Regarding Enable Tracing in WCF

Question

i go through this msdn link http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms733025%28v=vs.110%29.aspx

here is the full settings

<configuration>
    <system.diagnostics>
        <sources>
            <source name="System.ServiceModel" 
                    switchValue="Information, ActivityTracing"
                    propagateActivity="true">
                <listeners>
                    <add name="xml" />
                </listeners>
            </source>
            <source name="CardSpace">
                <listeners>
                    <add name="xml" />
                </listeners>
            </source>
            <source name="System.IO.Log">
                <listeners>
                    <add name="xml" />
                </listeners>
            </source>
            <source name="System.Runtime.Serialization">
                <listeners>
                    <add name="xml" />
                </listeners>
            </source>
            <source name="System.IdentityModel">
                <listeners>
                    <add name="xml" />
                </listeners>
            </source>
        </sources>

        <sharedListeners>
            <add name="xml"
                 type="System.Diagnostics.XmlWriterTraceListener"
                 initializeData="c:\log\Traces.svclog" />
        </sharedListeners>
    </system.diagnostics>
</configuration>

but do not understand

why so many source & listener tag what is the meaning of having multiple source & listener tag ??

if possible please explain regarding multiple source & listener tag in config setting.

another point is

i enable the tracing but saw no file was created in this folder c:\log\Traces.svclog

so someone advise me that run the apps with admin privileged. when i distribute my apps to anyone then how do i know the person has admin privileged or not?

guide me. thanks

create the folder log and allow everyone (or the app pool account) to write in this directory — Cybermaxs, Feb 14 '14 at 09:14

Brian · Answer 1 · 2014-02-14T14:23:53.187

OK, so you have different sources because you may want to log problems/messages in different portions of the program. Most inportant for a WCF web service is the System.ServiceModel since that's going to capture the WCF in/out traffic, but you might also want to log trouble with your serialization, IO or IdentityModel (authentication/Authorization). So based on your config, you've got five sources all of which will be using the shared listener, named XML, which will log your text. That's what's going on here in a nutshell, but there's more.

"Can't see c:\log\Traces.svclog" ... if your WCF service is running and responding to requests, you should see something. If not, make sure you're running your service as "administrator", or the ID underwhich you're running your servce has read/write access to the folder.

"When i distribute my apps to anyone then how do i know the person has admin privileged or not?" OK, yes, I can see this as an issue. Here's a block of code, setting a boolean, you could use to 1) determine if the program is run as "admin", and if not B) instruct the user to re-start the program under the proper "admin" rights:

private void GetServicePermissionLevel()
{
 bool bAdmin = false;
 try {
    SecurityIdentifier sidAdmin = new SecurityIdentifier(WellKnownSidType.BuiltinAdministratorsSid, null);
    AppDomain myDomain = Thread.GetDomain();
    myDomain.SetPrincipalPolicy(PrincipalPolicy.WindowsPrincipal);
    WindowsPrincipal myPrincipal = (WindowsPrincipal)Thread.CurrentPrincipal;
    if (myPrincipal.IsInRole(sidAdmin)) {
        bAdmin = true;
    } else {
        bAdmin = false;
    }
   } catch (Exception ex) {
     throw new Exception("Error in GetServicePermissionlevel(): ");
   } finally {
     _ServiceRunAsAdmin = bAdmin;
   }
 }

Also, if you're trying to debug host-side problems in your WCF service, you might want to turn on this parameter for your web host interface: IncludeExceptoinDetailsInFaults = True. It's false by default, but if you set this to true to expose more information about WCF service faults, make sure you turn it off before going to production.

Here's an additional URL to consider for your setup: http: //www.topwcftutorials.net/2012/06/simple-steps-to-enable-tracing-in-wcf.html

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:13

Most of your questions are answered inside the linked article

System.ServiceModel.MessageLogging: Logs all messages that flow through the system.
System.Runtime.Serialization: Logs when objects are read or written.

etc. You can log different information on different trace level (e.g. errors to database, warnings to xml file).

to another point:

You can for example request admin context as asked and answered here How to request administrator permissions when the program starts?

Regarding Enable Tracing in WCF

here is the full settings

another point is

2 Answers2