PMDF-X400 includes facilities for testing outgoing MTA connections, and for producing debug logs of connection activity during actual use. On OpenVMS, an optional additional level of detail is available in the form of I/O tracing.

The PMDF TEST/CHANNEL X400 utility (OpenVMS) or pmdf test -channel x400 utility (UNIX) can be used to test the configuration of the X400_LOCAL channel and verify that it can successfully connect to the remote MTA. Network configuration errors and validation problems will be reported by the utility. The PMDF TEST/CHANNEL X400 (OpenVMS) or pmdf test -channel x400 (UNIX) utility is generally sufficient for uncovering common configuration problems, such as incorrect addresses or authentication information. See the discussion of the PMDF TEST/CHANNEL X400 utility in Chapter 30 for an example of using PMDF TEST/CHANNEL X400.

Adding the master_debug keyword to the X400_LOCAL channel will result in debug information when PMDF-X400 makes outbound connections to a remote MTA. In this case, the information will be written to the file x400_local_master.log in the PMDF log directory, i.e., to PMDF_LOG:x400_local_master.log on OpenVMS or to /pmdf/log/x400_local_master.log-uniqueid on UNIX. This debug trace information is similar to that produced by the PMDF TEST/CHANNEL X400 (OpenVMS) or pmdf test -channel x400 (UNIX) utility, but reflects activity during actual message transfer operations.

When testing inbound connections from a remote MTA to PMDF-X400 you should add the slave_debug keyword to the X400_LOCAL channel definition. This will result in debug trace information being written to the file x400_local_slave.log in the PMDF log directory, i.e., to PMDF_LOG:x400_local_slave.log on OpenVMS or to the file /pmdf/log/x400_local_slave.log-uniqueid on UNIX. You can combine both keywords if you would like to log debug trace information in both directions.

On OpenVMS, whether using PMDF TEST/CHANNEL X400 or the slave_debug or master_debug keywords, an additional level of detail, showing every I/O operation as well as every byte of data sent and received on the network connection, can be enabled by defining the logical name PMDF_UNIXLIB_TRACE. The equivalence value for the logical name can be a filename or the reserved word "TTY". In the latter case, trace output will be directed to the process's SYS$OUTPUT. For example:

$ DEFINE PMDF_UNIXLIB_TRACE TTY

followed by a PMDF TEST/CHANNEL X400 command will result in all of the test output as well as a complete trace of all data sent and received. The additional level of detail afforded by I/O tracing can be required should you need to work with Process Software support personnel to solve a problem.

On OpenVMS, as with PMDF TEST/CHANNEL X400, the logical name PMDF_UNIXLIB_TRACE is consulted during normal operation of the X400_LOCAL channel. Since the X400_LOCAL channel is generally run in its own separate process, it is most useful to define PMDF_UNIXLIB_TRACE with the /SYSTEM qualifier so that it is seen no matter what process actually runs the X400_LOCAL channel. You should use the TTY equivalence name to direct trace output into the PMDF_LOG:x400_local_master.log (outgoing connections) or PMDF_LOGS:x400_slave.log (incoming connections). The most useful definition in this case is therefore something like:

$ DEFINE/SYSTEM PMDF_UNIXLIB_TRACE TTY