Troubleshooting and Checking Protocol Handler Performance

Troubleshooting and Checking Protocol Handler Performance

Windows 2000 Administrative Tools can be used to track protocol handler performance and troubleshoot problems.

Windows NT Event Logs

System errors that occur during the crawl of the content source are recorded in the Event Logs. Open the Event Viewer and select Application Logs view. Sort the listing by source and look for entries for "Microsoft Search."

Gatherer Logs

The Gatherer logs contain URL specific information that is logged for each item as the Gatherer processes it. Unless you enable this feature in the Gatherer settings, the Gatherer does not log items that are processed successfully. The Gatherer logs are available through the Content Source Manager. By default, a new log is created daily and only the five most recent logs are kept. These options can be configured through SharePoint Portal Server Administration in Microsoft Management Console (MMC) on the Logging tab, and also through the Content Source Manager on the workspace.

Performance Monitor Counters

The Performance Monitor provides two counters with information about Gatherer performance. For a detailed discussion of SharePoint Portal Server Performance Monitors, see the "Monitoring," "Monitor Performance Counters," and "View Performance Objects and Counters" sections of the SharePoint Portal Server Administrator's Guide in SharePoint Portal Server Help Documentation.

Common Errors

The following table shows a brief sampling of common protocol handler errors and a brief description and suggested solution of each.

Error	Solution
Gatherer log error "URL is excluded because the URL protocol is not recognized or restricted"	Protocol handler registration may have failed. Run regedit to look at HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Search\1.0\ProtocolHandlers or the DllRegisterServer function.
Gatherer log error "Error fetching URL, (80040d1a - The protocol handler cannot be found. Verify that the handler was installed and is not corrupt.)"	Bad protocol handler initialization. Verify that the protocol handler was registered. Also, make sure Init method of the ISearchProtocol interface returns a successful HRESULT.
Gatherer log error "Retry" and "Error fetching URL, (800700e9 –No process is on the other end of the pipe.)"	Unhandled exception in the protocol handlers, such as an access violation. Or protocol handler is using too much memory.
Gatherer log error "Retry" and "Error fetching URL, (80040d7b - Document filtering could not be completed because the document server did not respond within the specified timeout. Try crawling the server later, or increase the timeout values.)"	Change access times for the content source in the MMC. Also make sure to check that protocol handler method calls return in a reasonable amount of time.