Tracing system-level communication in distributed systems

摘要

Traditional tracing mechanisms, usually developed for use in a single-computer environment, are bound to a specific programming language. Today's highly distributed and heterogeneous computing environments require new tracing methodologies. This paper addresses the problem by reviewing ways in which the middleware might- and should- support tracing. In particular, CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) meta-objects that can be applied for tracing are studied. One meta-object, namely the interceptor concept, is presented in more depth, followed by a detailed description of an interceptor-based tracing architecture for CORBA applications. Implementation details and evaluation experience are given.