Record a first scenario

Now that we have a Virtual Machine ready, it is time to do our first recording.

Creating a new scenario

The first step is to initiate a new scenario, where the Project Manager can store one recording and its resources.

  1. In the Project Manager, click on the Scenario Manager tab.

  2. Click on New scenario

    New scenario

  3. Enter a name for your scenario, such as First Scenario.

  4. In the Snapshot combo box, pick the root snapshot of the VM you have imported earlier.

    Scenario snapshot

  5. Click on Next on the top-right corner of the page.

  6. On this page, you could upload and make new files available to your VM via the CD-Rom. However, in our case, we will record a system binary, so we can skip it. Click Next.

Recording the hostname binary

You are now seeing the main recording page. You should recognize the VM control buttons from when we imported it.

  1. First, locate the live snapshot you created earlier.

  2. Restore this snapshot by clicking Start (note the snapshot name can vary).

    Restore live snapshot

  3. Once the snapshot is restored, Show in browser appears: click on it.

  4. Make sure you have both the Project Manager page and the VM screen in view, so you can quickly navigate from one to the other.

  5. In the VM screen, you should have a console opened. Type in hostname, but do not press Enter yet.

  6. We will record the execution of this command:

    1. Click on Start record in the Project Manager.

      Start record

    2. Quickly select the VM screen tab and press Enter. This will effectively start the command we typed in earlier.

      Start record

    3. The command's execution should be almost instantaneous.

      Start record

    4. As soon as you see the output in the VM screen, click on Stop record on the Project Manager page.

      Stop record

  7. You can redo this recording with Start record and Stop record again as many times as you want, until you get a short recording.

  8. Once you are satisfied with your recording, click on Commit latest record.

  9. Force shutdown the VM to save on CPU ressources. Note that this is quickest way to shut the VM down, and it is safe because the next recording session will likely start from the known good live snapshot anyway.

  10. Click on Next.

Replaying

The next screen is the Replay screen, were Reven will extract the trace from the recording and build indexes.

  1. Keep all the defaults and click on Replay at the bottom of the screen.

    Replay

  2. Wait for all ressources to be done and at 100%. This will take a few minutes.

  3. Click on Next.

You are now on the Analyze page. Head over to the next Analyze section.