IntelliTrace - Says it needs a Symbol Server

Question

I am trying to get my Automated builds working with IntelliTrace.

When I load a IntelliTrace file that was based off a build, it get the following error:

The build associated with this IntelliTrace log file was not configured 
to publish symbols to a symbol server.  You may have to enter the symbol 
path for this debugging session manually in the debugger settings.

What does this mean? Is there a server type called Symbol Server that I need to install an setup? (When I log into my MSDN Subscription (Premium) there is no product called Symbol Server.)

What I would really like is a walk through of how to set this up (I can't be the first one to try).

Answer 1

A Symbol Server is simply a file share that contains the debug information (.pdb files) and executables and DLL's in a specific folder structure so a debugger can easily and quickly find the executable/DLL and debug information.

It is perfectly explained in the Debugging Windows book of John Robbins (see http://www.amazon.com/Debugging-Applications-Microsoft-Windows-Pro-Developer/dp/0735615365)

Answer 2

Take a look at Jim Lamb's blog post about enabling Symbol & Source Server support in TFS 2010 Build: http://blogs.msdn.com/jimlamb/archive/2009/06/15/enabling-symbol-and-source-server-support-in-tfs-build-2010-beta-1.aspx

It ends up being super easy and a "symbol server" is essential a file share that symbols are published to. Team Build 2010 has functionality in the default build process template to both index the symbols for Source Server support and then to publish the symbols to Symbol Server automatically. Jim's post discusses those options for you.