Collecting a profile trace for Workflow Solution scheduling issues using Altiris Profiler

Products

• IT Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

When a Workflow Solution project fails to run on schedule, runs intermittently, or fails without producing log output sufficient to identify the cause, standard Workflow logs may not capture enough detail to isolate the failure. A profile trace collected using Altiris Profiler provides the low-level execution data that engineering requires to diagnose scheduling, service startup, and workflow execution failures.

This article describes how to configure and run Altiris Profiler, capture a trace during a controlled scheduled execution window, and collect the supporting configuration data needed for case analysis.

Environment

ITMS 8.7.x, 8.8.x
Workflow Solution 8.7.x, 8.8.x

Cause

The root cause cannot be determined from standard Workflow logs alone. A profile trace is required to identify whether the failure originates in service startup, job scheduling, project configuration, or internal workflow execution. The table below lists the conditions this procedure is designed to investigate.

 

Possible cause	Description
Workflow service scheduling failure	Scheduled jobs are not triggered correctly by the Workflow service
Workflow service startup issues	Scheduled tasks are missed during service initialization
Workflow project configuration problems	Published workflow configuration is not processing as expected
Internal workflow execution errors	Exceptions occur during workflow processing but do not appear in standard logs

Resolution

Before you begin — install Altiris Profiler on a standalone Workflow Server

If the Workflow Server is integrated with a Notification Server, Altiris Profiler is already available. If the Workflow Server is standalone, install it first.

1. On a Notification Server, locate the Altiris Diagnostics MSI at:
   

   C:\Program Files\Altiris\Symantec Installation Manager\Installs\Altiris

   Note: Verify this path against your installed ITMS version. The path may differ across releases.

   
   
2. Copy the MSI to the standalone Workflow Server.
3. Run the installer and complete the installation.
4. Launch Altiris Profiler.

Configure a SQL connection for Altiris Profiler

Altiris Profiler requires a SQL connection to store internal profiler data. This database:

• Does not need to be the Workflow Solution database
• Does not need to be the Process Manager database
• Can be any accessible Microsoft SQL Server database, hosted locally or remotely
• May reuse the Notification Server database if preferred

To configure the connection:

1. On first launch, enter the SQL Server name and database.
2. Validate the connection.
3. Save the configuration.

Step 1 — Republish the Workflow project

1. Open the Workflow project in Workflow Designer.
2. Republish the project.
3. Set a test schedule to run approximately 3 minutes from the current time.
4. Save and publish the changes.

This creates a controlled execution window that aligns with the profiler capture session.

Step 2 — Start Altiris Profiler

1. Launch Altiris Profiler on the Workflow Server.
2. Confirm that profiling is actively capturing events before proceeding to the next step.

Step 3 — Restart the Workflow service

1. Open Services.msc.
2. Locate Symantec Workflow Service.
3. Restart the service.

Alternatively, run the following from an elevated command prompt:

net stop "Symantec Workflow Service"

net start "Symantec Workflow Service"

If the service fails to start, do not stop the profiler. Allow the profiler to continue running through the scheduled execution window and capture whatever output it produces. Include the service error in your case notes.

Step 4 — Capture the scheduled execution

1. Wait for the scheduled execution time to pass.
2. Allow an additional 1 minute after the scheduled run time before stopping the profiler.
3. Stop Altiris Profiler.
4. Save the profiler buffer output.

Note the following for inclusion with the case:

• Profiler buffer file path and filename
• Exact scheduled execution time (date and time, including time zone)
• Workflow project name

Step 5 — Collect Workflow Server configuration

1. On the Workflow Server, open LocalMachine Editor.
2. Capture screenshots of all Workflow configuration pages.

Capture the following pages at minimum:

• Workflow Server settings
• Scheduling configuration
• Service account and credentials settings
• Any pages flagged as relevant by the assigned support engineer

Step 6 — Submit diagnostic data

Attach the following to the support case:

Item	Required
Altiris Profiler buffer file	Yes
Workflow project name	Yes
Scheduled execution time (with time zone)	Yes
LocalMachine Editor screenshots	Yes
Workflow Solution version	Yes
ITMS version	Yes
Service startup error details (if applicable)	If observed

 

Verification

After submitting the data, confirm the following before closing the collection session:

 

Check	Expected result
Workflow project republished with test schedule	Successful
Workflow service restarted with profiler running	Completed (or error captured)
Scheduled execution window elapsed	Yes
Profiler buffer saved	Successful
LocalMachine Editor screenshots collected	Complete
All required items attached to the case	Confirmed