Lesson 9	Using Trace Assistant
Objective	Format traces using the Trace Assistant

Using Trace Assistant

Net8 included the Oracle Trace Assistant, a tool introduced with SQL*Net version 2.3 to help decode and analyze the data that is stored in Net8 trace files. The Oracle Trace Assistant provided an easy way to understand and take advantage of the information stored in trace files. It was also useful for diagnosing network problems and analyzing network performance. The Net8 Trace Assistant (trcasst) was now available to help you understand the information provided in your trace files by converting existing lines of trace file text into a more readable paragraph. To run the Trace Assistant, type the following at any command-line prompt:

trcasst [options] filename

Here are the major options that are available with the trcasst command.

= display connectivity information
= display statistical information
= enable the display of error information

Run the Trace Assistant by typing the following at the command line:
trcasst [options]

Trace Assistant Text Formatting Options

-o Displays connectivity and Two Task Common (TTC) information.
After the -o the following options may be used: c (for summary connectivity information)
d (for detailed connectivity information)
u (for summary TTC information)
t (for detailed TTC information)
q (displays SQL commands enhancing summary TTC information)
-p Oracle Internal Use Only
-s Displays statistical information
-e Enables display of error information. After the -e, zero or one error decoding level may follow:
0 or nothing (translates the NS error numbers dumped from the nserror function plus lists all other errors)
1 (displays only the NS error translation from the nserror function)
2 (displays error numbers without translation)
If no options are provided, then the default is -odt -e -s, providing detailed connectivity, detailed Two-Task Common, error level 0, and statistics
View the Code below to see an example of the output from the trcasst utility. .

dilbert> trcasst -0 2664_fred.trc              

Trace Assistant Utility for IBM/AIX RISC System/6000: 
Version 8.0.5.0.0 - Production on 05-APR-99 15:19:38

(c) Copyright 2017 Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.

*************************************************************************
*                        Trace  Assistant  Tool                         *
*                                TRCASST                                *
*************************************************************************

======================================================
Trace File Statistics: 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
DATABASE:
Operation Counts:    262534 opens,    383836 parses,    328270 executes,    202927260 fetches.

SQL*Net:
Total Calls:         0 sent,         0 received,         0 upi
Total Bytes:         0 sent,         0 received
Maximum Bytes:         0 sent,         0 received


*************************************************************************
*                    Trace Assistant has completed                      *
*                                TRCASST                                *
*************************************************************************

Here you can see that the encrypted information has been nicely formatted and displayed in an easy to read format. It should be noted that reading a trace file is a very rare occurrence even for the most seasoned DBA. In the great majority of the cases, the connectivity problem can be resolved before using the trace files. The next lesson concludes this module.