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Problem

Your trace files are being overwritten in Identity Manager 3.5.

Solution

Never lose your trace files.

The IDM engine supports two ways to handle trace files: either they can be unlimited in size, or they can be automatically rolled over 10 times. The first option might not be so wise, because a system could run out of disc space if not observed carefully. The latter option comes with the disadvantage that at a certain point in time the oldest trace file is overwritten.

Since both methods have their weak points, there is one solution that solves both disadvantages with IDM 3.5. The idea is to use a scheduled trigger to rename the attribute DirXML-Trace file of the driver object itself. Then a separate process on the server can archive the old, offline trace files.

Here are the steps to take:

1. Configure the trace file size to "unlimited".

2. Set up a scheduled trigger job for the driver.

3. Introduce a SubscriberEvet Transformation policy that sets the DirXML-Tracefile attribute on the driver object to a valid, new name containing a timestamp.

That's all.

Example

Here's an example policy that uses a trigger operation to rename trace files:

<policy>
<rule>
  <description>use Current Date in Trace File Name</description>
  <conditions>
    <and>
      <if-operation op="equal">trigger</if-operation>
      <if-xml-attr name="source" op="equal">Rename Trace File</if-xml-attr>
    </and>
  </conditions>
  <actions>
    <do-set-src-attr-value name="DirXML-TraceFile">
      <arg-dn>
        <token-text notrace="true" xml:space="preserve">services\DriverSet\Delimited Text</token-text>
      </arg-dn>
      <arg-value type="string">
        <token-text xml:space="preserve">/home/userapp/dttrace</token-text>
        <token-time format="dd.mm.yyyy-HH:mm" lang="de-DE" tz="CET"/>
        <token-text xml:space="preserve">.log</token-text>
      </arg-value>
    </do-set-src-attr-value>
  </actions>
</rule>
</policy>

Disclaimer: As with everything else at Cool Solutions, this content is definitely not supported by Novell (so don't even think of calling Support if you try something and it blows up).

It was contributed by a community member and is published "as is." It seems to have worked for at least one person, and might work for you. But please be sure to test, test, test before you do anything drastic with it.