Displaying sequence diagrams using the J2EE Request Profiler

The J2EE Request Profiler is used to collect execution data from distributed applications, which may span multiple processes and hosts.

The Profiling Monitor view of the Profiling and Logging perspective displays profiling objects such as projects, monitors, hosts, processes, and  agents that get created during a profiling session. It is a representation of the profiling environment. So, in the case of distributed applications, multiple hosts, processes, and related objects are displayed. The proper usage of the Monitors view is critical to understanding these sequence diagrams. It provides a very powerful and logical filtering system, which corresponds to the distributed application infrastructure.

For information on the Profiling and Logging perspective, and performance and memory profiling, refer to the documentation for the Profiling tool.

Note: A J2EE Request Profiler sample is shipped with the product. For instructions on how to use it, refer to its readme (File > New > Example > J2EE Request Profiler > Next > Finish).

You must explicitly enable the J2EE Request Profiler in order to attach to it and use it to collect data from the application that you want to profile. Follow these tasks:

Prerequisites:

Viewing complete sequence diagrams

Follow these steps:

  1. From the toolbar of the Profiling Monitor view, click the Refresh Views button

    .

  2. In the Profiling Monitor view, select a monitor.
  3. From its pop-up menu, select Open with.
  4. Then select the interaction view of your choice.

Selecting the monitor as the resource from which to view the diagram ensures that the entire set of data that was collected for the application is displayed.

Viewing partial sequence diagrams

Follow these steps:

  1. From the toolbar of the Profiling Monitor view, click the Refresh Views button

    .

  2. In the Profiling Monitor view, select a process, or any resource below it in the hierarchy. 
  3. From its pop-up menu, select Open with.
  4. Then select the interaction view of your choice.

Using resources at a lower level than the monitor results in the generation of partial diagrams, which correspond to the data that is collected from that particular object. For example, opening any diagram from a host, results in the generation of a diagram, which contains all the execution data pertaining to the traced application and its activities on that particular host only. The same applies to processes.

This is in contrast to opening sequence diagrams from the different hierarchical levels of resources in the Profiling Monitor view when the Java Profiling Agent is used to collect the profiling data. Since the whole application executes in one process in this case, the sequence diagrams that are displayed are identical despite the resource levels from which they are opened. See the related task.

Note: In the case of single process on a particular host, diagrams displayed from the level of the process and the host will be identical.

Related tasks
Viewing trace interactions using Sequence Diagram views

Reserved.