Size in megabytes, of the trace buffer.  This buffer will be allocated dynamically when tracing starts and deallocated after the trace is saved to file or aborted.  This size is the maximum size of the trace.

DO NOT specify a larger value than is available in free RAM.  The use of virtual memory which is backed by disk resources will have strong negative affects on the success of tracing.

It specifies the number of 64K segments to allocate in OS/2 global system memory for intermediate buffers. 

Specifies an alternative drive, path and file name for the capture file being produced. If specified, it must be compliant with the OS/2 file naming rules.

• if Token-Ring then ntrace.trc
• if Ethernet then ntrace.enc

In addition to writing output to the console, NTRACE writes all STDOUT and STDERR output to a user specified log file, or to a default log file.

Specifies the index of one of multiple MAC drivers the Network Trace driver is bound to as a target adapter for the trace session being started.  The index is for the Network Trace driver bindings table. For single MAC configuration it is not needed. 

Use the -q option to observe the list of bound MAC drivers.  Each entry will have an associated index.  Whenever you want your trace session to start on a specific adapter, use the associated index with the -a option. 

The Slice option specifies slicing mode and the slice size. Slicing mode means that only a portion of every frame will be saved in the trace buffer. All frames shorter than the specified slice will be saved entirely. Longer frames will be truncated. Specifying -s0 you turn off slicing mode.

There is a shortcut, -s which is an equivalent for -s256. The minimal allowed slice size is 14. Any smaller size will be raised to 14 quietly. There is no allowed maximum. The actual limit is the allowed maximum for the frame size on a given network.

The Buffer Mode specifies the way in which the buffer will be filled.   Mode 1 corresponds to one time and mode 2 corresponds to wrap. 

The timing mode specifies the resolution of the trace file's timestamps. Mode l corresponds to low resolution timing and mode h corresponds to high resolution timing.

The PacketFilter specifies which frames will be passed by the MAC driver.  The NTRACE driver calculates a safe default, but this option provides an override capability if a different PacketFilter is necessary.  See Understanding Filters.

The NTRACE driver will not forward frames to protocol drivers when the frames match this specification.  A default can be specified in PROTOCOL.INI.  This option provides an override capability if a different RejectFrames is necessary.  See Understanding Filters.

or

RejectFrames value in PROTOCOL.INI

The Dedicated Mode option instructs the driver to choose an alternative algorithm for ReceiveLookAhead and ReceiveChain entry points. If, for the duration of the trace session, the PC can be dedicated to that solely task, you may use this option.

This alternative algorithm allows for capturing full frames even with adapters that don't support multiple TransferData calls and generally works faster due to bypassed filtering.

When this option is used, the user will be prompted for a confirm before this mode is invoked.  This is to avoid the situation where all networking activity is accidentally stopped on a mission critical machine.  THERE MUST BE A USER AVAILABLE AT THIS MACHINE TO STOP TRACING, unless -m1 or the scheduled invocation of NTRACE -k are used.

See "Dedicated Mode" above.

This option is used to invoke dedicated mode and to avoid the confirmation request.  BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WHEN USING THIS FEATURE.  ALL NETWORKING ON THIS MACHINE WILL HALT WHILE TRACING IS IN OPERATION!  This includes any remote access one might need to control the tracing itself, e.g. Telnet or Netfinity.

The Instance Name option specifies the Network Trace driver instance name the NTRACE.EXE will use to establish communication with. You may need this in a multidriver environment, or if the default instance name was overridden in DEVICE= statement in CONFIG.SYS.

This option stops tracing on either the default driver instance or on instances of a specific name.  This allows the stopping trace sessions launched outside of a command interpreter.  E.G. a scheduled trace can be stopped by the scheduler as well.  This lends itself to automation.

This option displays a report of the available NDIS adapters which NTRACE.OS2 is bound to.  It also displays a short report on each bound adapter's capabilities.

The index position reported for each adapter can be used as the input to the -a option.

This option allows a license file to be tested for validity.  It also displays the specific details of serial number, registered names and any limitations of this license.

This option is reserved for Network Trace developers' use. It displays some internal driver statistics on entry and exit of the trace session.