBDs, which vary depending on
the application server you are monitoring.
More information:
Default tracer groups and toggles files (see page 86)
Turning tracer groups on or off (see page 95)

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Default PBD Files From Previous Releases

The agent uses the PBD and PBL files from the current release by default. However, the
product provides the PBD and PBL files from previous releases in the
<Agent_Home>/wily/examples/legacy directory. Each of the file names in this directory
have a -legacy suffix, for example, default-full-legacy.pbl.

Default PBL files

There are two PBL files available with each agent:
default-full.pbl (default)
References PBD files in which most tracer groups are turned on. Introscope uses
this set by default to demonstrate full Introscope functionality.
default-typical.pbl
A subset of tracer groups in the referenced PBD files are turned on. The typical set
includes common settings, and is the set you can customize for a particular
environment.
The Java agent also installs application server-specific PBLs, which vary depending on
the application server you are monitoring.

Default tracer groups and toggles files

Tracer groups are defined in PBD files. They cause the reporting of information about a
set of classes. In PBD files, tracer group information is referred to by the term flag. For
example, TraceOneMethodIfFlagged or SetFlag are defining tracer group information.
A tracer group consists of a set of tracers that is applied to a set of classes. For example,
there are tracer groups which report the response times and rates for all RMI classes.
You can refine the gathering of metrics on your systems by turning on or off certain
tracer groups. This affects overhead usage, either increasing or decreasing it, depending
on how you configure the tracer groups.

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Tracer groups are modified in the toggles-full.pbd and the toggles-typical.pbd files,
which are referred to by the default-full.pbl and default-typical.pbl files. This table lists
default tracer groups and their default configurations:
AgentInitialization
Agent Initialization Configuration
Full: on
Typical: on
ApacheStandardSessionTracing
HTTP Session Configuration
Full: on
Typical: on
AuthenticationTracing
Authentication Configuration
Full: on
Typical: on
CorbaTracing
CORBA method invocations
Full: on
Typical: on
DBCPTracing
DBCP Configuration
Full: on
Typical: on
DBCPv55Tracing
DBCP Configuration
Full: on
Typical: on
EJB2StubTracing
EJB 2.0 Configuration
Full: on
Typical: on

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EJB3StubTracing
EJB 3.0 Configuration
Full: on
Typical: on
EntityBean3Tracing
Entity EJB 3.0 method invocations
Full: on
Typical: on
EntityBeanTracing
Entity EJB method invocations
Full: on
Typical: on
HTTPServletTracing
HTTP servlet service responses
Full: on
Typical: on
If you are using Application Server AutoProbe, turn on this tracer group:
HTTPAppServerAutoProbeServletTracing.
InstanceCounts
Counts number of instances of object type identified with tracer group.
Full: on
Typical: on
Nothing will be traced until classes are identified with this tracer group.
J2eeConnectorTracing
J2EE connector information
Full: on
Typical: on
JavaMailTransportTracing
Mail sending times
Full: on
Typical: on

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JDBCQueryTracing
JDBC queries
Full: on
Typical: on
JDBCUpdateTracing
JDBC updates
Full: on
Typical: on
JMSConsumerTracing
JMS message processing times
Full: on
Typical: on
JMSListenerTracing
JMS message processing times
Full: on
Typical: on
JMSPublisherTracing
JMS message broadcast times
Full: on
Typical: on
JMSSenderTracing
JMS message broadcast times
Full: on
Typical: on
JSPTracing
JSP service responses
Full: on
Typical: on
MessageDrivenBean3Tracing
Message-driven EJB 3.0 method invocations
Full: on
Typical: on

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MessageDrivenBeanTracing
Message-driven EJB method invocations
Full: on
Typical: on
NIOSocketTracing
Generates a set of metrics for each socket connection under the
NIO|Channels|Sockets node, with additional metrics under the Backends node.
Full: on
Typical: on
NIOSocketSummaryTracing
Generates a single set of metrics covering all NIO socket connections
Full: on
Typical: on
Included in these metrics are connections that were excluded from
NIOSocketTracing metrics by agent properties, as well as some internal NIO sockets
which are always excluded from NIOSocketTracing metrics.
NIODatagramTracing
Generates a set of metrics for each datagram "connection".
Full: on
Typical: on
See NIODatagramTracing metrics on page 269 for more information.
NIODatagramSummaryTracing
Generates a single set of metrics measuring all NIO datagram activity.
Full: on
Typical: on
Included in these metrics are connections that were excluded from
NIODatagramTracing metrics by agent properties, as well as some internal NIO
sockets which are always excluded from NIODatagramTracing metrics.
PersistentSessionTracing
HTTP session configuration
Full: on
Typical: on

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RMIClientTracing
RMI client method invocations
Full: on
Typical: on
RMIServerTracing
RMI server method invocations
Full: on
Typical: on
ServerInfoTracing
Server info configuration
Full: on
Typical: on
SessionBean3Tracing
Session EJB 3.0 method invocations
Full: on
Typical: on
SessionBeanTracing
Session EJB method invocations
Full: on
Typical: on
SocketTracing
Network socket bandwidth as well as SSL tracking
Full: on
Typical: on
StrutsTracing
Execution times of actions in the Struts framework
Full: on
Typical: on
SuperpagesSessionTracing
HTTP Session Configuration
Full: on
Typical: on

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ThreadPoolTracing
Thread Pool Configuration
Full: on
Typical: on
UDPTracing
User Datagram Protocol (UDP) socket bandwidth
Full: on
Typical: on
UnformattedSessionTracing
HTTP Session Configuration
Full: on
Typical: on
EJB3MethodLevelTracing
EJB 3.0 activity at method level
Full: on
Typical: off
EJBMethodLevelTracing
EJB activity at method level
Full: on
Typical: off
FileSystemTracing
File system bytes written and read
Full: on
Typical: off
JAXMListenerTracing
JAXM message sends
Full: on
Typical: off
JNDITracing
JNDI lookup times
Full: on
Typical: off

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JSPDBTagsTagLibraryTracing
Jakarta DB Tags custom tag library for reading and writing from a SQL database
Full: on
Typical: off
JSPIOTagLibraryTracing
Jakarta IO custom tag library for a variety of input and output tasks
Full: on
Typical: off
JTACommitTracing
Commit times using JTA
Full: on
Typical: off
ThreadTracing
Number of active threads by class
Full: on
Typical: off
XMLSAXTracing
Time spent parsing XML document
Full: on
Typical: off
XSLTTracing
XML transformation time
Full: on
Typical: off
CatchException
Exception configuration
Full: off
Typical: off
FormattedSessionTracing
HTTP Session configuration
Full: off
Typical: off

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HTTPAppServerAutoProbeServletTracing
HTTP Servlets configuration
Full: off
Typical: off
HTTPSessionTracing
HTTP Session configuration
Full: off
Typical: off
JSPTagLibraryTracing
Processing time of custom JSP tags
Full: off
Typical: off
ManagedSocketTracing
Network configuration
Full: off
Typical: off
ThrowException
Exception configuration
Full: off
Typical: off
Generally, the default toggles PBD files should not be edited. However, you can refine
the gathering of metrics by turning on or off certain tracer groups. Tracer groups can be
modified in the toggles files by:

Turning on/off tracer groups to save on system overhead

Adding classes to a tracer group

Tracer groups report information only when turned on (uncommented) and are
activated with the keyword TurnOn.
Note: The Java Agent 9.0 supports EJB 2.0 and 3.0 instrumentation. Turn on or off the
tracer groups associated with EJB 2.0 or 3.0 to tailor your metric collection. Support for
EJBs in the application triage map extends only to Session and Entity beans. Message
Driven beans are not supported yet.

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Setting toggles to gather additional metric information

The following toggles, when turned on, cause the collection of additional metrics across
all APIs for CA Technologies-provided tracer groups that are enabled. You must add
these toggles to your full or typical toggle file to change the configuration.
DefaultStalledMethod Tracing
Stalled method tracing
Full: on
Typical: on
DefaultConcurrentInvocationTracing
Concurrent invocation information
Full: on
Typical: off
DefaultRateMetrics
Invocation rate metrics
Full: off
Typical: off

Turning tracer groups on or off

You can refine the gathering of metrics on your systems by turning on or off certain
tracer groups.
To turn a tracer group on
1.

Locate the toggles-full.pbd or toggles-typical.pbd file (depending on which file type

(<appserver>-full.pbl or <appserver>-typical.pbl is in use by AutoProbe or the Java
agent). These files are found within the <appserver home>wily/core/config
directory or <Introscope_Home>/core/config/systempbd directory.

2.

Locate the tracer group to turn on, and uncomment the line by removing the pound
sign from the beginning of the line. The directive in the following example is turned
on, and will cause the tracing of all HTTP Servlets.
TurnOn: HTTPServletTracing

Note: Any uncommented (turned on) directive for a tracer group causes the tracer
group to be used.
To turn a tracer group off

Comment the tracer group by placing a pound sign at the beginning of the line, as in
the following example:
#TurnOn: HTTPServletTracing

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Adding classes to a tracer group

You can turn on tracing for a particular class by adding the class to an existing tracer
group. To identify a class as being part of a tracer group, use one of the Identify
keywords.
For example, to add the class, com.myCo.ejbentity.myEJB1, to the tracer group,
EntityBeanTracing:
IdentifyClassAs: com.myCo.ejbentity.myEJB1 EntityBeanTracing

The identify keywords are:

IdentifyInheritedAs

IdentifyClassAs

IdentifyCorbaAs

EJB subclass tracing

By default, entity and session EJB-related directives add probes only for EJBs that
directly and explicitly implement the entity, session, or message-driven EJB interfaces.
Often, an applications EJBs are subclasses of classes which directly and explicitly
implement the entity or session EJB interface. These are not tracked by default by
Introscope.
For EJB subclasses to be tracked by Introscope, they must be added to the appropriate
tracer group. To do this, add entries that refer to the direct ancestors of the EJB
subclasses to be tracked.
From these models, replace <entity.bean.ancestor.class> or
<session.bean.ancestor.class> with the fully-qualified class name of the immediate
ancestor of the EJBs to be instrumented.
For entity EJBs:
IdentifyInheritedAs: <entity.bean.ancestor.class> EntityBeanTracing

For session EJBs:

IdentifyInheritedAs: <session.bean.ancestor.class> SessionBeanTracing

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The examples below are based on this class hierarchy:

mySessionEJB implements javax.ejb.SessionBean
mySessionEJBsubclass1 extends mySessionEJB

mySessionEJBsubclass1a extends mySessionEJBsubclass1

mySessionEJBsubclass1b extends mySessionEJBsubclass1
mySessionEJBsubclass2 extends mySessionEJB

The tracer group, SessionBeanTracing, causes the tracking of mySessionEJB:

The following tracer traces mySessionEJBsubclass1 and mySessionEJBsubclass2.
IdentifyInheritedAs: mySessionEJB SessionBeanTracing
The following tracer traces mySessionEJBsubclass1a and mySessionEJBsubclass1b.
IdentifyInheritedAs: mySessionEJBsubclass1 SessionBeanTracing
Note: This example does not use packages. If your code is in a package, it needs to
include the package name with the class name.

EJB 3.0 annotations

The following directive allows you to group any class containing the given class-level
annotation into tracer groups. This directive supports EJB 3.0. EJBs conforming to the
3.0 specifications do not explicitly implement any well-known interface, but instead are
entirely enabled via annotations. To easily identify EJB 3.0 classes, use this directive:
IdentifyAnnotatedClass <annotation-name> <flag-name>

To use this directive, create a directive class and directive parser class for the new
directive. You must then add a matcher class to examine your bytecode to determine if
a class contains a given annotation.
Note: This directive does not support method-level annotations.

EJB 2.0 and 3.0 support for the application triage map
Introscope 9.0 supports out-of-the-box tracing of EJB 2.0 and 3.0 session and entity
beans, specifically for use in the Workstation application triage map. CA Technologies
recommends using this out-of-the-box functionality in test environments only, as this
configuration affects the start-up time of the agent.
If deploying this functionality to your production environments, it is best that you
configure EJB 2.0 and 3.0 tracers for more specific things, as the out-of-the-box
functionality may be too broad.

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Use the following directive to instruct ProbeBuilder to flag a class that is inheriting from,
or implementing, the superclass or interface:
IdentifyDeepInheritedAs

For EJB 2.0 application triage map support, the following directives have been added the
j2ee.pbd file:
IdentifyDeepInheritedAs:
IdentifyDeepInheritedAs:
IdentifyDeepInheritedAs:
IdentifyDeepInheritedAs:

javax.ejb.EJBObject EJB2StubTracing
javax.ejb.SessionBean SessionBeanTracing
javax.ejb.EntityBean EntityBeanTracing
javax.ejb.MessageBean MessageBeanTracing

These directives allow the ProbeBuilder to identify the EJB stubs on the client side, and
beans on the server side to be used in the application triage map.
For EJB 3.0 application triage map support, the following directive has been added to
the j2ee.pbd file:
IdentifyInheritedAnnotatedClassAs

The directive matches all classes that implement interfaces directly, or through a super
interface.
In the context of the application triage map, the following additional directive is set in
j2ee.pbd:
IdentifyInheritedAnnotatedClassAs: javax.ejb.Remote EJB3StubTracing

EJB naming
You can name called backends, generic frontends, and monitored components that deal
with EJBs. The name formatter lets you configure a suitable name for EJB 2.0 and 3.0
client stubs and bean implementations.
Use the EjbNameFormatter classes to define an EJB-related metric name, application
triage map application name, or node name using following place holders:

For EJB client stubs: {classname}, {interface}, and {method}

For EJB beans: {classname}, {bean}, {interface}, and {method}

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The following metric names are used by default:

EJB Bean frontend: EJB|{interface}

EJB Client stub backend: EJB|{interface}

Application triage map owner name for EJB bean: {interface}

Application triage map node name for EJB Client Stub: Client {interface}

Application triage map node name for EJB Bean: Server {interface}

These are default EJB name formatters. They are used in the j2ee.pbd and
appmap-ejb.pbd files. You will use the same name formatters, but different metric
names. For example, you could modify existing tracer directives to use a more
appropriate name, but keep the same flags:
...
# Default commented out:
#TraceComplexMethodsIfFlagged: EJB2StubTracing EJB2BackendTracer "{interface}"
#Add the EJB application name to backend marker as well as called method
TraceComplexMethodsIfFlagged: EJB2StubTracing EJB2BackendTracer
"MyCustomerBeanApp-{interface}-{method}"
...
SetTracerClassMapping: EJB2BackendTracer
com.wily.introscope.agent.trace.BackendTracer
com.wily.introscope.probebuilder.validate.ResourceNameValidator
SetTracerParameter: EJB2BackendTracer nameformatter
com.wily.introscope.agent.trace.ejb.Ejb2StubNameFormatter

Note: The EJB context tracer is set on setContext() method of EJB 2.0 beans. This is an
internal Introscope tracer for the EJB 2.0 bean name formatter, which allows the name
formatter to function correctly.

Using the IntroscopeAgent.profile, PBLs, and PBDs together

When the Java agent is first installed, you set an instrumentation level, either full or
typical. This setting refers to the ProbeBuilder List (PBL) files default-typical.pbl and
default-full.pbl (see Default PBL files (see page 86) for more information).

Applying ProbeBuilder Directives

The way in which you apply PBDs depends on the method you choose to use. CA
Technologies recommends you use JVM AutoProbe to implement your PBDs. You can
also use the ProbeBuilder Wizard or the command line ProbeBuilder to implement your
PBDs.

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Using JVM AutoProbe

When you are ready to implement a PBD file, add it to the hotdeploy directory.
AutoProbe looks for PBD files in the directory that contains the IntroscopeAgent.profile
file (by default, this is the <Agent_Home>/wily/core/config directory), and the
<Agent_Home>/wily/core/config/hotdeploy directory. AutoProbe resolves file names
relative to these directories. If you have moved the location of your wily directory, be
sure to map the file path to the correct directory.
To implement PBDs using AutoProbe
1.

Save modified standard PBD or PBLs to the <Agent_Home>/wily/core/config

directory.

2.

Copy custom PBDs into the <Agent_Home>/wily/core/config/hotdeploy directory.

Any PBDs added to this directory will be implemented without having to update or
modify the introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile property in the
IntroscopeAgent.profile.
Note: If you have enabled dynamic instrumentation, the PBDs in the hotdeploy
directory are picked up live from the folder. No reboot is required. For more
information about dynamic instrumentation, see Dynamic ProbeBuilding (see
page 73).

3.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

4.

Restart the application.

Using the ProbeBuilder Wizard or command-line ProbeBuilder

When you are ready to implement a PBD file, add it to the hotdeploy directory. The
Command-line ProbeBuilder looks for any custom directive files in the same directory
where ProbeBuilder is run from, and the <Agent_Home>/wily/core/config/hotdeploy
directory. The Command-line ProbeBuilder resolves file names relative to these
directories.
The steps to implement ProbeBuilder Directives using the ProbeBuilder Wizard or
command-line ProbeBuilder are the same as using JVM AutoProbe. See Using JVM
AutoProbe (see page 100) for more information.

Instrumenting with new and changed PBDs

For new or changed directives to take effect, your applications must be instrumented
using the latest PBDs. This process varies depending on the ProbeBuilding method you
use.

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JVM 1.5 systems using JVM AutoProbe via -javaagent

You can configure dynamic instrumentation, allowing changed PBDs to take effect
without application or Java Agent restart. This enables you to perform PBD corrections,
or perform triage-driven instrumentation without interrupting application service. For
more information see Dynamic ProbeBuilding (see page 73).

Pre-JVM 1.5 systems or installations using Xbootclasspath

New and changed ProbeBuilder Directive files or ProbeBuilder List files take effect the
next time the application server loads the application classes.
If your managed applications are not running when you add or change directives, when
you next start the applications, they will be instrumented using the updated directives.
If your managed applications are running, it is necessary to load, or reload, the managed
application classes.
How you cause the classes to reload depends upon the application server you use. For
instance, on SAP NetWeaver 6.40, a redeploy is sufficient. Most application servers
require a restart.

Using the ProbeBuilder Wizard

To use the ProbeBuilder Wizard
1.

The Custom Directives screen will list the PBD files you placed in the hotdeploy
directory described in Using the ProbeBuilder Wizard or command-line
ProbeBuilder (see page 100).

2.

Select the custom directives files to use.

Using the command-line ProbeBuilder

Important! CA Technologies recommends using the command-line ProbeBuilder as your
last option for Introscope-enabling your latest PBDs.
To use the command-line ProbeBuilder
1.

Stop your managed application.

2.

Run the command-line ProbeBuilder or the ProbeBuilder Wizard, supplying the

custom PBD and PBL files in the command line.

3.

Configure the application to use the new files.

4.

Start the managed application.

5.

If they are not already running, start the Enterprise Manager and the Workstation.

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Creating custom tracers

Creating custom tracers

You can further refine your metric collection by creating custom PBD files. Creating
custom directives, by creating tracers to track application specific measurements,
require the use of specific syntax and keywords. To write custom tracers, you must
define:

The directive type (indicating generically how many class(es) or method(s) to trace)

The specific class(es) or method(s) to trace

The type of information to trace in the class(es) or method(s) (for example, a time, a
rate, or a count)

The fully-qualified metric name (including the resource path) under which to
present this information

Custom PBDs are stored in the <Agent_Home>/wily/core/config/hotdeploy directory.

Any PBDs added to this directory will be implemented without having to update or
modify the introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile property in the IntroscopeAgent.profile.
If you have enabled dynamic instrumentation, the PBDs in the hotdeploy directory are
picked up live from the folder. No reboot is required. For more information about
dynamic instrumentation, see Dynamic ProbeBuilding (see page 73).
Once a custom PBD is created, Introscope treats it as if it is an out-of-the-box PBD. You
can set alerts on the metrics created, save them to SmartStor, or use them in the
creation of custom dashboards in the Introscope Workstation.
Note: Be sure to choose methods to trace carefully, as more methods traced means
more overhead.

Using a custom BlamePointTracer tracer for common metrics

A BlamePointTracer is the most commonly used tracer. This tracer generates five
separate metrics for associated methods or classes:

Average Response Time (ms)

Concurrent Invocations

Errors Per Interval

Responses Per Interval

Stall Count

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The following is an example of a BlamePointTracer. A BlamePointTracer has been set for

a method called search in class petshop.catalog.Catalog. PetShop|Catalog|search is the
name of the node under which the BlamePoint metrics will be displayed in the
Introscope Investigator.
TraceOneMethodOfClass: petshop.catalog.Catalog search BlamePointTracer
"PetShop|Catalog|search"

Directive names and arguments used in tracer syntax

In addition to simple keywords that associate tracers into groups or enable/disable
groups, PBD files contain tracer definitions. For Introscope to recognize and process
tracers, you must use a specific syntax when constructing custom tracers. A tracer is
composed of a directive and information about the method or class to trace, in the
following format:
<directive>: [arguments]

where [arguments] is a list, and is directive-specific.

Note: Depending on the directive used, only a subset of these parameters are required.
<directive>
The most common directives to use are the following trace directives:
TraceOneMethodOfClass
Traces a specified method in the specified class.
TraceAllMethodsOfClass
Traces all methods in the specified class.
TraceOneMethodIfInherits
Traces one method in all direct subclasses or direct interface implementations of
the specified class or interface.
TraceAllMethodsIfInherits
Traces all methods in all direct subclasses or direct interface implementations of the
specified class or interface.
TraceOneMethodIfFlagged
Traces one method if the specified class is included in a tracer group that has been
enabled with the TurnOn keyword.

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Creating custom tracers

TraceAllMethodsIfFlagged
Traces all methods if the specified class is included in a tracer group that has been
enabled with the TurnOn keyword.
Note: Only concrete, implemented methods can be traced and report metric data while
running. An abstract method specified in a custom tracer results in no metric data being
reported.
The expected syntax for trace directives usually consist of the following arguments:
<Tracer-Group>
The group to which the tracer is associated.
<class>
A fully qualified class or interface name to trace. Fully qualified classes include the
full assembly name of the class as well as the name, for example:
[MyAssembly]com.mycompany.myassembly.MyClass
The assembly name must be enclosed in [] brackets.
<method>
The method name (for example, MyMethod)
OR
the full method signature with return type and parameters (for example,
myMethod;[mscorlib]System.Void([mscorlib]
System.Int32). For more information on method signatures, see Signature
differentiation (see page 108).)
<Tracer-name>
Specifies the tracer type to be used. For example, BlamePointTracer. See the Tracer
name table below for descriptions of tracer names.
<metric-name>
Controls how the collected data is displayed in the Introscope Workstation.
The following examples describe three ways to specify the name and location of a
metric at different levels of the metrics tree.
metric-namethe metric appears immediately inside the agent node.
resource:metric-namethe metric appears inside one resource (folder) below the
agent node.
resource|sub-resource|sub-sub-resource:metric-namethe metric appears more
than one resource (folder) level deep below the agent node. Use pipe characters (|)
to separate the resources.

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Commonly used tracer names and examples

The following list describes the most commonly used tracer names and what they trace.
BlamePointTracer
Provides a standard set of metrics including average response time, per interval
counts, concurrency, stalls, and errors for a blamed component.
ConcurrentInvocationCounter
Reports the number of times a method has started but not yet finished. The result
is reported under the metric name specified in the tracer, <metric-name>, in the
Investigator tree. An example use of this tracer would be counting the number of
simultaneous database queries.
DumpStackTraceTracer
Dumps a stack trace to the instrumented application's standard error for methods
to which it is applied. The exception stack trace thrown by the Dump Stack Tracer is
not a true exceptionit is a mechanism for printing the method stack trace.
This feature is useful for determining callpaths to a method.
Important! This feature imposes heavy system overhead. It is strongly
recommended that this tracer only be used in a diagnostic context where a sharp
increase in overhead is acceptable.
MethodCPUTimer
Average CPU time (in milliseconds) used during method execution and reports it
under <metricname> in the metrics tree.
Note: This tracer requires a platform monitor on the supported platform.
MethodTimer
Average method execution time in milliseconds and reports it under the metric
name specified in the tracer, <metric-name>, in the metrics tree.
PerIntervalCounter
Number of invocations per interval. This interval will change based on the view
period of the consumer of the data (for example, the View pane in the Investigator).
It is reported under the metric name specified in the tracer, <metric-name>, in the
Investigator tree.

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Creating custom tracers

Using quotes in custom tracer definitions

Custom tracers can contain metric names with spaces in them. When using spaces in
your custom metric names, CA Technologies recommends putting quotes ("") around all
metric names.
Important! Do not place quotes around class names. This causes the custom tracers to
malfunction. For example:
Correct
IdentifyClassAs: MyClass MyTracers

Incorrect
IdentifyClassAs: "MyClass" MyTracers

If you create a metric name that contains a class name, you must use quotes around the
whole metric name. Metric names are allowed to have spaces, and all spaces in metric
names must be contained within quotes. For example, the metric name
"{classname}|Test One Node" should be represented as follows:
Correct
TraceOneMethodIfFlagged: MyTracers AMethod BlamePointTracer "{classname}|Test One
Node"

Incorrect
TraceOneMethodIfFlagged: MyTracers AMethod BlamePointTracer {classname}|Test One
Node

Important! Introscope will not monitor classes having invalid class file names. For
example, in the class file name:
org/jboss/seam/example/seambay/AuctionImage$JaxbAccessorM_getData_setData_[B:

The _[B: causes the class file name to be invalid. You cannot use an open square
brackets ([) as part of the Java class file name. When Introscope encounters such classes
having invalid class names, it fails to instrument them and reports them as an error
message in the agent logs.
The following sections are examples of method tracers. In the following example,
quotes ("") are used around the metric names. CA Technologies highly recommends
putting quotes around all metric names when you create custom metric names.

Average tracer example

This tracer tracks the average execution time of the given method in milliseconds.
TraceOneMethodOfClass: com.sun.petstore.catalog.Catalog search BlamedMethodTimer
"Petstore|Catalog|search:Average Method Invocation Time (ms)"

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Rate tracer example

This tracer counts the number of times the method is called per second, and reports this
rate under the specified metric name.
TraceOneMethodOfClass: com.sun.petstore.catalog.Catalog search
BlamedMethodRateTracer "Petstore|Catalog|search:Method Invocations Per Second"

Per interval counter tracer example

This method tracer counts the number of times the method is called per interval, and
reports the per interval count under the specified metric name.
TraceOneMethodOfClass: com.sun.petstore.catalog.Catalog search PerIntervalCounter
"Petstore|Catalog|search:Method Invocations Per Interval"

The interval is determined by the monitoring logic in the Enterprise Manager, such as
the Graph frequency.
The preview pane in the Investigator defaults to 15 second intervals.

Counter tracer example

This tracer counts the total number of times the method is called.
TraceOneMethodOfClass: com.sun.petstore.cart.ShoppingCart placeOrder
BlamedMethodTraceIncrementor "Petstore|ShoppingCart|placeOrder:Total Order Count"

Combined counter tracers example

These tracers combine incrementor and decrementor Tracers to keep a running count.
TraceOneMethodOfClass:
MethodTraceIncrementor
TraceOneMethodOfClass:
MethodTraceDecrementor

com.sun.petstore.account.LoginEJB login
"Petstore|Account:Logged In Users"
com.sun.petstore.account.LogoutEJB logout
"Petstore|Account:Logged In Users"

Advanced single-metric tracers

Directives and tracers track methods, classes, and sets of classes. A single-metric tracer
reports a specific metric for a specific method, which is the smallest unit that Introscope
can track. Single-metric tracers can be created in several ways: through the method
signature, by substituting keywords, or by manipulating the metric name parameters.

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Signature differentiation
Tracers can be applied to a method based on the method signature.
To trace a single instance of a method with a specific signature, append the signature to
the method name (including return type) specified using the internal method descriptor
format.
For example, myMethod(Ljava/lang/String;)V traces the instance of the method with a
string argument and void return type.
For complete information about this format, see the Sun Java Virtual Machine
Specification.

Metric name keyword-based substitution

Keyword-based substitution allows runtime substitution of values into the metric name.
The parameters in the metric name in the tracer are substituted at runtime for the
actual values into the metric name. This feature can be used with any directive.
{method}
Name of the method being traced
{classname}
Runtime class name of the class being traced
{packagename}
Runtime package name of the class being traced
{packageandclassname}
Runtime package and class name of the class being traced
Note: If Introscope processes a class which does not have a package, it will replace
{packagename} with the string "<Unnamed Package>".

Keyword-based substitution: Example 1

If the metric name for a tracer in the pbd file is:
"{packagename}|{classname}|{method}:Response Time (ms)"
and the tracer is applied to method myMethod with a runtime class of myClass that is in
package myPackage, the resulting metric name would be:
"myPackage|myClass|myMethod:Response Time (ms)"

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Keyword-based substitution: Example 2

If a tracer with a metric name in the .pbd file of
"{packageandclassname}|{method}:Response Time (ms)"
was applied to the same method, the resulting metric name would be
"myPackage.myClass|myMethod:Response Time(ms)"
Note: The . between the package and class instead of the | in the first example.

Metric-name-based parameters
You can create a single-method tracer that creates a metric name based on parameters
passed to a method using the TraceOneMethodWithParametersOfClass keyword, using
this format:
TraceOneMethodWithParametersOfClass: <class-name> <method> <tracer-name>
<metric-name>
Parameters can be used in the metric name. This is accomplished by substituting the
value of parameters for placeholder strings in the metric name. The placeholder strings
to use are "{#}" where # is the index of the parameter to substitute. The indices start
counting at zero. Any number of parameter substitutions can be used in any order. All
parameters are converted to strings before substitution into the metric name. Object
parameters other than strings should be used with caution because they are converted
using the toString() method.
Important! If you are unclear about what string the parameter will be converted to, do
not use it in the metric name.

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Creating custom tracers

Metric-name-based example
A Web site uses a class named order, with a method named process. The method has
parameters for different kinds of orders, either book or music.
You can create a tracer like this:
TraceOneMethodWithParametersOfClass: order process(LJava/lang/string;)V
MethodTimer "Order|{0}Order:Average Response Time (ms)"

This tracer produces metrics like these:

Order
BookOrder

Average Response Time (ms)

MusicOrder

Average Response Time (ms)

You can also use the TraceOneMethodWithParametersIfInherits keyword.

Skip directives
Certain packages, classes, or methods can be skipped by AutoProbe or ProbeBuilder by
using skip directives. By default, the Java agent and fundamental Java classes and
packages are skipped by AutoProbe or ProbeBuilder.

Counting object instances

The InstanceCounts tracer group counts the number of instances of the particular object
types associated with it (for information on associating object types with the
InstanceCounts tracer group using the standard IdentifyClassAs and IdentifyInheritedAs
directives, see Adding classes to a tracer group (see page 96)). Any instances explicitly
allocated in your code will be counted. Subtypes will also be counted. Objects created
through different mechanisms, such as deserialization or cloning, might not be counted.
Tracing using this tracer group could potentially incur incremental performance (and
memory) impact, depending entirely on the number of instances counted.
Note: CA Technologies testing has shown that in practice, the number of instances has
to be quite large for an impact to be noticeable.

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Turning on InstrumentPoint directives

There are two types of directives identified by the keyword, InstrumentPoint: those that
trace exceptions, and one that causes agent initialization when the application starts up
(instead of when the first Probe is run).

Exceptions
The following directives are used to turn on tracing of exceptions either where thrown
or caught. They can cause performance degradation so they are not turned on by
default. To turn either of these on, uncomment the appropriate line:
#InstrumentPoint: ThrowException
#InstrumentPoint: CatchException

Agent initialization
The agent initialization instrument point directive does not cause additional overhead
and is turned on by default in both full and typical PBD sets.
InstrumentPoint: AgentInitialization

If multiple ProbeBuilder Directive files are used, any settings (such as tracer groups,
Skips, InstrumentPoints, Custom Method Tracers) turned on in any file take effect.

Combining custom tracers

You can use multiple tracers that affect the same metric, in effect combining them. This
is most commonly used with incrementors and decrementors.
This example creates a metric named Total Purchases. With a class cart and methods
buyBook and buyCD, create the following tracers:
TraceOneMethodOfClass cart buyBook PerIntervalCounter "Total Purchases"
TraceOneMethodOfClass cart buyCD PerIntervalCounter "Total Purchases"

This increments the metric Total Purchases when someone buys a piece of merchandise.

Instrumenting and inheritance

Introscope does not automatically instrument classes in the deeper levels of a class
hierarchy in pre-1.5 JVMs.
When subclasses of a probed class more than one level deep are loaded, the new and
overridden methods are not automatically instrumented. Likewise, classes that do not
explicitly name a probed interface as being implemented, even though they implement
the interface indirectly, will not be instrumented either.

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For example, assume a class hierarchy in which ClassB extends ClassA, and ClassC
extends ClassB, like so:
Interface/ClassA
ClassB
ClassC

When you instrument ClassA, ClassB is also instrumented because it explicitly extends
ClassA. However, Introscope does not instrument ClassC because ClassC does not
explicitly extend ClassA. To instrument ClassC you must explicitly identify ClassC.
In pre-1.5 Java environments, to ensure that subclasses are instrumented, follow the
instructions in EJB subclass tracing (see page 96).
If you run under JVM 1.5, you can configure Introscope to instrument multiple levels of
subclasses of a probed class. For instructions, see ProbeBuilding class hierarchies (JVM
1.5). (see page 76)

Java 1.5 annotations

Introscope 8.0 and higher allows the use of Java 1.6 annotations introduced in Java 1.5
when creating custom metrics. For more information on Java annotations, see the
following articles:

http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/java/javaOO/annotations.html

http://www.developer.com/java/other/article.php/3556176

Use IdentifyAnnotatedClassAs to place the class in a tracer group, then use

TraceAllMethodsIfFlagged directives to instrument the methods in the class. For
example:
SetFlag: AnnotationTracing TurnOn: AnnotationTracing
IdentifyAnnotatedClassAs: com.test.MyAnnotation AnnotationTracing
TraceAllMethodsIfFlagged: AnnotationTracing BlamePointTracer
"Target|MyTarget|{classname}"

In the example, com.test.MyAnnotation is the annotation name. When creating your

own annotations, use a term in your code. Classes containing the annotation name are
identified.

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Using Blame Tracers to mark blame points

The Blame Technology for CA Introscope works in a managed Java application to enable
you to view metrics at the application tiers: the frontends and backends of your
application. This capability, referred to as boundary blame, allows users to triage
problems to an application frontend or backend. This information is also used in the
Workstation application triage map to mark the edges of your applications.
For information about how CA Introscope determines frontends and backends, and
about options for configuring URL Groups to control how metrics for frontends are
aggregated, see Configuring Boundary Blame (see page 153).
The following sections describe how you can use tracers to explicitly mark the frontends
and backends in your application.

Blame Tracers
Introscope provides tracers for capturing front and backend metrics: FrontendMarker
and BackendMarker. These tracers explicitly mark a frontend and backend, respectively.
You can use FrontendMarker and BackendMarker to instrument your own code, for
instance code that accesses a backend, to cause Introscope to capture and present
metrics for custom components in the Investigator tree.
If no components are instrumented with the FrontendMarker tracer (or its subclasses
HttpServletTracer and PageInfoTracer), no frontend metrics are generated and no
component will be marked as a frontend for transactions.
When more than one component within a transaction is instrumented with the
FrontendMarker tracer (or its subclasses), only the first designated component will
generate Frontend metrics.
Note: When using frontend tracers, the name of the application given in the frontend
tracer must match the name given for the application triage map tracers, keeping in
mind that both are case-sensitive. For example, if you name the frontend tracer
AppOne and the application triage map tracer refers to this tracer as APPONE,
information about AppOne will not be displayed correctly in the Workstation application
triage map.
To prevent specific classes from being marked as frontend, the PBD parameter
is.frontend.unless can be specified. For information on the PBD directive
is.frontend.unless, see the Custom FrontendMarker directive (see page 114).
If no BackendMarker is configured, Introscope will infer a backendany component
that opens a client socket will be a default backend if none is explicitly marked.

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Using Blame Tracers to mark blame points

It is useful to use BackendMarker:

to assign a desired name to an item that Introscope detects as a backend.

to mark custom Java sockets that Introscope does not instrument.

for native sockets that are called through the Java Native Interface (JNI), to identify
a Java/JNI bridging method as the backend.

FrontendMarker and BackendMarker are instances of BlamePointTracer which provides

metrics such as average response time, per interval counts, concurrency, stalls, and
errors for a blamed component. A BlamePointTracer can be applied to middle
components for a more granular Blame Stack.

High agent CPU overhead from deep nested frontend transactions

Servlets are configured by Introscope to be seen as frontends. A typical transaction
starts with a servlet, which may call an EJB, which calls a back-end. Its possible for
servlets to call other servlets in a nested way, which Introscope sees as nested
frontends. In most cases, this does not add to agent CPU overhead.
However, deep transactions having nested frontend levels (for example 40 levels deep)
may result in high CPU overhead. For example, if a servlet repeatedly calls itself in a
transaction (continuous recurring calls) or calls multiple other servlets, you may see an
increase in agent CPU overhead. If the overhead is unacceptable, contact CA Support.

Custom FrontendMarker directive

Introscope 9.0 introduces the PBD parameter is.frontend.unless. This parameter
enables some classes instrumented by the FrontendMarker (or its subclasses, such as
HttpServletTracer) to not be marked as a frontend component. The parameter should
be set as a comma-separated list of absolute class names. This may be useful when the
initial component is a generic 'dispatcher' which forwards the request to a more specific
component designed to handle the type of request received. The second component
would therefore be a better frontend marker. The default is an empty list. PBD
parameters are not dynamic, so a restart of the instrumented application server is
required if the value of this parameter is changed.
Important! Class names should only be separated by a comma, not spaces. Use of
spaces will invalidate the SetTracerParameter directive.
Any classes designated in the parameter list that are instrumented by the tracer to
which this parameter is applied will not be designated as frontends and will not
generate metrics under the Frontends node in the Introscope Investigator.

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For example, to prevent the classes NotAFrontend and AnotherNonFrontend from being
treated as frontends in the package com.ABCCorp, that are instrumented with a
FrontendMarker named MyFrontendTracer, you would use the following PDB directive:
SetTracerParameter: MyFrontendTracer is.frontend.unless
com.ABCCorp.NotAFrontend,com.ABCCorp.AnotherNonFrontend

Blame Tracers in standard PBDs

Two of the standard PBDs provided with Introscope, j2ee.pbd and sqlagent.pbd,
implement Boundary Blame Tracing.

HttpServletTracer in j2ee.pbd is an instance of FrontendMarker.

SQLBackendTracer in sqlagent.pbd is an instance of BackendMarker.

The following Blame Tracers used in previous versions of Introscope still exist, but are
not typically used in Introscope PBDs:

BlamedMethodTimer

BlamedMethodRateTracer

BlamedMethodTraceIncrementor

BlamedMethodTraceDecrementor

Boundary Blame and Oracle backends

In the current version of Introscope, Oracle databases are not detected based on the
socket connectionSQL Agent must be available for Introscope to automatically detect
Oracle backends.
To enable Introscope to detect Oracle backends in the absence of SQL Agent, make the
following modification to oraclejdbc.pbd:
In this portion of oraclejdbc.pbd:
#Socket data from the Oracle driver reports too many metrics
SkipPackagePrefixForFlag: oracle.jdbc. SocketTracing
SkipPackagePrefixForFlag: oracle.net. SocketTracing
comment out the skips, as shown below:
#Socket data from the Oracle driver reports too many metrics
#SkipPackagePrefixForFlag: oracle.jdbc. SocketTracing
#SkipPackagePrefixForFlag: oracle.net. SocketTracing
For more information, see Disabling Database Name Formatting in 7.1 (KB 1240).

Chapter 5: ProbeBuilder Directives 115

Chapter 6: Java Agent Naming

This section has information about agent naming, related environmental and
deployment considerations, and options for automatically naming your agents.
This section contains the following topics:
Understanding the Java Agent name (see page 117)
Agent naming considerations for clustered applications (see page 120)
Specifying an agent name using a Java system property (see page 120)
Specifying an agent name using a system property key (see page 121)
Obtaining an agent name from the application server (see page 121)
Automatic agent naming (see page 122)
Enabling cloned agent naming in clustered environments (see page 124)
Application triage map and the agent name (see page 125)

Understanding the Java Agent name

Each Java Agent running in your Introscope environment has a name, whether you
assigned one explicitly, configured a method of automatically assigning a name, or
simply started an instrumented application that the Java Agent monitors. The Java
Agent name is central to many views in the Introscope Workstation and Investigator,
and it is key to the process of associating monitoring logic with target applications.

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Understanding the Java Agent name

When an agent report metrics to an Enterprise Manager, a node is created for that
agent in the Investigator tree. When you configure management logic in the
Workstationfor instance, Dashboards, Alerts, and Actionsthe agent name is a
component in the regular expressions that identify the applications to which the
management logic applies. The Investigator tree below shows agents named
domain1//Adminserver, running on host qw32vtest01 under the WebLogic process.

How the agent determines its name

The Java Agent uses the following sequence to determine a name. If it determines a
name using the first method, it accepts that name and connects to the Enterprise
Manager. If it doesnt determine a name using the first method, it tries the second
method, and so on. If it doesnt determine a name using any method, it calls itself
"UnnamedAgent."

Method 1: Agent name specified in a Java system property

The agent name is defined using a Java system property on the command line. Using this
method will override any other agent naming method. See Specifying an agent name
using a Java system property (see page 120).

Method 2: Agent name specified in a system property key in the IntroscopeAgent.profile

The agent name is obtained from a Java system property specified in a property in the
IntroscopeAgent.profile. See Specifying an agent name using a system property key (see
page 121).

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Method 3: Agent name obtained automatically from the application server

If you use certain versions of WebLogic or WebSphere, the agent name can be
automatically obtained from the application server using automatic agent naming
functionality. You can configure a time delay, to give the agent as much time as
necessary to determine its name before connecting to the Enterprise Manager. See
Obtaining an agent name from the application server (see page 121).

Method 4: Agent name specified explicitly in the agent profile

The agent name is defined in the IntroscopeAgent.profile, in the property
introscope.agent.agentName. This was the standard method for naming agents in early
Introscope versions. Use this option if you already have an agent profile for every
application.

Method 5: Agent name determined to be "Unknown agent"

If the agent is unable to determine a name using one of the methods listed above, then
the agent names itself "UnnamedAgent".

How Introscope resolves agent naming conflicts

The fully qualified agent namecomprised of host name, process name and agent
nameis typically unique to each agent in an Introscope environment. Agents with the
same agent name usually have a unique fully-qualified agent name because their host
name and process names are likely to be different. Multiple agents will have the same
fully-qualified agent name only if they reside on the same host, monitor the same
process, and have the same agent name.
If an agent tries to connect to an Enterprise Manager to which an agent with the same
fully-qualified agent name is already connected, the Enterprise Manager appends a
unique identifier to the name of the newly connecting agent. The identifier consists of a
percent (%) character and a digit. This mechanism ensures that multiple agents that
connect using the same fully-qualified name can be uniquely identified for the duration
of the connection. The Enterprise Manager renames the first duplicate agent to connect
by appending "%1" to its agent name.
For instance, assume that two agents with the fully qualified agent name:
hostPA|processNIM|PodAgent

connect to the Enterprise Manager, one after the other. The Enterprise Manager
renames the second agent:
PodAgent%1

If other agents with the same fully qualified name connect, they are renamed, in
succession, PodAgent%2, PodAgent%3, PodAgent%4, and so on, where the digit
following the percent character is the next number in sequence.

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Agent naming considerations for clustered applications

When a renamed agent disconnects, the suffix it was assigned can be re-used. For
example, if PodAgent%1 disconnects while PodAgent remains connected, the next agent
with the fully qualified name hostPA|processNIM|PodAgent to connect will be renamed
PodAgent%1.
Reuse of the suffix identifier makes it possible that the Enterprise Manager might assign
the same suffix to a particular agents name from connection to connection. However,
on subsequent connections, a given agent could just as well be renamed differently.
Having an agents name vary from connection to connection is problematic when
querying historical datait is preferable to configure a naming strategy that avoids the
Enterprise Manager renaming agents.

Agent naming considerations for clustered applications

If you run multiple instances of the same application, Introscope attempts to resolve
identical agent names, including custom metric agents, by appending the agent name
with a character and a random number. CA Technologies recommends, however, that
you tell Introscope how to resolve the naming.
The options for resolving identical agent naming are:

Tell Introscope that the agents in question are cloned agents by enabling cloned
agent naming (described in Enabling cloned agent naming in clustered
environments (see page 124).)

Define unique agent names yourself and make separate agent profiles for each
agent (described in Configuring unique names for application instances (see
page 125).)

Let Introscope uniquely name each agent using its own naming scheme (described
in How Introscope resolves agent naming conflicts (see page 119).)

Specifying an agent name using a Java system property

To specify an agent name using Java system property

On the Java command line, supply the desired name using this property:
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agent.agentName=

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Specifying an agent name using a system property key

This method is the second the agent uses to look for its name. Use this method if you
want the agent to be named from the value of an existing Java system property in your
deployment.
To specify an agent name using the System Property Key
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

2.

Under the Agent Name section, specify the Java system property that will provide
the agent name in this property:
introscope.agent.agentNameSystemPropertyKey

Note: If the Java system property specified here does not exist, this property will be
ignored.
3.

Restart the application server.

Obtaining an agent name from the application server

You can configure the agent to extract the application server instance name
automatically from the application server, and use that information to name itself. This
eliminates the need to configure individual agent names in a separate agent profile file.
The agent can also rename itself if there are changes in the application server
environment. This enables you to deploy an agent profile across a large number of
environments that might consist of a mix of application server platforms.

Application servers that support agent naming

Automatic agent Naming is supported when you use Introscope with these supported
application server versions:

WebLogic 9.x

WebSphere 6.1.x distributed

WebLogic 10.0

WebSphere 7.0.x distributed

WebLogic 10.3

The name of the application server displayed in the Introscope Workstation is

determined by a Java J2EE API. This sometimes causes the name of the application
servers to display differently in the Workstation because all application servers
implement the API differently. The names of multiple application servers may be
formatted differently in the Workstation, and even the same application server name
may be formatted differently from release to release.

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Automatic agent naming

Automatic agent naming

When automatic agent naming is enabled, the agent starts and looks for name
information from the application server. The agent waits until an agent name is
obtained before attempting to connect to the Enterprise Manager.
When the agent locates naming information, Introscope edits the information to make
the agent name compliant with agent naming rules.
Agent names on supported application servers are comprised of several pieces of
information, which differ according to application server.

For WebLogic, the agent name is comprised of:

Domain (data center) + cluster + instance (of WLS)

For WebSphere, the agent name is comprised of:

cell (domain) + process (instance of WAS)

When information is obtained, segments are separated by forward slashesfor

example:
medrec/MyCluster/MedRecServer

Any forward slashes in the segment name are converted to underscores. For example, if
a Domain is named Petstore/West, it will be converted to Petstore_West.
Note: When constructing the agent name that appears in Introscope, Introscope edits
the information to make the agent name compliant with the following Introscope agent
naming rules:

characters such as pipes, colons, or percentage signs are replaced by underscores

names that begin with any character other than a letter will have the letter "A"
prepended to them

empty names are replaced by "UnnamedAgent" (so as to be distinguishable from

the "UnknownAgent" condition)

To enable automatic agent naming

1.

In the IntroscopeAgent.profile, set introscope.agent.agentAutoNamingEnabled to

true.

2.

Make these application server-specific changes:

For WebLogic, create an Introscope Startup Class. See Configuring a startup

class for WebLogic (see page 42).

For WebSphere, create an Introscope Custom Service. See Configuring a

custom service in WebSphere (see page 51).

For JBoss, create an XML file. See Configuring JBoss (see page 41).

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Automatic agent naming and renamed agents

Using automatic agent naming, the agent always tries to obtain the most current
application-server-specific agent name. The agent periodically checks for a new name.
If a change to the application server configuration results in an agent name change, the
agent automatically renames itself. In the Investigator tree, the agent appears to
disconnect. The disconnected agent remains in the Investigator tree, and unmounts
automatically after the unmount time period has elapsed, or can be unmounted
manually.
The renamed agent reconnects to the Enterprise Manager and appears in the
Investigator tree. The agent logs these changes.
See Advanced automatic agent naming options (see page 123), for information on
configuring automatic agent naming properties for Enterprise Manager connection
delay, and rename checking interval time.

Advanced automatic agent naming options

There are several properties you can change to control automatic agent naming for your
environment.

Initial Enterprise Manager Connection Delay

When using the automatic agent naming feature, the agent waits up to a configurable
amount of time before connecting to the Enterprise Manager while trying to find agent
name information. The default delay is 120 seconds.
To change the delay value
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

2.

Under the Agent Name section, configure the desired delay in the property
introscope.agent.agentAutoNamingMaximumConnectionDelayInSeconds.

3.

Restart the application server.

Chapter 6: Java Agent Naming 123

Enabling cloned agent naming in clustered environments

Agent Rename Check Interval

When using the automatic agent naming feature, the agent periodically checks to see if
the naming information from the application server has changed. The default interval is
ten minutes.
To change this interval
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

2.

Under the Agent Name section, configure the desired interval in the
introscope.agent.agentAutoRenamingIntervalInMinutes property.

3.

Restart the application server.

Turning Off Agent Log File Automatic Naming

By default, when the agent name is found automatically, either by information provided
by a Java system property or application server, the log files associated with that agent
are named automatically using that same information. However, you can turn off this
automatic log naming, and continue to use the agent log name specified in the
IntroscopeAgent.profile.
To turn off agent log file automatic naming
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

2.

Set the property, introscope.agent.disableLogFileAutoNaming, to a value of true.

3.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

4.

Restart the application server.

Enabling cloned agent naming in clustered environments

If two agents exist with the same name monitoring the same host and process and are
not uniquely named by a user, the name is appended with a number. Cloned agent
naming enables you to correlate an agent with a particular application instance in a
clustered application.
You are running cloned agents if you:

are running agents that share a host, process, or Java Agent name with one or more
other agents, or

are running two or more agents that are using the same agent profile.

124 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Application triage map and the agent name

To enable cloned agent naming

1.

Stop your managed application and the Java Agent.

2.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile and set the following property to true:

introscope.agent.clonedAgent=true

3.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

4.

Restart your managed application and the Java Agent.

Cloned agent naming scenario

With the Java Agent cloning property turned on, if you have four Java Agents, all named
AgentX, the Enterprise Manager names the agents AgentX-1, AgentX-2, AgentX-3 and
AgentX-4. If AgentX-1 disconnects and then reconnects, it will still use AgentX-1 as its
name. With this naming, you will never have more Java Agent names in the database
than the number of Java Agents originally cloned.

Configuring unique names for application instances

If you monitor multiple instances of an application on the same machine, you can
configure unique agent names explicitly.
To configure unique agent names
1.

Create a separate agent profile for each application.

2.

Uniquely name each agent in the agent profile.

3.

Specify which agent profile each application should use.

Application triage map and the agent name

The application triage map in the Workstation uses the agent name as part of several
unique identifiers when defining the front- and backends of applications, as well as for
storing information about application components in Introscope databases. If agent
names change some aspects of the application triage map may also change. For
example, during initial registration of an agent, the Enterprise Manager may assign a
duplicated agent name a unique name by appending %<sequence number> to the agent
name (e.g. MyAgent%1). If parts of the application triage map are relying on the
duplicated agent name for information, aspects of the map could change.
While this does not affect the proper functioning of either the agent or the Enterprise
Manager, it may reduce the overall capacity of your system; as such, CA Technologies
recommends users be aware of the naming conventions employed in their Introscope
environments. Users may want to designate specific agent names to sidestep this issue.

Chapter 6: Java Agent Naming 125

Chapter 7: Java Agent Monitoring and

Logging
While Introscope monitors your applications, Introscope can also monitor the health
and activity of the Java agent itself. This section contains information on monitoring the
health of the agent, as well as logging options for the Java agent.
This section contains the following topics:
Configuring agent connection metrics (see page 127)
Socket metrics (see page 128)
Configuring logging options (see page 131)
Managing ProbeBuilder Logs (see page 135)

Configuring agent connection metrics

By default, Introscope generates metrics on the connection status of agents connected
to an Enterprise Manager, which you can monitor. You can monitor agent connection
metrics to determine the current state of the connection between an agent and the
Enterprise Manager.
Agent connection metrics appear in the Workstation Investigator under the Enterprise
Manager process (the custom metric host):
Custom Metric Host (Virtual) \ Custom Metric Process(Virtual) \ Custom Metric Agent
(Virtual) (*SuperDomain*) \ Agents \ <HostName> \ <Agent Process Name> \ <Agent Name>
\ ConnectionStatus

Connection metrics have these values:

0No data about the agent is available

1agent is connected

2agent is slow to report

3agent is disconnected

An agent disconnecting also generates a "Whats Interesting" event. As with other

events, users can query for agent disconnects using the historical query interface. Agent
disconnect events are part of the data used in assessing application health in the
Overview tab in the Workstation Console.

Chapter 7: Java Agent Monitoring and Logging 127

Socket metrics

Once an agent disconnects from the Enterprise Manager, Introscope continues to

generate disconnected state metrics until the agent is timed out. When an agent times
out, no additional connection metrics are generated or reported to the Enterprise
Manager.
Follow these steps:
1.

On the computer that the Enterprise Manager is installed on, open the
IntroscopeEnterpriseManager.properties file located in the
<Introscope_Home>/config directory.

2.

Modify this property:

introscope.enterprisemanager.agentconnection.metrics.agentTimeoutInMinutes

The time increment is in minutes.

3.

Save the IntroscopeEnterpriseManager.properties

Note: For information about Enterprise Manager properties, see the CA APM
Configuration and Administration Guide.

Socket metrics
Socket and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) metric collection is enabled by default in the
agent.
Note: JVMs using the Agent.NoRedef.jar do not have socket metrics reported. See
AutoProbe for WebSphere 6.1 (see page 47) for more information.

Restricting socket and SSL metric collection

Socket and SSL metric collection is enabled by default, but you can restrict some metric
collection to target more relevant information or scale back on overhead.
To restrict socket and SSL metric collection
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

2.

In the Agent I/O Socket Metrics section, edit the property values to contain the list
of those hosts or ports for which metrics are required:
If an invalid host or port is included in the parameter values, a warning message is
written to the agent log and that value is ignored. If, as a result, the list contains no
entries, no restriction will apply.

introscope.agent.io.socket.client.hosts
A comma separated list of hosts; only 'client' socket metrics for specified hosts
will be generated. Hosts may be specified by name or textual representation of
IP address (in either IPv4 or IPv6 forms).

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Socket metrics

Note: Duplicate host names are discarded. In cases where multiple host names
map to a single IP, only one of the names is retained. The property will,
however, match client connections with any of the set of synonymous names.

introscope.agent.io.socket.client.ports
A comma separated list of port numbers; only 'client' socket metrics for
specified ports will be generated.
Note: Duplicate ports are discarded.

introscope.agent.io.socket.server.ports
Comma separated list of port numbers, only 'server' socket metrics for
specified ports will be generated.

The above properties are dynamic; you do not need to restart your applications for
changes to take effect.
3.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Fine-tuning socket and SSL metric collection

While you can restrict socket and SSL metric collection, as detailed in Restricting socket
and SSL metric collection (see page 128), you can further refine your metric collection by
turning on and off specific tracer groups. This helps to target the information you want
as well as reduce overhead costs.
To fine-tune socket and SSL metric collection
1.

Open the java2.pbd file, located in the <Agent_Home>/wily/core/config directory.

2.

In the I/O Socket Tracer Group or Network Tracer Group sections of java2.pbd,
determine the tracers you want to turn on or off, and comment or uncomment
them. For example, to suppress the metrics for input bandwidth, you comment out
the following:
#TraceOneMethodWithParametersIfFlagged: SocketTracing read
InputStreamBandwidthTracer "Input Bandwidth (Bytes Per Second)"

Note: Tracers with names ending with MappingTracer must not be commented out.
3.

Save the java2.pbd file.

SSL, NIO, and socket tracing in the application triage map

The application triage map introduced in the Introscope 9.0 Workstation Investigator
has the ability to display instrumented client socket connections. The agent records
details about external systems being used in transactions, sends this information to the
Enterprise Manager, and then this information is displayed graphically in the application
triage map.

Chapter 7: Java Agent Monitoring and Logging 129

Socket metrics

The tracers contained in the appmap.pbd, located in the

<Agent_Home>/wily/core/config directory, extend existing SSL, NIO, and socket
instrumentation, allowing the agent to send more component information to the
application triage map. The tracers are enabled by default, but can be disabled by
commenting out specific tracers in the Trace Sockets and Trace NIO Sockets sections of
the appmap.pbd.
Component names, when displayed in the application triage map, include destination
host and port identities, in the same way socket client metric names are displayed. The
host identity in a component name can be configured to either a host name or a host IP
address. The default is the host name.
To change the displayed component name
1.

Open appmap.pbd, located in the <Agent_Home>/wily/core/config directory.

2.

In the Trace Sockets and Trace NIO Sockets sections, select the tracers you want to
modify. Change {hostname} to {hostip} in the relevant tracers.
For example, the original tracers use the default {hostname}:
TraceOneMethodWithParametersIfFlagged: SocketTracing read AppMapSocketTracerBT
"System {hostname} on port {port}"
TraceOneMethodWithParametersIfFlagged: SocketTracing write
AppMapSocketTracerBT "System {hostname} on port {port}"

To display the host IP, use {hostip} instead:

TraceOneMethodWithParametersIfFlagged: SocketTracing read AppMapSocketTracerBT
"System {hostip} on port {port}"
TraceOneMethodWithParametersIfFlagged: SocketTracing write
AppMapSocketTracerBT "System {hostip} on port {port}"

3.

Save the appmap.pbd file.

Turning off socket and SSL metric collection

If collecting socket and SSL metrics is not required, they can be turned off entirely.
To turn off socket and SSL metric collection
1.

Open either toggles-full.pbd or toggles-typical.pbd files (open the file you are using
in your deployment).

2.

Comment out (place a pound or hash sign,#, at the beginning of the line)
SocketTracing:
#TurnOn: SocketTracing

3.

Save the file you modified.

For more information about turning on and off tracer groups, in the toggles-full.pbd and
toggles-typical.pbd files, see Default tracer groups and toggles files (see page 86) and
Turning tracer groups on or off (see page 95).

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Configuring logging options

Backwards compatibility
In the 9.0 Java agent, new socket tracers have been introduced that are more
configurable than pre-9.0 tracers. However, if for any reason, you want to revert to
pre-9.0 tracers (and disable new 9.0 socket tracing features and configuration options),
the required configuration changes are outlined below.
To collect socket metrics using pre-9.0 tracers
1.

Open either toggles-full.pbd or toggles-typical.pbd files (open the file you are using
in your deployment).

2.

Comment out (place a pound or hash sign,#, at the beginning of the line)
SocketTracing:
#TurnOn: SocketTracing

3.

Uncomment ManagedSocketTracing:
TurnOn: ManagedSocketTracing

4.

Save the file you modified.

If you are using pre-9.0 socket tracers and input and output bandwidth metrics are
required, they are enabled as follows.
The following steps are optional.
To collect input and output bandwidth metrics
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

2.

Locate the Agent Socket Rate Metrics section and change the following property to
true:
introscope.agent.sockets.reportRateMetrics=true

Note: Only functions if ManagedSocketTracing is enabled and SocketTracing is

disabled.
3.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Configuring logging options

When the Java Agent is installed on an application server, after the server starts up a log
directory is created here: <Agent_Home>/wily/logs. The application server process must
have full read/write/execute permissions on the <Agent_Home> directory. To
accomplish this, install the Java agent on the same operating system as the user who
runs the application server process. Or, install the Java agent as a different user, then
use the chmod command to grant the necessary permissions.

Chapter 7: Java Agent Monitoring and Logging 131

Configuring logging options

The Java agent has the option to run in verbose mode. Verbose mode records higher
levels of details about actions and agent interactions with your environment. This
information is useful in solving issues with your environment or agent functionality.
Introscope uses Log4J functionality for these functions. If you want to use other Log4J
functionality, please consult the Log4J documentation.

Running the agent in verbose mode

Running the agent in verbose mode records higher levels of information to the agent
log.
To run the agent in verbose mode
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

2.

Modify this property, replacing the existing INFO with

VERBOSE#com.wily.util.feedback.Log4JSeverityLevel:
log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent=VERBOSE#com.wily.util.feedback.Log4JSeverityLeve
l, console, logfile

3.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Note: Changes to this property should take effect within one minute and do not
require the managed application to be restarted.

Redirecting agent output to a file

The property that controls the agent logging in verbose mode also controls where the
agent log is output and the location of this log file (see Running the agent in verbose
mode (see page 132) for more information).
To redirect agent output to a file
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

2.

Find the property: log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent

The options for this property are:

console: the information in the logfile is sent to the console

logfile: the information in the logfile is sent to a logfile. If this is selected, the
location of the log file is configured using the log4j.appender.logfile.File
property. See Changing the name or location of the agent logfile (see
page 133).

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Configuring logging options

For example, if you wanted the agent to report in verbose mode to just a logfile, the
property would be set to:
log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent=VERBOSE#com.wily.util.feedback.Log4JSeverityLeve
l,logfile

If you wanted the agent to report to both a logfile and console, you would include
both logfile and console in the property.
Note: By default the agent log, IntroscopeAgent.log is written to the
<Agent_Home>/wily/logs directory. If you configured agent autonaming options,
the agent log files are also automatically named, as described in Agent log files and
automatic agent naming (see page 133).
3.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Changing the name or location of the agent logfile

You can also change the location and name of a log file by modifying a property.
To change the name or location of the logfile
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

2.

Locate the log4j.appender.logfile.File property.

If logfile was specified in the log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent property, the location of
the log file is configured using the log4j.appender.logfile.File property. See step 2 in
Redirecting agent output to a file (see page 132) for more information.
Note: System properties (Java command line -D options) can be included as part of
the file name. For example, if a Java command starts with
-Dmy.property=Server1, then
log4j.appender.logfile.File=../../logs/Introscope-${my.property}.log is expanded to:
log4j.appender.logfile.File=../../logs/Introscope-Server1.log.

3.

Set the location and name of the log file, using a fully qualified path to the new
location and file. For example:
log4j.appender.logfile.File=C:/Logs/AgentLog1.log

4.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Agent log files and automatic agent naming

If you use the automatic agent naming functionality, by default the log files associated
with an agent are named automatically using the same information used to name the
agent.
Automatic agent naming affects the log file in the following way:

If the original name of the logfile does not end in .log, a period and log is added.

Chapter 7: Java Agent Monitoring and Logging 133

Configuring logging options

All characters that are not letters or digits will be replaced by underscores

If advanced Log4J functionality is used, the agent logfile automatic naming

capability might not work.

The following examples show how an agent logfile is named. The examples use an agent
name of DOM1//ACME42, where DOM1 is the WebLogic domain, and ACME42 is the
instance of the agent.
When an agent log file is created (named AutoProbe.log by default), if the agent name is
not yet available, a timestamp is included in the filename:
AutoProbe.20040416-175024.log

Once the agent name becomes available, the logfile is renamed using the agents
automatic name:
AutoProbe.DOM1_ACME42.log

You can disable automatic log naming - see Advanced automatic agent naming options
(see page 123) for more information.

Rolling up logs by date or size

You can roll up logs based on size or date, retaining a specified number of days of
information and purging the rest.
To roll up log files
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile, and locate the Logging Configuration section.

2.

Modify the following properties:

log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent
log4j.appender.logfile.File
log4j.appender.console.layout
log4j.appender.console.layout.ConversionPattern
log4j.appender.logfile
log4j.appender.logfile.MaxFileSize
log4j.appender.logfile.MaxBackupIndex

Note: You must restart the managed application before changes to this property
take effect.

134 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Managing ProbeBuilder Logs

3.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

For example, the following configuration will keep up to three backup/rolled logs,
and each will be up to 2 kilobytes in size:
log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent=VERBOSE#com.wily.util.feedback.Log4JSeverityLeve
l, console, logfile
log4j.appender.logfile.File=logs/IntroscopeAgent.log
log4j.appender.console.layout=com.wily.org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
log4j.appender.console.layout.ConversionPattern=%d{M/dd/yy hh:mm:ss a z} [%-3p]
[%c] %m%n
log4j.appender.logfile=com.wily.introscope.agent.AutoNamingRollingFileAppende
r
log4j.appender.logfile.MaxFileSize=2KB
log4j.appender.logfile.MaxBackupIndex=3

Managing ProbeBuilder Logs

ProbeBuilder logs all the classes it sees, all the classes it instruments, as well as all the
classes it does not add instrumentation for the probes it added during the
instrumentation process and the PBDs it used. In addition, it logs the classes it did not
instrument due to skips.

Command-line ProbeBuilder and ProbeBuilder Wizard log name and location

The command-line ProbeBuilder and ProbeBuilder Wizard log file location is determined
by where you specify Java classes with the ProbeBuilder Wizard or with the
Command-Line ProbeBuilder. For a directory, the log file is located inside the
destination directory. For a file, the log file is located next to the destination file.
The ProbeBuilder log file is called:
<original-directory-or-original-file>.probebuilder.log

<original-directory> or <original-file> is the Java class location that you specify with the
ProbeBuilder Wizard or with the Command-Line ProbeBuilder.
Only the most recent log is kept; all previous log files are overwritten.

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Managing ProbeBuilder Logs

AutoProbe log name and location

AutoProbe will always attempt to log the changes it makes. By default the AutoProbe
log file is named AutoProbe.log.
To change the name or location of the AutoProbe log
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile in a text editor.

2.

Locate the introscope.autoprobe.logfile property and modify the log name and
location, using a fully qualified file path. Non-absolute names are resolved relative
to the location of the IntroscopeAgent.profile file.
Note: When loading the agent profile from a resource on a classpath, AutoProbe is
unable to write to the AutoProbe log file, because the IntroscopeAgent.profile file is
located within a resource.
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

3.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

136 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Chapter 8: Configuring LeakHunter and

ErrorDetector
This section describes how to enable and configure LeakHunter and ErrorDetector.
This section contains the following topics:
LeakHunter (see page 137)
Enabling and disabling LeakHunter (see page 140)
Configuring LeakHunter properties (see page 140)
Running LeakHunter (see page 143)
Identifying potential leaks with collection IDs (see page 143)
LeakHunter log file (see page 144)
Using LeakHunter (see page 146)
ErrorDetector (see page 147)
Enabling ErrorDetector in the Java Agent (see page 148)
Configuring ErrorDetector options (see page 149)
Advanced error data capture (see page 150)
Defining new error types (see page 150)
Using ErrorDetector (see page 152)

LeakHunter
Introscope LeakHunter is an add-on component designed to help locate the source of
potential memory leaks by watching for collection instances that appear to be
increasing in size over timethat is, if the number of objects stored in the collection
increases over time.
Memory leaks that occur in programs that run for short periods (minutes or hours)
might not present a major issue. However for applications that are running 24 hours a
day (like a web site), a small memory leak can soon escalate into a big problem.
Introscope LeakHunter is designed to track information about a noticed memory leak by
being turned on, discovering collection classes, and then being turned off after
information is gathered. This method of using LeakHunter creates only a small,
temporary amount of overhead.

Chapter 8: Configuring LeakHunter and ErrorDetector 137

LeakHunter

How LeakHunter works

After you have enabled LeakHunter, you also define a timeout period during which
LeakHunter looks for new potential leaks. If you use AutoProbe, you simply restart the
managed application. If you use ProbeBuilder Wizard or Command-line ProbeBuilder,
you must re-instrument the application using the leakhunter.pbd (in addition to any
previously used PBD files).
If LeakHunter finds a collection that is growing in size over time, it:

identifies the collection with a unique ID

reports information about the collection to the Enterprise Manager as metric data

reports information about the collection to a log file on the agent machine

continues to track and report data for that collection

Should LeakHunter notice that a collection no longer appears to be leaking, it reports

that fact to both the Enterprise Manager and the log file, but continues tracking and
reporting data for that collection.
LeakHunter continues looking for potential leaks and monitors already identified
potential leaks until the timeout period expires. After a timeout period expires,
LeakHunter stops looking for potential leaks in newly allocated collections, and only
continues checking collections that are already identified as potential leaks. This
significantly reduces LeakHunter overhead and allows additional monitoring of the
potential leaks. LeakHunter continues monitoring the identified potential leaks until the
managed application is shut down.
To find the source of a memory leak, you can either browse the metric data in the
Introscope Investigator, or view the log file.

What LeakHunter tracks in Java

Introscope LeakHunter tracks these collections in a Java implementation:

Implementations of java.util.Collection:

java.util.ArrayList

java.util.LinkedList

java.util.TreeSet

java.util.HashSet

java.util.LinkedHashSet

java.util.Vector

java.util.Stack

138 Java Agent Implementation Guide

LeakHunter

Implementations of java.util.Map:

java.util.Map

java.util.SortedMap

java.util.HashMap

java.util.TreeMap

java.util.IdentityHashMap

java.util.Hashtable

java.util.Properties

java.util.LinkedHashMap

What LeakHunter does not track

Introscope LeakHunter does not track:

a leak not caused by a collection.

custom collection implementations or other data structures with an increasing

number of references.

a leaking collection that is not instrumented.

In addition to the above, LeakHunter does not track the following in a Java
implementation:

any subclasses created for collections described in What LeakHunter tracks in Java
(see page 138). However, you can update the ProbeBuilder Directive (PBD) file to
get this information. See the leakhunter.pbd file for more information.

Note: If you are using Application Server AutoProbe, LeakHunter does not automatically
track collections allocated by the application server. To track these collections, you must
statically instrument the application server, or use JVM AutoProbe.

System and version requirements

Introscope LeakHunter has the same system requirements as the Java Agent.
By default, LeakHunter is not enabled after installation. You must enable LeakHunter to
use its functionality.

Chapter 8: Configuring LeakHunter and ErrorDetector 139

Enabling and disabling LeakHunter

Enabling and disabling LeakHunter

LeakHunter is run as an agent extension, so no class paths need to be updated. By
default, LeakHunter is not enabled after installation. You must enable LeakHunter to use
its functionality.
To enable LeakHunter
1.

Open the agent profile, IntroscopeAgent.profile.

2.

Under the LeakHunter Configuration heading, locate the property

introscope.agent.leakhunter.enable, and enter a value of true.

3.

Save the agent profile.

4.

Open *.typical.pbl or *.full.pbl (open the file you have listed in the
IntroscopeAgent.profile property introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile ) and
uncomment leakhunter.pbd.
Note: When using ProbeBuilder Wizard, copy the leakhunter.pbd file to the
<Agent_Home>\wily\core\config\hotdeploy directory.

5.

Restart the application.

Important! By default, agent extensions such as LeakHunter are located and referenced
from the <Agent_Home>\wily\core\ext directory. However, you can change the location
of the agent extension directory in the agent profile. If you change the location of the
\ext directory, be sure to move the contents of the \ext directory as well.
To disable LeakHunter
1.

Open the agent profile, IntroscopeAgent.profile.

2.

Under the LeakHunter Configuration heading, locate the property

introscope.agent.leakhunter.enable, and enter a value of false.

3.

Save the agent profile.

4.

Restart the application.

Configuring LeakHunter properties

LeakHunter configuration properties are located in the agent profile,
IntroscopeAgent.profile.
To configure LeakHunter
1.

Open the agent profile, IntroscopeAgent.profile.

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Configuring LeakHunter properties

2.

Configure the following LeakHunter properties as desired:

introscope.agent.leakhunter.logfile.location
Specifies the location of LeakHunter.log file. The file name is relative to the
<IntroscopeAgent.profile> directory. If the property is commented out or left
blank, no log file is written.
The default value is logs/LeakHunter.log.
introscope.agent.leakhunter.logfile.append
Specifies whether to replace the log file (value of false) or append an existing
log file (value of true) on application restart.
The default value is false.
introscope.agent.leakhunter.leakSensitivity
Specifies the sensitivity level for detecting memory leaks. A higher leak
sensitivity setting will result in more potential leaks being reported and a lower
sensitivity will result in fewer potential leaks reported.
The property value must be an integer from 1-10.
The default sensitivity level is 5.
introscope.agent.leakhunter.timeoutInMinutes
Specifies the period of time in minutes during which LeakHunter looks for new
potential leaks. The property value must be a non-negative integer. A value of
zero means no timeout.
The default value is 120 minutes.

Chapter 8: Configuring LeakHunter and ErrorDetector 141

Configuring LeakHunter properties

introscope.agent.leakhunter.collectAllocationStackTraces
Specifies whether to collect allocation stack trace information. Turning on this
option has the potential to create higher system CPU usage and memory.
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the
managed application to be restarted.
The default value is false.
introscope.agent.leakhunter.ignore.n
Specifies the particular collections that you want LeakHunter to ignore.
For Generic collections, use a syntax that includes the generic type
qualification, for example: System.Collections.Generic.List`1
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the
managed application to be restarted.
The default values for these properties (where n=0-4) are:
introscope.agent.leakhunter.ignore.0=org.apache.taglibs.standard.lang.jst
l.*
introscope.agent.leakhunter.ignore.1=com.bea.medrec.entities.RecordEJB_xw
cp6o__WebLogic_CMP_RDBMS
introscope.agent.leakhunter.ignore.2=net.sf.hibernate.collection.*
introscope.agent.leakhunter.ignore.3=org.jnp.interfaces.FastNamingPropert
ies
introscope.agent.leakhunter.ignore.4=java.util.SubList

3.

Save changes to the agent profile.

Important! The IntroscopeAgent.profile contains properties that control which packages

are ignored by LeakHunter. These properties are enabled by default. If you comment
out these properties, exceptions are reported in the agent logs.

Ignoring collections that cause poor performance

Collections whose size() method executes in time proportional to the number of objects
in the Collection will have poor performance. In other words, if the collection is such
that the size() method takes longer and longer to execute (for example, a badly
implemented LinkedList where to get the size of the list we traverse through each
element of the list and count), this will have negative effects on application
performance.
Such collections should be ignored, using the ignore property in
IntroscopeAgent.profile, as shown in Configuring LeakHunter properties.

142 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Running LeakHunter

Running LeakHunter
LeakHunter is run as an agent extension.
To run LeakHunter

Using JVM AutoProbe: after LeakHunter has been enabled, restart the application.

Using Command-Line ProbeBuilder: re-instrument the managed application using

the leakhunter.pbd (and any previously used .pbds). Restart the managed
application.

Using ProbeBuilder Wizard: run ProbeBuilder Wizard and select the leakhunter.pbd
from the custom pbd list. Restart the managed application after implementing new
.jars for use.

Identifying potential leaks with collection IDs

LeakHunter identifies each potential leak with a unique collection ID that can be used to
correlate metric data from the Investigator tree with data in the log file, as well as
provide stable names across applications.
The unique collection IDs have a specific syntax, based on one of these types:
<method>-<4 digit hash code>#<unique number>
<field>-<4 digit hash code>#<unique number>

<method>: the name of the method where the collection was allocated

<field>: name of field to which the collection was assigned

<4 digit hash code>: the hash code of the full name of the class containing the
method or field name

#<unique number>: number appended to potential leaks with the same method and
hash code to ensure unique collection IDs during the run of the agent.

The collection ID for a potential leak will be stable across runs of the application.
Examples of these collection IDs are:
theLookupTable-6314#1
getLoginID-1234#1
getLoginID-1234#2
getLoginID-1234#3
verifyCart-5678#1
verifyCart-0012#1

Chapter 8: Configuring LeakHunter and ErrorDetector 143

LeakHunter log file

LeakHunter log file

The LeakHunter log file contains information about potential leaks identified by
Introscope LeakHunter in your managed application. Each entry contains information
about a potential leak. The LeakHunter log file includes entries for four scenarios:

when a potential leak is first identifiedsee Potential leak first identified log entry
(see page 144)

when an identified leak appears to have stopped leakingsee Identified potential

leak stops leaking log entry (see page 145)

when a previously identified leak appears to have started leaking againsee

Identified potential leak is leaking again log entry

when a LeakHunter timeout has occurredsee LeakHunter timeout log entry

Potential leak first identified log entry

This type of LeakHunter log entry contains information about a potential leak when it is
first identified:

Current timestamp (when written to the log)

Collection ID

Class of the collection

Allocation Method of the collection

Allocation time of the collection

Allocation stack trace of the collection

Field name to which the collection was assigned

Current size of the collection

144 Java Agent Implementation Guide

LeakHunter log file

Note: The current size of a leaked collection recorded in the LeakHunter log file is not
dynamically updated. The log file identifies the size of a leak when the leak is first
identified. To see up-to-date information about the size of a leaked connection, click the
Leak tab in the Introscope Workstation.
Example: Log file entry if a potential leak is detected
The following example illustrates an entry in the Java log file when a potential leak is
first identified:
5/2/09 9:55:06 AM PDT
Potential leak identified
Assigned ID: testInst-2604#1
Collection Class: java.util.Vector
Allocation Method: sonOfLH_test.testInst()
Allocation Timestamp: 5/2/09 9:54:21 AM PDT
Allocation Stack Trace:
Unknown
Field Name(s):
sonOfLH_test.v3
sonOfLH_test.v4
sonOfLH_test.v5
Current Size: 44

Identified potential leak stops leaking log entry

This type of LeakHunter log entry contains information about a potential leak that has
stopped leaking:

Current timestamp (when written to the log)

Collection ID

Class of the collection

Current size of the collection

Example: Log file entry if a potential leak stops leaking

The following example illustrates an entry in the Java log file when a potential leak
appears to have stopped leaking:
4/27/10 1:18:12 PM PDT
Potential leak no longer appears to be leaking
Assigned ID: createNewInstance-2815#3
Collection Class: java.util.HashMap
Current Size: 70

Chapter 8: Configuring LeakHunter and ErrorDetector 145

Using LeakHunter

Identified potential leak is leaking again log entry

This type of entry contains information about a potential leak that has started leaking
again:

Current timestamp (when written to the log)

Collection ID

Class of the collection

Current size of the collection

Example: Log file entry if a potential leak resumes leaking

The following example illustrates an entry in the Java log file when a potential leak
appears to have started leaking again:
4/27/10 1:21:42 PM PDT
Potential leak appears to be leaking again
Assigned ID: createNewInstance-2815#3
Collection Class: java.util.HashMap
Current Size: 79

LeakHunter timeout log entry

This type of LeakHunter log entry contains the number of potential leaks that will
continue to be tracked.
Example: Log file entry when a timeout occurs
LeakHunter timeout occurred at 4/27/10 1:32:12 PM PDT
LeakHunter will only continue to track the 3 potential leaks

Using LeakHunter
For more information on how to use LeakHunter, see the CA APM Workstation User
Guide.

146 Java Agent Implementation Guide

ErrorDetector

ErrorDetector
Introscope ErrorDector allows application support personnel to detect and diagnose the
cause of serious errors, which can prevent users from completing web transactions.
These kinds of application availability issues typically result in error messages to the
user such as "404 Not Found" and others, yet the error message lacks specific
information that IT personnel need to isolate the root cause of the problem. Introscope
ErrorDetector allows you to monitor these serious errors as they occur in live
applications, determine the frequency and nature of the errors, and deliver specific
information about the root cause to developers.
ErrorDetector is the only application management solution that helps ensure superior
user experiences and improves transaction integrity by enabling root cause analysis of
serious application errors.
Introscope ErrorDetector allows IT teams to:

Determine the frequency of anomalous transactions

Determine whether logged exceptions affect users

See exactly where errors occurred within the transaction path

Obtain the information needed to reproduce, diagnose and eliminate serious errors

Introscope ErrorDetector is integrated with Introscope, allowing you to monitor errors

in the Introscope Workstation. When application errors do occur, you can also use the
Live Error Viewer to examine detailed information about each error.

Types of errors
CA Technologies has defined a set of criteria to describe "serious" errors, based on
information contained in the J2EE specifications. ErrorDetector considers both errors
and exceptions to be errors. The most common type of error is a thrown exception.
Some examples of common errors are:

HTTP errors (404, 500, etc.)

Note: Occasionally, HTTP 404 errors originate in a web server instead of an
application server. If this occurs, ErrorDetector cannot detect the web server error
through the agent.

SQL statement errors

network connectivity errors (timeout errors)

backend errors (for example, cant send a message through JMS, can't write a
message to the message queue)

Chapter 8: Configuring LeakHunter and ErrorDetector 147

Enabling ErrorDetector in the Java Agent

What CA Technologies considers to be important errors might differ from what you
consider important errors. If you do not consider some of the errors ErrorDetector
tracks to be important, you can choose to ignore them. If there are additional errors you
want to track, you can use error tracers to create new directives to trace them.

How ErrorDetector works

Introscope includes a ProbeBuilder Directive (PBD) file called errors.pbd with the agent
installation. The tracers in this PBD capture serious errors.
ErrorDetector is installed automatically with your agent installation. Once ErrorDetector
is installed, you configure Introscope to use the errors.pbd and enable ErrorDetector
functionality. If you are using ProbeBuilder Wizard or Command-line ProbeBuilder, you
must re-instrument the application using the errors.pbd (in addition to any previously
used PBD files).
The agent collects error information as defined in the errors.pbd file.
From the Workstation, you can view:

error metric data in the Investigator

live errors in the Live Error Viewer

error details in the Error Snapshot, which shows component-level information on

how the error occurred

ErrorDetector is integrated with Transaction Tracer, enabling you to see exactly why and
how serious errors occurred within the context of the transaction path. Moreover, all
errors and transactions are persisted to Transaction Event Database, enabling you to
spot trends through analysis of historical data.
Introscope defines a transaction as the invocation and processing of a service. In the
context of a web application, it is the invocation and processing of a URL sent from a
web browser. In the context of a web service, it is the invocation and processing of a
SOAP message.

Enabling ErrorDetector in the Java Agent

The property introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.enable should be set to true in the
IntroscopeAgent.profile to enable the Java Agent to capture error data. By default, the
Java Agent is enabled to capture error data.
To enable/disable ErrorDetector data capture in the Java Agent
1.

Open the agent profile, IntroscopeAgent.profile.

148 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Configuring ErrorDetector options

2.

Confirm the introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.enable property to true.

Note: To disable ErrorDetector, set this property to false.

3.

If you are using ProbeBuilder Wizard, copy the errors.pbd file to the
<EM_Home>/config/custompbd directory, and re-instrument your applications.

4.

Save the agent profile.

Configuring ErrorDetector options

You can configure ErrorDetector to limit the maximum number of errors the agent
sends to the Enterprise Manager, or specify the errors to ignore.
Enabling ErrorDetector captures error data without incurring much overhead. The
out-of-the-box throttle is set at 10 errors per 15 seconds. If you want to capture more
errors during this time period, you can increase the throttle, but be prepared to incur
more overhead.
To change the ErrorDetector throttle (optional)
1.

Open the agent profile, IntroscopeAgent.profile.

2.

Enter a new value for the introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.throttle property.

3.

Save the agent profile.

Note: Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the
managed application to be restarted.

You can configure the agent to ignore errors you dont want to track. The information
you specify to "tag" the error can be the exact error message, or any portion of the
message, along with the "wildcard" asterisk character.
To ignore certain errors (optional)
1.

Open the agent profile, IntroscopeAgent.profile.

2.

For the introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.ignore property, define the value to be

whatever information you think will identify that type of error.
For example, the following ignore property would ignore any errors with the term
"IOException" found anywhere within it:
introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.ignore.0=*IOException*

Chapter 8: Configuring LeakHunter and ErrorDetector 149

Advanced error data capture

3.

To ignore additional errors, add additional ignore properties sequentially. For

example, to ignore two types of errors, the properties would look like this:
introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.ignore.0=*IOException*
introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.ignore.1=*HTTP Error Code *500*

4.

Save changes to the agent profile.

Note: Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the
managed application to be restarted.

Advanced error data capture

Although ErrorDetector captures many common error types by default, CA Technologies
provides options for customizing the error detection mechanism to suit your needs.
You can use the following error-related tracers to create ProbeBuilder Directives (PBDs)
to capture errors.

ExceptionErrorReporter reports standard exceptions.

ThisErrorReporter reports a current object as an error.

HTTPErrorCodeReporter captures HTTP error codes and associated error messages.

MethodCalledErrorReporter reports if specific methods get called.

You should place any new directives you create with these tracers in the errors.pbd file
in the <Agent_Home>/wily directory.

Defining new error types

Errors are defined for ErrorDetector using PBDs. There are several special tracers that
check for the presence of an error and capture (or construct) the error message. By
placing these tracers at the right points, you can teach ErrorDetector about a new kind
of error in your application or its infrastructure.

ExceptionErrorReporter
The ExceptionErrorReporter tracer can be used to check for exceptions being thrown
from the instrumented method. If an exception is thrown, this tracer treats it as an error
and gets the error message from the exception. This is the most common definition of
an error.

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Defining new error types

In order to capture error messages, the ExceptionErrorReporter tracer must be used

with a "...WithParameters" directive. For example:
TraceOneMethodWithParametersOfClass: com.bank.CustomerAccount getBalance
ExceptionErrorReporter "CustomerAccount:Errors Per Interval"
This directive specifies that any exception that is thrown from the getBalance() method
on the CustomerAccount constitutes an error.
Note that you must use a "...WithParameters" directive to increment the errors per
interval metric, but you only have to specify a "...WithParameters" directive once for
any method to make the parameters available for all tracers on that method. For
example, you can specify:
TraceOneMethodWithParametersOfClass: com.myClass myMethod BlamePointTracer
This directive makes the parameters for the com.myClass myMethod method available
to other tracers, including the ExceptionErrorReporter tracer.

MethodCalledErrorReporter
The MethodCalledErrorReporter tracer is used on methods where the very act of the
method being called means that an error has occurred. For example:
TraceOneMethodOfClass: com.bank.CheckingAccount cancelCheck
MethodCalledErrorReporter "CustomerAccount:Canceled Checks Per Interval"
This directive specifies that whenever the cancelCheck() method is called (for any
reason), this is an error. The error message simply states the class and method that was
called.
If you do not know which methods may throw an exception or error, try using the
ThisErrorReporter tracer.

ThisErrorReporter
The ThisErrorReporter tracer is similar to the MethodCalledErrorReporter, but it
constructs the error message by calling toString() on the instrumented objects. This
tracer is most useful to put on the constructor of an exception class. For example:
TraceOneMethodWithParametersOfClass: ezfids.util.exception.EasyFidsException [set
the init variable for your book] ThisErrorReporter
"Exceptions|{packageandclassname}:Errors Per Interval"

Note: To capture error messages, the ThisErrorReporter tracer must be used with a
"...WithParameters" directive.

Chapter 8: Configuring LeakHunter and ErrorDetector 151

Using ErrorDetector

The directives specify that whenever the constructor ("init" or ".ctor") of an

InvalidPINException is called, this constitutes an error. The error message is determined
by calling toString() on the InvalidPINException which generally returns the error
message that the application developer specified.
This tracer is good to use when you have a custom error management system based on
your own exception types.
Note: Introscope cannot instrument any code in the java.* packages so placing this
tracer on java.lang.Exception or java.sql.SQLException does not work.

HTTPErrorCodeReporter
The HTTPErrorCodeTracer tracer reports error codes from Servlets and JSPs. It is a per
interval counter that counts incidents of:

HTTP response codes 400 or higher.

javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse subclass invocations of sendError or

setStatus, for codes 400 or higher in Java environments.

See errors.pbd for example usage.

Using error tracer directives with caution

Be judicious in using the tracers described in the previous sections. The best practice is
to incur the overhead associated with error tracing to report only the most serious
problems, such as unrecoverable problems arising from backend systems.
The default errors.pbd is designed to report serious errors, while minimizing overhead
as much as possible. Overuse of error tracing, for instance, applying
ExceptionErrorReporter to every monitored method can result in a high volume of "false
positives." For example, if a user enters "California" in a numeric field, this may cause a
NumberFormatException, which you would not want to report as a serious problem.

Using ErrorDetector
For more information on how to use ErrorDetector, see the CA APM Workstation User
Guide.

152 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Chapter 9: Configuring Boundary Blame

This section describes default Java Agent blame reporting behaviors, and related
configuration options.
This section contains the following topics:
Understanding Boundary Blame (see page 153)
Using URL groups (see page 153)
Using Blame tracers (see page 159)

Understanding Boundary Blame

Blame Technology lets you work in a managed Java Application to view metrics at the
front and backends of your application. This capability, referred to as boundary blame,
lets users triage problems.
How Introscope detects backends varies depending on the application. For database
activity, Introscope uses the SQL Agent to detect backends. If the SQL Agent is
unavailable, Introscope detect backend activity because backends such as client/server
databases, JMS servers, and LDAP servers are accessed through a socket. If you have
Oracle backends and do not use the Introscope SQL Agent, see Boundary Blame and
Oracle backends (see page 115).
For information about how boundary blame is presented in the Introscope Investigator,
see the CA APM Workstation User Guide.

Using URL groups

You can use URL Groups to monitor browser response time for sets of requests whose
path prefix begins with a string you define. The path prefix is the portion of the URL that
follows the hostname. For example, in this URL:
http://burger1.com/testWar/burgerServlet?ViewItem&category=
11776&item=5550662630&rd=1

the path prefix is:

/testWar

You can define a URL group for any useful category of requests that can be derived from
a URLs path prefix. For example, depending on the form of your application URLs, you
could define URL groups for each customer your application supports, for each major
application, or for sub-applications. This enables you to monitor performance in the
context of committed service levels, or for mission-critical portions of your application.

Chapter 9: Configuring Boundary Blame 153

Using URL groups

Example: How URL group properties are defined

The following example is an excerpt from a Java Agent profile, showing how URL Groups
are defined:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.keys=alpha,beta,gamma
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.pathprefix=/testWar
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.format=foo {host} bar {protocol} baz {port}
quux {query_param:foo} red {path_substring:2:5} yellow {path_delimited:/:0:1} green
{path_delimited:/:1:4} blue {path_substring:0:0}
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.beta.pathprefix=/nofilterWar
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.beta.format=nofilter foo {host} bar {protocol} baz
{port} quux {query_param:foo} red {path_substring:2:5} yellow {path_delimited:/:0:1}
green {path_delimited:/:1:4} blue {path_substring:0:0}
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.gamma.pathprefix=/examplesWebApp
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.gamma.format=Examples Web App

Defining keys for URL groups

The property introscope.agent.urlgroup.keys defines a list of the IDs, or keys, of all of
your URL Groups. The key for a URL Group is referenced in other property definitions
that declare an attribute of the URL group. The following example defines the keys for
three URL Groups:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.keys=alpha,beta,gamma

If you define URL Groups so some URLs fall into multiple groups, the order in which you
list the keys for the URL Groups in the property is important. The URL Group with the
narrower membership should precede the URL Group with broader membership. For
example, if the IP Group with key alpha has the path prefix
/examplesWebApp and the URL Group with key delta has the path prefix
/examplesWebApp/cleverones, delta should precede alpha in the keys parameter

Defining membership of each URL group

The property introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.groupKey.pathprefix specifies a pattern
against which the path prefix of a URL is matched, defining which requests fall within
the URL Group.

154 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Using URL groups

Example: Mapping a group key to a URL path prefix

This property definition assigns all requests in which the path portion of the URL starts
with /testWar to the URL Group whose key is alpha:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.pathprefix=/testWar

Requests that match the specified pathprefix include:

http://burger1.com/testWar/burgerServlet?ViewItem&category=
11776&item=5550662630&rd=1
http://burger1.com/testWar/burgerServlet?Command=Order&item=5550662630

Example: Creating URL groups by application path

A company that provides call center services could monitor response time for functional
areas by setting up a URL Group for each application function. If customers access
services with this URL:
http://genesystems/us/application_function/

where application_function corresponds to applications such as OrderEntry, AcctService,

and Support, the pathprefix property for each URL group would specify the appropriate
application_function.
Note: You can use the asterisk symbol (*) as a wildcard in pathprefix properties.

Define the name for a URL group

The property introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.groupKey.format determines the names
under which response time metrics for a URL group whose key is groupKey appear in the
Introscope Workstation.
Typically, the format property is used to assign a text string as the name for a URL. The
following example causes metrics for the URL Group with key alpha to appear in the
Workstation under the name Alpha Group:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.format=Alpha Group

Advanced naming techniques for URL groups (optional)

You can derive a URL Group name from request elements such as the server port, the
protocol, or from a substring of the request URL. This is useful if your application
modules are easily differentiated by inspecting the request. This section describes
advanced forms of the format property.

Chapter 9: Configuring Boundary Blame 155

Using URL groups

Using host as a URL group name

To organize metrics for a URL group under names that reflect the hostname of the HTTP
server associated with requests, define the format parameter like this:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.format={host}
When format={host}, statistics for these requests would appear under the metric names
us.mybank.com and uk.mybank.com respectively:
https://us.mybank.com/mifi/loanApp......
https://uk.mybank.com/mifi/loanApp.....

Using protocol as a URL group name

To organize statistics for a URL group under names that reflect the protocol associated
with requests, define the format parameter like this:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.format={protocol}
When format={protocol} statistics are grouped in the Investigator under metric names
that correspond to the protocol portion of request URLs. For example, statistics for
these requests would appear under the metric name https:
https://us.mybank.com/cgi-bin/mifi/scripts......
https://uk.mybank.com/cgi-bin/mifi/scripts......

Using port as a URL group name

To organize statistics for a URL group under names that reflect the port associated with
requests, define the format parameter like this:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.format={port}
When format={port}, statistics are grouped under names that correspond to the port
portion of request URLs. For example, statistics for these requests would appear under
the name 9001.
https://us.mybank.com:9001/cgi-bin/mifi/scripts......
https://uk.mybank.com:9001/cgi-bin/mifi/scripts......

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Using URL groups

Using parameter as a URL group name

To organize statistics for a URL group in Investigator under metric names that reflect the
value of a parameter associated with requests, define the format parameter like this:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.format={query_param:param}

When format={query_param:param} statistics are grouped in Investigator under metric

names that correspond to value of the parameter specified. Requests without
parameters are listed under <empty>. For example, given this parameter definition:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.format=
{query_param:category}

Statistics for these requests would appear under the metric name "734"
http://ubuy.com/ws/shoppingServlet?ViewItem&category=734
&item=3772&tc=photo
http://ubuy.com/ws/shoppingServlet?ViewItem&category=734
&item=8574&tc=photo

Using a substring of the request path as a URL group name

To organize statistics for a URL group under names that reflect a substring of the path
portion of request URLs, define the format parameter like this:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.format=
{path_substring:m:n}

where m is the index of the first character, and n is one greater than the index of the
last character. String selection operates like the java.lang.String.substring() method. For
example, given this setting:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.format=
{path_substring:0:3}

Statistics for the following request would appear under the metric node /ht:
http://research.com/htmldocu/WebL-12.html

Chapter 9: Configuring Boundary Blame 157

Using URL groups

Using a delimited portion of the request path as a URL group name

To organize statistics for a URL group under names that reflect a character-delimited
portion request URL path, define the format parameter like this:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.format=
{path_delimited:delim_char:m:n}

where delim_char is the character that delimits the segments in the path, m is the index
of the first segment to select, and n is one greater than the index of the last segment to
select. For example, given this setting:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.format={path_delimited:/:2:4}

statistics for the requests of this form:

http://www.buyitall.com/userid,sessionid/pageid

would appear under the metric name /pageid

Note that:

a delimiter character, in this example, the forward slash (/) counts as a segment

the segment count starts at 0

The segments as delimited by the slash character in the URL example are:
0=/, 1=userid,sessionid, 2=/, and 3=pageid
You can specify multiple delimiters as necessary. For example, given this setting:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.format={path_delimited:/,:3:4}

statistics for requests of the form shown above would appear under the metric name
sessionid with the segments as delimited by the slash and the comma in the URL
example are:
0=/, 1=userid, 2=, 3=sessionid, 4=/, and 5=pageid

Using multiple naming methods for URL groups

You can combine multiple naming methods in a single format string, as shown below:
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.alpha.format=red {host} orange {protocol} yellow
{port} green {query_param:foo} blue {path_substring:2:5} indigo
{path_delimited:/:0:1} violet {path_delimited:/:1:4} ultraviolet
{path_substring:0:0} friend computer

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Using Blame tracers

Running the URLGrouper

URLGrouper is a command-line utility that analyzes a web server log file in Common
format. Using URLGrouper gives you a starting point for defining your own URL Groups.
Note: You can use the URLGRouper utility to analyze your Web server log file.
URLGrouper outputs a set of property settings for potential URL Groups, based on the
contents of the Web server log file. The asterisk symbol (*) can be used with
URLGrouper as a wildcard.
To run URLGrouper
1.

Open a command shell.

2.

Enter this command

java -jar urlgrouper.jar logfile

where logfile is the full path to your web server log file.
3.

Property definitions for a set of URL Groups are output to STDOUT.

4.

To configure the proposed URL Groups, copy the property statements produced by
URL Grouper into the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Using Blame tracers

You can use tracers to explicitly mark the frontends and backends in your application.
For more information, see Using Blame Tracers to mark blame points (see page 113).

Chapter 9: Configuring Boundary Blame 159

Chapter 10: Configuring Transaction Trace

Options
This section has information about default Transaction Tracing behaviors and related
configuration options.
This section contains the following topics:
Controlling automatic Transaction Tracing behavior (see page 161)
Configuring cross-process Transaction Tracing (see page 163)
Extending transaction trace data collection (see page 163)
Disabling the capture of stalls as Events (see page 166)

Controlling automatic Transaction Tracing behavior

Automatic Transaction Tracing enables historical analysis of potentially problematic
transaction types without explicitly running Transaction Traces. Introscope offers two
types of automatic Transaction Tracing:

Transaction Trace sampling that is enabled by default, based on your URL groupings

Configurable automatic trace sampling that gathers trace information regardless of

URL groupings

Transaction Trace component clamp

Introscope sets a component clamp to limit the size of traces. The default is 5,000
components. When this limit is reached, a warning appears in the log, and the trace
stops.
You can clamp a component transaction that exceeds expected component counts, for
example, when a servlet executes hundreds of object interactions and backend SQL
calls. Without the clamp, Transaction Tracer views it as one transaction, continuing
infinitely. Without a clamp in place in certain extreme situations, the JVM can run out of
memory before the trace completes.
The property for clamping transactions is located in the IntroscopeAgent.profile file:
introscope.agent.transactiontrace.componentCountClamp=5000

Chapter 10: Configuring Transaction Trace Options 161

Controlling automatic Transaction Tracing behavior

Traces producing clamped components are marked with an asterisk. For more
information about viewing these traces, see the CA APM Workstation User Guide.
Important! If the Transaction Trace component clamp size is increased, the memory
required for Transaction Traces can increase. For more information, see the CA APM
Configuration and Administration Guide.

Transaction trace sampling

Transaction trace sampling is enabled by default. As appropriate you can disable this
behavior. For more information on Transaction Trace properties, see Transaction tracing
(see page 289).
When you configure automatic trace sampling, you specify the number of transactions
to trace, during a time interval you specify.
Note: These properties are located in the Enterprise Manager properties file. Before
changing the defaults for the sampling.perinterval and sampling.interval properties,
consider the potential for increased load in the Enterprise Manager with higher
sampling rates. The Enterprise Manager will push this configuration to all agents
connected to it. You can also configure these properties in an agent. Configuring these
properties in the agent will overwrite the configuration set by the Enterprise Manager
for an individual agent.
To configure automatic trace sampling, modify these properties

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.enabled
Set to false to disable Transaction Trace sampling. The default value is true.

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.perinterval.count
Specifies the number of transactions to trace, during the interval you specify.
The default number of transactions is 1.

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.interval.seconds
Specifies the length of time to trace the number of transactions you specify.
The default interval is every 2 minutes.

Agent heap sizing

The agent uses Java heap memory to store collected data. If your applications heap is
highly utilized, you may need to increase the heap allocation when you install the agent.
For example, the 8.0 agent, on average, uses slightly more memory than the 7.x agent
because of performance improvements to CPU and response times overhead. You may
see an increase of up to 100 MB over your 7.x average runtime heap usage.

162 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Configuring cross-process Transaction Tracing

If monitored applications are characterized by very deep or long lasting transactions, the
agents Transaction Trace sampling may require more heap memory than previous
Introscope versions. For more information, see Transaction Trace component clamp
(see page 161) and Transaction trace sampling (see page 162).
You can view the agent GC heap usage in the GC Heap overview. See the CA APM
Workstation User Guide.
If you are operating a high-performance Introscope environment, contact CA
Professional Services for the appropriate agent JVM heap settings.

Configuring cross-process Transaction Tracing

The Introscope Java agent can trace transactions that cross JVM boundaries on
WebLogic Server 9 or later, or WebSphere 6.1if the environment is comprised of
compatible versions of the same vendors application server.
Cross-process transaction tracing is supported for synchronous transactions, for
instance servlets to EJBs, and asynchronous transactions. For more information about
cross-process transaction tracing, see:

Cross-process Transaction Tracing in WebLogic (see page 43)

Cross-process Transaction Tracing in WebSphere (see page 54)

Important! Cross-process transaction tracing is available only with Introscope 9.0

agents. Cross-process transaction tracing does not function between 9.0 and pre-9.0
agents.

Extending transaction trace data collection

You can configure the Introscope Transaction Tracer to obtain additional information,
including User ID data for Servlet and JSP invocations, and other transaction trace data
such as HTTP request headers, request parameters, and session attributes. To capture
this information, you must define the criteria in the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

About User ID data

To configure the Java Agent to identify User IDs for Servlet and JSP invocations, you
must first obtain information on how your managed application specifies user IDs. The
Application Architect who developed the managed application can probably provide this
information.

Chapter 10: Configuring Transaction Trace Options 163

Extending transaction trace data collection

Introscope Transaction Tracer can identify User IDs from managed applications that
store User IDs in one of these ways:

HttpServletRequest.getRemoteUser()

HttpServletRequest.getHeader (String key)

HttpSession.getValue (String key), where returned object is either a String

representing the UserID, or an Object whose toString() returns to the UserID

If your managed application stores User IDs using one of these methods, see Configuring
Agent to collect additional transaction trace data (see page 164), to configure Java
Agent settings to collect User ID data.

About servlet request data

Using Introscope, you can collect transaction trace data that matches user-configurable
parameters. For example, you can specify the agent to collect transaction trace data for
transactions that contain the User-Agent HTTP request header.
Introscope can record this servlet request information:

request headers

request parameters

session attributes

To record this servlet request information for your managed application, see
Configuring Agent to collect additional transaction trace data (see page 164) to
configure Java Agent settings to collect this data.

Configuring Agent to collect additional transaction trace data

You can configure the Java agent to collect additional transaction trace data such as
User ID, HTTP request headers, HTTP request parameters, or HTTP session attributes.
Follow these steps:
1.

Open the agent profile, IntroscopeAgent.profile.

2.

Locate the Transaction Tracer properties under the Transaction Tracer

Configuration heading.

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Extending transaction trace data collection

Collecting user id data

To configure the Java agent to identify User IDs
1.

Configure the properties that correspond to the method your managed application
uses to store User IDs.
Note: Ensure that only one set of properties are not commented, or the wrong
properties might be used.

2.

For HttpServletRequest.getRemoteUser(), uncomment the property:

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.method=HttpServletRequest.getRemote
User

3.

For HttpServletRequest.getHeader (String key), uncomment the following pair of

properties, and define a key string for the second property:
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.method=HttpServletRequest.getHeader
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.key=<application defined key string>

4.

For HttpSession.getValue (String key), uncomment the following pair of properties,

and define a key string for the second property:
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.method=HttpServletRequest.getValue
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.key=<application defined key string>

Collecting servlet request data

To record servlet request information such as HTTP request headers and parameters
1.

To specify the HTTP request headers for which to collect transaction trace data,
uncomment this property, and specify the HTTP request header(s) to track, in a
comma-separated list:
#introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httprequest.headers=User-Agent

2.

To specify the HTTP request parameters for which to collect transaction trace data,
uncomment this property and specify the HTTP request parameter(s) to track, in a
comma-separated list:
#introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httprequest.parameters=paramete
r1,parameter2

3.

To specify the HTTP session attributes for which to trace data, uncomment this
property and specify the HTTP session attribute(s) to track, in a comma-separated
list, for example:
#introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httpsession.attributes=cartID,d
eptID

4.

Restart the managed application.

Chapter 10: Configuring Transaction Trace Options 165

Disabling the capture of stalls as Events

Disabling the capture of stalls as Events

By default, Introscope captures transaction stalls as events in the Transaction Event
database, and generates stall metrics from the detected events. Stall metrics are
generated for the first and last method in the transaction. Users can view stall Events
and associated metrics in the Workstations Historical Event Viewer.
Note: Generated stall metrics are always available, but stall events are only visible if
Introscope Error Detector is installed. Stalls are stored as ordinary errors, and will be
visible in the Errors TypeView, or in the historical query viewer by querying for
"type:errorsnapshot".
You can disable the capture of stalls as events, change the stall threshold, or change the
frequency with which the agent checks for stalls using these properties:

introscope.agent.stalls.thresholdseconds specifies the minimum threshold response

time at which time a transaction is considered stalled.

introscope.agent.stalls.resolutionseconds specifies the frequency that the agent

checks for stalls.

Note: By default, the introscope.agent.stalls.resolutionseconds property is set to 30

seconds. CA Technologies has had great success with this default value and
recommends no change unless there is a good reason. Because of timing complications,
it is generally not effective to set stall resolution below 15 seconds.

166 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Chapter 11: Configuring the Introscope SQL

Agent
This section has instructions for configuring Introscope SQL Agent.
This section contains the following topics:
The SQL Agent overview (see page 167)
The SQL Agent files (see page 168)
SQL statement normalization (see page 168)
Turn Off Statement Metrics (see page 176)
SQL metrics (see page 176)

The SQL Agent overview

The SQL agent reports detailed database performance data to the Enterprise Manager.
The SQL agent provides visibility into the performance of individual SQL statements in
your application by tracking the interaction between your managed application and
your database.
In the same way that the Java agent monitors applications, the SQL agent monitors SQL
statements. The SQL agent is non-intrusive, monitoring the application or database with
very low overhead.
To provide meaningful performance measurements down to the individual SQL
statement level, the SQL agent summarizes performance data by stripping out
transaction-specific data and converting the original SQL statements into
Introscope-specific normalized statements. Since normalized statements do not include
sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, this process also protects the
security of your data.
For example, the SQL agent converts this SQL query:
SELECT * FROM BOOKS WHERE AUTHOR = 'Atwood'

to this normalized statement:

SELECT * FROM BOOKS WHERE AUTHOR = ?

Chapter 11: Configuring the Introscope SQL Agent 167

The SQL Agent files

Similarly, SQL agent converts this SQL update statement:

INSERT INTO BOOKS (AUTHOR, TITLE) VALUES ('Atwood', 'The Robber Bride')

to this normalized statement:

INSERT INTO BOOKS (AUTHOR, TITLE) VALUES (?, ?)

Note: Only text within quotation marks ('xyz') is normalized.

Metrics for normalized statements are aggregated and can be viewed in the JDBC node
of the Workstation Investigator.

The SQL Agent files

The SQL agent is included in all agent installations. The files providing SQL Agent
functionality are:

wily/core/ext/SQLAgent.jar

wily/core/config/sqlagent.pbd

Note: By default, agent extensions like the SQLAgent.jar file are installed in the
wily/core/ext directory. You can change the location of the agent extension directory
with the introscope.agent.extensions.directory property in the agent profile. If you
change the location of the /ext directory, be sure to move the contents of the /ext
directory as well.

SQL statement normalization

Some applications may generate an extremely large number of unique SQL statements.
If technologies like EJB 3.0 are in use, the likelihood of long unique SQL statements
increases. Long SQL statements can contribute to a metric explosion in the agent,
leading to poor performance as well as other system problems.

How poorly written SQL statements create metric explosions

In general, the number of SQL agent metrics should approximate the number of unique
SQL statements. If your SQL agent is showing a large and increasing number of unique
SQL metrics even though your application uses a small set of SQL statements, the
problem could be in how the SQL statement is written.
There are several common situations in which SQL statements can cause metric
explosions. For example, SQL statements that include embedded comments, create
temporary tables, or insert lists of values can unintentionally create unique metric
names each time they execute.

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SQL statement normalization

Example: Comments in SQL statements

One common reason for metric explosion is caused by how comments are used in SQL
statements. For example, if you have a SQL statement like this:
"/* John Doe, user ID=?, txn=? */ select * from table..."

the SQL agent creates a metric with the comment as part of the metric name:
"/* John Doe, user ID=?, txn=? */ select * from table..."

The comment embedded in the SQL statement is useful for the database administrator
to see who is executing what query and the database executing the query ignores them.
The SQL agent, however, does not parse the comment string when it captures the SQL
statement. Therefore, for each unique user ID, the SQL agent creates a unique metric,
potentially causing a metric explosion.
This problem can be avoided by putting the SQL comment in single quotes. For example:
"/*' John Doe, user ID=?, txn=? '*/ select * from table..."

The SQL agent then creates the following metric where the comment no longer causes a
unique metric name:
"/* ? */ select * from table..."

Example: Temporary tables or automatically generated table names

Another potential cause of metric explosion can be the result of applications that
reference temporary tables or tables that have automatically generated names in SQL
statements. For example, if you open the Investigator to view the metrics under
Backends|{backendName}|SQL|{sqlType}|sql. you might see a metric similar to this:
SELECT * FROM TMP_123981398210381920912 WHERE ROW_ID = ?

This SQL statement is accessing a temporary table that has a unique identifier appended
to the table name. The additional digits that are appended to the TMP_ table name
create a unique metric name each time the statement is executed, causing a metric
explosion.

Chapter 11: Configuring the Introscope SQL Agent 169

SQL statement normalization

Example: Statements that generate lists of values or insert values

Another common cause of metric explosion are SQL statements that generate lists of
values or do mass modification of values. For example, assume you have been alerted to
a potential metric explosion and your investigation brings you to a review of this SQL
statement:
#1 INSERT INTO COMMENTS (COMMENT_ID, CARD_ID, CMMT_TYPE_ID,
CMMT_STATUS_ID,CMMT_CATEGORY_ID, LOCATION_ID, CMMT_LIST_ID, COMMENTS_DSC,
USER_ID,LAST_UPDATE_TS) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, "CHANGE CITY FROM CARROLTON,TO
CAROLTON, _ ", ?, CURRENT)

In studying the code, you notice that "CHANGE CITY FROM CARROLTON, TO CAROLTON,
_ " generates an array of cities.
Similarly, if you are investigating a potential metric explosion, you might review a SQL
statement similar to this:
CHANGE COUNTRY FROM US TO CA _ CHANGE EMAIL ADDRESS FROM TO BRIGGIN @ COM _ "

In studying the code, you notice CHANGE COUNTRY results in a long list of countries. In
addition, the placement of the quotes for countries results in people's e-mail addresses
getting inserted into SQL statements, creating unique metrics that could be the source
of the metric explosion.

SQL statement normalization options

To address long SQL statements, the SQL Agent includes the following normalizers for
use:

Default SQL statement normalizer (see page 170)

Custom SQL statement normalizer (see page 171)

Regular expression SQL statement normalizer (see page 172)

Command-line SQL statement normalizer (see page 176)

Default SQL statement normalizer

The standard SQL statement normalizer is on by default in the SQL agent. It normalizes
text within single quotation marks ('xyz'). For example, the SQL agent converts this SQL
query:
SELECT * FROM BOOKS WHERE AUTHOR = 'Atwood'

to this normalized statement:

SELECT * FROM BOOKS WHERE AUTHOR = ?

Metrics for normalized statements are aggregated and can be viewed in the
Workstation Investigator.

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SQL statement normalization

Custom SQL statement normalizer

The SQL Agent lets you add extensions for performing custom normalization. To do so,
you create a JAR file containing a normalization scheme that is implemented by the SQL
agent.
To apply a SQL statement normalizer extension
1.

Create an extension JAR file.

Note: The entry point class for the SQL normalizer extension file has to implement
com.wily.introscope.agent.trace.ISqlNormalizer interface.
Making a JAR extension file involves creating a manifest file that contains specific
keys for the SQL normalizer extension, which are detailed in step 2 below. However,
for your extension to work, other general keys are required. These keys are the type
you would use to construct any extension file. The extension file you create relates
to database SQL statement text normalization, for example metrics under the
Backends|{backendName}|SQL|{sqlType}|{actualSQLStatement} node. The
{actualSQLStatement} is normalized by the SQL normalizer.

2.

Place the following keys in the manifest of the created extension:

com-wily-Extension-Plugins-List:testNormalizer1
Note: The value of this key can be anything. In this instance, testNormalizer1 is
used as an example. Whatever you specify as the value of this key, use it in the
following keys as well.

com-wily-Extension-Plugin-testNormalizer1-Type: sqlnormalizer

com-wily-Extension-Plugin-testNormalizer1-Version: 1

com-wily-Extension-Plugin-testNormalizer1-Name: normalizer1
Should contain the unique name of your normalizer, for example normalizer1.

com-wily-Extension-Plugin-testNormalizer1-Entry-Point-Class:
<Thefully-qualified classname of your implementation of ISQLNormalizer>

3.

Place the extension file you created in the <Agent_Home>/wily/core/ext directory.

4.

In the IntroscopeAgent.profile, locate and set the following property:

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension

Set the property to the com-wily-Extension-Plugin-{plugin}-Name from your created

extensions manifest file. The value of this property is not case sensitive. For
example:
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension=normalizer1

Important! This is a hot property. Changes to the extension name will result in
re-registration of the extension.

Chapter 11: Configuring the Introscope SQL Agent 171

SQL statement normalization

5.

In the IntroscopeAgent.profile, you can optionally add the following property to set
the error throttle count:
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension.errorCount

For more information about errors and exceptions, see Exceptions (see page 172).
Note: If the errors thrown by the custom normalizer extension exceed the error
throttle count, the extension is disabled.
6.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

7.

Restart your application.

Exceptions
If the extension you created throws an exception for one query, the default SQL
statement normalizer uses the default normalization scheme for that query. When this
happens, an ERROR message is logged, saying an exception was thrown by the
extension, and a DEBUG message is logged with stack trace information. However, after
five such exceptions are thrown, the default SQL statement normalizer disables your
created extension and stops attempting to use the created extension for future queries
until the normalizer is changed.

Null or empty strings

If the extension you created returns a null string or empty string for a query, the
StatementNormalizer uses the default normalization scheme for that query and logs an
INFO message saying the extension returned a null value. However, after five such null
or empty strings have been returned, the StatementNormalizer stops logging messages,
but will attempt to continue to use the extension.

Regular expression SQL statement normalizer

The SQL Agent ships with an extension that normalizes SQL statements based on
configurable regular expressions (regex). This file, RegexNormalizerExtension.jar, is
located in the <Agent_Home>/wily/core/ext directory.
For examples on how to use the regular expression SQL statement normalizer, see
Regular expression SQL statement normalizer examples (see page 174).
To apply the regular expressions extension
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

2.

Locate and set the following properties:

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension=RegexSqlNormalizer
Specifies the name of the SQL normalizer extension that will be used to
override the preconfigured normalization scheme. When enabling the regular
expressions extension, set this property to RegexSqlNormalizer.

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SQL statement normalization

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.keys=key1
This property specifies the regex group keys, which are evaluated in the order
they are listed. This property is required to enable the regular expressions
extension. There is no default value.

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.pattern=A
This property specifies the regex pattern that is used to match against the SQL
statements. All valid regular expressions allowed by the java.util.Regex
package classes can be used here. This property is required to enable the
regular expressions extension. There is no default value.

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceFormat=B
This property specifies the replacement string format. All valid regex allowed
by the java.util.Regex package classes can be used here. This property is
required to enable the regular expressions extension. There is no default value.

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.matchFallThrough=false
If this property is set to true, SQL strings are evaluated against all the regex key
groups. The implementation is chained. Hence, if the SQL strings match
multiple key groups, the normalized SQL output from group1 is fed as input to
group2, and so on.
If the property is set to false, as soon as a key group matches the SQL string,
the normalized SQL output from that group is returned. The MatchFallThrough
property does not enable or disable the extension.
For example, if you had a SQL string like: Select * from A where B, you would
set the following properties:
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.keys=key1,key2
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.pattern=A
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceFormat=X
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key2.pattern=B
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key2.replaceFormat=Y

If introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.matchFallThrough is false, then the

SQL is normalized against key1 regex. Output from that regex will be Select * from X
where B. This SQL will be returned.
If introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.matchFallThrough is true, then the
SQL is normalized against key1 regex first. The output from that regex is Select *
from X where B. This output is then fed to key2 regex. The output from key2 regex is
Select * from X where Y. This will be the SQL returned.
Note: This property is not required to enable the regular expressions extension.

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.caseSensitive=false
This property specifies whether the pattern match is case sensitive. The default
value is false. This property is not required to enable the regular expressions
extension.

Chapter 11: Configuring the Introscope SQL Agent 173

SQL statement normalization

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceAll=false
If this property is set to false, it will replace the first occurrence of the matching
pattern in the SQL with the replacement string. If this property is set to true, it
will replace all occurrences of the matching pattern in the SQL with the
replacement string.
For example, if you have a SQL statement like Select * from A where A like Z,
you would set the properties as follows:
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.pattern=A
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceFormat=X

If introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceAl is false, it will result in

a normalized SQL statement: Select * from X where A like Z.
If introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceAl is true, it will result in
a normalized SQL statement: Select * from X where X like Z.
The default value is false. This property is not required to enable the regular
expressions extension.
Note: If none of the regular expression patterns match the input SQL, the
RegexNormalizer will return a null string. The statement normalizer will then use
the default normalization scheme.
3.

Save the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Important! All properties listed above are hot, meaning changes to these properties
take effect once you have saved the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

Regular expression SQL statement normalizer examples

The three examples below can help you understand how to implement the regular
expression SQL statement normalizer.

Example 1
Here is a SQL query before regular expression SQL statement normalization:
INSERT INTO COMMENTS (COMMENT_ID, CARD_ID, CMMT_TYPE_ID,CMMT_STATUS_ID,
CMMT_CATEGORY_ID, LOCATION_ID, CMMT_LIST_ID,COMMENTS_DSC, USER_ID, LAST_UPDATE_TS)
VALUES(?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?,?, CHANGE CITY FROM CARROLTON, TO CAROLTON, _ ", ?, CURRENT)

Here is the desired normalized SQL statement:

INSERT INTO COMMENTS (COMMENT_ID, ...) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?,?, CHANGE CITY FROM
( )

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SQL statement normalization

Here is the configuration needed to the IntroscopeAgent.profile file to result in the

normalized SQL statement shown above:
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension=RegexSqlNormalizer
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.matchFallThrough=true
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.keys=key1,key2
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.pattern=(INSERT INTO
COMMENTS \\(COMMENT_ID,)(.*)(VALUES.*)''(CHANGE CITY FROM \\().*(\\))
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceAll=false
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceFormat=$1 ...) $3$4 $5
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.caseSensitive=false
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key2.pattern='[a-zA-Z1-9]+'
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key2.replaceAll=true
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key2.replaceFormat=?
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key2.caseSensitive=false

Example 2
Here is a SQL query before regular expression SQL statement normalization:
SELECT * FROM TMP_123981398210381920912 WHERE ROW_ID =

Here is the desired normalized SQL statement:

SELECT * FROM TMP_ WHERE ROW_ID =

Here is the configuration needed to the IntroscopeAgent.profile file to result in the

normalized SQL statement shown above:
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension=RegexSqlNormalizer
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.matchFallThrough=true
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.keys=key1
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.pattern=(TMP_)[1-9]*
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceAll=false
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceFormat=$1
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.caseSensitive=false

Example 3
If you want to normalize a SQL statement like: Select .... ResID1, CustID1 where
ResID1=.. OR ResID2=.. n times OR CustID1=.. OR n times, you could set the properties
like this:
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.matchFallThrough=true
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.keys=default,def
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.default.pattern=(ResID)[1-9]
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.default.replaceAll=true
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.default.replaceFormat=$1
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.default.caseSensitive=true
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.def.pattern=(CustID)[1-9]
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.def.replaceAll=true
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.def.replaceFormat=$1
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.def.caseSensitive=true

Chapter 11: Configuring the Introscope SQL Agent 175

Turn Off Statement Metrics

Command-line SQL statement normalizer

If the regular expression SQL normalizer is not in use, and you have SQL statements that
enclose values in the where clause with double quotes (" "), use the following
command-line command to normalize your SQL statements:
-DSQLAgentNormalizeDoubleQuoteString=true

Important! You can use the regular expressions SQL normalizer instead of this command
to normalize SQL statements in double quotes. See Regular expression SQL statement
normalizer (see page 172) for more information.

Turn Off Statement Metrics

Some applications can generate large numbers of unique SQL statements, causing a
metric explosion in the SQL agent. You can turn off SQL statement metrics in the SQL
agent.
Note: When you turn off statement metrics, the backend or top-level JDBC metrics are
not lost.
To turn off statement metrics
1.

Open the sqlagent.pbd file and locate the SQL statements. For example:
TraceOneMethodWithParametersIfFlagged: SQLAgentStatements
executeQuery(Ljava/lang/String;)Ljava/sql/ResultSet; DbCommandTracer
"Backends|{database}|SQL|{commandtype}|Query|{sql}"

2.

Remove {sql} from the trace directives you want to turn off. For example:
TraceOneMethodWithParametersIfFlagged: SQLAgentStatements executeQuery(Ljava/
lang/String;)Ljava/sql/ResultSet; DbCommandTracer
"Backends|{database}|SQL|{commandtype}|Query"

3.

Save the sqlagent.pbd file.

The SQL statement metrics in the SQL agent are turned off.

SQL metrics
The SQL Agent metrics appear under the Backends node in the Introscope Workstation
Investigator. SQL statement metrics can be found under the
Backends|<backendName>|SQL node.
Note: Average Response Time (ms) will only display queries that return a data reader,
i.e. queries executed via the ExecuteReader() method. This metric represents the
average time spent in the data readers Close() method.

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SQL metrics

Metric types specific to SQL data include:

Connection CountThe number of live connection objects in memory.

A connection is opened when a drivers connect() method is invoked, and closed
when the connection invocation is closed via the close() method. The SQL Agent
maintains weak references to Connections in a Set. When the Connection objects
are garbage collected, the counts reflect the changes.

Average Result Processing Time (ms)The average processing time of a query.

This metric represents the average time spent processing a ResultSet from the end
of the executeQuery() call to the invocation of the ResultSet's close() method.

Note: Instrumented XADataSources may not report commit or rollback metrics. Other
instrumented DataSources may not report commit or rollback metrics unless those
metrics contain data.

Chapter 11: Configuring the Introscope SQL Agent 177

Chapter 12: Enabling JMX Reporting

This section contains information about enabling the Java agent to report JMX data.
This section contains the following topics:
Java Agent JMX support (see page 179)
Default JMX metric conversion process (see page 180)
Using primary key conversion to streamline JMX metrics (see page 181)
Managing metric volume with JMX filters (see page 182)
Configuring JMX reporting (see page 183)
Enabling JSR-77 data for WAS 6.x (see page 184)

Java Agent JMX support

Introscope can collect management data that application servers or Java applications
expose as JMX-compliant MBeans, and present the JMX data in the Investigator metric
tree. Introscope supports the collection of JMX information on the following application
servers:

Glassfish

JBoss

Tomcat

WebLogic

WebSphere

Introscope supports any MBean built to the Sun JMX specification. For more information
on the Sun JMX specification, see Java Management Extensions.
Introscope converts the JMX data to the Introscope metric format and displays it in the
Investigator under the following node:
<Domain>|<Host>|<Process>|AgentName|JMX|

Chapter 12: Enabling JMX Reporting 179

Default JMX metric conversion process

Introscope support for WebLogic 9.0 JMX metrics

WebLogic versions prior to WebLogic 9.0 provided only a single MBeanServer as a
source of JMX metrics. WebLogic 9.0 provides three:

RuntimeServiceMBean: per-server runtime metrics, including active effective

configuration

DomainRuntimeServiceMBean: domain-wide runtime metrics

EditServiceMBean: allows user to edit persistent configuration

Introscope polls only the RuntimeServiceMBean, because it is the only one that supports
local access (an efficiency issue), and because it contains most of the data expected to
be relevant.

Default JMX metric conversion process

This section describes the process Introscope uses, by default, to convert JMX Metrics
for display in the Investigator. This method is used to convert an MBean if:

You use WebLogic 9.0, or

You have not configured valid primary keys, as described in Using primary key
conversion to streamline JMX metrics (see page 181).

Note: If you specify primary keys that no MBeans match, Introscope will use the default
conversion method.
In the default conversion method, Introscope displays both the name and the value of
the attribute, and lists the pairs alphabetically in the metric tree.
Domain>|<Host>|<Process>|AgentName|JMX|<domain name>|
<key1>=<value1>|<key2>=<value2>:<metric>
For example, given a WebLogic MBean with these characteristics:

Domain name: WebLogic

Key/Value pairs: category=server, type=jdbc

Metric names: connections

If no primary keys are specified in the IntroscopeAgent.profile property

introscope.agent.jmx.name.primarykeys, the MBean attributes above would be
converted to the following Introscope metric:
<Domain>|<Host>|<Process>|AgentName|JMX|Weblogic|category=server|type=jdbc:c
onnections
Note that the key/value pairs are displayed alphabetically in the Introscope metric.

180 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Using primary key conversion to streamline JMX metrics

Using primary key conversion to streamline JMX metrics

You can optionally configure the order in which metrics appear under the JMX node by
defining, in the agent profile, a Primary Keythose parts of an MBeans ObjectName
that uniquely identify it.
If you do not configure primary key conversion, Introscope converts the JMX data as
described in Default JMX metric conversion process (see page 180). With the default
conversion, metrics are listed alphabetically under the JMX node in Investigator.
This method of converting JMX data to Introscope metrics results in streamlined metric
names, and allows you to control order of key/value pair information in the generated
metrics.
The behavior is configured in the introscope.agent.jmx.name.primarykeys property in
the agent profile. Values in the primarykeys property should specify the parts of an
MBeans JMX ObjectName that uniquely identify an MBean. For example, a WebLogic
MBeans ObjectName contains a Type key that specifies the kind of MBean, and a Name
key that specifies the name of the resource the MBean represents. The key/value pairs
in an ObjectName can vary for different types of MBeans.
Introscope converts and presents the MBeans identified by value of the
introscope.agent.jmx.name.primarykeys property according to these rules:

Only the key value information is displayed, not the key name.

Values are ordered in the sequence defined in the primarykeys property.

Values are case-sensitive.

For example, given a WebLogic MBean with these characteristics:

Domain name: WebLogic

MBean ObjectName key/value pairs: category=server, type=jdbc

Metric names: connections

If you configure:
introscope.agent.jmx.name.primarykeys=type,category the connections attribute
appears in the Investigator tree in this structure:
<IntroscopeDomain>|<Host>|<Process>|AgentName|JMX|Weblogic|jdbc|server:connection
s

Note: WebLogic 9.0 does not have universally available primary keys, so for WebLogic
9.0 Introscope uses the key/value pair metric naming convention found in the Default
Conversion Method described in Default JMX metric conversion process (see page 180).
As a result, the JMX Metric tree for WebLogic 9.0 will have a different structure than the
metric tree for other WebLogic versions.

Chapter 12: Enabling JMX Reporting 181

Managing metric volume with JMX filters

Managing metric volume with JMX filters

Defining JMX filters determines what JMX MBean information is collected and displayed
in Introscope. If no filters are set, all JMX MBean information is reported by the agent to
the Enterprise Manager, increasing system overhead.
Filters are set in the introscope.agent.jmx.name.filter property in the agent profile,
IntroscopeAgent.profile. Filters are keywords, entered as comma-separated strings in
the property. Introscope 6.1 and higher supports filter strings that contain the asterisk
(*) and question mark (?) wildcard characters.
Introscope matches the filter strings to JMX-generated Introscope metrics. If it finds a
match, the metrics that match are reported to Introscope.
To limit the volume of metrics returned, define filter strings as narrowly as possible. For
instance, if you define a filter string that matches an MBean attribute that exists on
multiple MBeans, metrics from each of those MBeans are reported. If you are only
interested in an attribute on selected MBeans, you can qualify the attribute name with
the MBean name in your filter string.
For example, assume you want to capture the MessagesCurrentCount attribute value for
the JMSDestinationRuntime MBean.
If the fully qualified metric name for MessagesCurrentCount is:
*SuperDomain*|host-name|Process|Agent-name|JMX|comp-1|
JMSDestinationRuntime|comp-2:MessagesCurrentCount

define introscope.agent.jmx.name.filter in the IntroscopeAgent.profile as:

JMX|comp-1|JMSDestinationRuntime|comp-2:MessagesCurrentCount

JMX filters for WebLogic

In the IntroscopeAgent.profile file for WebLogic, the following keywords are already
defined:

ActiveConnectionsCurrentCount

WaitingForConnectionCurrentCount

PendingRequestCurrentCount

ExecuteThreadCurrentIdleCount

OpenSessionsCurrentCount

182 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Configuring JMX reporting

Configuring JMX reporting

How you configure Introscope to support JMX depends upon the application server you
use. This section describes how to configure Introscope to collect and present JMX data
from WebLogic Server and WebSphere.
To configure JMX reporting, complete the following steps in this order:
1.

Enable JMX support in the agent profile.

2.

Define primary keys for JMX data conversion.

3.

Define JMX filters.

4.

Configure startup class or service.

Enable JMX support in the agent profile

1.

Shut down the managed application if it is running.

2.

For WebSphere agents only, in IntroscopeAgent.profile set

introscope.agent.jmx.enable to true. (The default value is false in the WebSphere
agent profile.)

Define primary keys for JMX data conversion

In IntroscopeAgent.profile, configure primary keys.

For WebLogic 9.0, comment out:

introscope.agent.jmx.name.primarykeys

For other WebLogic versions, uncomment:

introscope.agent.jmx.name.primarykeys

1.

If you modify the value of the property, the values must be case-sensitive, and
multiple keys must be separated by commas.

2.

Continue to the next step, Define JMX filters.

Define JMX filters

Note: Filters must include an MBean attribute, such as version number. For example,
given the complete metric name:
*SuperDomain*|MyServer01|WebSphere|LODVMAPM032Node02Cell/server1|JMX|WebSpher
e|cell=LODVMAPM032Node02Cell|mbeanIdentifier=default_host/hello|name=hello-2_
1_1_2_war#hello-2.1.1.2.war|node=LODVMAPM032Node02|platform=dynamicproxy|proc
ess=server1|spec=1.0|type=SessionManager|version=6.1.0.0|StatsImpl|LiveCount:
HighWaterMark

Chapter 12: Enabling JMX Reporting 183

Enabling JSR-77 data for WAS 6.x

A filtered version containing the version number attribute would be:

PlantsByWebSphere|name=PlantsByWebSphere#PlantsByWebSphere.war|node=LODVMAPM0
33Node01|platform=dynamicproxy|process=server1|spec=1.0|type=SessionManager|v
ersion=6.1.0.0

or even more simply:

Plant*re|*version*

Use the following steps to define JMX filters:

1.

In IntroscopeAgent.profile, make sure the introscope.agent.jmx.name.filter

property is uncommented.

2.

Enter desired strings, separated by commas, in the property.

For Introscope to match filtered strings, the strings must be spelled exactly and case
sensitive.

3.

Save changes.

4.

Restart the managed application.

Configure startup class or service

To enable JMX data, configure an Introscope startup class in WebLogic Server, or a

custom service in WebSphere. For instructions, see Configuring a startup class for
WebLogic (see page 42), or Configuring a custom service in WebSphere (see
page 51).

Enabling JSR-77 data for WAS 6.x

This section provides instructions for configuring Introscope to collect, retain, and
report metrics for JSR-77 JMX MBean objects under WebSphere 6.1 and later.
JSR-77, the J2EE Management Specification, abstracts the manageable parts of the J2EE
architecture and defines an interface for accessing management information.
JSR-77 support requires a JVM version 1.4 or later. If the JVM is 1.4, the application
server must also support JSR-77.
To enable JSR-77 support
1.

Shut down the managed application if it is running.

2.

Configure a WebSphere Custom Service, as described in Configuring a custom

service in WebSphere 6.1 (see page 51).

3.

In the IntroscopeAgent.profile, verify that:

introscope.agent.jmx.enable=true

4.

In the IntroscopeAgent.profile, enable JSR-77 by setting:

introscope.agent.jmx.name.jsr77.disable=false

184 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Enabling JSR-77 data for WAS 6.x

5.

Configure the primary keys method of metric conversion by uncommenting this

property in the IntroscopeAgent.profile:
introscope.agent.jmx.name.primaryKeys=J2EEServer,Application,
j2eeType,JDBCProvider,name,mbeanIdentifier

Note: Only the IntroscopeAgent.profile provided with Introscope for WebSphere

contains this property definition.
For more information see Using primary key conversion to streamline JMX metrics
(see page 181).
6.

To specify the JSR-77 Metrics to report, uncomment and set this property to
identify desired metrics:
introscope.agent.jmx.name.filter

Although filtering is not required, it is highly recommended. For more information

see Managing metric volume with JMX filters (see page 182).
7.

To specify specific Mbean attributes to exclude in JSR-77 metrics, uncomment this

property, and update as desired to exclude additional attributes:
introscope.agent.jmx.ignore.attributes=server

Chapter 12: Enabling JMX Reporting 185

Chapter 13: Configuring Platform

Monitoring
This section has instructions for configuring Introscope Platform Monitors.
This section contains the following topics:
Understanding platform monitors (see page 187)
Enabling platform monitors on Windows Server 2003 (see page 189)
Enabling platform monitors on AIX (see page 189)
Disabling platform monitors (see page 190)
Configure Permissions to Access Platform Monitors on HP-UX (see page 191)
Troubleshooting platform monitoring (see page 191)

Understanding platform monitors

Platform monitors enable the Java agent to report system metrics, including CPU
statistics, to the Enterprise Manager. Platform monitors are included with the
Introscope agent installers.
Platform monitors on all operating systems except Windows Server 2003 and AIX are
automatically enabled upon Java agent installation. Windows Server 2003 and AIX
platform monitors require minimal configuration to work.
Note: Platform monitor binaries are independent of application server and operating
system bit modes. Also, platform monitor binaries are purely dependent on JVM
architecture.
Introscope can monitor CPU usage on these operating systems:

Solaris
Important! Platform monitoring is not supported on 64 bit Solaris using 64 bit BEA
JRockit JVM.

Windows Server 2003

Windows 2000 Professional/Server/Advanced Server/Datacenter Server

Windows XP Professional
Important! Introscope does not monitor platform monitors on 64-bit Windows XP
Professional.

Chapter 13: Configuring Platform Monitoring 187

Understanding platform monitors

AIX 4.0, 5.0, or 6.0

Important! AIX 5.3 64 bit Platform Monitor binaries work only on AIX machines
which have Technology Level equal or greater than TL6 (5300-06). You should
ensure that your AIX machine is no less than TL6.

RedHat 3.0, 4.0, or 5.0

SUSE Linux 9.0, or 10.0

HP-UX
Note: HP-UX Platform Monitor binaries (both PA-RISC and IA 64) work on 32 bit
kernel with 32 bit JVM.
HP-UX Platform Monitor binaries (both PA-RISC and IA 64) work on 64 bit kernel
with 32 bit JVM. (HP-UX binaries support 64 bit OS but not 64 bit JVM).
The Java Agent platform monitor for HP-UX reports the percentage use of CPUs
when more than one process is present. For example, if you have 4 processes, the
maximum use of the CPU would be 400% (4 processes using 100% of the CPU). If
one process takes 110%, this means it is using 1.1 CPUs.

The following JVMs are supported by platform monitors:

Sun JVM

HP Hotspot JVM

IBM JVM (Both Classic and J9)

BEA JRocket JVM

Note: 32-bit Platform Monitor binaries can be installed on a 64-bit machine,
provided a 32-bit JVM is installed.

The platform metrics generated are:

ProcessID

Processor Count - the number of CPUs

Utilization % (process) - for the Java Agent process, the percentage of total capacity
of all processors this process is using. Regardless of how many processors there are,
this metric generates only one number.

Utilization % (aggregate) - for this processor, its total utilization (as a percentage) by
all processes in the system. Each processor is shown as a Resource in the
Investigator tree.

188 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Enabling platform monitors on Windows Server 2003

Enabling platform monitors on Windows Server 2003

To run platform monitors on Windows Server 2003, you must have admin privileges.
Note that system objects must be enabled for platform monitoring to work on
Windows.
To determine whether system objects are enabled
1.

Go to Start > Run.

2.

Type perfmon and click Run.

3.

In the dialog box click Add.

4.

In the Add dialog, if "Process" and "Processor" performance objects are present in
the drop down list box, then system objects are enabled.

To enable system objects

1.

Go to Start > Accessories > Right click on command prompt > Run as >
Administrator.

2.

Run the command: lodctr /r

"Process" and "Processor" objects will be enabled.

Enabling platform monitors on AIX

To enable platform monitors on AIX
1.

2.

After Java agent installation, verify that the following files are installed in the
wily/core/ext directory:

introscopeAIXPSeries32Stats.jar

introscopeAIXPSeries64Stats.jar

libIntroscopeAIXPSeries32Stats.so

libIntroscopeAIXPSeries64Stats.so

Install the Perfstat Library.

3.

AIX 4.3.3 and higher: A Perfstat Library has been created to work with AIX
4.3.3. Install the following packages from the IBM FTP site:

bos.perf.libperfstat

bos.perf.perfstat

AIX 4: Bring your system up to 4.3.3 and then install the above packages.

Restart your machine to ensure the patches have taken effect.

Chapter 13: Configuring Platform Monitoring 189

Disabling platform monitors

Disabling platform monitors

To disable platform monitors on any platform, move the .jar file from the /wily/core/ext
directory to another directory.
This table shows the location of platform monitor files installed with a Java agent
installer. All files listed below are located in the <Agent_Home>wily/core/ext/ directory.
Solaris
The platform monitor files are:

introscopeSolarisAmd32Stats.jar

introscopeSolarisAmd64Stats.jar

introscopeSolarisSparc32Stats.jar

introscopeSolarisSparc64Stats.jar

libIntroscopeSolarisAmd32Stats.so

libIntroscopeSolarisAmd64Stats.so

libIntroscopeSolarisSparc32Stats.so

libIntroscopeSolarisSparc64Stats.so

Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 (all), and XP Professional

The platform monitor files are:

introscopeWindowsIntelAmd32Stats.dll

introscopeWindowsIntelAmd64Stats.dll

introscopeWindowsIntelAmd32Stats.jar

introscopeWindowsIntelAmd64Stats.jar

AIX
The platform monitor files are:

introscopeAIXPSeries32Stats.jar

introscopeAIXPSeries64Stats.jar

libIntroscopeAIXPSeries32Stats.so

libIntroscopeAIXPSeries64Stats.so

RedHat Enterprise Linux

The platform monitor files are:

introscopeRedHatStats.jar

libIntroscopeRedHatStats.so

190 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Configure Permissions to Access Platform Monitors on HP-UX

Linux
The platform monitor files are:

introscopeLinuxIntelAmd32Stats.jar

introscopeLinuxIntelAmd64Stats.jar

libIntroscopeLinuxIntelAmd32Stats.so

libIntroscopeLinuxIntelAmd64Stats.so

HP-UX
The platform monitor files are:

introscopeHpuxItaniumStats.jar

introscopeHpuxParisc32Stats.jar

introscopeHpuxItanium64Stats.jar

libIntroscopeHpuxItaniumStats.so

libIntroscopeHpuxParisc32Stats.so

libIntroscopeHpuxItanium64Stats.so

Configure Permissions to Access Platform Monitors on HP-UX

Installing the platform monitor on HP-UX using .zip or .tar installers requires
administrators to change read-write permissions on the following files to 777:
wily/ext/introscopeHpuxItaniumStats.jar
wily/ext/introscopeHpuxItaniumStats.so
wily/ext/introscopeHpuxParisc32Stats.jar
wily/ext/introscopeHpuxParisc32Stats.so

Example (root user):

chmod 777 /<Agent_Home>/wily/ext/introscopeHpuxItaniumStats.jar

Make these changes after installing the agent and before starting it.
If you are using the first two files named above, you also must install gcc before starting
the agent. You can download gcc, a compiler for C and C++, by searching the HP support
website.

Troubleshooting platform monitoring

In most cases, the platform monitor successfully detects the operating system and runs
if the operating system is supported. In rare cases where this does not occur, you can
explicitly specify your operating system in the Java agent profile to ensure that the
platform monitor runs.

Chapter 13: Configuring Platform Monitoring 191

Troubleshooting platform monitoring

To specify your operating system in the IntroscopeAgent.profile

1.

Open IntroscopeAgent.profile.

2.

Under the Platform Monitor Configuration heading, locate the exact matching value
for your operating system and uncomment the property. The available values are:
#introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system=SolarisAmd32
#introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system=SolarisAmd64
#introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system=SolarisSparc32
#introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system=SolarisSparc64
#introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system=AIXPSeries32
#introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system=AIXPSeries64
#introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system=HP-UXItanium
#introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system=HP-UXParisc32
#introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system=WindowsIntelAmd32
#introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system=WindowsIntelAmd64
#introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system=LinuxIntelAmd32
#introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system=LinuxIntelAmd64

3.

Restart the managed application.

Troubleshooting platform monitoring on Windows

On Windows platforms, the following error can appear for the Java agent:
11/28/06 08:29:55 AM PST [ERROR] [IntroscopeAgent] An error occurred polling for
platform data

If the error is infrequent, it is likely caused by a transient error originating from

Windows itself, and is harmless. On platforms other than Windows, or in the case that
the error happens all the time, this error indicates something more serious and should
be reported to CA Support for Introscope.

SAP Netweaver
Platform monitors may not function correctly on SAP Netweaver due to the lack of
permissions for SAP user accounts.
By default, SAP user accounts are not registered under Performance Monitor Users,
which is located by navigating to Computer Management > System Tools > Local Users
and Groups > Groups > Performance Monitor Users . Users registered under
Performance Monitor Users have access to Perfmon related data
(HKEY_PERFORMANCE_DATA).
If you are experiencing problems with SAP Netweaver and Introscope performance
monitoring, this issue can be resolved by adding SAP user account to the Performance
Monitor Users group, then restarting the Windows machine.

192 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties

This section contains the following topics:
Configuring the IntroscopeAgent.profile location (see page 194)
Command-line property overrides (see page 195)
Agent failover (see page 196)
Agent HTTP tunneling (see page 198)
Agent memory overhead (see page 201)
Agent metric aging (see page 202)
Agent metric clamp (see page 206)
Agent naming (see page 207)
Agent recording (business recording) (see page 212)
Agent thread priority (see page 213)
Agent to Enterprise Manager connection (see page 214)
Application triage map (see page 216)
Application Triage Map and Catalyst Integration (see page 219)
Application triage map business transaction POST parameters (see page 221)
Application triage map managed socket configuration (see page 223)
AutoProbe (see page 226)
Bootstrap Classes Instrumentation Manager (see page 228)
CA CEM Agent Profile Properties (see page 229)
ChangeDetector configuration (see page 235)
Cross-process tracing in WebLogic Server (see page 238)
Cross-process transaction trace (see page 239)
Dynamic instrumentation (see page 240)
ErrorDetector (see page 243)
Extensions (see page 244)
GC Monitor (see page 245)
Java NIO (see page 246)
JMX (see page 252)
LeakHunter (see page 256)
Logging (see page 261)
Metric count (see page 266)
Multiple inheritance (see page 267)
Platform monitoring (see page 270)
Remote configuration (see page 271)
Security (see page 272)
Servlet header decorator (see page 273)
Socket metrics (see page 273)
SQL Agent (see page 275)
SSL communication (see page 282)
Stall metrics (see page 285)
Thread dumps (see page 287)
Transaction tracing (see page 289)
URL grouping (see page 299)
WebSphere PMI (see page 301)

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 193

Configuring the IntroscopeAgent.profile location

WLDF metrics (see page 312)

Configuring the IntroscopeAgent.profile location

The agent refers to properties in the IntroscopeAgent.profile for its basic connection
and naming properties. When you install an agent, the agent profile is installed in the
<Agent_Home>/wily/core/config directory.
Introscope looks for the agent profile in these locations, in this sequence:

location defined in the system property com.wily.introscope.agentProfile

location defined in com.wily.introscope.agentResource

<working directory>/wily/core/config directory

Note: When adding a path on a Windows computer, escape the backslash (\) with
another backslash as follows: C:\\Introscope\\lib\\Agent.jar.
To change the location of the IntroscopeAgent.profile
1.

Define the new location using one of these methods:

define a system property on the Java command line with the -D option to
specify the full path to the location of the IntroscopeAgent.profile file:

-D com.wily.introscope.agentProfile.

Make the IntroscopeAgent.profile available in a resource on the classpath. Set

com.wily.introscope.agentResource to specify the path to the resource
containing the agent profile.
Note: If you change the location of the IntroscopeAgent.profile, the AutoProbe
log location will also have to be changed. For more information, see Managing
ProbeBuilder Logs (see page 135).

2.

Move your ProbeBuilder directives (PBD and PBL files) to the same location as the
agent profilethey are referenced relative to the profile location.

194 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Command-line property overrides

If you use Sun ONE, then add the new location of the agent profile to the Sun ONE
server.xml file
To change the location of the IntroscopeAgent.profile for Sun ONE
1.

To add Introscope information to the startup scripts for Sun ONE 7.0, log in as
Administrator or Root.

2.

Open the server.xml file, in <SunOne_Home>/domains/domain1/server1/config/

3.

Add a line to the jvm-options stanza in server.xml:

<jvm-options>
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=SunOneHome/wily/core/config/IntroscopeAgen
t.profile
</jvm-options>

Command-line property overrides

In Introscope, you can override specific properties of the Enterprise Manager, agents,
Workstation, and WebView using the command line. With regard to the Java agent, this
is useful when you have a clustered environment with multiple copies of an agent being
shared and you want to tailor some of the agent settings for each application being
monitored.
These steps assume you have installed and configured an agent on the application
server to be monitored, and that the agent successfully connects to the Enterprise
Manager.
To override agent properties using the command line
1.

Open the file where you modified the Java command to start the agent.
The location of this file varies depending on the application server you use in your
environment.

2.

Add a -D command to override a property. For example, you can add the following
command to make the agent also use the weblogic-full.pbl file:
-Dintroscope.autoprobe.directivesFile=weblogic-full.pbl

Place this command next to other -D commands in the open file.

Note: When you use this command to override hot deployable properties, the
property is no longer hot deployable. Also, if you modify the property at a later time
in the configuration file, you will receive a warning message in the Workstation
stating you modified an overridden property and your change will have no effect.
To avoid this, remove the override command before modifying the property in a
configuration file.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 195

Agent failover

3.

Save the file.

4.

Restart the agent.

In the example used above, you would now see the additional WebLogic metrics in
the agent node in the Workstation.
Important! System properties become part of the property space of Introscope
properties, allowing things like java.io.tmpdir to be visible to anything using
IndexedProperties.

Agent failover
If the Java agent loses connection with its primary Enterprise Manager, the Agent
failover properties specify which Enterprise Manager the agent will failover to, and how
often it will try to reconnect to its primary Enterprise Manager.

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.connectionorder
Specifies the connection order of backup Enterprise Managers the agent uses if it is
disconnected from its default Enterprise Manager.
Property settings
Names of other Enterprise Managers the agent can connect to.
Default
The Enterprise Manager defined by the DEFAULT host name, port number, and socket
factory properties.
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.connectionorder=DEFAULT

Notes

Use a comma separated list.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

196 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Agent failover

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.failbackRetryIntervalInSeconds
Specifies the number of seconds between attempts by a denied agent to reconnect to
these Enterprise Managers:

Enterprise Managers based on order configured in the agent profile

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.connectionorder property value.

Any Enterprise Manager allowed based on loadbalancing.xml configuration.

If an agent cannot connect to an Enterprise Manager, it handles connections in these

ways:

Tries to connect to the next allowed Enterprise Manager.

Does not connect to any Enterprise Manager on which it is disallowed.

Note: For information about configuring loadbalancing.xml and agent to Enterprise

Manager connections, see the CA APM Configuration and Administration Guide.
Default
The default interval is 120 seconds.
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.failbackRetryIntervalInSeconds=120

Notes
Restart the managed application so that changes to this property take effect.
This property is commented out by default.
This property is useful for environments where an agent is allowed to connect across
the following CA APM components:

Clusters.

Collectors and Standalone Enterprise Managers.

Any combination of clusters, Collectors, and Standalone Enterprise Managers.

If an agent can connect to Enterprise Managers in different clusters and this property is
not set, then the following example shows what occurs:
1.

An agent connected to an Enterprise Manager in Cluster disconnects.

2.

The agent connects to an Enterprise Manager in Cluster 2 in disallowed mode.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 197

Agent HTTP tunneling

3.

The agent does not know when the allowed Enterprise Manager in Cluster 1
becomes available.

This property enforces the agent to keep trying to connect to its allowed Enterprise
Managers until an Enterprise Manager is available for connection.

Agent HTTP tunneling

You can configure agents to send information using tunneling technology, enabling
agents to connect to an Enterprise Manager remotely. To do this, the agent must be
configured to connect to the Enterprise Managers embedded Web server, where the
HTTP tunneling Web service is hosted.
To configure HTTP tunneled communication in IntroscopeAgent.profile as a new agent
connection, specify:

The host name of machine running the Enterprise Manager. For more information,
see introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT (see
page 200).

The connection port to the Enterprise Manager Web server. This is the value for the
introscope.enterprisemanager.webserver.port property specified in the
IntroscopeEnterpriseManager.properties for the Enterprise Manager to which the
agent will connect.

The HTTP tunneling socket factory. Specify this client socket factory:
com.wily.isengard.postofficehub.link.net.HttpTunnelingSocketFactory

Agent HTTP tunneling for proxy servers

The following properties only apply to agents configured to tunnel over HTTP and must
connect to an Enterprise Manager using a proxy server:

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.http.proxy.host (see page 199)

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.http.proxy.port (see page 199)

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.http.proxy.username (see page 199)

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.http.proxy.password (see page 200)

For more information, see Configuring a proxy server for HTTP tunneling (see page 59).

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introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.http.proxy.host
Specifies the proxy server host name.
Default
Commented out; not specified.
Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.http.proxy.port
Specifies the proxy server port number.
Default
Commented out; not specified.
Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.http.proxy.username
If the proxy server requires the agent to authenticate it, specifies the user name for
authentication.
Default
Commented out; not specified.
Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 199

Agent HTTP tunneling

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.http.proxy.password
If the proxy server requires the agent to authenticate it, specifies the password for
authentication.
Default
Commented out; not specified.
Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Agent HTTPS tunneling

You can configure agents to send information using HTTPS, enabling agents to connect
to an Enterprise Manager remotely:

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT (see page 200)

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT (see page 201)

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT (see
page 201)

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT
Specifies the host name of the computer running the Enterprise Manager that the agent
connects to by default.
Default
localhost
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT=localhost

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

200 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Agent memory overhead

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT
Specifies the port number on the computer that hosts the Enterprise Manager. If you
are using HTTPS tunneling, the default port that listens for connections from the agent is
8444. This property is commented out by default.
Default
8444
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT=8444

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT
Specifies the client socket factory to use for connections from the agent to the
Enterprise Manager when using HTTPS.
Default
com.wily.isengard.postofficehub.link.net.HttpsTunnelingSocketFactory
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT=com.wily.i
sengard.postofficehub.link.net.HttpsTunnelingSocketFactory

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Agent memory overhead

Significant agent memory overhead only occurs in certain extreme cases. The typical
trade-off for lowering memory consumption is a potential increase in response time.
However, each application is unique and the trade-off between memory usage and
response time can vary depending on the application itself.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 201

Agent metric aging

introscope.agent.reduceAgentMemoryOverhead
Specifies the agent configuration to use. Uncomment if you want to attempt to reduce
the agent memory overhead by using architectural improvements to the 8.x agent. This
property is not valid for older versions of the agent. This property is set to true and
commented out by default.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.reduceAgentMemoryOverhead=true

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Agent metric aging

Agent metric aging periodically removes dead metrics from the agent memory cache. A
dead metric is a metric that has no new data reported in a configured amount of time.
Removing old metrics helps to improve agent performance and avoid potential metric
explosions.
Note: A metric explosion happens when an agent is inadvertently set up to report more
metrics than the system can handle. When too many metrics are reported, the agent
can affect the performance of the application server, or in extreme cases, prevent the
server from functioning at all.
Metrics that are in a group are removed only if all metrics in the group are considered
candidates for removal. Currently, only BlamePointTracer and
MetricRecordingAdministrator metrics are removed as a group. Other metrics are
removed individually.

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The MetricRecordingAdministrator has the following interfaces for creating, retrieving,

or removing a metric group:

getAgent().IAgent_getMetricRecordingAdministrator.addMetricGroup
String component, collection metrics. The component name is the metric resource
name of the metric group. The metrics must be under the same metric node to
qualify as a group. The metrics are a collection of
com.wily.introscope.spec.metric.AgentMetric data structures. You can only add
AgentMetric data structures to this collection.

getAgent().IAgent_getMetricRecordingAdministrator.getMetricGroup
String component. Based on the component name which is the metric resource
name, you can get the Collection of metrics.

getAgent().IAgent_getMetricRecordingAdministrator.removeMetricGroup
String component. The metric group is removed based on the component which is
the metric resource name.

getAgent().IAgent_getDataAccumulatorFactory.isRemoved
Checks if the metric is removed. You use this interface if you keep an instance of an
accumulator in your extension. If the accumulator is removed because of metric
aging, you use this interface to prevent holding onto a dead reference.

Important! If you create an extension that uses a MetricRecordingAdministrator

interface (for example, for use with other CA Technologies products), be sure to delete
your own instance of an accumulator. If a metric is aged out because it has not been
invoked, and data later become available for that metric, the old accumulator instance
will not create new metric data points. To avoid this situation, do not delete your own
instance of an accumulator and use instead the getDataAccumulatorFactory interface.

Configuring agent metric aging

Agent metric aging is on by default. You can choose to turn off this capability using the
property introscope.agent.metricAging.turnOn (see page 204). If you remove this
property from the IntroscopeAgent.profile, agent metric aging is turned off by default.
Agent metric aging runs on a heartbeat in the agent. The heartbeat is configured using
the property introscope.agent.metricAging.heartbeatInterval (see page 205). Be sure to
keep the frequency of the heartbeat low. A higher heartbeat will impact the
performance of the agent and CA Introscope.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 203

Agent metric aging

During each heartbeat, a certain set of metrics are checked. This is configurable using
the property introscope.agent.metricAging.dataChunk (see page 205). It is also
important to keep this value low, as a higher value will impact performance. The default
value is 500 metrics to be checked per heartbeat. Each of the 500 metrics is checked to
see if it is a candidate for removal. For example, if you set this property to check chunks
of 500 metrics per heartbeat, and you have a total of 10,000 metrics in the agent
memory, then it will take longer with lower impact on performance to check all 10,000
metrics. However, if you set this property to a higher number, you would check all
10,000 metrics faster, but with possibly high overhead.
A metric is a candidate for removal if the metric has not received new data after certain
period of time. You can configure this period of time using the property
introscope.agent.metricAging.numberTimeslices (see page 205). This property is set to
3000 by default. If a metric meets the condition for removal, then a check is performed
to see if all the metrics in its group are candidates for metric removal. If this
requirement has also been met then the metric is removed.

introscope.agent.metricAging.turnOn
Turns on or off agent metric aging.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.metricAging.turnOn=true

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

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Agent metric aging

introscope.agent.metricAging.heartbeatInterval
Specifies the time interval when metrics are checked for removal, in seconds.
Default
1800
Example
introscope.agent.metricAging.heartbeatInterval=1800

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.metricAging.dataChunk
Specifies the number of metrics that are checked during each interval.
Default
500
Example
introscope.agent.metricAging.dataChunk=500

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

introscope.agent.metricAging.numberTimeslices
Specifies the number of intervals to check without any new data before making it a
candidate for removal.
Default
3000

Example
introscope.agent.metricAging.numberTimeslices=3000

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 205

Agent metric clamp

introscope.agent.metricAging.metricExclude.ignore.0
Excludes specified metrics from being removed. To exclude one or more metrics from
aging, add the metric name or a metric filter to the list.
Property settings
Comma separated list of metrics. You can use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard in metric
names.
Default
The default is metric names beginning with Threads (Threads*).
Example
introscope.agent.metricAging.metricExclude.ignore.0=Threads*

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

Agent metric clamp

You can configure the agent to approximately clamp the number of metrics sent to the
Enterprise Manager. If the number of metrics generated exceeds the value of the
property, the agent stops collecting and sending new metrics.

introscope.agent.metricClamp
Configures the agent to approximately clamp the number of metrics sent to the
Enterprise Manager.
Default
5000
Example
introscope.agent.metricClamp=5000

Notes

If the property is not set, then no metric clamping occurs. Old metrics will still
report values.

206 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Agent naming

Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

This clamp property works with the

introscope.enterprisemanager.agent.metrics.limit property located in the
apm-events-thresholds-config.xml file.
Note: For information about the introscope.enterprisemanager.agent.metrics.limit
property, see the CA APM Configuration and Administration Guide.
If introscope.enterprisemanager.agent.metrics.limit clamp value is triggered before
the introscope.agent.metricClamp value, then the Enterprise Manager reads agent
metrics but does not report them in the Investigator metric browser tree.
If the introscope.agent.metricClamp clamp value is triggered before the
introscope.enterprisemanager.agent.metrics.limit clamp value, the agent stops
sending metrics to the Enterprise Manager

Agent naming
You can configure properties to obtain the Java agent name for application servers and
much more.
More information:
Understanding the Java Agent name (see page 117)

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 207

Agent naming

introscope.agent.agentAutoNamingEnabled
Specifies whether agent autonaming is used to obtain the Java agent name for
supported application servers.
Property settings
True or False
Default
Varies by application server, see Notes below.
Example
introscope.agent.agentAutoNamingEnabled=false

Notes

Agent autonaming is enabled in the following application servers: WebLogic,

WebSphere, and JBoss

This property requires the Startup Class to be specified for WebLogic, and requires
the Custom Service to be specified for WebSphere.

Agent auto naming is disabled in the following application servers: Oracle

application server, Interstage, Sun ONE, and Tomcat.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

Important! For WebLogic, WebSphere, and JBoss, the property

introscope.agent.agentAutoNamingEnabled is set to TRUE by default.

introscope.agent.agentAutoNamingMaximumConnectionDelayInSeconds
Specifies the amount of time in seconds the agent waits for naming information before
connecting to the Enterprise Manager.
Default
120
Example
introscope.agent.agentAutoNamingMaximumConnectionDelayInSeconds=120

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

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Agent naming

introscope.agent.agentAutoRenamingIntervalInMinutes
Specifies the time interval in minutes during which the agent will check to see if it has
been renamed.
Default
10
Example
introscope.agent.agentAutoRenamingIntervalInMinutes=10

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.agentName
Uncomment this property to provide a default agent name if other agent naming
methods fail.
Property settings
For any installation, if the value of this property is invalid or if this property is deleted
from the profile, the agent name will be UnnamedAgent.
Example
#introscope.agent.agentName=AgentName

Notes

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

In the agent profile provided with application server-specific agent installers, the
default reflects the application server, for instance WebLogic Agent.

In the agent profile provided with the default agent installer, the property value is
AgentName, and the line is commented out.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 209

Agent naming

introscope.agent.agentNameSystemPropertyKey
Use this property if you want to specify the agent name using the value of a java system
property.
Default
Not specified.
Example
introscope.agent.agentNameSystemPropertyKey

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.disableLogFileAutoNaming
Specifies whether to disable automatic naming of agent log files when using
AutoNaming options.
Setting this property to true disables the auto-naming of log files for the agent,
AutoProbe and LeakHunter with the agent name or a timestamp.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.disableLogFileAutoNaming=false

Notes

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

Log file auto-naming only takes effect when the agent name can be determined
using a Java system property or an application server custom service.

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Agent naming

introscope.agent.clonedAgent
Enables you to run identical copies of an application on the same machine. Set this
property to true if you have identical copies of an application running on the same
machine.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.clonedAgent=false

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.customProcessName
Specify the process name as it should appear in the Introscope Enterprise Manager and
Workstation.
Default
Varies by application server.
Example
introscope.agent.customProcessName=CustomProcessName

Notes

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

In the agent profile provided with application server-specific agent installers, the
default reflects the application server, for instance "WebLogic."

In the agent profile provided with default agent installer, the property is
commented out.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 211

Agent recording (business recording)

introscope.agent.defaultProcessName
If no custom process name is provided and the agent is unable to determine the name
of the main application class, this value is used for the process name.
Default
UnknownProcess
Example
introscope.agent.defaultProcessName=UnknownProcess

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.display.hostName.as.fqdn
This property specifies whether the agent name is displayed as a fully qualified domain
name (fqdn). To enable the fully-qualified domain name, set this property value to
'true.' By default, the agent displays the host name.
Note: For the Catalyst integration, set this property to 'true.'
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.display.hostName.as.fqdn=false

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Agent recording (business recording)

You can control how the agent handles business transaction recording.
Note: For more information on agent business recording, see the CA APM Transaction
Definition Guide.

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Agent thread priority

introscope.agent.bizRecording.enabled
Enables or disables business transaction recording for the agent.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.bizRecording.enabled=true

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.
To further configure business transaction recording for the agent, see the additional
properties for the application triage map.
More information:
Application triage map (see page 216)
Application triage map business transaction POST parameters (see page 221)
Application triage map managed socket configuration (see page 223)

Agent thread priority

The following property controls the priority of agent threads:

introscope.agent.thread.all.priority (see page 214)

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 213

Agent to Enterprise Manager connection

introscope.agent.thread.all.priority
Controls the priority of agent threads.
Property settings
You can set this from 1 (low) to 10 (high).
Default
Commented out;5.
Example
introscope.agent.thread.all.priority=5

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Agent to Enterprise Manager connection

You can control how the agent connects to the Enterprise Manager.

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT
Specifies the host name of the computer running the Enterprise Manager that the agent
connects to by default.
Default
localhost
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT=localhost

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

214 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Agent to Enterprise Manager connection

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT
Specifies the port number on the computer that hosts the Enterprise Manager that
listens for connections from the agent.
Default
The default port depends on the type of communication channel you want to configure.
For direct communication between the agent and Enterprise Manager, the default port
is 5001.
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT=5001

Notes

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

If you want to connect to the Enterprise Manager using HTTPS (HTTP over SSL), the
default port is 8444. If you want to connect to the Enterprise Manager using SSL,
the default port is 5443. However, these default settings are commented out by
default.

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT
Specifies the default client socket factory to use for connections from the agent to the
Enterprise Manager.
Default
The default socket factory depends on the type of communication channel you want to
configure. For direct communication between the agent and Enterprise Manager, the
default socket factory is as follows:
com.wily.isengard.postofficehub.link.net.DefaultSocketFactory
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT=com.wily.i
sengard.postofficehub.link.net.DefaultSocketFactory

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 215

Application triage map

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.local.ipaddress.DEFAULT
Specifies the IP address of the computer running Enterprise Manager that the agent
connects to by default.
Default
This property is not defined by default.
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.local.ipaddress.DEFAULT=<address
>

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.local.port.DEFAULT
Specifies the local port of the computer running Enterprise Manager that the agent
connects to by default.
Default
This property is not defined by default.
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.local.port.DEFAULT=CA Portal

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Application triage map

You can configure application triage map data.
Note: For information on how to use the application triage map, see the CA APM
Workstation User Guide.

216 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Application triage map

introscope.agent.appmap.enabled
Enables or disables the tracking of monitored code for the application triage map.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.appmap.enabled=true

Notes
Enabled by default.

introscope.agent.appmap.metrics.enabled
Enables or disables the tracking of metrics for application triage map nodes.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.appmap.metrics.enabled=false

Notes
This property is commented out by default.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 217

Application triage map

introscope.agent.appmap.queue.size
Sets the buffer size for the application triage map.
Property settings
Positive integers.
Default
1000
Example
introscope.agent.appmap.queue.size=1000

Notes

The value must be a positive integer.

If the value is set to 0, the buffer is unbounded.

This property is commented out by default.

introscope.agent.appmap.queue.period
Sets the frequency in milliseconds for sending application triage map data to the
Enterprise Manager.
Property settings
Positive integers.
Default
1000
Example
introscope.agent.appmap.queue.period=1000

Notes

Must be a positive integer.

If the value is set to 0, the default value is used.

This property is commented out by default.

218 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Application Triage Map and Catalyst Integration

introscope.agent.appmap.intermediateNodes.enabled
Enables or disables the ability to include intermediate nodes between the application
frontend and backend nodes.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
#introscope.agent.appmap.intermediateNodes.enabled=true

Notes

Changes to this property takes effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

If you set this property to true, you may experience a slowdown of agent
performance.

This property is commented out by default.

Application Triage Map and Catalyst Integration

You can configure application triage map data for the Catalyst integration.
Note: For information on how to use the application triage map, see the CA APM
Workstation User Guide.

Configure the Ability to Send Information

This property enables or disables the ability to send additional information from the
agent for integration with Catalyst.
Follow these steps:
1.

Open the default IntroscopeAgent.profile file in a text editor.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 219

Application Triage Map and Catalyst Integration

Locate the line:

introscope.agent.appmap.catalystIntegration.enabled=<false|true>, and set a value
as follows:
true
Enables the ability to send additional information from the agent for
integration with Catalyst.
false
Disables the configuration.
The following example shows the format:
introscope.agent.appmap.catalystIntegration.enabled=false

Note: This property is commented out by default.

2.

Save and close the file.

The agent is set up to use the configuration.

Configure a List of Available Networks

The introscope.agent.primary.net.interface.name property specifies the primary
network interface name of the host computer used by the agent for the Catalyst
integration. You can change the configuration of this property and the change is applied
automatically.
Note: When the agent logging level is set to DEBUG, information about network
interface names available for configuration appears in the log file. Alternatively, you can
use the Network Interface utility to determine the primary network interface name for
this property.
Follow these steps:
1.

Open the default IntroscopeAgent.profile file in a text editor.

2.

Locate the line: introscope.agent.primary.net.interface.name=<false|true>, and

specify the name value.
The following example shows the name format:
introscope.agent.primary.net.interface.name=eth4

Note: The default value is undefined. When this property is not set, the agent
assigns the first available network interface as the primary interface. You can use
the Network Interface utility to determine the name value for this property.

220 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Application triage map business transaction POST parameters

3.

(Optional) Allow for multiple network addresses by specifying the subinterface

number (starts at 0).
The following example shows the subinterface number format:
introscope.agent.primary.net.interface.name=eth4.1

4.

Save and close the file.

The profile is set up to use the configuration.

More information:
Using the Network Interface Utility (see page 329)

Application triage map business transaction POST parameters

You can configure your Local Product Shorts to perform more complex monitoring by
matching POST parameters.

introscope.agent.bizdef.matchPost
This property determines when POST parameters are matched.
Property settings
The valid settings for this property are never, before, or after.

Set the property to never for full agent functionality and better performance. This
setting allows your application to identify all business transactions using URLs,
cookies or header parameters, but will fail to match any business transactions that
are identified solely through POST parameters.

Set the property to before to get full agent performance. This setting allows
applications to use POST parameters to identify some or all business transactions,
but never access the servlet stream directly for HTTP form requests. New
applications deployed must also conform to standard API when this property is set
to before.
Important! Setting this property to before could have potentially hazardous
repercussions for your applications. Review this property setting with a CA
Technologies representative before implementation.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 221

Application triage map business transaction POST parameters

Set the property to after to safely match business transactions with POST
parameters, but with limited agent functionality. When this property is set to after,
the agent will not be able to map business transactions that are identified by POST
parameters across processes, or produce full sets of metrics for them. This setting
also consumes slightly more CPU time compared to the other options, but is
considered the safest setting if one needs the POST parameter functionality. It
allows applications to use POST parameters to identify some or all business
transactions and cannot guarantee that the servlet stream is never accessed
directly.

Example
introscope.agent.bizdef.matchPost=after

Notes

never - never attempt to match POST parameters. This is the fastest option but may
result in inaccurate business transaction component matching.

before - matches POST parameters before the servlets execute.

after - matches POST parameter patterns after the servlet has executed. Cross
process mapping and some metrics will not be available. Default setting for the
parameter.

Known limitations
The metrics defined using agent recording are displayed in the application triage map in
the Investigator. When configuring agent recording, there are some known limitations
when using regular expressions. Most of the limitations have to do with POST
parameters.
The known limitations are:

Line terminators (.) are not supported for POST parameter values.

If POST parameter definitions are dependent on the business transaction definition,

only three metrics will be provided for the business transaction component. These
metrics are:

Average Response Time

Responses Per Interval

Errors Per Interval

222 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Application triage map managed socket configuration

If POST parameter definitions are dependent on the business transaction definition,

then the business component name in the transaction trace component will have a
generic name and not the specific name of the business service, business
transaction, and business transaction component. This also applies to business
transaction definitions that are dependent on POST parameter definitions that do
not match.

Some versions of JBoss and Tomcat might save header keys as lower case values
which makes the caseSensitiveName attribute not work properly for
HEADER_TYPEs.

Note: For more information on agent recording, see the CA APM Transaction Definition
Guide.

Application triage map managed socket configuration

The following properties allow you to enable or disable the appearance of socket
metrics in the application triage map:

introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportToAppmap (see page 224)

introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportClassAppEdge (see page 224)

introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportMethodAppEdge (see page 225)

introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportClassBTEdge (see page 225)

introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportMethodBTEdge (see page 226)

See the CA APM Workstation User Guide for more information on how to use the
application triage map.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 223

Application triage map managed socket configuration

introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportToAppmap
Enables managed sockets to appear in application triage map.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportToAppmap=true

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportClassAppEdge
Enables managed sockets to report class level application edges to the application triage
map.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportClassAppEdge=false
Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

224 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Application triage map managed socket configuration

introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportMethodAppEdge
Enables managed sockets to report method level application edges to the application
triage map.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportMethodAppEdge=true

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportClassBTEdge
Enables managed sockets to report class level business transaction edges to the
application triage map.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportClassBTEdge=false

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 225

AutoProbe

introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportMethodBTEdge
Enables managed sockets to report method level business transaction edges to the
application triage map.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.sockets.managed.reportMethodBTEdge=true

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

AutoProbe
The following properties configure AutoProbe:

introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile (see page 226)

introscope.autoprobe.enable (see page 227)

introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile
Specifies ProbeBuilder directives files for AutoProbe.
Default
Varies by installer.
Notes

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

If this property includes one or more directories, and dynamic instrumentation is

enabled, the agent will load directives files from the specified directories without an
application restart.

226 Java Agent Implementation Guide

AutoProbe

introscope.autoprobe.enable
Enables or disables inserting probes into bytecode automatically.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.autoprobe.enable=true

Notes
When this property is set to false, it turns off the automatic insertion of Probes into an
applications bytecode. It does not turn off the agent or agent reporting.

introscope.autoprobe.logfile
Introscope AutoProbe always attempts to log the changes it makes. Set this property to
move the location of the log file to something other than the default.
Property settings
Absolute file paths, or non-absolute paths. Non-absolute names are resolved relative to
the location of this properties file
Default
../../logs/AutoProbe.log
Example
introscope.autoprobe.logfile=../../logs/AutoProbe.log

Notes

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

To disable AutoProbe logging, modify the value as shown in the following example:
introscope.autoprobe.logfile=logs/AutoProbe.log

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 227

Bootstrap Classes Instrumentation Manager

Bootstrap Classes Instrumentation Manager

The following properties configure the Bootstrap Classes Instrumentation Manager:

introscope.bootstrapClassesManager.enabled (see page 228)

introscope.bootstrapClassesManager.waitAtStartup (see page 228)

The Bootstrap Classes Instrumentation Manager instruments a set of classes after the
agent bootstrap, allowing easy implementation of tracers for Java NIO and Secure
Sockets Layer (SSL), as well as improving agent performance. You can disable this
property by commenting it out in the IntroscopeAgent.profile.

introscope.bootstrapClassesManager.enabled
Enables or disables the bootstrap manager.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.bootstrapClassesManager.enabled=true

Notes

This property only functions with JVMs running Java 1.5 or higher.

If set to false, no system classes will be instrumented.

If the property is not set, the default value is false.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

introscope.bootstrapClassesManager.waitAtStartup
Sets the time, in seconds, for how long the agent waits after startup to instrument
bootstrap classes.
Property settings
Time, in seconds

228 Java Agent Implementation Guide

CA CEM Agent Profile Properties

Default

240 seconds when used with HP-UX, Interstage, WebLogic, or WebSphere

Application Server.

5 seconds when used with JBoss, Oracle, Sun, or Tomcat.

Example
introscope.bootstrapClassesManager.waitAtStartup=5

Notes

This property only functions with JVMs running Java 1.5 or higher.

When this property is active, it can overrule classes that have been designated as
skipped. If skipped classes are being instrumented, please contact your CA
Technologies representative, or CA Support.

CA CEM Agent Profile Properties

You can configure CA CEM-related IntroscopeAgent.profile properties. The CA
Introscope agent profile file is found in the <Agent_Home>\wily directory.
All the CA CEM-related properties are preconfigured to the required options for the
integration with CA CEM and CA Introscope to work.

introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile
You need to enable ServletHeaderDecorator / HTTPHeaderDecorator and CEMTracer
through the directivesFile property configuration.
The directives file property specifies where to find the directive files (PBD) or directive
lists (PBL) for AutoProbe.
AutoProbe uses directives to Introscope-enable your applications, and to determine
which metrics the agents report to the Enterprise Manager.
Settings
Depends on the agent application server installed, with the format of
<appserver>-full.pbl or <appserver>-typical.pbl.
Default
default-typical.pbl

Example
introscope.autoprobe.directivesFile=weblogic-typical.pbl

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 229

CA CEM Agent Profile Properties

Notes
Although you can simply add "ServletHeaderDecorator.pbd" or
"httpheaderdecorator.pbd" to the end of this property list, it is better practice to:
1.

Locate the PBL file specified in the property (in the example above,
weblogic-typical.pbl).

2.

Open the PBL file in a text editor.

3.

For a Java agent, uncomment to enable the ServletHeaderDecorator.pbd line.

4.

For a .NET agent, uncomment to enable the httpheaderdecorator.pbd line.

5.

Save your changes to the PBL file.

introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.allowedFiles
Identifies the files that are allowed to be copied remotely from any machine to the
agent directory.
The Enterprise Manager uses the file name in this property to identify the valid CA CEM
domain configuration file to send to the agents. The domain configuration file contains
the CA CEM business service and transactions definitions.
See Notes (below) for CA CEM release-specific information.
Settings
Can be any valid file name.
Default
domainconfig.xml
Example
introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.allowedFiles=domainconfig.xml

Notes
This property can also be used by the Introscope Command-Line Workstation (CLW)
Send Config File command.
For more information, see Using the Command-Line Workstation.
This property is valid for CA CEM releases. It is also valid with , CA CEM 4.2 / 4.5 only
when you have selected the CEMTracer 4.0 / 4.1 Support option on the Introscope
Settings page.

230 Java Agent Implementation Guide

CA CEM Agent Profile Properties

The CEMTracer 4.0 / 4.1 Support option allows you to stagger your agent migration from
4.0 or 4.1 to 4.2 / 4.5 over time; use only if required.

introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.enabled
If this Boolean value is set to true, it allows remote file copies to the agent from another
computer.
The Enterprise Manager requires this property to be set to true in order to send the CA
CEM domain configuration file to the agents. The domain configuration file contains the
CA CEM business service and transactions definitions.
See Notes (below) for CA CEM release-specific information.
Settings
true or false
Default

true for Java Agents

false for .NET Agents

Example
introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.enabled=true

Notes
A remote user can also use the Introscope Command-Line Workstation (CLW) Send
Config File command to copy the file or files specified in the
introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.allowedFiles property into the agent
directory.
For more information, see Using the Command-Line Workstation.
This property is valid for CA CEM 4.0 and 4.1 releases. It is also valid with CA CEM 4.2 /
4.5 only when you have selected the CEMTracer 4.0 / 4.1 Support option on the
Introscope Settings page.
The CEMTracer 4.0 / 4.1 Support option allows you to stagger your agent migration from
4.0 or 4.1 to 4.2 / 4.5 over time; use only if required.
For non-compatible agents (that is, a .NET agent prior to 7.2.2, an EPA agent, or other
non-Java agent), set the introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.enabled property
to false.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 231

CA CEM Agent Profile Properties

introscope.agent.decorator.enabled
If this Boolean value is set to true, it configures the agent to add additional performance
monitoring information to HTTP response headers. ServletHeaderDecorator /
HTTPHeaderDecorator attaches the GUID to each transaction and inserts the GUID into
an HTTP header, x-apm-info.
This enables the correlation of transactions between CA CEM and CA Introscope.
Settings
True or false
Default

false for Java agents

true for .NET agents

Example
introscope.agent.decorator.enabled=false

introscope.agent.decorator.security
Determines the format of decorated HTTP response headers, which are sent to CA CEM.
Settings

clear clear text encoding

encrypted header data is encrypted

Default
clear
Example
introscope.agent.decorator.security=clear

Notes
The default setting of clear is appropriate for initial testing, but might reveal information
in the transaction header that you do not want known beyond the firewall. Set the
property to encrypted for a more secure production environment.
You must be using JVM 1.4 or greater to set this property to encrypted.

232 Java Agent Implementation Guide

CA CEM Agent Profile Properties

introscope.agent.cemtracer.domainconfigfile
The name of the CA CEM domain configuration file that specifies the CA CEM business
service and transaction hierarchy. CEMTracer looks for a file with this name in its
installation directory.
Each time a CA CEM administrator clicks Synchronize All Monitors in CA CEM, the
domain configuration file gets pushed to the Enterprise Manager, which in turn pushes
the file to each connected agent.
See Notes (below) for CA CEM release-specific information.
Settings
Can be any valid file name.
Default
domainconfig.xml

Example
introscope.agent.cemtracer.domainconfigfile=domainconfig.xml

Notes
This property is valid for CA CEM 4.0 and 4.1 releases. It is also valid with CA CEM 4.2 /
4.5 only when you have selected the CEMTracer 4.0 / 4.1 Support option on the
Introscope Settings page.
The CEMTracer 4.0 / 4.1 Support option allows you to stagger your agent migration from
4.0 or 4.1 to 4.2 / 4.5 over time; use only if required.

If an agent is not connected to the Enterprise Manager, the domain configuration

file does not get sent.

If the agent directory is read-only, the domain configuration file cannot be written.

If CEMTracer 4.0 / 4.1 is not enabled on the agent, then no action will be taken on
the domain configuration file once it is sent.

introscope.agent.cemtracer.domainconfigfile.reloadfrequencyinminutes
The frequency, in minutes, that the agent reloads the domain configuration file. (The 4.0
/ 4.1 agent does not automatically reload the domain configuration file every time the
Enterprise Manager sends it. If it has not changed, the agent will not reload it.)

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 233

CA CEM Agent Profile Properties

See Notes (below) for CA CEM release-specific information.

Settings
numeric value
Default
1
Example
introscope.agent.cemtracer.domainconfigfile.reloadfrequencyinminutes=1

Notes
This property is valid for CA CEM 4.0 and 4.1 releases. It is also valid with CA CEM 4.2 /
4.5 only when you have selected the CEMTracer 4.0 / 4.1 Support option on the
Introscope Settings page.
The CEMTracer 4.0 / 4.1 Support option allows you to stagger your agent migration from
4.0 or 4.1 to 4.2 over time; use only if required.

Configure the Session ID Collection

The introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.capture.sessionid property enables
or disables the collection of the Session ID in the TransactionTracer Data. By default, this
property is enabled and recorded in the TransactionTracer Data. When you disable this
property, data is not available for use in filters.
Follow these steps:
1.

Open the IntroscopeAgent.profile file in a text editor.

Locate the following lines:
# Uncomment the following property to disable sessionid capture in
TransactionTracer data.
# By default, it is enabled and recorded in the TT Data.
# introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.capture.sessionid=true

2.

Follow the instructions to enable or disable the property by commenting or

uncommenting the line:
# introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.capture.sessionid=true

3.

Save and close the file, and restart the agent.

The agent configuration is set to use the value you specified for collecting the
session ID.

234 Java Agent Implementation Guide

ChangeDetector configuration

ChangeDetector configuration
You can control how the local agent works with ChangeDetector.
Note: For more information about using ChangeDetector, see the CA APM
ChangeDetector User Guide.

introscope.changeDetector.enable
Specifies whether ChangeDetector is enabled or disabled. Set the property to true to
enable ChangeDetector. It is commented out and set to false by default. If you enable
ChangeDetector, you should also set the additional ChangeDetector-related properties.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.changeDetector.enable=false

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.changeDetector.agentID
Specifies the text string used by ChangeDetector to identify the local agent. This
property is commented out by default. If you enable ChangeDetector, you should
uncomment this property and set it to an appropriate value.
Default
The default value is SampleApplicationName.
Example
introscope.changeDetector.agentID=SampleApplicationName

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 235

ChangeDetector configuration

introscope.changeDetector.rootDir
Specifies the root directory for ChangeDetector files. The root directory is the folder
where ChangeDetector creates its local cache files.
Property settings
Full path to the root directory for ChangeDetector files as a text string.
Default
The default path is c://sw//AppServer//wily//change_detector.
Example
introscope.changeDetector.rootDir=c://sw//AppServer//wily//change_detector

Notes
Use a backslash to escape the backslash character, as in the example.

introscope.changeDetector.isengardStartupWaitTimeInSec
Specifies the number of seconds to wait after the agent starts before ChangeDetector
tries to connect to the Enterprise Manager. This property is commented out by default.
Default
The default is 15 seconds.
Example
introscope.changeDetector.isengardStartupWaitTimeInSec=15

introscope.changeDetector.waitTimeBetweenReconnectInSec
Specifies the number of seconds ChangeDetector waits before retrying a connection to
the Enterprise Manager. This property is commented out by default.
Default
The default is 10 seconds.
Example
introscope.changeDetector.waitTimeBetweenReconnectInSec=10

236 Java Agent Implementation Guide

ChangeDetector configuration

introscope.changeDetector.profile
Specifies the absolute or relative path to the ChangeDetector datasources configuration
file. This property is commented out by default.
Default
The default is ChangeDetector-config.xml.
Example
introscope.changeDetector.profile=CDConfig\\ChangeDetector-config.xml

Notes
Use a backslash to escape the backslash character, as in the example.

introscope.changeDetector.profileDir
Specifies the absolute or relative path to the directory that contains datasource
configuration files. If this property is set, all of the datasource configuration files in this
directory are used in addition to any file specified by the
introscope.changeDetector.profile property. This property is commented out by default.
Default
The default is changeDetector_profiles.
Example
introscope.changeDetector.profileDir=c:\\CDconfig\\changeDetector_profiles

Notes
Use a backslash to escape the backslash character.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 237

Cross-process tracing in WebLogic Server

introscope.changeDetector.compressEntries.enable
Specifies whether to allow compression on the ChangeDetector data buffer. You can set
this property to true if you experience memory consumption at start-up to improve
performance.
Property settings
True or False
Default
The default value is false if the property is not set in the agent profile or if commented
out.
Example
introscope.changeDetector.compressEntries.enable=true

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.changeDetector.compressEntries.batchSize
This property defines the batch size for the compression job, set in
introscope.changeDetector.compressEntries.enable above.
Default
1000
Example
introscope.changeDetector.compressEntries.batchSize=1000

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Cross-process tracing in WebLogic Server

The following property configures cross-process tracing in WebLogic Server:

introscope.agent.weblogic.crossjvm (see page 239)

238 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Cross-process transaction trace

introscope.agent.weblogic.crossjvm
Property settings
True or False
Default
Commented out; True
Example
introscope.agent.weblogic.crossjvm=true

Cross-process transaction trace

Uncomment the following property to enable automatic collection of downstream
traces due to tail filter.

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.tailfilterPropagate.enable (see page 239)

Enabling this property and running long periods of Transaction Trace session with tail
filters can cause large numbers of unwanted traces to be sent to the Enterprise
Manager.

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.tailfilterPropagate.enable
Controls whether the presence of a tail filter triggers automatic collection of traces from
downstream agents or not. This property does not affect collection of automatic
downstream traces due to passing of head filters.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False; commented out.
Example
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.tailfilterPropagate.enable=false

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 239

Dynamic instrumentation

Dynamic instrumentation
You can enable classes and methods to be instrumented dynamically without writing
custom PBDs, restarting the application server, or restarting the agent.
Note: For more information about using Transaction Tracing and dynamic
instrumentation from the Introscope Workstation, see the CA APM Workstation User
Guide.

introscope.autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.enabled
Enables dynamic ProbeBuilding for agents that run under JDK 1.5, and use AutoProbe.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.enabled=false

Notes
Note: For more information about dynamic ProbeBuilding, see Dynamic ProbeBuilding
(see page 73).

autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.pollIntervalMinutes
For agents that run under JDK 1.5 using AutoProbe and dynamic ProbeBuilding, this
property determines the frequency with which the agent polls for new and changed
PBDs.
Default
1
Example
autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.pollIntervalMinutes=1

240 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Dynamic instrumentation

introscope.autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.classFileSizeLimitInMegs
Some classloader implementations have been observed to return huge class files.This is
to prevent memory errors.
Default
1
Example
introscope.autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.classFileSizeLimitInMegs=1

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.autoprobe.dynamic.limitRedefinedClassesPerBatchTo
Re-defining too many classes at a time might be very CPU intensive. In cases where the
changes in PBDs trigger a re-definition of a large number of classes, this batches the
process at a comfortable rate.
Default
10
Example
introscope.autoprobe.dynamic.limitRedefinedClassesPerBatchTo=10

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 241

Dynamic instrumentation

introscope.agent.remoteagentdynamicinstrumentation.enabled
Enables or disables remote management of dynamic instrumentation.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.remoteagentdynamicinstrumentation.enabled=true

Notes

You must restart managed applications before changes to this property take effect.

Dynamic instrumentation is a CPU-intensive operation. CA Technologies highly

recommends that you use configurations that minimize the classes that are being
instrumented.

If you enabled dynamic instrumentation for applications using multiple CLRs within
the same process, such as in-process side-by-side execution, you must specify the
CLR version in the
com.wily.introscope.nativeprofiler.monitor.inprocsxs.multiple.clrs property.The
valid values are:

V2 (CLR 2.0)

V4 (CLR 4.0)

V2 and V4 (CLR 2.0 and 4.0)

introscope.autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.pollIntervalMinutes
Defines the polling interval in minutes to poll for PBD changes.
Default
1
Example
introscope.autoprobe.dynamicinstrument.pollIntervalMinutes=1

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

242 Java Agent Implementation Guide

ErrorDetector

ErrorDetector
You can control how the agent interacts with ErrorDetector.

introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.enable
Enables the agent to capture transaction details about serious errors. Introscope
ErrorDetector is installed by default with the agent. This property must be set to true for
error snapshots to be available for viewing.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Notes
This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during run
time and the change will be picked up automatically.

introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.throttle
Specifies the maximum number of error snapshots that the agent can send in a
15-second period.
Default
10
Example
introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.throttle=10

Notes
This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during run
time and the change will be picked up automatically.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 243

Extensions

introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.ignore.<index>
Specifies one or more error message filters. You can specify as many filters as you need
using the index identifier appended to the property name (for example, .0, .1, .2 ...). You
can use wildcards (*) Error messages matching the criteria you specify are ignored. No
error snapshots are generated for errors matching the filters you define and no error
events are sent to the Enterprise Manager for them.
Default
Example definitions are provided, and commented out, as shown below.
Example
introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.ignore.0=*com.company.HarmlessException*
introscope.agent.errorsnapshots.ignore.1=*HTTP Error Code: 404*

Notes
This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during run
time and the change will be picked up automatically.

Extensions
You can configure the location of agent extensions.

introscope.agent.extensions.directory
Specifies the location of all extensions to be loaded by the agent. You can specify an
absolute or relative path to the directory. If you do not specify an absolute path, the
value you specify is resolved relative to the location of the IntroscopeAgent.profiles file.
Default
The default location is ext directory in the <Agent_Home>/ext directory.
Example
introscope.agent.extensions.directory=../ext

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

244 Java Agent Implementation Guide

GC Monitor

introscope.agent.common.directory
Configures the location of Agent Extension related files.
Default
The default location is common folder in the <Agent_Home>/common directory.
Example
introscope.agent.common.directory=../../common

GC Monitor
The metrics under the GC Monitor node report information on Garbage Collectors and
Memory Pools. These metrics help you detect memory-related issues that are adversely
affecting performance. You must manually enable the collection of these metrics in the
agent profile.

introscope.agent.gcmonitor.enable
Enables or disables the metrics for Garbage Collectors and Memory Pools. This features
requires the agent to be version 9.0 or later. It is not supported for older versions of the
agents.
Property settings
True or False
Default
The default value is true.
Example
introscope.agent.gcmonitor.enable=true

Notes
This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during run
time and the change is picked up automatically.
You can only report GC Monitor metrics for agents that monitor Sun or IBM JVMs and
are Introscope version 9.x and above.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 245

Java NIO

Java NIO
The Java Agent supports the Java New I/O (Java NIO, or NIO) capabilities introduced in
Java 1.4. Java NIO is a collection of APIs designed to provide access to the low-level I/O
operations of modern operating systems. Java NIO metrics capture information about
how instrumented applications use Java NIO.
Note: Introscope Java NIO metrics are only available on Java 1.5 JVMs or higher. Metric
collection of Java NIO information is not available for JVM versions prior to Java 1.5.
The Introscope Java Agent collects metrics for NIO channels. For more information, see
Channels (see page 247).
You can restrict the generation of certain NIO metrics. For more information, see
Restricting Java NIO metrics (see page 248).
Java NIO tracer groups have been enabled by default. You can turn off these tracer
groups to further restrict metric generation. For more information on turning on and off
Java NIO tracer groups, see Default tracer groups and toggles files (see page 86).

Buffers
Java NIO data transfer is based on buffers. Buffer classes represent memory in a
continuous block, together with a small number of data transfer operations. There are
buffer classes for all of Java's primitive types, except boolean, which can share memory
with byte buffers and allow arbitrary interpretation of the underlying bytes.
Metrics for the following buffer types are collected separately and displayed in the
Workstation Investigator:

Byte Buffer

Int Buffer

Double Buffer

Long Buffer

Float Buffer

Short Buffer

These groupings are further divided into different buffer types. Because buffers may
overlap, the Total Capacity (bytes) metric may overestimate the amount of memory
allocated to NIO buffers.

246 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Java NIO

Direct and non-direct buffers are collected separately because of their differences in
memory location and relative costs for creation. Direct buffers are allocated outside the
JVM heap used for Java objects, so are not subject to Java garbage collection and
relocation. This makes direct buffers optimal for I/O, but they may take more resources
to create. Nondirect buffers, by contrast, are allocated as any normal Java object within
the JVM heap.
Note: All buffer types may be either direct or non direct, except memory mapped files
which are only direct buffers.

Channels
Java NIO channels provide bulk data transfers to and from NIO buffers, as well as
external systems. This is a low-level data transfer mechanism that was specifically
designed to address performance and scalability issues within standard Java I/O.
Channels provide mechanisms for moving bytes between buffers and external systems.
Introscope channel metrics characterize data flow rates through channels. Collected NIO
channel metrics correspond to metrics currently created for file and socket I/O using
standard Java I/O techniques. Metrics for the following channel types are collected
separately and displayed in the Workstation Investigator:

Datagram Channels

Socket Channels

NIODatagramTracing metrics
Although UDP is a connection-less protocol, the term "connection" is used in the
description of NIODatagramTracing to describe how the Java Agent collects datagram
metrics. The Java Agent collects metrics separately for each remote endpoint datagrams
that are sent to or received from. Connections are classified as client or server
depending on the direction of the first datagram observed from each to or from
endpoint.
For example, if the first datagram is from the endpoint, the Java Agent classifies all
further datagrams to or from that endpoint under
NIO|Channels|Datagrams|Server|Port {PORT}, where {PORT} is the local port.
If the first datagram is to the endpoint, all further datagrams to or from that endpoint
are classified under NIO|Channels|Datagrams|Client|{HOST}|Port {PORT}, where
{HOST} and {PORT} are the remote endpoint.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 247

Java NIO

The Java Agent also generates backend metrics for client "connections", except in the
case of datagrams read by the 'receive' method. Datagram channels created using
DatagramChannel connect method are considered client connections irrespective of
direction of first datagram observed.
Note: Datagram channels created using a UDP connection (with a connect method) are
considered client connections.

Restricting Java NIO metrics

You can configure properties to control how Java NIO instrumentation works. You can
also restrict generation of datagram and socket metrics. These properties only affect the
detail metrics generated by NIOSocketTracing and NIODatagramTracing tracer groups.
Note: For more information about tracer groups, see Default tracer groups and toggles
files (see page 86).

introscope.agent.nio.datagram.client.hosts
Restricts metric reporting to 'client' UDP "connections" with specified host(s).
Property settings
Comma separated list of hosts.
Default
undefined (no value)
Example
introscope.agent.nio.datagram.client.hosts=hostA,hostB

Notes

If the list is left empty, no host restriction will apply.

Hosts may be specified by name or textual representation of IP address (in either

IPv4 or IPv6 forms).

Invalid host names will be reported in the agent log and ignored.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

Duplicate host names are discarded. In cases where multiple host names map to a
single IP, only one of the names is retained. The property will, however, match
client connections with any of the set of synonymous names.

248 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Java NIO

introscope.agent.nio.datagram.client.ports
Lists the ports that will report NIO metrics. Only 'client' datagram metrics for specified
ports will be generated.
Property settings
Comma separated list of port numbers. Port is the remote port to/from which
datagrams are sent/received.
Default
undefined (no value)
Example
introscope.agent.nio.datagram.client.ports=123,456,789

Notes

If the list is empty, no port restriction will apply.

Invalid port numbers will be reported in the agent log and ignored.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

Duplicate ports are discarded. In cases where multiple ports map to a single IP, only
one of the ports is retained.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 249

Java NIO

introscope.agent.nio.datagram.server.ports
Lists the ports that will report NIO metrics. Only 'server' datagram metrics for specified
ports will be generated.
Property settings
Comma separated list of port numbers. Port is the local port through which datagrams
are sent/received.
Default
undefined (no value)
Example
introscope.agent.nio.datagram.server.ports=123,456,789

Notes

If the list is empty, no port restriction will apply.

Invalid port numbers will be reported in the agent log and ignored.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

introscope.agent.nio.socket.client.hosts
Restricts metric reporting to 'client' TCP "connections" with specified host(s).
Property settings
Comma separated list of hosts.
Default
undefined (no value)
Example
introscope.agent.nio.socket.client.hosts=hostA, hostB

Notes

If the list is empty, no host restriction will apply.

Hosts may be specified by name or textual representation of IP address (in either

IPv4 or IPv6 forms).

Invalid host names will be reported in the agent log and ignored.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

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Java NIO

introscope.agent.nio.socket.client.ports
Lists the ports that will report NIO metrics. Only 'client' socket metrics for specified
ports will be generated.
Property settings
Comma separated list of port numbers. Port is the remote port to/from which
datagrams are sent/received.
Default
undefined (no value)
Example
introscope.agent.nio.socket.client.ports=123,456,789

Notes

If list is empty, no port restriction will apply.

Invalid port numbers will be reported in the agent log and ignored.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

introscope.agent.nio.socket.server.ports
Lists the ports that will report NIO metrics. Only 'server' socket metrics for specified
ports will be generated.
Property settings
Comma separated list of port numbers. Port is the local port through which datagrams
are sent/received.
Default
undefined (no value)
Example
introscope.agent.nio.socket.client.ports=123,456,789

Notes

If list is empty, no port restriction will apply.

Invalid port numbers will be reported in the agent log and ignored.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 251

JMX

Java NIO metrics appear under the NIO node under the agent's top level node in the
Workstation Investigator. Additional NIO metrics for any 'client' connections will appear
under the Backends node.
Individual NIO metrics may be suppressed by commenting out the
TraceOneMethodIfFlagged or TraceOneMethodWithParametersIfFlagged directives for
the metric(s) to be suppressed. However, no tracers whose name ends with
BackendTracer or MappingTracer should be commented out.
For example, to suppress the Concurrent Readers metric for Datagrams, comment out:
TraceOneMethodWithParametersIfFlagged: NIODatagramTracing read
NIODatagramConcurrentInvocationCounter "Concurrent Readers"

JMX
The following properties configure JMX metrics:

introscope.agent.jmx.enable (see page 252)

introscope.agent.jmx.ignore.attributes (see page 253)

introscope.agent.jmx.name.filter (see page 253)

introscope.agent.jmx.name.jsr77.disable (see page 254)

introscope.agent.jmx.name.primarykeys (see page 255)

introscope.agent.jmx.excludeStringMetrics (see page 256)

introscope.agent.jmx.enable
Enables collection of JMX Metrics.
Property settings
True or False.
Default
Varies by agent version.
Example
introscope.agent.jmx.enable=false

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

252 Java Agent Implementation Guide

JMX

introscope.agent.jmx.ignore.attributes
Controls which (if any) JMX MBean attributes are to be ignored.
Property settings
A comma-separated list of keywords.
Default
Commented out; server.
Example
introscope.agent.jmx.ignore.attributes=server

Notes

If an MBean attribute name matches one on the list, the attribute will be ignored.

Leave the list empty to include all MBean attributes.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

introscope.agent.jmx.name.filter
Specifies a comma-separated list of filter strings to determine what JMX data Introscope
collects and displays.
Introscope reports JMX-generated metrics that match a filter string. Filter strings can
contain the asterisk (*) and question mark (?) wildcard characters:

* matches zero or more characters

? matches a single character.

To match a literal * or ?, escape the character with \\.

Examples:

ab\\*c matches a metric name that contains ab*c

ab*c matches a metric name that contains abc, abxc, abxxc etc.

ab?c matches a metric name that contains abxc

ab\\?c matches a metric names that contains ab?c

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 253

JMX

Default
Commented out.
For WebLogic:
ActiveConnectionsCurrentCount,WaitingForConnectionCurrentCount,PendingRequestCurr
entCount,ExecuteThreadCurrentIdleCount,OpenSessionsCurrentCount,j2eeType

Example
#introscope.agent.jmx.name.filter=ActiveConnectionsCurrentCount,WaitingForConnect
ionCurrentCount,PendingRequestCurrentCount,ExecuteThreadCurrentIdleCount,OpenSess
ionsCurrentCount,j2eeType

Notes

Leave empty to include all MBean data available in the system.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

introscope.agent.jmx.name.jsr77.disable
This property controls whether or not Introscope collects and reports full JSR77 data,
including complex JMX data.
This property is only available for use in the WebLogic and WebSphere
IntroscopeAgent.profile files.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Notes

JSR-77 Management support must be provided by the application server in order

for this property to have any effect.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

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introscope.agent.jmx.name.primarykeys
User-defined order of MBean information, and simplifies name conversion.
Property settings
A comma-separated, ordered list of keys which should uniquely identify a particular
MBean.
Default
Commented out in default IntroscopeAgent.profile file.
Example
introscope.agent.jmx.name.primarykeys=J2EEServer

Notes

Property settings for WebLogic:

Type

Name

Comment out this property if using WebLogic Server 9.0.

Property settings for WebSphere:

J2EEServer

Application

j2eeType

JDBCProvider

name

mbeanIdentifier

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 255

LeakHunter

introscope.agent.jmx.excludeStringMetrics
Controls whether or not to include string-valued metrics. To enable string-valued
metrics, set this property value to false.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.jmx.excludeStringMetrics=true

Notes

Excluding string-valued metrics reduces the overall metric count, improving agent
and EM performance.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

LeakHunter
The following properties configure agent interaction with LeakHunter:

introscope.agent.leakhunter.collectAllocationStackTraces (see page 257)

introscope.agent.leakhunter.enable (see page 258)

introscope.agent.leakhunter.leakSensitivity (see page 258)

introscope.agent.leakhunter.logfile.append (see page 259)

introscope.agent.leakhunter.logfile.location (see page 259)

introscope.agent.leakhunter.timeoutInMinutes (see page 260)

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LeakHunter

introscope.agent.leakhunter.collectAllocationStackTraces
Controls whether LeakHunter generates allocation stack traces for potential leaks.
Setting this property to true gives you more precise data about the potential leak's
allocation, but requires additional memory and CPU overhead. For this reason, the
default is false.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.leakhunter.collectAllocationStackTraces=
false

Notes

Setting this property to true has the potential to create higher system overhead, in
CPU usage and memory.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 257

LeakHunter

introscope.agent.leakhunter.enable
Controls whether the LeakHunter feature is enabled. Set the value to true to enable
LeakHunter.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.leakhunter.enable=false

Notes

Turning on this option has the potential to create higher CPU and memory usage.
You should only enable this feature when other metrics suggest there is a memory
leak.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

introscope.agent.leakhunter.leakSensitivity
Controls the sensitivity level of the LeakHunter leak detection algorithm. A higher
sensitivity setting will result in more potential leaks reported and a lower sensitivity will
result in fewer potential leaks reported.
Property settings
The leak sensitivity range must be positive integer value from 1 (low) to10 (high).
Default
5
Example
introscope.agent.leakhunter.leakSensitivity=5

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

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LeakHunter

introscope.agent.leakhunter.logfile.append
Specifies whether to replace the log file or add information to an existing log file on
application restart.
Property settings
True or False

False replaces the log file.

True adds information to an existing log file.

Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.leakhunter.logfile.append=false

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.leakhunter.logfile.location
Controls the location for the LeakHunter.log file. You can specify an absolute or relative
path to the file name. Relative paths resolve relative to the <Agent_Home> directory.
Leave the value blank or commented out if you do not want LeakHunter to record data
in a log file.
Default
The default path is ../../logs/LeakHunter.log. This locates the log file in the
<Agent_Home>logs directory.
Example
introscope.agent.leakhunter.logfile.location=../../logs/LeakHunter.log

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 259

LeakHunter

introscope.agent.leakhunter.timeoutInMinutes
Controls the length of time (in minutes) that LeakHunter spends looking for new
potential leaks. After the time specified, LeakHunter stops looking for new potential
leaks. It continues tracking the previously identified potential leaks.
Property settings
Must be a positive integer (no negative numbers).
Default
The default is 120 minutes.
Example
introscope.agent.leakhunter.timeoutInMinutes=120

Notes

Set the value to zero if you want LeakHunter to always look for new potential leaks.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

introscope.agent.leakhunter.ignore.<number>
Use this to ignore any class matching any supplied patterns. Ten classes have been
supplied by default - comment out any you want to use.
Property settings
A comma-separated list of class matching patterns.
Default
None

260 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Logging

Example
introscope.agent.leakhunter.ignore.4=java.util.SubList
introscope.agent.leakhunter.ignore.5=com.sun.faces.context.BaseContextMap$EntrySe
t
introscope.agent.leakhunter.ignore.6=com.sun.faces.context.BaseContextMap$Key

Notes

Some collections cannot be used with LeakHunter. In order for a collection to be

LeakHunter-safe, it must be safe to call size() at any time, from any thread.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

You can used the "*" wildcard.

Logging
The following properties configure agent logging options:

log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent (see page 262)

log4j.appender.logfile.File (see page 263)

log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent.inheritance (see page 263)

log4j.appender.pbdlog.File (see page 264)

log4j.appender.pbdlog (see page 264)

log4j.appender.pbdlog.layout (see page 265)

log4j.appender.pbdlog.layout.ConversionPattern (see page 265)

log4j.additivity.IntroscopeAgent.inheritance (see page 266)

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 261

Logging

log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent
This property controls both the logging level and the output location for log information.
Property settings
Level of detail value can be:

INFO

VERBOSE#com.wily.util.feedback.Log4JSeverityLevel

Destination value can be:

console

logfile

both console and logfile

Default
INFO, console, logfile
Example
log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent=INFO,console,logfile

Notes

Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

To disable agent logging, remove the value as shown in the following example:
log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent=

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Logging

log4j.appender.logfile.File
Specifies the name and location of IntroscopeAgent.log file if logfile is specified in
log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent. The filename is relative to the directory that contains the
agent profile.
Default
IntroscopeAgent.log
Example
log4j.appender.logfile.File=../../logs/IntroscopeAgent.log

Notes
System properties (Java command line -D options) are expanded as part of the file
name. For example, if Java is started with -Dmy.property=Server1, then
log4j.appender.logfile.File=../../logs/Introscope-${my.property}.log is expanded to:
log4j.appender.logfile.File=../../logs/Introscope-Server1.log.

log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent.inheritance
Controls log level and destination for log messages about classes that require
instrumentation.
Property settings
To configure logging of classes that have not been instrumented because they extend a
supertype or interface, set this property to: INFO, pbdlog
For information about inheritance class logging see Controlling directive logging (see
page 79).
Default
None
Example
log4j.logger.IntroscopeAgent.inheritance=INFO,pbdlog

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 263

Logging

log4j.appender.pbdlog.File
Identifies a log file for messages about classes that require instrumentation.
Property settings
To configure logging of classes that have not been instrumented because they extend a
supertype or interface set to: pbdupdate.log
Default
None
Example
log4j.appender.pbdlog.File=../../pbdupdate.log

log4j.appender.pbdlog
Specifies a package for logging messages about classes that require instrumentation.
Property settings
To configure logging of classes that have not been instrumented because they extend a
supertype or interface, set this property to:
com.wily.introscope.agent.AutoNamingRollingFileAppender
Default
None
Example
log4j.appender.pbdlog=com.wily.introscope.agent.AutoNamingRollingFileAppender

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Logging

log4j.appender.pbdlog.layout
Specifies rules for logging messages about classes that require instrumentation.
Property settings
To configure logging of classes that have not been instrumented because they extend a
supertype or interface, set this property to: com.wily.org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
Default
None
Example
log4j.appender.pbdlog.layout=com.wily.org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout

log4j.appender.pbdlog.layout.ConversionPattern
Specifies rules for logging messages about classes that require instrumentation.
Property settings
To configure logging of classes that have not been instrumented because they extend a
supertype or interface, set this property to:
%d{M/dd/yy hh:mm:ss a z} [%-3p] [%c] %m%n

Default
None
Example
log4j.appender.pbdlog.layout.ConversionPattern=%d{M/dd/yy hh:mm:ss a z} [%-3p] [%c]
%m%n

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 265

Metric count

log4j.additivity.IntroscopeAgent.inheritance
Causes the directives for multiple level inheritance to be logged only in the
pbdupdate.log file.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
log4j.additivity.IntroscopeAgent.inheritance=true

Notes
To configure the logging of multiple level inheritance directives in the pbdupdate.log
only, add this property to the agent profile and set to false.

Metric count
The following property affects where you will see the Metric Count metric in the
Investigator:

introscope.ext.agent.metric.count (see page 267)

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Multiple inheritance

introscope.ext.agent.metric.count
Controls where you will see the Metric Count metric in the Investigator. By default, the
Metric Count is displayed as under the Custom Metric Agent node. If you want to see the
Metric Count metric under the Agent Stats node, add this property to the
IntroscopeAgent.profile.
Property settings
True or False
Default
Not present in the IntroscopeAgent.profile; False
Example
introscope.ext.agent.metric.count=true

Notes
Add this property to the IntroscopeAgent.profile and set it to true to see the Metric
Count metric under the Agent Stats node.

Multiple inheritance
For directives based on interfaces or super classes, the agent is unable to detect
multiple inheritance and hence those classes are not instrumented. Enable the following
properties to determine those cases after the application server or the agent process
starts up. These properties log classes which need to be instrumented but have not
been and relies on dynamic instrumentation to affect the changes.

introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.enabled (see page 268)

introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.runOnceOnly (see page 268)

introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.pollIntervalMinutes (see page 269)

introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.executionCount (see page 269)

introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.disableLogging (see page 270)

introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.disableDirectivesChange (see page 270)

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 267

Multiple inheritance

introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.enabled
For agents that run under JDK 1.5 using AutoProbe and dynamic instrumentation, you
can use this property to enable instrumentation of classes that extend a supertype or
interface.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.enabled=true

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.runOnceOnly
If you have enabled instrumentation of classes that extend a supertype or interface, you
can use this property to control whether the utility that enables the feature runs only
once, or at a specified interval.
Change this property to true only if you need detection on a periodic basis.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.enabled=false

Notes

Logging properties related to dynamic instrumentation are defined in Logging.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

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Multiple inheritance

introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.pollIntervalMinutes
The polling interval to check for classes which could not be instrumented due to
multiple inheritance. In most cases this happens only once; however, a conservative
value is recommended to account for application server initialization.
Default
5
Example
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.pollIntervalMinutes=5

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.executionCount
If you need the polling interval to run a finite times instead of running it only once or
running it periodically, use this property to specify the exact number of times the polling
interval is run. Always use this property to specify the exact number of times it should
run.
Using this property overrides the run once only setting.
Property settings
A positive integer.
Default
3
Example
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.executionCount=3

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 269

Platform monitoring

introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.disableLogging
Uncomment this property if you do not need to log the classes being detected. Only
uncomment this property if dynamic instrumentation is enabled.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
#introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.disableLogging=true

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.disableDirectivesChange
Uncomment this property to only log the changes and disable the triggering of dynamic
instrumentation.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.autoprobe.hierarchysupport.disableDirectivesChange=true

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Platform monitoring
The following property configures platform monitoring metrics:

introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system (see page 271)

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Remote configuration

introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system
Name of operating system to load a platform monitor for.
Property settings
See Troubleshooting platform monitoring (see page 191) for more information about
the options for this property.
Default
Commented out; varies by platform.
Example
introscope.agent.platform.monitor.system=Solaris

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Remote configuration
The following properties allow remote configuration of the Java Agent:

introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.enabled (see page 271)

introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.allowedFiles (see page 272)

introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.enabled
This property enables or disables remote configuration of the agent.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.enabled=true

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 271

Security

introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.allowedFiles
This property lists the exact list of files that are allowed to be remotely transferred to
this agent.
Property settings
domainconfig.xml
Default
domainconfig.xml
Example
introscope.agent.remoteagentconfiguration.allowedFiles=domainconfig.xml

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

Security
The following property configures security of HTTP headers being sent to CA CEM:

introscope.agent.decorator.security (see page 272)

introscope.agent.decorator.security
This property determines the format of decorated HTTP response headers, which are
sent to CA CEM.
Property settings
Clear: clear text encoding
Encrypted: header data is encrypted
Default
Clear
Example
introscope.agent.decorator.security=clear

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Servlet header decorator

Servlet header decorator

The following property enables correlation of transactions between CA CEM and
Introscope:

introscope.agent.decorator.enabled (see page 273)

introscope.agent.decorator.enabled
If this Boolean value is set to true, it configures the agent to add additional performance
monitoring information to HTTP response headers. ServletHeaderDecorator attaches
the GUID to each transaction and inserts the GUID into an HTTP header, for example:
x-apm-info
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.decorator.enabled=false

Socket metrics
Generation of I/O Socket metrics may be restricted by the following parameters:

introscope.agent.sockets.reportRateMetrics (see page 274)

introscope.agent.io.socket.client.hosts (see page 274)

introscope.agent.io.socket.client.ports (see page 275)

introscope.agent.io.socket.server.ports (see page 275)

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 273

Socket metrics

introscope.agent.sockets.reportRateMetrics
Enables reporting of individual socket's input/output (I/O) bandwidth rate metrics.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.sockets.reportRateMetrics=false

Notes

Only functions if ManagedSocketTracing is enabled and SocketTracing is disabled.

See Backwards compatibility (see page 131) for more information.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

introscope.agent.io.socket.client.hosts
Restrict socket client connections instrumented to those with specified remote hosts.
Property settings
A comma-separate list of values.
Example
introscope.agent.io.socket.client.hosts=

Notes

If any individual value is invalid, it will be ignored.

If any parameter is not defined, or after exclusion of any invalid values is an empty
list, no restriction will apply to that parameter.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

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SQL Agent

introscope.agent.io.socket.client.ports
Restrict socket client connections instrumented to those with specified remote ports
Property settings
A comma-separate list of values.
Example
introscope.agent.io.socket.client.ports=

Notes

If any individual value is invalid, it will be ignored.

If any parameter is not defined, or after exclusion of any invalid values is an empty
list, no restriction will apply to that parameter.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

introscope.agent.io.socket.server.ports
Restrict socket client connections instrumented to those using specified local ports.
Property settings
A comma-separate list of values.
Example
introscope.agent.io.socket.server.ports=

Notes

If any individual value is invalid, it will be ignored.

If any parameter is not defined, or after exclusion of any invalid values is an empty
list, no restriction will apply to that parameter.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

SQL Agent
You can configure aspects of the SQL Agent.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 275

SQL Agent

More information:
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension (see page 276)
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.matchFallThrough (see page 277)
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.keys (see page 278)
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.pattern (see page 278)
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceAll (see page 279)
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceFormat (see page 279)
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.caseSensitive (see page 280)
introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.artonly (see page 280)
introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.rawsql (see page 280)
introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.turnoffmetrics (see page 281)
introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.turnofftrace (see page 281)

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension
Specifies the name of the SQL normalizer extension that will be used to override the
preconfigured normalization scheme.
To make custom normalization extension work, the value of its manifest attribute
com-wily-Extension-Plugin-{pluginName}-Name should match the value given in this
property.
If you specify a comma separated list of names, only the first name will be used. For
example:
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension=ext1, ext2
Only ext1 will be used for normalization. Limits how much of a SQL statement appears in
the Investigator tree for SQL Agent metrics, in bytes.
Property settings
The name of the SQL normalizer extension that is used to override the preconfigured
normalization scheme.
Default
RegexSqlNormalizer
Example
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension=RegexSqlNormalizer

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Notes
If you use the default setting, you also must configure the regular expressions SQL
statement normalizer properties:

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.matchFallThrough (see page 277)

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.keys (see page 278)

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.pattern (see page 278)

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceAll (see page 279)

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceFormat (see page 279)

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.caseSensitive (see page 280)

Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.matchFallThrough
Use this property in conjunction with introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension
(see page 276) to set the regular expressions SQL statement normalizer. When this
property is set to true, it will evaluate SQL strings against all regex key groups.
The implementation is chained. For example, if SQL matches multiple key groups, the
normalized SQL output from group1 is fed as input to group2, and so on.
If the property is set to false, as soon as a key group matches, the normalized SQL
output from that group is returned.
Property settings
True or False
Default
false
Example
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.matchFallThrough=false

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 277

SQL Agent

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.keys
Use this property in conjunction with introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension
(see page 276) to set the regular expressions SQL statement normalizer. This property
specifies the regex group keys. They are evaluated in order.
Default
key1
Example
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.keys=key1

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.pattern
Use this property in conjunction with introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension
(see page 276) to set the regular expressions SQL statement normalizer. This property
specifies the regex pattern that will be used to match against the SQL.
Property settings
All valid regex entries allowed by java.util.Regex package can be used here.
Default
.*call(.*\)\.FOO(.*\)
Example
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.pattern=.*call(.*\)\.FOO(.*\)

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

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introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceAll
Use this property in conjunction with introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension
(see page 276) to set the regular expressions SQL statement normalizer. When this
property is set to false, it will replace the first occurrence of the matching pattern in the
SQL query with the replacement string. If set to true, it will replace all occurrences of
the matching pattern in the SQL query with replacement the string.
Property settings
True or False
Default
false
Example
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceAll=false

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceFormat
Use this property in conjunction with introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension
(see page 276) to set the regular expressions SQL statement normalizer. This property
specifies the replacement string format.
Property settings
All valid regex entries allowed by the java.util.Regex package and
java.util.regex.Matcher class can be used here.
Default
$1
Example
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.replaceFormat=$1

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 279

SQL Agent

introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.caseSensitive
Use this property in conjunction with introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.extension
(see page 276) to set the regular expressions SQL statement normalizer. This property
specifies whether the pattern match is sensitive to case.
Property settings
true or false
Default
false
Example
introscope.agent.sqlagent.normalizer.regex.key1.caseSensitive=false

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.artonly
The introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.artonly property=true configures the agent to create
and send only the Average Response Time metric for individual SQL statements under
back-ends. When the value for this property is true, performance of the agent for SQL
metrics and transaction traces can improve.
Note: Setting introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.turnoffmetrics (see page 281)=true
overrides this property.
This property is turned off by default:
introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.artonly=false
Changes to this property take effect after you restart the managed application.

introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.rawsql
The introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.rawsql property configures the agent to add
unnormalized SQL as a parameter for SQL components in Transaction Trace. When the
value for this property is true, performance of the agent for SQL metrics and transaction
traces can improve.

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This property is turned off by default:

introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.rawsql=false
Changes to this property take effect after you restart the managed application.
Important! Enabling this property can result in passwords and sensitive information
being presented in Transaction Trace.

introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.turnoffmetrics
You can turn off individual SQL statement metrics to send fewer metrics from the agent
to the Enterprise Manager by using the introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.turnoffmetrics
property. When the value for this property is true, performance of the agent for SQL
metrics and transaction traces can improve.
This property is turned off by default:
introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.turnoffmetrics=false
Changes to this property take effect after you restart the managed application.

introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.turnofftrace
The introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.turnofftrace property controls whether the agent
creates transaction trace components and sends them to the Enterprise Manager for
individual SQL statements under back-ends. When the value for this property is true,
performance of the agent for SQL metrics and transaction traces can improve.
This property is turned off by default:
introscope.agent.sqlagent.sql.turnofftrace=false
Changes to this property take effect after you restart the managed application.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 281

SSL communication

SSL communication
The agent can connect to the Enterprise Manager over SSL. Use the following properties
to configure that communication:

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT (see page 200)

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.truststore.DEFAULT

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.trustpassword.DEFAULT

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.keystore.DEFAULT

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.keypassword.DEFAULT

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.ciphersuites.DEFAULT

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT
Specifies the host name of the computer running the Enterprise Manager that the agent
connects to by default.
Default
localhost
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT=localhost

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

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introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT
Specifies the port number on the computer that hosts the Enterprise Manager that
listens for connections from the agent. If you are using Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
protocol, the default port that listens for connections from the agent is 5443.
Default
5443
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT=5443

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT
Specifies the client socket factory to use for connections from the agent to the
Enterprise Manager when using SSL.
Default
com.wily.isengard.postofficehub.link.net.SSLSocketFactory
Example
ntroscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.socketfactory.DEFAULT=com.wily.is
engard.postofficehub.link.net.SSLSocketFactory

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 283

SSL communication

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.truststore.DEFAULT
Location of a truststore containing trusted Enterprise Manager certificates. If no
truststore is specified, the agent trusts all certificates.
Property settings
Either an absolute path or a path relative to the agent's working directory.
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.truststore.DEFAULT=/var/trustedc
erts

Notes
On Windows, backslashes must be escaped. For example: C:\\keystore

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.trustpassword.DEFAULT
The password for the truststore.
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.trustpassword.DEFAULT=

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.keystore.DEFAULT
Location of a keystore containing the agent's certificate. A keystore is needed if the
Enterprise Manager requires client authentication.
Property settings
Either an absolute path or a path relative to the agent's working directory.
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.keystore.DEFAULT=c:\\keystore

Notes
On Windows, backslashes must be escaped. For example: C:\\keystore

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introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.keypassword.DEFAULT
The password for the keystore.
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.keypassword.DEFAULT=MyPassword76
8

introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.ciphersuites.DEFAULT
Set the enabled cipher suites.
Property settings
A comma-separated list of cipher suites.
Example
introscope.agent.enterprisemanager.transport.tcp.
ciphersuites.DEFAULT=SSL_DH_anon_WITH_RC4_128_MD5

Notes
If not specified, use the default enabled cipher suites.

Stall metrics
The following properties are for stall metrics:

introscope.agent.stalls.thresholdseconds (see page 286)

introscope.agent.stalls.resolutionseconds (see page 286)

For more information on stall metric properties, see Disabling the capture of stalls as
Events (see page 166).

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 285

Stall metrics

introscope.agent.stalls.thresholdseconds
Specifies the number of seconds that an executing process can take before it is
considered a stalled process. To ensure an accurate Stall Count metric, you must set the
stall resolution and stall threshold properties to 15 seconds or more. The stall threshold
should not be set to less than 15 seconds to allow time for the Enterprise Manager to
complete its harvest cycle. The stall resolution should always be set to a value equal to
or greater than the Enterprise Manager harvest duration.
Default
The default is 30 seconds.
Example
introscope.agent.stalls.thresholdseconds=30

Notes
This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during run
time and the change will be picked up automatically.

introscope.agent.stalls.resolutionseconds
Specifies the frequency that the agent checks for stalls. To ensure an accurate Stall
Count metric, you must set the stall resolution and stall threshold properties to 15
seconds or more. The stall threshold should not be set to less than 15 seconds to allow
time for the Enterprise Manager to complete its harvest cycle. The stall resolution
should always be set to a value equal to or greater than the Enterprise Manager harvest
duration.
Default
The default is every 10 seconds.
Example
introscope.agent.stalls.resolutionseconds=10

Notes
This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during run
time and the change will be picked up automatically.

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Thread dumps
These properties enable and configure agent aspects of CA Introscope thread dump
functionality:

introscope.agent.threaddump.enable (see page 287)

introscope.agent.threaddump.deadlockpoller.enable (see page 288)

introscope.agent.threaddump.deadlockpollerinterval (see page 288)

introscope.agent.threaddump.MaxStackElements (see page 289)

Note: For more information about configuring thread dumps, see How to enable and
configure thread dumps (see page 67).

introscope.agent.threaddump.enable
Enables thread dumps to be collected on an agent JVM and allows users to view the
Thread Dumps tab.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.threaddump.enable=true

Notes

Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require you to restart
the managed application.

This property works together with the IntroscopeEnterpriseManager.properties file

introscope.enterprisemanager.threaddump.enable property, which enables the
Enterprise Manager thread dump functionality if this property is set to true.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 287

Thread dumps

introscope.agent.threaddump.deadlockpoller.enable
Enables the Deadlock Count metric in the metric browser tree to display the current
number of deadlocks in the agent JVM.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.threaddump.deadlockpoller.enable=true

Notes

Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require you to restart
the managed application.

introscope.agent.threaddump.deadlockpollerinterval
Frequency in milliseconds at which CA Introscope polls the agent JVM for deadlocked
threads
Property settings
Integer greater than 0
Default
15000 (milliseconds)
Example
introscope.agent.threaddump.deadlockpollerinterval=15000

Notes

Restart the managed application so changes to this property can take effect.

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introscope.agent.threaddump.MaxStackElements
The total number of lines in the thread stack trace determines the size of a CA
Introscope thread dump. This property sets the number of lines allowed in the thread
stack.
Property settings
Integer greater than 0 and no greater than 25,000
Default
12,000
Example
introscope.agent.threaddump.MaxStackElements=12000

Notes
Restart the managed application so that changes to this property can take effect.

Transaction tracing
The following properties are for transaction tracing and sampling:

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httprequest.headers (see page 290)

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httprequest.parameters (see
page 290)

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httpsession.attributes (see page 291)

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.key (see page 291)

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.method (see page 292)

introscope.agent.transactiontrace.componentCountClamp (see page 293)

introscope.agent.crossprocess.compression (see page 294)

introscope.agent.crossprocess.compression.minlimit (see page 295)

introscope.agent.crossprocess.correlationid.maxlimit (see page 296)

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.enabled (see page 296)

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.perinterval.count (see page 297)

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.interval.seconds (see page 297)

introscope.agent.transactiontrace.headFilterClamp (see page 298)

For more information, see Configuring Transaction Trace Options (see page 161).

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 289

Transaction tracing

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httprequest.headers
Specifies (in comma-separated list) HTTP request header data to capture. Use a comma
separated list.
Default
Commented out; User-Agent
Example
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httprequest.headers=User-Agent

Notes
The IntroscopeAgent.profile contains a commented out statement that sets the value of
this property to a null value. The user may optionally uncomment the statement and
supply the desired header names.

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httprequest.parameters
Specifies (in comma-separated list) HTTP request parameter data to capture.
Default
Commented out; generic parameters.
Example
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httprequest.parameters=parameter1,pa
rameter2

Notes
The IntroscopeAgent.profile contains a commented out statement that sets the value of
this property to a null value. The user may optionally uncomment the statement and
supply the desired parameter names.

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introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httpsession.attributes
Specifies (in comma-separated list) HTTP session attribute data to capture.
Default
Commented out; generic parameters.
Example
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httpsession.attributes=attribute1,at
tribute2

Notes
The IntroscopeAgent.profile contains a commented out statement that sets the value of
this property to a null value. The user may optionally uncomment the statement and
supply the desired parameter names.

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.key
User-defined key string.
Default
Commented out; generic parameters.
Example
#introscope.agent.transactiontracer.parameter.httpsession.attributes=attribute1,a
ttribute2

Notes
The IntroscopeAgent.profile contains a commented out statement that sets the value of
this property to a null value. The user may optionally uncomment the statement and
supply the correct value if, in your environment, user IDs are accessed using
HttpServletRequest.getHeader or HttpServletRequest.getValue.
For more information, see introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.method (see
page 292).

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 291

Transaction tracing

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.method
Specifies the method that returns User IDs. The Agent profile includes a commented out
property definition for each of the three allowable values.
Uncomment the appropriate statement, based on whether user ID is accessed by
getRemoteUser, getHeader, or getValue.
Property settings
Allowable values are:

HttpServletRequest.getRemoteUser

HttpServletRequest.getHeader

HttpServletRequest.getValue

Default
Commented out; see options above.
Example
The IntroscopeAgent.profile includes a commented out property definition for each of
the three allowable values. You can uncomment the property you want to use.
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.method=HttpServletRequest.getRemoteUser
#introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.method=HttpServletRequest.getHeader
#introscope.agent.transactiontracer.userid.method=HttpSession.getValue

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introscope.agent.transactiontrace.componentCountClamp
Limits the number of components allowed in a transaction trace.
Default
5000
Warning! If the clamp size is increased, the requirements on memory are higher. In
extreme cases, the maximum heap size for the JVM may need to be adjusted or the
managed application could run out of memory.
Example
introscope.agent.transactiontrace.componentCountClamp=5000

Notes

Any Transaction Trace exceeding the clamp is discarded at the agent and a warning
message is logged in the agent log file.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

When the set limit is reached, warnings appear in the log, and the trace stops.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 293

Transaction tracing

introscope.agent.crossprocess.compression
Use this property to reduce the size of cross process transaction tracing data.
Property settings
lzma, gzip, none
Default
lzma
Example
introscope.agent.crossprocess.compression=lzma

Notes

This option will increase agent CPU overhead, but reduce the size of interprocess
headers.

lzma compression is more efficient than gzip, but may use more CPU.

.NET agents do not support the gzip option, so if interoperability is required, do not
use gzip.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

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introscope.agent.crossprocess.compression.minlimit
Use this property to set the minimum length of cross process parameter data length for
which to apply compression.
Property settings
Can be set from 0 to twice the total maximum limit, set in the
introscope.agent.crossprocess.correlationid.maxlimit (see page 296).
If set below the default of 1500, the compression will run more frequently and consume
more CPU overhead. The default setting of 1500 usually results in no impact to CPU
overhead in normal conditions.
Default
1500
Example
introscope.agent.crossprocess.compression.minlimit=1500

Notes

Used with the introscope.agent.crossprocess.compression property above.

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 295

Transaction tracing

introscope.agent.crossprocess.correlationid.maxlimit
Maximum size of cross process parameter data allowed.
If the total size of cross process parameter data is more than this limit, even after
applying compression, some data will be dropped and some cross process correlation
functionality will not work properly.
However, this setting will protect user transactions from failing in network transmission
due to too large header size.
Default
4096
Example
introscope.agent.crossprocess.correlationid.maxlimit=4096

Notes

Used with the introscope.agent.crossprocess.compression and

introscope.agent.crossprocess.compression.minlimit properties above

This property is dynamic. You can change the configuration of this property during
run time and the change will be picked up automatically.

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.enabled
Uncomment the following property to disable Transaction Tracer Sampling.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.enabled=false

Notes
Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

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introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.perinterval.count
This property is normally configured in the Enterprise Manager. Configuring this
property in the agent disables the configuration in the Enterprise Manager. See the CA
APM Configuration and Administration Guide for more information.
Default
1
Example
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.perinterval.count=1

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.interval.seconds
This property is normally configured in the Enterprise Manager. Configuring this
property in the agent disables the configuration in the Enterprise Manager.
Note: For more information, see the CA APM Configuration and Administration Guide.
Default
120
Example
introscope.agent.transactiontracer.sampling.interval.seconds=120

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 297

Transaction tracing

introscope.agent.transactiontrace.headFilterClamp
Specifies the maximum depth of components allowed in head filtering. Head filtering is
the process of examining the start of a transaction for the purpose of potentially
collecting the entire transaction. Head filtering checks each component until the first
blamed component exits. For transaction with very deep call stacks, this can be a
problem if no clamping is applied. The clamp value limits the memory and CPU
utilization impact of this behavior by forcing the agent to only look up to a fixed depth.
Default
30
Warning! If the clamp size is increased, the requirement on memory is higher. Garbage
collection behavior will be affected, which will have an application-wide performance
impact.
Example
introscope.agent.transactiontrace.headFilterClamp=30

Notes

Changes to this property take effect immediately and do not require the managed
application to be restarted.

Any Transaction Trace whose depth exceeds the clamp will no longer be examined
for possible collection unless some other mechanism, such as sampling or
user-initiated transaction tracing, is active to select the transaction for collection.

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URL grouping

introscope.agent.ttClamp
This property limits the number of transactions that are reported by the agent per
reporting cycle.
Property settings
Integers.
Default
50
Example
introscope.agent.ttClamp=50

Notes

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

If the property is not set (left blank), the value defaults to 200.

URL grouping
The following properties are for configuring URL Groups for frontend metrics:

introscope.agent.urlgroup.keys (see page 300)

introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.default.pathprefix (see page 300)

introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.default.format (see page 300)

For more information, see Using URL groups (see page 153).

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 299

URL grouping

introscope.agent.urlgroup.keys
Configuration settings for Frontend naming.
Default
Default
Example
introscope.agent.urlgroup.keys=default

Notes
If a URL address belongs to two URL Groups, the order in which you list the keys for the
URL Groups in this property is important. The URL Group defined by the narrower
pattern should precede the URL Group specified by the broader pattern.
For example, if the URL Group with key alpha contains a single address, and the URL
Group with key beta includes all addresses on the network segment that contains the
address in the first URL Group, alpha should precede beta in the keys parameter.

introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.default.pathprefix
Configuration settings for frontend naming.
Default
*
Example
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.default.pathprefix=*

introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.default.format
Configuration settings for Frontend naming.
Default
Default
Example
introscope.agent.urlgroup.group.default.format=default

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WebSphere PMI

WebSphere PMI
The following properties configure WebSphere PMI metrics:

introscope.agent.pmi.enable (see page 302)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.alarmManager (see page 302)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.bean (see page 303)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.cache (see page 303)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.connectionPool (see page 304)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.hamanager (see page 304)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.j2c (see page 305)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.jvmpi (see page 305)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.jvmRuntime (see page 306)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.objectPool (see page 306)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.orbPerf (see page 307)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.scheduler (see page 307)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.servletSessions (see page 308)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.system (see page 308)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.threadPool (see page 309)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.transaction (see page 309)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.webApp (see page 310)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.webServices (see page 310)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.wlm (see page 311)

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.wsgw (see page 311)

introscope.agent.pmi.filter.objref (see page 312)

These properties are found in the IntroscopeAgent.websphere.profile file, or the default

agent profile for a WebSphere installation.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 301

WebSphere PMI

introscope.agent.pmi.enable
Enables collection of data from WebSphere PMI.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable=true

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.alarmManager
Enables collection of PMI alarm manager data when set to true.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.alarmManager=false

Notes

The alarm manager data category must be turned on in WebSphere to be visible as

Introscope data.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

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introscope.agent.pmi.enable.bean
Enables collection of PMI bean data.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.bean=false

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.cache
Enables collection of PMI cache data when set to true.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.cache=false

Notes

The cache data category must be turned on in WebSphere to be visible as

Introscope data.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 303

WebSphere PMI

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.connectionPool
Enables collection of PMI connectionPool data.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.connectionPool=true

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.hamanager
Enables collection of PMI manager data when set to true.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.hamanager=false

Notes

The manager data category must be turned on in WebSphere to be visible as

Introscope data.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

304 Java Agent Implementation Guide

WebSphere PMI

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.j2c
Enables collection of PMI J2C data when set to true.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.j2c=true

Notes

The J2C data category must be turned on in WebSphere to be visible as Introscope

data.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.jvmpi
Enables collection of PMI JVM PI data.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.jvmpi=false

Notes
For data to be provided to this module, JVMPI must be turned on in WebSphere.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 305

WebSphere PMI

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.jvmRuntime
Enables collection of PMI JVM runtime data.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.jvmRuntime=false

Notes

For data to be provided to this module, JVMPI must be turned on in WebSphere.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.objectPool
Enables collection of PMI object pool data when set to true.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.objectPool=false

Notes

The object pool data category must be turned on in WebSphere to be visible as

Introscope data.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

306 Java Agent Implementation Guide

WebSphere PMI

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.orbPerf
Enables collection of PMI orbPerf data when set to true.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.orbPerf=false

Notes

The orbPerf data category must be turned on in WebSphere to be visible as

Introscope data.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.scheduler
Enables collection of PMI scheduler data when set to true.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.scheduler=false

Notes

The scheduler data category must be turned on in WebSphere to be visible as

Introscope data.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 307

WebSphere PMI

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.servletSessions
Enables collection of PMI servletSessions data.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.servletSessions=true

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.system
Enables collection of PMI system data when set to true.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.system=false

Notes

The system data category must be turned on in WebSphere to be visible as

Introscope data.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

308 Java Agent Implementation Guide

WebSphere PMI

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.threadPool
Enables collection of PMI thread pool data when set to true.
Property settings
True or False
Default
True
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.threadPool=true

Notes

The thread pool data category must be turned on in WebSphere to be visible as

Introscope data.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.transaction
Enables collection of PMI transaction data.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.transaction=false

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 309

WebSphere PMI

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.webApp
Enables collection of PMI webApp data.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.webApp=false

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect.

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.webServices
Enables collection of PMI web services data when set to true.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.webServices=false

Notes

The web services data category must be turned on in WebSphere to be visible as

Introscope data.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

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WebSphere PMI

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.wlm
Enables collection of PMI WLM data when set to true.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.wlm=false

Notes

The WLM data category must be turned on in WebSphere to be visible as

Introscope data.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

introscope.agent.pmi.enable.wsgw
Enables collection of PMI WSGW data when set to true.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.enable.wsgw=false

Notes

The WSGW data category must be turned on in WebSphere to be visible as

Introscope data.

You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take
effect.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 311

WLDF metrics

introscope.agent.pmi.filter.objref
Controls for hard-coded filters.
The objref filter filters out names ending with "@xxxxx" where "xxxxx" is a numeric
string.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.pmi.filter.objref=false

Notes
You must restart the managed application before changes to this property take effect

WLDF metrics
The following properties configure WLDF metrics:

introscope.agent.wldf.enable (see page 313)

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WLDF metrics

introscope.agent.wldf.enable
Enables collection of WLDF metrics.
Property settings
True or False
Default
False
Example
introscope.agent.wldf.enable=false

Notes
For WebLogic 9.x and above only.

Appendix A: Java Agent Properties 313

Appendix B: Alternative Methods for

Instrumentation
This section describes alternate methods for instrumenting application when you cannot
use JVM AutoProbe. CA Technologies recommends using JVM AutoProbe over the
alternatives described in this section in all cases. However, if you cannot use JVM
AutoProbe for a specific application server, you can use instructions in this section to
instrument your applications.
This section contains the following topics:
Deploying the Java Agent on other application servers (see page 315)
Configuring Sun ONE 7.0 (see page 316)
Configuring Oracle 10g 10.0.3 (see page 317)
Configuring WebLogic Server (see page 318)
Configuring HTTP servlet tracing (see page 318)
Creating an AutoProbe connector file (see page 319)
About running ProbeBuilder manually (see page 322)
AutoProbe for WebSphere 6.1 and 7.0 for z/OS (see page 322)

Deploying the Java Agent on other application servers

JVM AutoProbe (see Configuring JVM AutoProbe) is the most commonly used method
for instrumenting applications. CA Technologies highly recommends using JVM
AutoProbe to instrument your applications.
However, you can use Application Server AutoProbe if you are running JVMs 1.4 or
lower on the following application servers:

Sun ONE 7.0

Application Server AutoProbe is only supported on Sun ONE version 7 application
server. See Configuring Sun ONE 7.0 (see page 316).

Oracle 10g 10.0.3

Application Server AutoProbe is only supported on Oracle version 10g 10.0.3
application server. See Configuring Oracle 10g 10.0.3 (see page 317).

WebSphere or WebLogic
For information about configuring AutoProbe on WebSphere and WebLogic, see
Deploying the Java Agent on WebSphere (see page 47) and Deploying the Java
Agent on WebLogic (see page 42).

Appendix B: Alternative Methods for Instrumentation 315

Configuring Sun ONE 7.0

Important! Application Server AutoProbe is not supported on:

any JVM 1.5 and above platforms

OS/400

Important! Use only one method to instrument your applications. If you have already
started using JVM AutoProbe, do not use Application Server AutoProbe.
When starting the application server, avoid using the hyphen (-) character as an
identifier for a classname. Introscope does not parse this character, and using it might
lead to class loading errors in the agent logs.

Configuring Sun ONE 7.0

The following steps detail how to configure Sun ONE installations to use AutoProbe to
instrument applications.
To configure Sun ONE 7.0 to use AutoProbe
Note: The use of "..." in the .xml examples below indicates that there is additional
information in the .xml code (not relevant to the example) that is not shown.
1.

In order to add Introscope information to startup scripts for Sun ONE 7.0, you must
be logged in as Administrator or Root.

2.

Open the server.xml file, located at:

<Sun ONE install dir>/domains/domain1/server1/config/

Note: The item separator is a colon (:).

3.

Add the full path of wily/Agent.jar to the "server-classpath" property of the

java-config element in the server.xml file. For example:
<java-config ... server-classpath="/sw/sun/sunone7/wily/Agent.jar:..." ...>

4.

Add the following to the java-config element:

Add the bytecode-preprocessors property and set it to the value

com.wily.introscope.api.sun.appserver.SunONEAutoProbe.
For example:
<java-config ...
bytecode-preprocessors="com.wily.introscope.api.sun.appserver.SunONEAutoP
robe">

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Configuring Oracle 10g 10.0.3

Add a jvm-options element to define the location of the agent profile. Define
either com.wily.introscope.agentProfile, or com.wily.introscope.agentResource.
The following is an example of com.wily.introscope.agentProfile:
<java-config ...>
...
<jvm-options>-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=/sw/sun/sunone7/wily/core
/config/IntroscopeAgent.profile </jvm-options>
</java-config>

The following is an example of com.wily.introscope.agentResource:

<java-config ...>
...
<jvm-options>-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentResource=<virtual path
to>/IntroscopeAgent.profile</jvm-options>
</java-config>

5.

OPTIONAL: If you configured com.wily.introscope.agentResource, add the

resource file to the server classpath.

Configure Tracer Groups to collect servlet data. For more information, see
Configuring HTTP servlet tracing (see page 318).

Configuring Oracle 10g 10.0.3

The following steps detail how to configure Oracle 10g installations to use AutoProbe to
instrument applications.
To configure Oracle 10g 10.0.3 to use AutoProbe
1.

Add Agent.jar to the application server classpath.

2.

Set the system property oracle.classpreprocessor.classes with the value of

com.wily.introscope.api.oracle.OracleAutoProbe.

3.

Set the system property oracle.j2ee.class.preprocessing with the value of true.

4.

Run this command at the command line:

-Dcom.wily.introscope.probebuilder.oracle.enable=true

Appendix B: Alternative Methods for Instrumentation 317

Configuring WebLogic Server

5.

Restart the Oracle Application Server 10g, using this command:

java
-Doracle.classpreprocessor.classes=com.wily.introscope.api.oracle.OracleAutoP
robe -Doracle.j2ee.class.preprocessing=true
-Dcom.wily.introscope.probebuilder.oracle.enable=true -classpath
oc4j.jar:<path to wily install dir>/wily/Agent.jar
com.evermind.server.OC4JServer -config <path to oracle install
dir>/config/server.xml

Important! Users running Oracle 10g Release 2 using Sun JDK 1.42 must use the ^
(caret) character to escape a forward slash when issuing commands. For example:
-Xbootclasspath^/p:<IntroscopeAgent.jar path>

6.

Configure Tracer Groups to collect servlet data. For more information, see
Configuring HTTP servlet tracing (see page 318).

Configuring WebLogic Server

The following steps detail how to configure WebLogic Server 9.x or 10.x to use
AutoProbe to instrument applications.
To configure WebLogic Server 9.x or 10.x to use AutoProbe
1.

Edit the classpath in the application startup script (such as startMedRecServer.cmd)

to include the wily/Agent.jar file.

2.

Set the following property in the application startup script on the Java command
line with the -D option to activate Introscope AutoProbe:
-Dweblogic.classloader.preprocessor=
com.wily.introscope.api.weblogic.PreProcessor

3.

Configure Tracer Groups to collect servlet data. For more information, see
Configuring HTTP servlet tracing (see page 318).

Configuring HTTP servlet tracing

Before you use AutoProbe with your application servers to instrument applications, you
must configure Tracer Groups in the toggles-full.pbd and toggles-typical.pbd files. This
will enable servlet data to be collected.
You will turn one Tracer Group off, and turn another Tracer Group on.
To configure HTTP servlet tracing
1.

Navigate to the <your-application-server-home>/wily/core/config/toggles-full.pbd

file and open it.

2.

Go to the HTTP Servlets Configuration section of the PBD.

318 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Creating an AutoProbe connector file

3.

Turn off the HTTPServletTracing Tracer Group by placing a pound sign at the
beginning of the line. For example:
#TurnOn: HTTPServletTracing

4.

Turn on the HTTPAppServerAutoProbeServletTracing Tracer Group by removing the

pound sign from the beginning of the line. For example:
TurnOn: HTTPAppServerAutoProbeServletTracing

5.

Repeat steps 2-4 for <your-app-server-home>/wily/core/config/toggles-typical.pbd

file.

Creating an AutoProbe connector file

The deprecated JVM AutoProbe method requires a connector .jar file to operate
correctly. Follow this procedure to create the AutoProbe Connector. If your JVM is v1.5,
follow the instructions in JVM AutoProbe.
To create an AutoProbe Connector
1.

Change the working directory to wily/connectors under the installation directory.

2.

Run the Create AutoProbe Connector tool using one of these commands:

to specify the JVM using the JVM that is running the tool:
java -jar CreateAutoProbeConnector.jar -current

to specify the JVM by passing the JVM directory on the command line:
java -jar CreateAutoProbeConnector.jar -jvm <directory>

The output is a file with the form: wily/connectors/AutoProbeConnector.jar

3.

You may want to rename the created .jar file to be more manageable and
universally accepted. For example:

wily/connectors/AutoProbeConnector131_02_Sun.jar
OR

wily/connectors/AutoProbeConnector130_IBM.jar

Running the AutoProbe Connector for a JVM

After you create the AutoProbe Connector for the Sun or IBM JVM, you run the created
file to instrument your applications. The way you run the Connector depends on the
application server you use. For more information, see the appropriate section for your
application server.
To run the AutoProbe Connector for SAP J2EE 6.20
1.

Open the file:

<drive>:\usr\sap\<J2EE_ENGINE_ID>\j2ee\j2ee_<INSTANCE>\cluster\
server\cmdline.properties

Appendix B: Alternative Methods for Instrumentation 319

Creating an AutoProbe connector file

2.

Append these commands to JavaParameters section:

-Xbootclasspath/p:PathToAutoProbeConnectorJar;PathToAgentJar
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=<path-to-IntroscopeAgent.profile>
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agent.agentName=<yourAgentName>

For example:
Xbootclasspath/p:C:/usr/sap/P602/j2ee/j2ee_00/ccms/wily/connectors/AutoProbeC
onnector.jar;C:/usr/sap/P602/j2ee/j2ee_00/ccms/wily/Agent.jar
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=C:/usr/sap/P602/j2ee/j2ee_00/ccms/wily/cor
e/config/IntroscopeAgent.profile

3.

Restart the SAP server.

To run the AutoProbe Connector for NetWeaver 04/SAP J2EE 6.40

1.

Run the SAP J2EE Configtool.

2.

Select the server to modify.

3.

Add these new java parameters in the Java Parameters field:

-Xbootclasspath/p:PathToAutoProbeConnectorJar;PathToAgentJar
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=<path-to-IntroscopeAgent.profile>

For example:
Xbootclasspath/p:D:/usr/sap/ccms/wily/connectors/AutoProbeConnector.jar;D:/us
r/sap/ccms/wily/Agent.jar
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=D:/usr/sap/ccms/wily/core/config/Introscop
eAgent.profile

Note: For NetWeaver 6.40 on Windows, the slashes for these java parameters must
be forward slashes.
4.

Click Disk to save.

5.

Repeat steps 2 - 4 for each server.

6.

Restart the SAP server.

7.

To verify that Configtool changes were made, open the file:

<drive>:\usr\sap\ccms\P66\JC00\j2ee\cluster\instance.properties

8.

Look for a line beginning with ID<server_id>.JavaParameters, and confirm that it

contains the lines you entered.

To run the AutoProbe Connector for Sun ONE

1.

Log in as Administrator or Root.

You must be logged in with Administrator or Root permissions to add Introscope
information to startup scripts for Sun ONE 7.0.

2.

Open the server.xml file, located at:

<SunONE install dir>/domains/domain1/server1/config/

320 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Creating an AutoProbe connector file

3.

Add this line to the server.xml file:

<jvm-options>
-Xbootclasspath/p:PathToAutoProbeConnectorJar:PathToAgentJar
</jvm-options>
The item separator is a colon (:). For example:
<jvm-options>
-Xbootclasspath/p:/sw/sun/sunone7/wily/connectors/AutoProbeConnector.jar:/sw/
sun/sunone7/wily/Agent.jar
</jvm-options>

To run the AutoProbe Connector for Oracle 10g

To run the AutoProbe Connector, modify the bootstrap classpath:

-Xbootclasspath/p:wily/connectors/AutoProbeConnector.jar:PathToAgentJar

Users running Oracle 10g Release 2 using Sun JDK 1.42 must use the ^ (caret) character
to escape a forward slash when issuing commands. For example:
-Xbootclasspath^/p:<IntroscopeAgent.jar path>

Different versions of WebLogic use different versions of Java to run. If you use Java 1.4
or earlier, you will use the following steps to run the AutoProbe connector. If you use
Java 1.5 or later, see JVM AutoProbe for more information.
To run the AutoProbe Connector for WebLogic
1.

Edit the bootstrap classpath in the application startup script to include the
AutoProbeConnector.jar you created (such as startMedRecServer.cmd) using this
command:
-Xbootclasspath/p:PathToAutoProbeConnectorJar:PathToAgentJar

add the -X switch to the final start command at the end of the script, after the
JAVA_VM and JAVA_OPTIONS. The excerpt below shows the correct place to insert
the switch:
"$JAVA_HOME/bin/java" ${JAVA_VM} ${MEM_ARGS} ${JAVA_OPTIONS}
-Xbootclasspath/p:${WL_HOME}/wily/connectors/AutoProbeConnector.jar:${WL_HOME
}/wily/Agent.jar
-Dweblogic.Name=${SERVER_NAME}
-Dweblogic.management.username=${WLS_USER}
-Dweblogic.management.password=${WLS_PW}
-Dweblogic.ProductionModeEnabled=${PRODUCTION_MODE}
-Djava.security.policy="${WL_HOME}/server/lib/weblogic.policy"
weblogic.Server

2.

If you are using something other than the default bootstrap classpath, add the
Agent.jar and AutoProbeConnector.jar files to the beginning of your customized
bootstrap classpath.

Appendix B: Alternative Methods for Instrumentation 321

About running ProbeBuilder manually

To run the AutoProbe Connector for WebLogic with JRockit JVM

Add the following command-line options when starting the JVM:

-Xbootclasspath/a:<PathToAgentJar>
-Xmanagement:class=com.wily.introscope.api.jrockit.AutoProbeLoader

To run the AutoProbe Connector for other application servers

To run the AutoProbe Connector, add the Agent.jar and the AutoProbe Connector
to the Application Server bootstrap classpath using this command:
-Xbootclasspath/p:wily/connectors/AutoProbeConnector.jar:PathToAgentJar

About running ProbeBuilder manually

Running ProbeBuilder manually is a non-dynamic method of instrumenting applications.
When you run ProbeBuilder manually, it instruments classes on disk before the
application server is run. You use manual ProbeBuilding when your environment does
not support AutoProbe, or you prefer not to use AutoProbe.
Manual ProbeBuilding should not be used with other methods of instrumentation, and
should be used as a last resort.
The instructions for manual ProbeBuilding assume you have performed the following
installation and configuration tasks:
1.

Installed the Java agent. See Installing the Java Agent for more information.

2.

Configured Java agent connection properties. See Connecting to the Enterprise

Manager (see page 57) for more information.

3.

Configured the Java agent name. See Java Agent Naming (see page 117) for more
information.

4.

Configured options for ProbeBuilder. See AutoProbe and ProbeBuilding Options

(see page 71) for more information.

AutoProbe for WebSphere 6.1 and 7.0 for z/OS

This section details how to configure WebSphere on z/OS installations to use AutoProbe
to instrument applications. For more information about AutoProbe, see AutoProbe and
ProbeBuilding Options (see page 71).
Note: Instrumenting WebSphere 7.0 for z/OS using the following procedure will not
result in as detailed metrics as the JVM 1.5 AutoProbe method. For example, the thread
metric levels will not be instrumented. For more information on how to instrument
WebSphere 7.0 for z/OS using JVM 1.5 AutoProbe, see JVM AutoProbe for WAS 7 on
z/OS.

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AutoProbe for WebSphere 6.1 and 7.0 for z/OS

Important! If you are using the Java Agent 9.0 or later to monitor WebSphere 7.0 on
z/OS , you may see the application server process restart repeatedly. To avoid this
problem, upgrade to WAS 7.0 build level 7.0.0.8 or above.
To configure JVM AutoProbe for WebSphere 6.1, and 7.0 for z/OS
1.

In WebSphere, start the Administrators Console.

2.

Select Application Servers > <your server> > Process Definition.

3.

You should see two items, Control and Servant. Click Servant, then
JavaVirtualMachine.

4.

Set the Generic JVM Argument field to specify the classloader plug-in, and the
location of the IntroscopeAgent.profile file. You will set one of the following:
com.wily.introscope.agentProfile

OR
com.wily.introscope.agentResource

The argument will then have the following value (there are several properties set in
one argument):
-Dcom.ibm.websphere.classloader.plugin=com.wily.introscope.api
.websphere.WASAutoProbe
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentProfile=<path to IntroscopeAgent.profile>

OR
-Dcom.ibm.websphere.classloader.plugin=com.wily.introscope.api
.websphere.WASAutoProbe
-Dcom.wily.introscope.agentResource=<path to Resource containing
IntroscopeAgent.profile>

5.

Place the Agent.jar file in the <WebSphere Instance dir>/lib/ext directory.

Note: Do not place the Agent.jar file in the WebSphere installation directory.
The following shows examples of the wrong and right directory:
WRONG: /usr/lpp/zWebSphere/V5R0M0/lib/ext
RIGHT: /WebSphere/V5R0M0/AppServer/lib/ext

6.

Confirm that all newly created Introscope files and directories within the ./wily
directory are read-accessible by the WebSphere process.

7.

Confirm that all *.log files (written by the Java Agent and ProbeBuilder) in the ./wily
folder have write-access to the WebSphere process. These include:

8.

all the Introscope files and directories

the Introscope files inside <WAS instance dir>/lib/ext

Restart WebSphere application server.

Appendix B: Alternative Methods for Instrumentation 323

AutoProbe for WebSphere 6.1 and 7.0 for z/OS

9.

When WebSphere says "open for e-business," open the Administrators Console.
Metrics should start reporting.

10. For AutoProbe to run correctly in WebSphere environments with Java2 Security
enabled, it may be necessary to add permissions to your Java2 Security Policy. If
Java2 Security is enabled, follow the instructions in Modifying Java2 Security Policy
(see page 51).
11. Configure Tracer Groups to collect servlet data. For more information, see
Configuring HTTP servlet tracing (see page 318).

324 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Appendix C: Using the PBD Generator

You can use the PBD Generator tool to instrument custom Java class files for use by
agents.
This section contains the following topics:
About the CA PBD Generator (see page 325)
Configuring the PBD Generator (see page 326)
Using the PBD Generator (see page 326)

About the CA PBD Generator

The PBD Generator utility can create a PBD file from Javadoc tags with which you have
annotated your Java code, to facilitate the instrumentation of custom Java class files for
use by the Java agent.
The Generator examines a set of Java source files, and instruments the methods in the
classes that contain the Javadoc tag @instrument.
Using the PBD Generator tool, you can:

automate building of PBD files, to eliminate potential for errors that might be
introduced by creating PBD files manually.

integrate PBD generation into your build systems to create and update PBD files
automatically and incorporate any changes to the Java source.

You configure the PBD Generator by integrating it into an Apache Ant target using the
PBDGenerator.jar file, then running it as an Ant Javadoc task.

Appendix C: Using the PBD Generator 325

Configuring the PBD Generator

Configuring the PBD Generator

This tool is intended to be incorporated into Ant-based build systems, as a Javadoc task
in an Ant target.
This sample Javadoc task illustrates the use of this tool in Ant:
<javadoc sourcepath="/src/engineering/products/introscope/source"
destdir="/src/engineering/products/introscope/source/generatedpbd"
maxmemory="512m"
packagenames="com.wily.introscope.console.thornhill.ui.util"
verbose="false"
private="true">
<doclet name="com.wily.util.build.javadoc.PBDInstrumentDoclet"
path="/Wily/tools/WilyPBDGenerator.jar">
<param name="-d"
value="/src/engineering/products/introscope/source/generatedpbd"/>
</doclet>
</javadoc>

Required PBD Generator parameters

These key PBD Generator parameters are required:
sourcepath
the root directory of the Java source tree
destdir
the directory path of the PBD file that will be output from the tool
packagenames
a comma-separated list of the Java packages to be examined for instrumentation
doclet path
the path to find the PBD Generator jar file, which contains this tool
param name="-d"
this must contain the same value as destdir

Using the PBD Generator

Before you can use the PBD Generator, you insert special Javadoc tags into the Java
source files to be instrumented.

326 Java Agent Implementation Guide

Using the PBD Generator

The syntax for the JavaDoc tag is:

@instrument <valid metric prefix> <optional tracer name>

where:
<valid metric prefix> is any valid Introscope metric prefixa string without a colon
character (:). Pipe characters (|) are acceptable.
<optional tracer name> can be BlamePointTracer, FrontendMarker or BackendMarker.
The default is BlamePointTracer if the tracer name is missing.

Appendix C: Using the PBD Generator 327

Appendix D: Using the Network Interface

Utility
You use the Network Interface utility to determine the network interface name value of
the host computer used by the agent for the Catalyst integration.
This section contains the following topics:
Determine Network Interface Names (see page 329)

Determine Network Interface Names

The Network Interface utility provides the name and subinterface values for the
introscope.agent.primary.net.interface.name property. Run this utility on the same JVM
and application server used by the agent.
Follow these steps:
1.

From the command line, navigate to the following directory:

<Agent_Home>/wily/tools

2.

Run this command to invoke the utility:

java -jar NetInterface.jar

Your browser displays the list of network interface names supported by Java on the
Network Interfaces tab.
More information:
Configure a List of Available Networks (see page 220)

Appendix D: Using the Network Interface Utility 329

Index
A
agent
architectural overview 25
depolyment process 26, 28
directory structure 38
manual installation 37
removing from z/OS 63
silent installation 35
specifying the path to 39
starting 40
uninstalling 62
upgrading 61
application management
introduction 26
application server
upgrading multiple agents 61

connector file 319

creating a connector 319
default metric collection 71
JRockit 46

M
manual ProbeBuilding 71

P
ProbeBuilder Directive (PBD) files
introduction 25
ProbeBuilding
customizing 72
dynamic 73
methods available 71
support for older agents 72

Enterprise Manager
architectural overview 25
configuring the connection 57
HTTP tunneling 58
HTTPS connections 59
proxy server 59
using SSL 60

superset agent packages 61

I
installation
directory structure 38
GUI mode 31
manual 37
silent 35
instrumentation
full and typical tracing 72
Introscope
architectural overview 25
discover functionality 26
IntroscopeAgent.profile
deployment process 28

T
thread dump 67
tracer groups
default configuration options 72

W
Workstation
architectural overview 25

J
javaagent property 71
JVM AutoProbe
configuring the agent location 39

Index 331