diff --git a/SMBDiagnostics/README b/SMBDiagnostics/README
index 35d45815..a4f1c85d 100644
--- a/SMBDiagnostics/README
+++ b/SMBDiagnostics/README
@@ -1,29 +1,30 @@
-Steps to collect the logs:
---------------------------
-Copy smbclientlogs.sh (Shell script) to linux machine where we need to collect logs.
+# Steps to collect the logs:
 
-Dependencies:
-Install packages trace-cmd, zip and ss. If debian-based distro, please install zgrep.
-If using CaptureNetwork option (see below), install tcpdump.
+Copy smbclientlogs.sh (Shell script) to the Linux machine where we need to collect logs.
 
-If issue can be easily reproduced:
-1) Open linux terminal or ssh to linux machine or the AKS node.
+## Dependencies:
+- Ensure the **ss** command is installed (usually provided by the **iproute2** or **iproute** package), and install **trace-cmd** and **zip**.
+- On debian-based distros, also install **zgrep**.  
+- If using CaptureNetwork option (see below), install **tcpdump**.
+
+## Usage:
+**If issue can be easily reproduced:**
+1) Open Linux terminal or ssh to Linux machine or the AKS node.
 2) Run the command "sudo bash" to gain root privileges.
 3) Cd to script location and run the command
-   "chmod +x ./smbclientlogs.sh"
+   `chmod +x ./smbclientlogs.sh`
 4) Run the command
-   "./smbclientlogs.sh start"
-   (or)
-   "./smbclientlogs.sh start CaptureNetwork" (in case Microsoft instructs you to use this option)
+   `./smbclientlogs.sh start`
+   or
+   `./smbclientlogs.sh start CaptureNetwork` (in case Microsoft instructs you to use this option)
 5) Repro the issue.
-6) Run "./smbclientlogs.sh stop"
+6) Run `./smbclientlogs.sh stop`
 7) Above command generates output.zip
 8) Send the output.zip file to Microsoft support against your support case.
 
-Contents of Zip file:
+## Contents of Zip file:
 1) cifs_diag.txt - Internal debug data and stats from the SMB client.
 2) cifs_dmesg - System logs since the last reboot.
 3) cifs_trace - Output of trace-cmd, which contain the kernel event logs.
 4) os_details.txt - Info about the operating system, which will help developers to understand which features/fixes are missing. 
 5) cifs_traffic.pcap - network capture of SMB traffic in case CaptureNetwork option was used.
-
diff --git a/SMBDiagnostics/smbclientlogs.sh b/SMBDiagnostics/smbclientlogs.sh
index 31970e61..85af61af 100755
--- a/SMBDiagnostics/smbclientlogs.sh
+++ b/SMBDiagnostics/smbclientlogs.sh
@@ -6,12 +6,11 @@ CIFS_PORT=445
 TRACE_CIFSBPF_ABS_PATH="$(cd "$(dirname "trace-cifsbpf")" && pwd)/$(basename "trace-cifsbpf")"
 PYTHON_PROG='python'
 STDLOG_FILE='/dev/null'
-CIFS_FYI_ENABLED=0
+VERBOSE_FLAG=".smbclientlogs_verbose.flag"
 
 am_i_root() {
     local euid=$(id -u)
-    if (( $euid != 0 ));
-    then
+    if (( $euid != 0 )); then
         echo "Please run $0 as root";
         exit
     fi
@@ -35,7 +34,7 @@ main() {
 }
 
 init() {
-  check_utils
+  check_utils "$@"
   if [[ -f $DIRNAME ]];
   then
     rm -rf "$DIRNAME"
@@ -44,55 +43,56 @@ init() {
 }
 
 check_utils() {
-  which trace-cmd > /dev/null
-  if [ $? == 1 ]; then
+  if ! command -v trace-cmd >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     echo "trace-cmd is not installed, please install trace-cmd"
     exit 1
   fi
 
-  if (( ($(which apt |egrep -c apt) > 0) && ($(which zgrep |egrep -c zgrep) == 0) ));
-  then
-    echo "zgrep is not installed, please install zgrep"
+  if (command -v apt >/dev/null 2>&1) &&  (! command -v zgrep >/dev/null 2>&1); then
+    echo "apt-based package management is in use, but zgrep is not installed, please install zgrep"
     exit 1
   fi
 
-  which tcpdump > /dev/null
-  if [ $? != 0 ]; then
+  if ! command -v tcpdump >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     echo "tcpdump is not installed. Please install tcpdump if you intend to capture network traces."
     #Not exiting since packet capture is optional
   fi
 
-  which zip > /dev/null
-  if [ $? == 1 ]; then
+  if ! command -v zip >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     echo "zip is not installed, please install zip to continue"
     exit 1
   fi
 
-  which ss > /dev/null
-  if [ $? == 1 ]; then
+  if ! command -v ss >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     echo "ss is not installed, please install ss to continue"
     exit 1
   fi
 
-  which python > /dev/null
-  if [ $? == 1 ]; then
-    which python3 > /dev/null
-    if [ $? == 1 ]; then
+  if [[ "$*" =~ "OnAnomaly" ]]; then
+    if command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+      PYTHON_PROG='python3'
+    elif ! command -v python >/dev/null 2>&1; then
       echo "python is not installed, please install python to continue"
       exit 1
-    else PYTHON_PROG='python3'
+    else PYTHON_PROG='python'
     fi
   fi
 }
 
 start_trace() {
   if [[ "$*" =~ "VerboseLogs" ]]; then
+    echo "setting verbose logging for cifs module"
+    cat /proc/fs/cifs/cifsFYI 2>/dev/null > "${VERBOSE_FLAG}"
     echo 'module cifs +p' > /sys/kernel/debug/dynamic_debug/control
     echo 'file fs/cifs/* +p' > /sys/kernel/debug/dynamic_debug/control
     echo 7 > /proc/fs/cifs/cifsFYI
-    CIFS_FYI_ENABLED=1
   fi
   trace-cmd start -e cifs
+  rc=$?
+
+  if [ $rc -ne 0 ]; then
+    echo "trace-cmd failed to start. cifs-trace will not be captured."
+  fi
 }
 
 dump_system_logs() {
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ dump_system_logs() {
 
 dump_azfileauth_logs() {
   local output_file=$1
-  if which azfilesauthmanager >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  if command -v azfilesauthmanager >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     echo -e "\nDumping azfileauth tickets" >> "$output_file"
     azfilesauthmanager list >> "$output_file" 2>&1
   else
@@ -143,14 +143,12 @@ dump_os_information() {
   echo -e "\nSystem Uptime:" >> os_details.txt
   cat /proc/uptime >> os_details.txt
   echo -e "\npackage install details:" >> os_details.txt
-  if (( $(which rpm |egrep -c rpm) > 0));
-  then
+  if command -v rpm >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     rpm -qa --last |grep keyutils >> os_details.txt
     rpm -qa --last |grep cifs-utils >> os_details.txt
     rpm -qi keyutils >> os_details.txt
     rpm -qi cifs-utils >> os_details.txt
-  elif (( $(which apt |egrep -c apt) > 0 ));
-  then
+  elif command -v apt >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     zgrep -B5 -A5 keyutils /var/log/apt/history.log* >> os_details.txt
     zgrep -B5 -A5 cifs-utils /var/log/apt/history.log* >> os_details.txt
     dpkg -s keyutils cifs-utils >> os_details.txt 
@@ -196,8 +194,8 @@ trace_cifsbpf() {
 }
 
 start() {
-  init
-  start_trace $@
+  init "$@"
+  start_trace "$@"
   dump_os_information
   echo "======= Dumping CIFS Debug Stats at start =======" > cifs_diag.txt
   dump_debug_stats
@@ -216,6 +214,8 @@ start() {
   if [[ "$*" =~ "OnAnomaly" ]]; then
     trace_cifsbpf
   fi
+
+  echo "started collecting smb client logs"
 }
 
 stop() {
@@ -249,8 +249,10 @@ stop_trace() {
   trace-cmd report > "${DIRNAME}/cifs_trace"
   trace-cmd stop
   trace-cmd reset
-  if [ $CIFS_FYI_ENABLED -ne 0 ]; then
-    echo 0 > /proc/fs/cifs/cifsFYI
+  if [ -f "${VERBOSE_FLAG}" ]; then
+    prev_value=$(cat "${VERBOSE_FLAG}")
+    echo "${prev_value:-0}" > /proc/fs/cifs/cifsFYI
+    rm -f "${VERBOSE_FLAG}"
   fi
   rm -rf trace.dat*
 }