VMM Troubleshooting Tools: SCVMM2012_MPSReports
The VMM tracing tools were developed to provide a utility to manage, collect, and view various traces and diagnostic information in a VMM environment. It is made up of the VMM Trace Collector utility (mpsrpt_setup.exe) and the VMM Trace Viewer utility (TraceViewer.exe). The Trace Collector utility is used for managing and collecting traces, while the Trace Viewer utility is used for viewing VMM traces.
- Download from Microsoft Connect.
- Download from Download Center.
Install the VMM Tracing Tools
You can install the VMM tracing tools by running the MPSRpt_Setup.exe file which is an Out of band (OOB) release. The installation will prompt for a destination path to save the files.
You can install the VMM tracing tools by running the file which is an Out of band (OOB) release. The installation will prompt for a destination path to save the files.
Tip: |
if you have a problem installing the application directly, try installing it from an elevated command prompt, using the command: “MPRRpt_Setup.EXE /Q /T:c:\mpsrpt /C” and check the log file for errors. |
Note: |
In the above example, "c:\mpsrpt" is an example location. The location field is user defined and may be any location on the VMM Management server. |
SCVMM2012_MPSrpt requires the Sysinternals tool PsExec which is a light-weight telnet replacement that lets you execute processes on other systems, complete with full interactivity for console applications, without having to manually install client software.
Important: |
PsExec must be located in the same folder as the SCVMM2012_MPSReports, or the c:\mpsrpt in the above example. PsExec, which is part of PStools may be downloaded at the following link: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897553.aspx |
VMM Trace Collector – Managing and configuring tracing
You can manage your traces through the VMM Trace Collector tool, mpsrpt_setup exe. To manage your traces, perform the following steps.
Add your machines to the Trace collector tool
Add your VMM server, hosts, library servers, clients, and P2V machines to the tool using the “Add Machine” button and typing the machine name into the new node.
Manage and organize your machines into groups using the “Add Group” button, and typing the name of your new group into the new folder.
Add machines and sub groups to your groups by selecting the group in the tree, then clicking the “Add Machine” or “Add Group” button.
Start and stop traces
Once you have your machines added and organized into groups, you can start and stop tracing on those machines by either right clicking on the groups or individual machines and selecting an option for which traces to enable.
You can disable traces in the same way.
Save your configuration for later
You can save your configuration and load a saved configuration using the load and save buttons on the main toolbar.
When the tool loads, it loads the DefaultMachineConfig.mconfig configuration file. Replace this file if you would like a new default.
VMM Trace Collector – Collecting traces
To collect traces on one or multiple machines, select the machine or group in the tree, right click and select an option under the Collect Trace context menu.
Select the “Advanced…” option to specify directory, session name, date ranges, and other options.
VMM Trace Collector – Collecting MPS reports data
To collect additional diagnostic information that was originally in the MPSRPT tool, select the machine or group and click the “Generate Reports” button on the main toolbar.
This will bring up the Reports UI, where you can specify the diagnostic information you wish to collect. Select the diagnostic information you want to collect and click the generate button. The report collector uses the MPSRPT engine to collect these reports, so the same permissions must be applied to these machines for this functionality to work properly.
Important: |
The time required to run the report and collect data will vary depending upon the reports selected and the number of machines involved. |
Diagnostic Data location
By default, diagnostic data is collected to this location
C:\MpsRpt\CollectedTraces\trace session name>, but this can be configured in the advanced options dialog.
Filtering Trace Files
The trace has a new feature to summarize (filter) large log files based on messages, dates and feature.
Viewing Trace Files
The trace (.ETL) logs created by the SCVMM2012_MPSReports tool are not human-readable and must be loaded into an application that is capable of interpreting them. The preferred tool for interpreting the trace logs is the TraceViewer.
The Trace Viewer (traceviewer.exe) has the following two primary functions:
- Converts the default binary .ETL trace logs into .CAR files that can be viewed in both TraceViewer and other trace parsing tools such as the TextAnalysisTool.net.
- Provides basic trace parsing.
To convert the ETL file into CAR format for analysis, launch TraceViewer and drag the trace file into the open pane. This will result in a prompt on where to save the CAR file.
Note: |
The default location is the same folder as the ETL or trace file. |
Once the file has been saved, TraceViewer will open the converted ETL file for analysis.
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System Center 2012 – Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) General Troubleshooting Guide