Enabling verbose garbage collection (verboseGC output) is often required when you diagnose issues with your web application server. This KB article explains how to enable verboseGC output for web application servers (Apache Tomcat, JBoss, IBM WebSphere, and Oracle WebLogic) as well as for SAS Remote Services.

• Apache Tomcat
• JBoss
• IBM WebSphere
• Oracle WebLogic
• SAS^® Remote Services

Apache Tomcat

This section explains how to enable verbose garbage collecting for Tomcat in Windows and UNIX operating environments/

Windows Operating Environments

Notes:

1. Navigate to the SAS-configuration-directory\Levn\Web\WebAppServer\SASServern\conf directory and open the wrapper.conf file.
   • Levn specifies your configuration level (for example, Lev1, Lev2, and so on).
   • SASServern specifies your particular server (for SAS 9.3: SASServer1, SASServer2, and so on / for SAS 9.4: SASServer1_1, SASServer2_1, and so on).
2. In the wrapper.conf file, add the following Java parameters to the # Java Additional Parameters section:

wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+PrintGCDetails wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+PrintGCDateStamps wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+PrintHeapAtGC wrapper.java.additional.N=-verbose:gc wrapper.java.additional.N=-Xloggc:SAS-configuration-directory\Levn\Web\WebAppServer\SASServern\logs\tomcatgc.log wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+UseGCLogFileRotation NOTE: This must be used with -Xloggc:<filename> wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:NumberOfGCLogFiles=number-of-files NOTE: Must be >=1, default is 1 wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:GCLogFileSize=50M NOTE: Default will be set to 512K. You can set it in MB.

Notes:

• • In the wrapper.java.additional.N= parameter, N specifies the actual number of your wrapper parameter.
  • SAS-configuration-directory specifies the actual path to the SAS configuration directory on your machine.
  • Levn specifies your configuration level (for example, Lev1, Lev2, and so on).
  • SASServern specifies your particular server number (for SAS 9.3: SASServer1, SASServer2, and so on / for SAS 9.4: SASServer1_1, SASServer2_1, and so on)..

3. Restart your Tomcat application server.

UNIX Operating Environments Using a SUN JDK or JRE

1. For SAS 9.3: Navigate to SAS-configuration-directory/Levn/Web/WebAppServer/SASServern/bin and open the SASServern.sh start-up script file.

   For SAS 9.4: Navigate to SAS-configuration-directory/Levn/Web/WebAppServer/SASServern/bin and open the setenv.sh start-up script file.

   Notes:

   • Levn specifies your configuration level.
   • SASServern specifies your particular server number (for SAS 9.3: SASServer1, SASServer2,and so on / for SAS 9.4: SASServer1_1, SASServer2_1, and so on).
2. In the SASServern.sh or setenv.sh script, locate the following JAVA_OPTS= environment variable:

JAVA_OPTS="-Xms1024m -Xmx3096m -XX:PermSize=768m -XX:MaxPermSize=768m,,,,,,"

3. Append the following parameters, in a continuous line, to the end of the existing JAVA_OPTS= parameters. Do NOT remove any of the existing parameters, and leave a space between each parameter.

-XX:+PrintGCDetails -XX:+PrintGCDateStamps -XX:+PrintHeapAtGC -verbose:gc -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError -Xloggc:SAS-configuration-directory/Levn/Web/WebAppServer/SASServern/logs/tomcatgc.log -XX:+UseGCLogFileRotation NOTE: This must be used with -Xoggc:filename -XX:NumberOfGCLogFiles=number-of-files NOTE: Must be >=1, default is 1 -XX:GCLogFileSize=50M NOTE: Default will be set to 512K. You can set it in MB.

4. Restart the Tomcat application server.

UNIX Operating Environments Using an IBM JDK or JRE

1. For SAS 9.3: Navigate to SAS-configuration-directory/Levn/Web/WebAppServer/SASServern/bin and open the SASServern.sh start-up script file.

   For SAS 9.4: Navigate to SAS-configuration-directory/Levn/Web/WebAppServer/SASServern/bin and open the setenv.sh start-up script file.

   Notes:

   • Levn specifies your configuration level.
   • SASServern specifies your particular server number (for SAS 9.3: SASServer1, SASServer2,and so on / for SAS 9.4: SASServer1_1, SASServer2_1, and so on).

2. In the SASServern.sh or setenv.sh script, locate the following JAVA_OPTS= environment variable:

JAVA_OPTS="-Xms1024m -Xmx3096m -XX:PermSize=768m -XX:MaxPermSize=768m,,,,,,"

3. Append the following parameters, in a continuous line, to the end of the existing JAVA_OPTS= parameters. Do NOT remove any of the existing parameters, and leave a space between each parameter.

4. Restart the Tomcat application server.

JBoss 4.2.3 and 5.1.0

Windows Operating Environments Using a SUN JDK or JRE

1. Navigate to the JBoss-home-directory\server\SASServern directory and open the wrapper.conf file.

   Note: SASServern specifies your particular server (for example, SASServer1, SASServer2, and so on).

2. In the wrapper.conf file, add the following parameters to the # Java Additional Parameters section:

wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+PrintGCDetails wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+PrintGCDateStamps wrapper.java.additional.N=-verbose:gc wrapper.java.additional.N=-Xloggc:JBoss-home-directory\server\SASServern\log\jbossgc.log wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+PrintHeapAtGC wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+UseGCLogFileRotation NOTE: This must be used with -Xloggc:<filename> wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:NumberOfGCLogFiles=number-of-files NOTE: Must be >=1, default is 1 wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:GCLogFileSize=50M NOTE: Default will be set to 512K. You can set it in MB.

Notes:

• • In the wrapper.java.additional.N= parameter, N specifies the actual number of your wrapper parameter.
  • JBoss-home-directory specifies the actual path to the JBoss directory on your machine.
  • SASServern specifies your particular server number (for example, SASServer1, SASServer2, and so on).

3. Restart the JBoss application server (in this case, SASServern).

Windows Operating Environments Using an IBM JDK or JRE

1. Navigate to the JBoss-home-directory\server\SASServern directory and open the wrapper.conf file.

   Note: SASServern specifies your particular server (for example, SASServer1, SASServer2, and so on).

2. In the wrapper.conf file, add the following parameters to the # Java Additional Parameters section:

wrapper.java.additional.N=-verbosegc wrapper.java.additional.N=-Xverbosegclog:JBoss-home-directory\server\SASServern\log\jbossgc.log

Notes:

• • In the wrapper.java.additional.N= parameter, N specifies the actual number of your wrapper parameter.
  • JBoss-home-directory specifies the actual path to the JBoss directory on your machine.
  • SASServern specifies your particular server number (for example, SASServer1, SASServer2, and so on).

3. Restart the JBoss application server (in this case, SASServern).

UNIX Operating Environments Using a SUN JDK or JRE

1. Navigate to JBoss-home-directory/bin/ and open the JBoss server start-up script file that is named SASServern.sh
2. In the SASServern file, locate the following JAVA_OPTS= environment variable:

JAVA_OPTS="-Xms1024m -Xmx3096m -XX:PermSize=768m -XX:MaxPermSize=768m,,,,,,"

Notes:

• • JBoss-home-directory specifies the actual path to the JBoss directory on your machine.
  • SASServern specifies your particular server number (for example, SASServer1, SASServer2, and so on).

3. Append the following parameters, in a continuous line, to the end of the existing JAVA_OPTS= parameters. Do NOT remove any of the existing parameters, and leave a space between each parameter.

-XX:+PrintGCDetails -XX:+PrintGCDateStamps -verbose:gc -XX:+PrintHeapAtGC -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError -Xloggc:JBoss-home-directory/server/SASServern/log/jbossgc.log -XX:+UseGCLogFileRotation NOTE: This must be used with -Xloggc:<filename> -XX:NumberOfGCLogFiles=number-of-files NOTE: Must be >=1, default is 1 -XX:GCLogFileSize=50M NOTE: Default will be set to 512K. You can set it in MB.

4. Restart the JBoss Server (in this case, SASServern).

UNIX Operating Environments Using an IBM JDK or JRE

1. Navigate to JBoss-home-directory/bin/ and open the JBoss server start-up script file that is named SASServern.sh.

   Notes:

   • JBoss-home-directory specifies the actual path to the JBoss directory on your machine.
   • SASServern specifies your particular server number (for example, SASServer1, SASServer2, and so on).
2. In the SASServern file, locate the following JAVA_OPTS= environment variable:

JAVA_OPTS="-Xms1024m -Xmx3096m -XX:PermSize=768m -XX:MaxPermSize=768m,,,,,,"

3. Append the following parameters, in a continuous line, to the end of the existing JAVA_OPTS= parameters. Do NOT remove any of the existing parameters, and leave a space between each parameter.

-verbosegc -Xverbosegclog:JBoss-home-directory/server/SASServern/log/jbossgc.log

4. Restart the JBoss Server (in this case, SASServern).

IBM WebSphere

WebSphere 8.5, 8.0, and 7.0

1. In the WebSphere Administrative Console, select Servers ► Server Types ► WebSphere Application Servers ► server-name. In this case, server-name specifies the server with which you want to work (for example, SASServer1)
2. Under Server Infrastructure on the Configuration tab, select Java and Process Management ► Process Definition.
3. Under the Additional Properties section, click Java Virtual Machine.
4. Select the Verbose Garbage Collection check box. (** See Important Note below before you perform steps 5 and 6.)
5. Apply and save the changes.
6. Restart the application server for the changes to take effect.

**Important Note:

For Solaris or HP-UX operating environments on WebSphere Application Server 7.0 (Java 6) or later, you also need to complete the following additional steps before you save your changes and restart the application server:

1. In the WebSphere Administrative Console, select Servers ► Application Servers ► server-name. In this case, server-name specifies the server with which you want to work (for example, SASServer1).
2. Under Server Infrastructure on the Configuration tab, select Java and Process Management ► Process Definition.
3. Under the Additional Properties section, click Java Virtual Machine.
4. Locate the Generic JVM arguments section.
5. In that section, append the following parameters, in a continuous line, to the end of the existing JVM parameters. Do NOT remove any of the existing parameters, and leave a space between each parameter.

-XX:+PrintGCDetails -XX:+PrintGCDateStamps -XX:+PrintHeapAtGC

Note: The -XX:+PrintHeapAtGC parameter generates a large amount of logging to the native_stdout.log file. Therefore, you need to ensure that you have adequate file-system space when you enable this parameter. All of the information that is produced by this parameter is known to the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Therefore, enabling the parameter does not require any extra processing. However, a slight amount of additional I/O overhead (amounting to less than 3%) does occur.

6. Return to the previous instructions and complete steps 5 and 6.

WebSphere 6.1 and 6.0

1. In the WebSphere Administrative Console, select Servers ► Application Servers ► server-name. In this case, server-name specifies the server with which you want to work (for example, SASServer1).
2. Under Server Infrastructure on the Configuration tab, under Server Infrastructure, select Java and Process Management ► Process Definition.
3. Under the Additional Properties section, click Java Virtual Machine.
4. Select the Verbose Garbage Collection check box. (** See Important Note below before you perform steps 5 and 6.)
5. Apply and save the changes.
6. Restart the application server for the changes to take effect.

**Important Note:

For Solaris or HP-UX operating environments on WebSphere Application Server 7.0 (Java 6) or later, you also need to complete the following additional steps before you save your changes and restart the application server:

1. In the WebSphere Administrative Console, select Servers ► Application Servers ► server-name. In this case, server-name specifies the server with which you want to work (for example, SASServer1).
2. Under Server Infrastructure on the Configuration tab, select Java and Process Management ► Process Definition.
3. Under the Additional Properties section, click Java Virtual Machine.
4. Locate the Generic JVM arguments section.
5. In that section, append the following parameters, in a continuous line, to the end of the existing JVM parameters. Do NOT remove any of the existing parameters, and leave a space between each parameter.

-XX:+PrintGCDetails -XX:+PrintGCDateStamps -XX:+PrintHeapAtGC

Note: The -XX:+PrintHeapAtGC parameter generates a large amount of logging to the native_stdout.log file. Therefore, you need to ensure that you have adequate file-system space when you enable this parameter. All of the information that is produced by this parameter is known to the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Therefore, enabling the parameter does not require any extra processing. However, a slight amount of additional I/O overhead (amounting to less than 3%) does occur.

6. Return to the previous instructions and complete steps 5 and 6.

Oracle WebLogic

WebLogic 10.x Using a SUN JDK/JRE

Perform the following steps for any problematic SAS servers (for example, SASServer1, SASServer2, . . .SASServern) that you have configured in your environment.

1. In the WeLogic Administrative Console, select Environment ► Servers ► server-name. In this case, server-name specifies the server with which you want to work (for example, SASServer1).
2. On the Server Start tab, click the Lock & Edit button in the top left corner of the console.
3. Append the following JVM parameters to the Argument field. Do NOT remove the existing configuration. Just append these additional parameters to the end of existing, configured parameters.

-verbose:gc -XX:+PrintGCDetails -XX:+PrintHeapAtGC -XX:+PrintGCDateStamps -Xloggc:EBIServer-home-directory/Levn/Web/Logs/SASServern_gc.log -XX:+PrintClassHistogram -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError -XX:+UseGCLogFileRotation NOTE: This must be used with -Xloggc:<filename> -XX:NumberOfGCLogFiles=number-of-files NOTE: Must be >=1, default is 1 -XX:GCLogFileSize=50M NOTE: Default will be set to 512K. You can set it in MB.

Notes:

1. • EBIServer-home-directory specifies the actual path to the SAS^® Enterprise BI Server home directory on your machine.
   • Levn specifies your configuration level (for example, Lev1, Lev2, and so on).
   • SASServern specifies your particular server number (for example, SASServer1, SASServer2, and so on)
2. Click Save to save your changes.
3. Apply the changes by clicking Activate Changes.
4. Restart WebLogic in order for the changes to take effect.

Oracle WebLogic 10.x Using an IBM JDK or JRE

Perform the following steps for any problematic SAS servers (for example, SASServer1, SASServer2, . . .SASServern) that you have configured in your environment.

1. In the WeLogic Administrative Console, select Environment ► Servers ► server-name. In this case, server-name specifies the server with which you want to work (for example, SASServer1).
2. On the Server Start tab, click the Lock & Edit button in the top left corner of the console.
3. Append the following JVM parameters to the Argument field. Do NOT remove the existing configuration. Just append these additional parameters to the end of existing, configured parameters.

-verbosegc -Xverbosegclog:EBIServer-home-directory/Levn/Web/Logs/SASServern_gc.log

 

Notes:

• • EBIServer-home-directory specifies the actual path to the SAS^® Enterprise BI Server home directory on your machine.
  • Levn specifies your configuration level (for example, Lev1, Lev2, and so on).
  • SASServern specifies your particular server number (for example, SASServer1, SASServer2, and so on)

4. Click Save to save your changes.

5. Apply the changes by clicking Activate Changes.

6. Restart WebLogic in order for the changes to take effect.

SAS^® Remote Services

Windows Operating Environments Using a SUN JDK or JRE

1. Stop SAS Remote Services.
2. Navigate to SAS-configuration-directory\Levn\Web\Applications\RemoteServices\.

Notes:

• SAS-configuration-directory specifies the actual path to the SAS configuration directory on your machine.
• Levn specifies your configuration level (for example, Lev1, Lev2, and so on).Navigate to SAS-configuration-directory\Levn\Web\Applications\RemoteServices\.

   

  3. In the wrapper.conf file, locate the section named # This numbering starts at the endpoint of the including wrapper.conf and add the following Java parameters:

wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+PrintGCDetails wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+PrintGCDateStamps wrapper.java.additional.N=-verbose:gc wrapper.java.additional.N=-Xloggc:SAS-configuration-file\Levn\Web\Logs\remoteServicesGC.log wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+PrintHeapAtGC wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:+UseGCLogFileRotation NOTE: This must be used with -Xloggc:<filename> wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:NumberOfGCLogFiles=number-of-files NOTE: Must be >=1, default is 1 wrapper.java.additional.N=-XX:GCLogFileSize=50M NOTE: Default will be set to 512K. You can set it in MB.

Note: In the wrapper.java.additional.N= parameter, N specifies the actual number of your wrapper parameter.

4. Start SAS Remote Services.

Windows Operating Environments Using an IBM JDK or JRE

1. Stop SAS Remote Services.
2. Navigate to SAS-configuration-directory\Levn\Web\Applications\RemoteServices\.

   Notes:

   • SAS-configuration-directory specifies the actual path to the SAS configuration directory on your machine.
   • Levn specifies your configuration level (for example, Lev1, Lev2, and so on).
3. In the wrapper.conf file, locate the section named # This numbering starts at the endpoint of the including wrapper.conf and add the following Java parameters:

wrapper.java.additional.N=-verbosegc wrapper.java.additional.N=-Xverbosegclog:SAS-configuration-file\Levn\Web\Logs\remoteServicesGC.log

Note: In the wrapper.java.additional.N= parameter, N specifies the actual number of your wrapper parameter.

4. Start SAS Remote Services.

 

UNIX Operating Environments Using a SUN JDK or JRE

1. Stop SAS Remote Services.
2. Navigate to SAS-configuration-directory/Levn/Web/Applications/RemoteServices/bin/.

   Notes:

   • SAS-configuration-directory specifies the actual path to the SAS configuration directory on your machine.
   • Levn specifies your configuration level (for example, Lev1, Lev2, and so on).
3. In the RemoteServices.sh start-up script file, locate the start2) section shown below.

start2) "$JAVA_JRE_COMMAND" -Dsas.ext.config="/opt/sas93/install/sas.java.ext.config" \ -classpath "CLASSPATH" \ -Djava.system.class.loader=com.sas.app.AppClassLoader -Dsas.app.launch.config="$MERGER_PICKLIST" \ -Dsas.app.repository.path="$SASVJR_REPOSITORYPATH" \ -Dsas.app.class.path="$REMOTESERVICESDIR" \ com.sas.framework.picklist.PicklistMerger \ -primary "$PRIMARY_PICKLIST" \ "$PICKLIST" \ "$SECONDARY_PICKLIST1" \ "$SECONDARY_PICKLIST2" cd $REMOTESERVICESLOGSDIR nohup "$JAVA_JRE_COMMAND" -Dsas.ext.config="/opt/sas93/install/sas.java.ext.config" \ -classpath "$CLASSPATH" \ -Dlog4j.configuration=file:////opt/sas93/config/Lev1/Web/Applications/RemoteServices/log4j.xml \ -Djava.system.class.loader=com.sas.app.AppClassLoader \ -Dsas.app.launch.config="$PICKLIST" \ -Dsas.app.repository.path="$SASVJR_REPOSITORYPATH" \ -Dsas.app.class.path="$REMOTESERVICESDIR" \ -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true -Djava.net.preferIPv6Addresses=false -Dmulticast_udp_ip_ttl=1 \ -Dsas.vjr.dir="$SASVJR_REPOSITORYPATH" -Dsas.lev.dir="$LEVEL_ROOT" -Dsas.home.dir="$SAS_HOME" \ -Dsas.services.information.types.path="/opt/sas93/install/SASPlatformObjectFramework/9.3/plugins" \ -Dsas.vm.identifier=Lev1:5091 \ -Xms256m -Xmx256m -Xgcpolicy:gencon -Xdisableexplicitgc -Dsun.rmi.dgc.client.gcInterval=3600000 -Dsun.rmi.dgc.server.gcInterval=3600000 -Djava.awt.headless=true -Xss256k -Xmso256k -Xmn16m \ com.sas.framework.services.bootstrap.SASRemoteServices > \ $REMOTESERVICESLOGSDIR/RemoteServices_console.log

4. Append the following parameters, in a continuous line, to the end of the existing start2) sections. Do NOT remove any of the existing parameters, and leave a space between each parameter.

-XX:+PrintGCDetails -XX:+PrintGCDateStamps -XX:+PrintHeapAtGC -verbose:gc -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError -Xloggc:SAS-configuration-directory/Levn/Web/Logs/remoteServicesGC.log -XX:+UseGCLogFileRotation NOTE: This must be used with -Xloggc:<filename> -XX:NumberOfGCLogFiles=number-of-files NOTE: Must be >=1, default is 1 -XX:GCLogFileSize=50M NOTE: Default will be set to 512K. You can set it in MB.

5. Start SAS Remote Services.

 

UNIX Operating Environments Using an IBM JDK or JRE

1. Stop SAS Remote Services.
2. Navigate to SAS-configuration-directory/Levn/Web/Applications/RemoteServices/bin/.

   Notes:

   • SAS-configuration-directory specifies the actual path to the SAS configuration directory on your machine.
   • Levn specifies your configuration level (for example, Lev1, Lev2, and so on).
3. In the RemoteServices.sh start-up script file, locate the start2) section shown below.

start2) "$JAVA_JRE_COMMAND" -Dsas.ext.config="/opt/sas93/install/sas.java.ext.config" \ -classpath "CLASSPATH" \ -Djava.system.class.loader=com.sas.app.AppClassLoader -Dsas.app.launch.config="$MERGER_PICKLIST" \ -Dsas.app.repository.path="$SASVJR_REPOSITORYPATH" \ -Dsas.app.class.path="$REMOTESERVICESDIR" \ com.sas.framework.picklist.PicklistMerger \ -primary "$PRIMARY_PICKLIST" \ "$PICKLIST" \ "$SECONDARY_PICKLIST1" \ "$SECONDARY_PICKLIST2" cd $REMOTESERVICESLOGSDIR nohup "$JAVA_JRE_COMMAND" -Dsas.ext.config="/opt/sas93/install/sas.java.ext.config" \ -classpath "$CLASSPATH" \ -Dlog4j.configuration=file:////opt/sas93/config/Lev1/Web/Applications/RemoteServices/log4j.xml \ -Djava.system.class.loader=com.sas.app.AppClassLoader \ -Dsas.app.launch.config="$PICKLIST" \ -Dsas.app.repository.path="$SASVJR_REPOSITORYPATH" \ -Dsas.app.class.path="$REMOTESERVICESDIR" \ -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true -Djava.net.preferIPv6Addresses=false -Dmulticast_udp_ip_ttl=1 \ -Dsas.vjr.dir="$SASVJR_REPOSITORYPATH" -Dsas.lev.dir="$LEVEL_ROOT" -Dsas.home.dir="$SAS_HOME" \ -Dsas.services.information.types.path="/opt/sas93/install/SASPlatformObjectFramework/9.3/plugins" \ -Dsas.vm.identifier=Lev1:5091 \ -Xms256m -Xmx256m -Xgcpolicy:gencon -Xdisableexplicitgc -Dsun.rmi.dgc.client.gcInterval=3600000 -Dsun.rmi.dgc.server.gcInterval=3600000 -Djava.awt.headless=true -Xss256k -Xmso256k -Xmn16m \ com.sas.framework.services.bootstrap.SASRemoteServices > \ $REMOTESERVICESLOGSDIR/RemoteServices_console.log

4. Append the following parameters, in a continuous line, to the end of the existing start2) sections. Do NOT remove any of the existing parameters, and leave a space between each parameter.

-verbosegc -Xverbosegclog:SAS-configuration-directory/Levn/Web/Logs/remoteServicesGC.log

5. Start SAS Remote Services.