COM+ supports automatic collection of process dump file and process termination in Windows Server

Applies to:   Windows SDK for Windows 10
Original KB number:   910904

Introduction

The system logs an event when a COM+ component experiences an unusually high call time. The event log identifies the COM+ component that experiences the problem. Additionally, the event log mentions this article (910904). The system can be configured to perform one or both of these actions:

• Automatically collect a process dump file for root cause analysis of the problem.
• Terminate the process to help recover from the problem without manual intervention.

After the system has collected a dump file, use the Debug Diagnostics Tool (DebugDiag) to generate a report that describes the problem and provides known solutions.

Default behavior

Consider the following scenario:

• The call time for a COM+ component exceeds 10 minutes.
• You open the Component Services Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in while the application that hosts this long-running COM+ component is running.

In this scenario, the following event is logged in the Application log:

Event Type: information
Event Source Information: COM+
COM+ Event Category: (117)
Event ID: 782
Description: The average call duration exceeded 10 minutes.
If this is not the expected behavior, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 910904 in http://support.microsoft.com for detailed information about
how to use the COM+ AutoDump feature to automatically generate dump files and terminate the process if the problem recurs.
Server application ID: <YourAppID>
Server application instance ID: <YourAppInstanceID>
Server application name: <YourAppName>

Configuration options

The system can be configured to perform one or both of the following actions when a long-running COM+ component is detected:

• Automatically collect a process dump file.

• Terminate the process.

  To do this, use the following registry values:

  Value name	Data type	Description	Default value
  AverageCallThreshold	REG_DWORD	Threshold, in seconds, when the appropriate actions will be taken	0
  DumpType	REG_DWORD	0 = Generate a full dump file; 1 = Generate a minidump file; 2 = No dump file	0
  Terminate	REG_DWORD	0 = Process will continue; 1 = Process will be terminated	0

• To globally define actions for all COM+ components on the computer, add the configuration values under the following registry key:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\COM3\AutoDump

• To define actions to be taken for a specific COM+ component regardless of the global settings, add the configuration values under the following registry key:
  HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppId\{<YourAppID>}\AutoDump\{<YourCLSID>}

Recommendations

The following content shows how to check and analyze the full dump files.

Collect full dump files

Collect a full dump file when a COM+ component experiences an unusually high call time. For example, create the following single registry value:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\COM3\AutoDump AverageCallThreshold = 300

See the Considerations section for more information about how to select an appropriate AverageCallThreshold registry value for your particular environment.

Similarly, collect a full dump file when an unhandled exception occurs in a COM+ application. To do so, check the Enable Image Dump on Application Fault check box on the Dump tab in the properties of each COM+ application.

Analyze the dump files

To analyze the dump file, follow these steps:

1. Download and install the Debug Diagnostic Tool (DebugDiag).

2. Use the Debug Diagnostics Tool to generate an analysis report for the dump file by following these steps:

   1. Run the DebugDiag Analysis application from the Start menu.
   2. Select Settings, then select the Preferences tab.
   3. Make sure that the Microsoft Public Symbol Servers option in the Symbol Search Path field is checked, then select Back.
   4. Select the Default Analysis \ CrashHangAnalysis option.
   5. Select Add Data Files.
   6. Select the dump file(s) that you want to analyze.
   7. Select Start Analysis.

   The resulting HTML report is displayed in a new Microsoft Internet Explorer window on the desktop and saved to the DebugDiag Reports directory. The default location for this directory is %USERPROFILE%\Documents\DebugDiag\Reports.

3. To resolve the problem, follow the guidance that is provided in the Recommendations section of the report. This section of the report may recommend the following things:

   • It may direct you to a Microsoft Knowledge Base article that describes known issues.
   • It may provide the developers of the application with information that they can use to make corrections.
   • It may suggest that you follow up with the appropriate vendor or with Microsoft Support. When you contact Microsoft Support for more help, provide the report file to speed the analysis process. The full dump file might also be required.

Considerations

Here are some factors you should consider.

AverageCallThreshold registry value

A value of 300 seconds is an appropriate threshold for most environments. The ideal value depends on the particular environment. To ensure action is taken as quickly as possible, but only when a legitimate problem occurs, select the smallest possible value that is exceeded only in a problematic scenario.

TerminateProcess registry value

Terminating the process when high call times occur may help the COM+ component to automatically recover from certain problems. This is desirable in environments where high availability is important. When using this feature, select an appropriate AverageCallThreshold registry value to avoid unintentionally terminating the process.

DumpType registry value

Minidump files can be created faster and occupy less disk space than full dump files. However, they aren't as useful to analyze problems because they frequently lack the required data. The typical size of full dump files for a Dllhost.exe process ranges from 10 megabytes (MB) to 50 MB. Their actual size depends on the size of the working set of the dumped process. The files are normally generated within seconds.

Dump file options

By default, the dump files are stored in the %systemroot%\system32\com\dmp directory. Use the settings in the Image Dump Directory box and under the Maximum Number of Dump Images area for the appropriate COM+ application to control the location and the number of dump files.

Call time

The call time for a COM+ component is a running average for all instances of the COM+ component. The call time is calculated by the COM+ System Application and is displayed in the Call Time (ms) column of the Status View in the Component Services MMC snap-in.