This KB article will detail how Server Administrators can utilize DotTrace for troubleshooting purposes. DotTrace is a tool that allows a server operator to take a recording of a process's memory and execution flow, which assists in the troubleshooting of lockups, crashes, and slowdowns without a clear and immediate cause.
Please note that this records SmarterMail processes, and takes a rolling snapshot of the server's RAM as a result. As a result, it can be performance-intensive and take up a fair amount of disk space. Please capture this trace during a time of low usage if possible. Also, please ensure that you have >32GB of free disk space (possibly more, depending on how many mailboxes/domains you have).
1. Download and extract dotTrace
wget "https://download.jetbrains.com/resharper/dotUltimate.2025.3.3/JetBrains.dotTrace.CommandLineTools.linux-x64.2025.3.3.tar.gz?_gl=1*n8as81*_gcl_au*ODg2ODg5NDcwLjE3NzQ0NTIxMzA.*FPAU*ODg2ODg5NDcwLjE3NzQ0NTIxMzA.*_ga*MjY2OTE3NjQ5LjE3NzQ0NTIxMzA.*_ga_9J976DJZ68*czE3NzQ0NTIxMjckbzEkZzEkdDE3NzQ0NTMyODIkajEwJGwwJGgw"
2. Extract the DotTrace console tools
- Create a directory to store the dotTrace files in
sudo mkdir -p JetBrains
- Extract the archive to the folder
sudo tar -xvzf <archive.tar.gz> -C JetBrains
- Navigate to the folder
cd JetBrains/
2. Execute dotTrace
- Get the numerical PID of MailService with pgrep.
pgrep MailService
- Run DotTrace with sudo - make sure you save to a path
sudo ./dotTrace.sh attach <PID found in last step> --save-to=/home/<USER>/<CHOSEN TRACE NAME>
- Give DotTrace ~15 min to run, or until the service crashes. If it is running after ~15min, type CTRL-C once to terminate and allow DotTrace to save a snapshot.
3. Collect the DotTrace
- Zip the file, deleting the original, to clear up space. Once you have this file, you can send it to us via e-mail, or a link to your File Storage/any other cloud storage platform.
zip <trace filename>.zip <CHOSEN TRACE NAME> -m