Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Paul Matthew Pietrek

Jose Bernabeu-Auban

Brian Robert Crawford

Vamshidhar Radha Kommineni

Christopher Marsh

Richard E Wilbur

Gregg Bernard Miskelly

Steven J Steiner

Azeemullah Khan

James P Griesmer

Jonathan Michael Stall

Methods, systems, and computer-readable media for monitoring information passed from instances of role(s) of a service application installed on a distributed computing platform and for indexing and analyzing the information within a data store are provided. Monitoring involves a monitoring agent that is integrated within an operating system of computing devices that make up the distributed computing platform. In operation, the monitoring agent retrieves information from the role instances and converts the information into parameters that are assembled to documents. Generally, the parameters are assembled to a uniform-structured format in accordance with a schema imposed by the distributed computing platform. Accordingly, each of the documents across the platform have a common format that promotes processing and analysis without a need for reconfiguration. Accordingly, the health of the service application, although dispersed throughout the distributed computing environment, may be observed and evaluated in a consistent manner.

Monitoring agent programs in a distributed computing platform

A target function is identified during runtime. Instrumentation is applied to the target function during runtime that includes determining target function information associated with the target function, wherein the target function information includes a call signature of the target function. The target function is executed.

Arbitrary runtime function call tracing

Threads operating in a computing environment often invoke service functions, such as methods of a programming library. Such invocations may sometimes cause a blocking of the thread, which may be protracted. A long pendency of the service function invocation and blocking of the thread may be acceptable in some operating contexts, such as the ordinary processing of the thread, but may be unacceptable in other operating contexts, such as while performing a function evaluation during debugging. Such blocking may be mitigated by redirecting a service function to an abort function if the service function is capable of blocking the thread and the thread is operating in a safe mode. The thread may then be permitted to execute, and the potentially blocking service functions may be avoided, resulting in a function evaluation abort (e.g., an exception) rather than a blocked thread and a failed debugging scenario.

Service function redirection for avoiding function evaluation blockages

Various technologies and techniques are disclosed that provide an integrated debugger simulator. A debugger is provided that allows a user to debug an application in a live mode. A simulator is provided to read recorded data from an earlier point in time in an execution of the application. An integrated debugger simulator is provided by multiplexing the debugger between the application in the live mode and the simulator that reads the recorded data. A simulation mode is provided to allow the user to interact with the recorded data using the debugger. In this simulation mode, the user is able to interact with the recorded data using commands and data views available in the debugger. The user can multiplex between the live mode and the simulation mode from within the debugger.

Integrated debugger simulator

Various technologies and techniques are disclosed that indirectly correlate event streams on multiple computers. Event details are retrieved for multiple data streams from each of the computers. The event details include a task identifier and ordering identifier for each event in the data streams on each computer. The task identifiers and ordering identifiers are unique to each computer, allowing the events to be correlated with the other events on the same computer only. A uniqueness token is retrieved that provides direct correlation information about how a particular event on the first computer is directly correlated to a particular event on the second computer. An indirect event stream correlation process uses the directly correlated information in combination with the respective task identifiers and respective ordering identifiers from the first and second computers to establish an ordering between the events on the first computer and the events on the second computer.

Growing community of inventors

Issaquah, WA, United States of America

Paul Matthew Pietrek