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Sun Java System Application Server Standard and Enterprise Edition 7 2004Q2 Administration Guide

> ## Chapter 5
> Using Logging

> This chapter describes the logging features and functions of the Sun Java System Application Server. In addition, components for which logging may be used are discussed.

> This chapter includes the following topics:

> - About Logging
> - Logging on the UNIX and Windows Platform
> - Using Log Levels
> - About Virtual Servers and Logging
> - About Loggers
> - About Client Side Logging
> - Redirecting Application and Server Log Output
> - Log File Management
> - Configuring Logging Through the Command-line Interface
> - Configuring Logging Through the Administration Interface
> - Configuring the Directives for Error Logging
> - Viewing the Access Log File
> - Viewing the Event Log Filew
> - Setting Log Preferences
> - Running the Log Analyzer

> ##

> About Logging

> Logging is a useful debugging and diagnostic tool when used in applications. It also increases the developer’s productivity. The Sun Java System application server’s own log output can help identify and diagnose server configuration and deployment problems.

> Logging within the Sun Java System Application Server uses the Java logging API. Sun Java System Application Server collects and stores logging information in two log files, namely, access.log and server.log located in the logs directory. You can also direct logs to your own log file.

> A logged message provides more information than simply the message itself. The additional information provided includes:

> - Date and time of the event.
> - Log level for the event. Appserver specified Loglevel ID or name.
> - Process ID (PID). PID of the appserv process.
> - (Optional) Virtual server ID (vsid). The vsid that generated the message.
> - Message ID. Subsystem and a four digit integer.
> - Message data.

> The type and order of the additional message information varies depending upon the platform used for logging and the logging service enabled for that platform. To enable the virtual server ID for logged messages, see Configuring the Log Service.

> ##

> Logging on the UNIX and Windows Platform

> This section discusses how log files are created. In addition, this section includes the following topics:

> - Default Logging in server.log
> - Changing Default Log File Location
> - Logging Using syslog
> - Logging Using the Windows eventlog

> ### Default Logging in server.log

> On both the UNIX and Windows platforms, the log files are created in server.log located in the log sub-directory. Logs coming from all the server components and virtual servers of an instance are collected in this single file.

> The default log level for the entire server can be set. However, you can also override the default log level for a particular subsystem at the subsystem level. You can also redirect stdout and stderr to the server's event log and direct the log output to the operating system's system log. Additionally, you can direct stdout and stderr content to the server’s event log. Log messages by default are sent to stderr in addition to the specified server log file.

> Another feature available is to log the virtual server ID with the log message. This is a useful feature when multiple virtual servers are used to log messages to the same log file. You can choose to write the log messages to system log. When you do so, logging is not performed on the server.log file. Instead the syslog logging service on UNIX, or the system logging service on Windows platform is used to produce and manage logs.

> You can also use the server.xml attributes to control the contents of this file. For details about the server.xml file, see the Sun Java System Application Server Administrator’s Configuration File Reference.

> #### Example of server.log

> The following is an example of server.log.

> Timestamp, Log Level, (PID vsid(optional)): messageID: message

> [01/Aug/2002:11:39:31] INFO ( 1224): CORE1116: Sun Java System Application Server 7 2004Q2

> [01/Aug/2002:11:39:36] INFO ( 1224): CORE5076: Using [Java HotSpot(TM) Server VM, Version 1.4.0_02-20020712] from [Sun Microsystems Inc.]

> [01/Aug/2002:11:39:50] INFO ( 1224): JMS5023: JMS service successfully started. Instance Name = domain1_server1, Home = [D:\install_7_29\imq\bin].

> [01/Aug/2002:11:39:53] INFO ( 1224): CIS0056: Creating TCP ServerConnection at [EndPoint [IIOP_CLEAR_TEXT:192.18.145.66:3700:false]]

> [01/Aug/2002:11:39:53] INFO ( 1224): CIS0057: Created TCP ServerConnection at [EndPoint [IIOP_CLEAR_TEXT:192.18.145.66:3700:false]]

> [01/Aug/2002:11:39:54] INFO ( 1224): CIS0054: Creating TCP Connection from [-] to [EndPoint [IIOP_CLEAR_TEXT:192.18.145.66:3700:false]]

> ### Changing Default Log File Location

> While deploying an enterprise or web application, you are provided the option of pre-compiling the JSPs in the application. The log messages pertaining the JSPs that are being compiled are stored in the administration server's log file usually located at {domain_root}/{domain_name}/admin-server/logs/server.log. This is the default logging option.

> Since all the messages are logged to the same file, exceptions or errors thrown while deploying applications using pre-compiled JSPs could get lost in the volume of messages in the common log file. When multiple applications are being deployed to multiple instances under a given domain, the log messages in the admin-server will need to be carefully scrutinized for any exceptions relevant to a particular application's JSPs.

> Therefore, it is better to log messages pertaining to applications that are deployed using pre-compiled JSPs, in the server instance’s server.log file, instead of the administrative server’s server.log file.

> To redirect the log messages to your Sun Java System Application Server instance’s server.log file, change the path to the log file in the Administrator Interface. See Configuring the Log Service for more information.

> ### Logging Using syslog

> For stable operational environments where centralized logging is required syslog is appropriate. For environments where log output is frequently required for diagnostics and debugging, individual server instance or virtual server logs may be more manageable.

> Note | All logged data for the server instance and administration server in one file may prove difficult to read and debug. It is recommended that you use the syslog master log file only for deployed applications that are running smoothly. Logged message are intermixed with all other logs from the Solaris daemon applications.

> By using the syslog log file, in conjunction with syslogd, and the system log daemon, you can configure the syslog.conf file to:

> - Log messages to the appropriate system log
> - Write messages to the system console
> - Forward logged messages to a list of users, or forward logged messages to another syslogd on another host over the network

> Note | Following installation of Sun Java System Application Server, the log service element attribute for the server, use-system-logging, is not enabled. This means that logs by default are not directed to syslog on UNIX or the Windows Event Log on Windows platforms.You can direct logging to syslog or the Windows Event Log by enabling this attribute in the Server element of server.xml described in the Sun Java System Application Server Configuration File Reference. Before setting use-system-logging, see “Log File Management,” on page 107.

> #### Configuring syslog

> To allow better manageability and readability, you can direct messages with less severity to be stored in a separate file by configuring syslog.conf located in the /etc directory.

> #### To configure syslog:

> 1. To direct messages with less severity to be stored in a separate file add the following command to the syslog.conf file in Solaris:

> daemon.debug /var/adm/iasdebug

> 2. Provide a hang-up signal to syslogd. This can be done by using the following command:

> kill -HUP <PID syslogd>

> 3. Go to the Admin Server in the Administration interface and select the Write to system log option. Save, and apply changes. Restart the Admin Server for the changes to take effect.

> An example of a configured Solaris syslog.conf file follows:

> #ident "@(#)syslog.conf 1.5 98/12/14 SMI "/* SunOS 5.0 */

> #

> # Copyright (c) 1991-1998 by Sun Microsystems, Inc.

> # All rights reserved.

> #

> # syslog configuration file.

> #

> # This file is processed by m4 so be careful to quote (`') names

> # that match m4 reserved words. Also, within ifdef's, arguments

> # containing commas must be quoted.

> #

> *.err;kern.notice;auth.notice /dev/sysmsg

> *.err;kern.debug;mail.crit /var/adm/messages

> daemon.info;daemon.err;daemon.debug;daemon.alert;daemon.crit;daemon.warnin g /var/adm/iaslog

> daemon.debug /var/adm/iasdebug

> #daemon.notice; /var/adm/iaslognotice

> #daemon.warning; /var/adm/iaslogwarning

> #daemon.alert; /var/adm/iaslogalert

> #daemon.err; /var/adm/iaslogerr

> #*.alert;kern.err;daemon.err operator

> #*.alert root

> *.emerg *

> # if a non-loghost machine chooses to have authentication messages

> # sent to the loghost machine, un-comment out the following line:

> #auth.notice ifdef(`LOGHOST', /var/log/authlog, @loghost)

> mail.debug ifdef(`LOGHOST', /var/log/syslog, @loghost)

> #

> # non-loghost machines will use the following lines to cause "user"

> # log messages to be logged locally.

> #

> ifdef(`LOGHOST', ,

> user.err /dev/sysmsg

> user.err /var/adm/messages

> user.alert `root, operator'

> user.emerg *

> )

> For more information, see the syslog.conf man page.

> Any change made to syslog.conf will require a restart of the Sun Java System Application Server for the change to take effect.

> Since logging to syslog means, logs from all Sun Java System Application Servers, and other daemon applications are collected in the same file, logged messages are enhanced with the following information to identify Sun Java System Application Server-specific messages from the particular server or virtual server instance:

> - Unique message ID
> - Timestamp
> - Instancename
> - Program name (appservd or appserv-wdog)
> - Process ID (PID of the appserv process)
> - Thread ID (optional)
> - Server ID

> The log service can be configured for both the server instance and the virtual server instance in the server.xml file. The log service configuration for the virtual server instance is described in the section About Virtual Servers and Logging. The log service configuration for the server instance is described in Configuring Logging Through the Administration Interface.

> Log levels are configurable through the Administration interface for applicable subsystems and components.

> For more information on the syslog logging mechanism used in the UNIX operating environment, use the following man commands at a terminal prompt:

> man syslog

> man syslogd

> man syslog.conf

> #### Example of syslog messages

> The following is an example of syslog messages.

> Timestamp, hostname [instance_name], [subsystem], [vsid], Message ID, Loglevel, Message data

> Jul 19 14:33:18 strange /usr/lib/nfs/lockd[164]: [ID 599441 daemon.info] Number of servers not specified. Using default of 20.

> Jul 19 14:33:20 strange ntpdate[181]: [ID 558275 daemon.notice] adjust time server 192.18.56.149 offset 0.06702 6 sec

> Jul 19 14:38:13 strange xntpd[248]: [ID 204180 daemon.info] synchronisation lost

> Jul 19 14:38:47 strange server1 appservd[374]: [ID 702911 daemon.info] INFO ( 374): CORE1116: Sun Java System Application Server 7 2004Q2

> Jul 19 14:38:48 strange server1 appservd[374]: [ID 702911 daemon.info] FINE ( 374): Collecting statistics for up to 1 processes with 128 threads, 200 listen sockets, and 1000 virtual servers

> ### Logging Using the Windows eventlog

> For more information on the event log mechanism used in the Windows operating environment, refer to the Windows help system index for the keywords Event Logging.

> ##

> Using Log Levels

> This section discusses log levels and how you can assign a log level for each Sun Java System Application Server subsystem.

> The following topics are described:

> - About Log Levels
> - Log Levels Used for syslog Configuration

> ### About Log Levels

> The Sun Java System Application Server uses the standard JDK 1.4.2_02 log levels for selective logging of information. In addition to the standard JDK log levels, Sun Java System Application Server has added log levels designed to map more intuitively to server.log and to tightly integrate with Solaris.

> When logged messages are routed to server.log, they are also mapped to log levels as defined in the Sun Java System Application Server Log Levels Mapped to server.log.

> Note | The default log level for the server.log file (or for syslog) for the Admin Server and the default application server instance is INFO. When the default log level is used for the application server instance, error and information messages are logged. To avoid logging such messages, change the log level to WARNING or SEVERE in the server.xml file or in the Administration interface of the Admin Server and the server instance. Default log level across the server can be set in the log-service element. This affects any element that has log level set to “default”.

> You can assign a log level for each Sun Java System Application Server subsystem for which logging is enabled. A log level is useful to streamline the amount of message information that is recorded during runtime. The level is specified in the server.xml file for the intended subsystem. You can specify the log level from the Administration interface for the selected subsystem, or, you can edit the server.xml file directly to set the desired log level for the selected subsystem.

> Caution | Manual edits to the server.xml file may introduce syntax errors that result in server startup failures. Guidelines for manually editing configuration files are discussed in the Sun Java System Application Server Administrator’s Configuration File Reference, section “Manually Editing Configuration Files”.

> To set the log level for each subsystem or component directly in the server.xml file, see the Sun Java System Application Server Administrator’s Configuration File Reference.

> The Log levels described in the table Log Levels match the requirements of the JDK1.4.2_02 logging API specification. However, the log levels ALERT and FATAL are specific to Sun Java System Application Server and are not implemented in the JDK1.4.2_02 logging API.

> The following table defines the log levels and messages in Sun Java System Application Server, in increasing order of severity. The left column lists the log level designation in the Sun Java System Application Server and the right column provides a brief description of each log level.

> Table 5-1 Log Levels

> Log level | Description
> --- | ---
> FINEST FINER FINE | Messages indicate extent of verbosity of debug messages. FINEST gives the maximum verbosity.
> CONFIG | Messages relate to a variety of static configuration information, to assist in debugging problems that may be associated with particular configurations.
> INFO | Messages are informative in nature, usually related to server configuration or server status. These messages do not indicate errors that need immediate action. For example, a message could be logged that configuration change notification has been received; creating a new topic on MessageBroker
> WARNING | Messages indicate a warning. The message would probably be accompanied by an exception.
> SEVERE | Messages indicate an event of considerable importance that is likely to prevent normal application execution
> ALERT* | Messages alert the user to take specific action.
> FATAL* | Messages indicate a fatal error, after which server execution is not recommended. Ideally, this would be the last message before a server crash.
> * Log levels specific to Sun Java System Application Server.

> Note | All messages with a log level less than INFO (FINEST, FINER, FINE, and CONFIG) provide information that help with issues relating to debugging and must be enabled as advised by technical support. Messages with a log level less than INFO are generally not localized.

> ### Log Levels Used for syslog Configuration

> The following table contains a list of log levels that can be configured within the Sun Java System Application Server when using syslog. The left column lists the log level designation in the Sun Java System Application Server, and right column provides the corresponding log level in the syslog facility.

> Table 5-2 Sun Java System Application Server Log Levels Mapped to server.log

> Sun Java System Application Server | syslog level
> --- | ---
> FINEST | LOG_DEBUG
> FINER | LOG_DEBUG
> FINE | LOG_DEBUG
> CONFIG | LOG_INFO
> INFO (default) | LOG_INFO
> WARNING | LOG_WARNING
> SEVERE | LOG_ERR
> ALERT | LOG_ALERT
> FATAL | LOG_CRIT

> ##

> About Virtual Servers and Logging

> The Sun Java System Application Server can have virtual server instances. Each virtual server within a application server instance has its own identity and may have its own log file. The use of separate log files for each virtual server can help track server activity for particular transactions and resources.

> To specify the log file name for a virtual server from the Administration interface, go to the HTTP Server link from the directory tree and open the server instance element under the virtual server folder to display the General tab on the right frame. You can enter the path and name of the log file for this virtual server in the Log File field.

> Note | When logging is enabled and an application is running, logged messages from the application are logged without the virtual server ID.

> You can also direct logged messages from multiple virtual servers to one server log file. When so doing, you may wish to enable the log-virtual-server-id in the log service element of the server.xml file. This helps users to distinguish log messages originating from different virtual servers.

> <log-service level="FINEST" log-stdout="false" log-stderr="false" echo-log-messages-to-stderr="false" create-console="false" log-virtual-server-id="true" use-system-logging="false">

> </log-service>

> <http-listener>

> <virtual-server-class>

> <virtual-server id="server1" http-listeners="http-listener-1" hosts="strange" mime="mime1" state="on" accept-language="false"/>

> <virtual-server id="server2" hosts="strange" mime="mime1"/>

> </virtual-server-class>

> </http-listener>

> In this example, <log-service log-virtual-server-id="true"> is responsible for including virtual_server_id in every log message. This allows you to differentiate messages coming from different virtual servers. The absence of attribute “log-file” in the virtual-server element, causes all the virtual servers to log messages to a single file.

> ##

> About Loggers

> Logging can be enabled or disabled selectively at the subsystem level. Logging control for each subsystem is specified in the server.xml file, as described in the Sun Java System Application Server Configuration File Reference. Each subsystem has its own logger in accordance with the requirements of the JDK1.4.2_02 logging API.

> In the following table, the left column defines the subsystem and the right column the element in the server.xml file for each subsystem.

> Table 5-3 Subsystems and Locations in Sun Java System Application Server

> Subsystem | Element
> --- | ---
> Administration Server | <admin-service>
> EJB Container | <ejb-container>
> Web Container | <web-container>
> MDB Container | <mdb-container>
> Sun Java System Message Queue (JMS service) | <jms-service>
> Security Service | <security-service>
> Java Transaction Service (JTS) | <transaction-service>
> Object Request Broker (ORB) | <iiop-service>
> Default handlers1 | <log-service>

> 1Default handlers refers to the default logger associated with all server.xml entries that are not associated with a particular subsystem, such as the utility classes.

> Note | On the Windows platform, if you choose to send logs to the Windows server.log, only messages with level INFO, WARNING, SEVERE, ALERT or FATAL are logged to Windows Event Log.

> The table Log Levels defines the log levels, in increasing order of severity, provided for messages in Sun Java System Application Server. These log levels match the requirements of the JDK1.4.2_02 logging API specification. In addition, the log levels ALERT and FATAL are specific to Sun Java System Application Server and are not supported in the JDK1.4.2_02 logging API.

> ##

> About Client Side Logging

> The Application Client Container (ACC) has its own log service and can only log to a local file.

> The ACC typically runs in its own process, on a different host from the application server. As such it has its own logging infrastructure and its own log file. The ACC configuration is held in the file sun-acc.xml.

> The client subsystem logging element for the ACC is log-service. The following table lists the element, and the attributes, each with the noted default and range of values.

> Table 5-4 ACC Logging Element

> Element | Attribute | Description
> --- | --- | ---
> log-service | file | ACC log file; when empty or missing, log to stdout.
> log-service | level | ACC log level.

> An example of the sun-acc.xml file is provided in the Sun Java System Application Server Configuration File Reference.

> ##

> Redirecting Application and Server Log Output

> For developers, it is important that the application logs and server logs be made readily available during unit testing for application components and J2EE applications. On the Windows platform, developers prefer to see server log messages displayed in a command window on the desktop. On the UNIX platform, many developers are comfortable with simply having the log messages stream to stderr in the terminal window in which the server instance is started, or, use the command tail -f to see the log messages written in log files.

> The server.xml file contains attributes that can be set for stdout and stderr to direct logged messages to a log file or to the terminal window, and so forth. See the Sun Java System Application Server Configuration File Reference for more information on the use of stdout and stderr.

> See Configuring the Log Service for information on the log service.

> ##

> Log File Management

> You can set up your access and event log (server.log) files to be automatically archived. At a certain time, or after a specified interval, your logs are rotated. Sun Java System Application Server saves the old log files and stamps the saved file with a name that includes the date and time they were saved.

> Note | Although you can create multiple virtual servers and associate a log file for each virtual server, log rotation settings for individual virtual servers is not supported.

> For example, you can set up your access log files to rotate every hour, and Sun Java System Application Server saves and names the file “access.199907152400,” where name of the log file, year, month, day, and 24-hour time is concatenated together into a single character string. The exact format of the log archive file varies depending upon which type of log rotation you set up.

> Note | These facilities are primarily provided for non-Solaris platforms. For Solaris, these facilities are not enabled by default, and you must use the native Solaris operating system log management facilities such as logadm on Solaris 9. On Solaris 8, the preferred utility for log management would be the cron facility described in Using the Solaris cron Utility to Schedule Execution of logadm.

> Depending on the operating system, there are four distinct ways you can perform log rotations. These are discussed in the section that follows. Topics include:

> For UNIX and Windows:

> - Internal-daemon Log Rotation
> - Scheduler Based Log Rotation

> For Solaris 9

> - Using Solaris logadm utility. For more information, see Rotation Using Solaris logadm Utility.

> For Solaris (any version)

> - Using Solaris cron utility. For more information, see Rotation Using Solaris “cron” Utility.

> ### Internal-daemon Log Rotation

> Internal-daemon log rotation is available for both UNIX and Windows operating systems.

> Internal-daemon log rotation occurs within the HTTP daemon and can only be configured at the server instance startup time. Internal daemon log rotation allows the server to rotate logs internally without requiring a server restart.

> Logs rotated using this method are saved in the following format:

> access.<YYYY><MM><DD><HHMM>

> error. <YYYY><MM><DD><HHMM>

> You can specify the time used as a basis to rotate log files and start a new log file. For example, if the rotation start time is 12:00 a.m., and the rotation interval is 1440 minutes (one day), a new log file is created immediately upon save regardless of the present time and collects information until the rotation start time. The log file rotates every day at 12:00 a.m., and the access log is stamped at 12:00 a.m. and saved as access.199907152400. Likewise, if you set the interval at 240 minutes (four hours), the four-hour intervals begin at 12:00 a.m. such that the access log files will contain information gathered from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m., from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., and so forth.

> If log rotation is enabled, log file rotation starts at server startup. The first log file to be rotated gathers information from the current time until the next rotation time. Using the previous example, if you set your start time at 12:00 a.m. and your rotation interval at 240 minutes, and the current time is 6:00 a.m., the first log file to be rotated will contain the information gathered from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m, and the next log file will contain information from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (noon), and so forth.

> ### Scheduler Based Log Rotation

> Scheduler log rotation, allows you to archive log files immediately or have the server archive log files at a specific time on specific days. To archive log files immediately select Admin Server from the left pane of the Administration interface. Then, click on the Logging link at the top of the right page. Next, click Log Rotation. Finally, click Archive.

> Logs rotated using the scheduler method are saved as the original filename followed by the date and time the file was rotated. For example, access might become access.24Apr-0430PM when it is rotates at 4:30 p.m.

> Log rotation is initialized at server startup. If rotation is turned on, Sun Java System Application Server creates a time-stamped access log file and rotation starts at server startup.

> Once the rotation starts, Sun Java System Application Server creates a new time stamped log file when there is a request or error that needs to be logged to the access or error log file and it occurs after the prior-scheduled “next rotate time”.

> Note | For the Windows platform, and for server logging directed to a file other than syslog on Solaris, you must archive the server logs.

> To archive log files and to specify use of the schedulerd control method, select Admin Server from the left pane of the Administration interface. Then, click on the Logging link at the top of the right page. Next, click the Scheduler based Log Rotation box. Finally, OK. The current state of thescheduler is indicated.

> ### Rotation Using Solaris logadm Utility

> The Solaris 9 operating system incorporates the utility logadm which can be used to perform an array of functions with logged messages.

> Particular to the Sun Java System Application Server, this utility is useful for performing log rotation tasks when running it from the Solaris cron utility, described in Using the Solaris cron Utility to Schedule Execution of logadm.

> You can specify the following log rotation details with respect to log files:

> - All log file names on the system that must be rotated
> - Rotation interval
> - Condition that will trigger the rotation
> - Number of backup log files to be saved
> - Naming convention of backup log files to be saved

> The above details are specified in the file logadm.conf located in:

> n /etc/logadm.conf

> A sample logadm.conf file follows:

> # Copyright 2001-2002 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.

> # Use is subject to license terms.

> #

> # ident "@(#)logadm.conf 1.2 02/02/13 SMI"

> #

> # logadm.conf

> #

> # Default settings for system log file management.

> # The -w option to logadm(1M) is the preferred way to write to this

> # file,

> # but if you do edit it by hand, use "logadm -V" to check it for

> # errors.

> #

> # The format of lines in this file is:

> # <logname> <;options>

> # For each logname listed here, the default options to logadm

> # are given. Options given on the logadm command line override

> # the defaults contained in this file.

> # # logadm typically runs early every morning via an entry in

> # root's crontab (see crontab(1)).

> #

> /var/log/syslog -C 8 -P 'Tue Jul 9 10:10:00 2002' -a 'kill -HUP `cat

> /var/run/syslog.pid`' /var/adm/messages -C 4 -P 'Tue Jul 30 10:10:00 2002' -a

> 'kill -HUP `cat /var/run/syslog.pid`' /var/cron/log -c -s 512k -t /var/cron/olog

> /var/lp/logs/lpsched -C 2 -N -t '$file.$N'

> #

> # The entry below is used by turnacct(1M)

> #

> /var/adm/pacct -C 0 -N -a '/usr/lib/acct/accton pacct' -g adm -m 664 -o adm -p never

> #

> # The entry below will rotate Sun Java System application server's default logfile

> # every day provided the current logfile size is >= 512k. It will compress

> # the old log file before archiving it and also delete the old files after 30

> # days. The compression is done with gzip(1) and the resulting log file has

> # the suffix of .gz.

> /var/appserver/domains/domain1/server1/logs/server.log -A 30d -s 512k -p 1d -z

> Alternatively, you can start log rotation on a specific file by invoking the logadm command interactively.

> The following example rotates syslog and keeps eight log files. Old log files are placed in the directory /var/oldlogs instead of /var/log:

> % logadm -C8 -t'/var/oldlogs/syslog.$n' /var/log/syslog

> You can also use an interactive command-line option to invoke rotation on a file specified in /etc/logadm.conf, but with different or modified options.

> If options are specified both in /etc/logadm.conf and on the command-line, those in the /etc/logadm.conf file are applied first. Therefore, the command-line options override those in /etc/logadm.conf. An example of this is as follows:

> % logadm /var/appserver/domains/domain1/server1/logs/server.log -p now

> The above command rotates the given file using all the options provided for that file in /etc/logadm.conf.

> Note | When multiple options are specified at a time, there is an implied AND between them. This means that all conditions must be met before the log is rotated.

> For detailed information on logadm utility and its options, please refer to its manpage as follows:

> % man logadm

> OR

> % logadm -h

> ### Rotation Using Solaris “cron” Utility

> On Solaris 8, the cron utility can be used to perform application server log rotations. Cron-based log rotation is initialized at server startup. If rotation is turned on, the server creates a time-stamped access log file and rotation starts at server startup.

> To perform application server log rotation use the following command:

> % crontab -e

> This starts your favorite editor (defined by env. variable $EDITOR) so that you can provide the list of cron entries.

> Note | This command also invokes /etc/cron.d/logchecker script as soon you exit from the editor. This script feeds the changed/new crontab entries to cron daemon. Therefore, entries added this way are immediately picked up by cron daemon and log rotations starts immediately. You need not restart the cron daemon to enable log rotations.

> This section includes the following topics:

> - About the crontab Entry Format
> - Using the Solaris cron Utility to Schedule Execution of logadm

> #### About the crontab Entry Format

> A crontab file consists of lines of six fields each. The fields are separated by spaces or tabs. The first five fields are integer patterns that specify the following:

> - minute (0-59)
> - hour (0-23),
> - day of the month (1-31),
> - month of the year (1-12),
> - day of the week (0-6 with 0=Sunday).

> Using this format, you can specify access and eventlog files to be rotated at specified time of day/week/month and schedule to repeat the rotations. For example,

> 0 0 * * 1-5

> /opt/SUNWappserver7/appserver/domains/domain1/server1/bin/rotatelogs

> 0 12 * * 1-5

> /opt/SUNWappserver7/appserver/domains/domain1/server1/bin/rotatelogs

> 0 * * * 1-5

> /opt/SUNWappserver7/appserver/domains/domain1/mainserver/bin/rotatelogs

> This rotates access and log files for server1 at midnight and noon every day between Monday and Friday; while access and log files for mainserver is rotated every hour of every day between Monday and Friday.

> The crontab files are stored under /var/spool/cron/crontabs/. You can create the crontab file as an end user or root. Depending on your privileges, you can see the crontab entries by using the following command:

> % crontab -l username

> #### Using the Solaris cron Utility to Schedule Execution of logadm

> The cron command starts a process that executes commands at specified dates and times. Regularly scheduled commands can be specified according to instructions found in crontab files in the directory /var/spool/cron/crontabs.

> As an example of a regularly scheduled command used with cron, the following entry in crontab will start logadm everyday at midnight.

> 0 0 * * 0-6 logadm

> Note that users can submit their own crontab file using the crontab(1) command.

> To keep a log of all actions taken by cron, CRONLOG=YES (by default) must be specified in the /etc/default/cron file. /etc/cron.d/logchecker is a script that checks to see if the log file has exceeded the system ulimit. If so, the log file is moved to /var/cron/olog.

> ##

> Configuring Logging Through the Command-line Interface

> You can configure aspects of the logging service from the command-line for the server instance and for the virtual server instance.

> Note | All the command examples in this section assume that the environment variables have been set.

> To get all of the log-service attributes for the server instance:

> asadmin> get instance_name.log-service.*

> The log-service attributes are also defined in the table Log Service Attributes.

> An example of using this command with a designated server instance name follows:

> asadmin> get server1.log-service.*

> The list of attributes for the logging service of the server1 instance is returned. You can configure each listed attribute by using the set command.

> To enable the logging of a virtual server ID for the virtual server instance, enter the following command at the terminal prompt:

> asadmin> get instance_name.LogVirtualServerId

> The current state of the LogVirtualServerId is returned. If the state is false, you can enable it with the set command as follows:

> asadmin> set instance_name.LogVirtualServerId=true

> To set the log file name for a virtual server instance, use the set command as follows:

> asadmin> set instance_name.virtual-server.<virtual server id>.logFile=<log file>

> As an example, the following set log file command is issued:

> asadmin> set instance2.virtual-server.instance2.logFile=/space/IAs7se/appserver7/appserv/doma ins/domain1/instance2/logs/log

> For more information on command syntax, see the command-line interface help.

> For more information on using asadmin, see Appendix A, "Using the Command Line Interface."

> ##

> Configuring Logging Through the Administration Interface

> This section describes the tasks you can perform through the Sun Java System Application Server Administration interface to configure the available logging service options for both server-wide (global) elements, directives, and application components.

> This section includes the following topics:

> - Configuring the Log Service
> - Configuring Logging for Application Server Components and Subsystems
> - Configuring the Directives for Error Logging

> ### Configuring the Log Service

> The log service is an element within the J2EE Service Element category in the server.xml file, as described in the Sun Java System Application Server Configuration File Reference. The log service is used to configure the system logging service, which includes the following log files:

> - Server log
> - Access log
> - Transaction log
> - Virtual server log

> Configuration of the system logging service includes specifying values for attributes of the log service element.

> You can configure the following attributes for the log service element through the Administration interface.

> - Log File
> - Default Log Level
> - Log Standard Out content to event log
> - Log Standard Error content to event log
> - Echo to Standard Error
> - Create Console
> - Log Virtual Server ID
> - Write to System Log

> The Log Service link is accessible from the expanded tree hierarchy for the server instance in the left pane of the Administration interface. The following table describes each of the attributes that can be configured, along with the default and range of values allowed.

> Table 5-5 Log Service Attributes

> Attribute | Default | Description
> --- | --- | ---
> file | server.log1 | (optional) Overrides the name or location of the server log. The file and directory in which the server log is kept must be writable by whatever user account used to run the server.
> level | INFO | (optional) Controls the default type of messages logged by other elements to the server log. Allowed values are as follows, from highest to lowest: FINEST, FINER, FINE, CONFIG, INFO, WARNING, SEVERE, ALERT, FATAL. Each value logs all messages for all lower values; for example, FINEST logs all messages, and FATAL logs only FATAL messages. The default value is INFO, which logs all INFO, WARNING, SEVERE, ALERT, and FATAL messages.
> log-stdout | True | (optional) If true, redirects stdout output to the server log. Legal values are on, off, yes, no, 1, 0, true, false.
> log-stderr | True | (optional) If true, redirects stderr output to the server log. Legal values are on, off, yes, no, 1, 0, true, false.
> echo-log-messages-to-stderr | True | (optional) If true, sends log messages to stderr in addition to the server log. Legal values are on, off, yes, no, 1, 0, true, false.
> create-console | False | (optional) If true, creates a console window on Windows operating system for stderr output. Legal values are on, off, yes, no, 1, 0, true, false.
> log-virtual-server-id | False | (optional) If true, virtual server IDs are displayed in the virtual server logs. These are useful if multiple virtual-server elements share the same log file.
> use-system-log | False | If true, uses the UNIX syslog service or Windows Event Logging to produce and manage logs.

> 1In the directory specified by the log-root attribute of the server element.

> ### Configuring Logging for Application Server Components and Subsystems

> This section describes how to enable logging and select a log level for Sun Java System Application Server components and subsystems. Note that the Java Transaction Service component has more than one log file. Since most of the components and subsystems are handled in the same way with respect to configuring a log level, the procedure to select a log level is documented one time only, for the indicated grouping of components and subsystems.

> The following components and subsystems can utilize selective logging of server messages. You can become familiar with the components and subsystems from the references to other topics within this guide as indicated.

> - ORB - Configuring Support for Corba-based Clients
> - Web Container - Configuring J2EE Services
> - EJB Container - Configuring J2EE Services
> - MDB Container - Configuring J2EE Services (within the EJB container)
> - Java Transaction Service - Configuring J2EE Services
> - JMS Service - Java Message Service
> - Virtual Server - Using Virtual Servers

> #### To Specify a Log Level

> To specify a log level for ORB, Web Container, EJB Container, MDB Container (within the EJB Container), Java Transaction Service, and JMS Service, perform the following procedure:

> 1. In the left pane of the Administration interface, expand the Sun Java System Application Server instance to display the components and subsystems you wish to edit.
> 2. Click the link for the desired component or subsystem.
> 3. In the right page of the Administration interface, select one of the following log level parameters, from the Log Level drop-down list. The log levels are described in About Log Levels.

> #### To Specify a Log File: (Virtual Server)

> 1. In the left pane of the Administration interface, expand the Sun Java System Application Server instance to display the HTTP Server subsystem.
> 2. Click the HTTP Server link.
> 3. Click the Virtual Server link.
> 4. Click the desired server instance link.
> 5. In the right page of the Administration interface, under the General tab, enter the desired directory path and file name for the Log File field.

> #### To Specify a Transaction Log Location: (Java Transaction Service)

> 1. In the left pane of the Administration interface, expand the Sun Java System Application Server instance to display the Transaction Service subsystem.
> 2. Click the Transaction Service link.
> 3. In the right page of the Administration interface, under the Advanced field group, enter the desired directory path and file name for the Transaction Log Location field.

> ### Configuring the Directives for Error Logging

> Sun Java System Application Server includes error logging directives for the init.conf file. The following directives are included:

> - Error Log Date Format. The ErrorLogDateFormat directive specifies the date format that the server logs use.
> - Log Flush Interval. The LogFlushInterval determines the maximum time interval, in seconds, before which the access log is flushed from the memory into the access.log file.
> - Pid Log. PidLog specifies a file in which to record the process ID (pid) of the base server process. Some of the server support programs assume that this log is in the server root, in logs/pid.

> All the directives for init.conf are fully described in the Sun Java System Application Server Configuration File Reference.

> ##

> Viewing the Access Log File

> You can view both the Administrator server’s and the Sun Java System Application Server instance’s http log files.

> To view the Administration Server’s http log, select the Admin Server from the left pane in the Administration interface, and then choose the Logging tab from the right page. The View HTTP Access Log link is displayed. Select this link to view the configured access log.

> To view an access log for the application server instance, click the server instance desired from the left pane of the Administration interface. Click on the Logging tab from the right pane. Click the View Access Log link to display the configured active access log for that server instance.

> ##

> Viewing the Event Log File

> You can view both the Administrator server’s and the Sun Java System Application Server instance’s active event log files.

> To view the Administrator server’s event log, select the Admin Server from the left pane, and then choose the Logging tab from the right page. The View Event Log link will be displayed. Select this link to view the configured event log.

> To view the event log for the application server instance, click the server instance desired from the left pane of the Administration interface, and then choose the Logging tab from the right pane. The View Event Log link will be displayed. Select this link to view the configured event log.

> ##

> Setting Log Preferences

> During installation, an access log file named access is created for the server. You can customize access logging for any resource by specifying whether to log accesses, what format to use for logging, and whether the server should spend time looking up the domain names of clients when they access a resource.

> To use one log file for multiple virtual servers, LogVsId should be turned on in the server.xml file for the event log. See the Sun Java System Application Server Configuration File Reference for details. Alternatively, LogVsID can be turned on in the Admin Server Logging tab of the Administration interface.

> Follow the steps below to enable the Log virtual server ID from the Administration interface. The changes are effected following restart of the Administration server.

> 1. Click the Admin Server from the left pane of the Administration interface.
> 2. Click the Logging tab on the right page.
> 3. Click within the check box for Log virtual server ID.
> 4. Click the Save button to apply the changes to the Sun Java System Application Server.

> This setting requires a restart of the Sun Java System Application Server for the change to take effect.

> ##

> Running the Log Analyzer

> The flexanlg is a Log Analyzer tool used for log file reporting. The Log Analyzer can be used only when logging is directed to a file other than syslog.

> Use the log analyzer to generate statistics about your default server, such as a summary of activity, most commonly accessed URLs, times during the day when the server is accessed most frequently, and so on. The log analyzer cannot generate statistics for virtual servers other than the default server. However, statistics can be viewed for each virtual server as described in Viewing the Access Log File.

> Note | Before running the log analyzer, you must rotate the server logs. For more information, see Log File Management.

> You can run the log analyzer command from the command-line, by running the tool flexanlg, which is in the directory install_dir/bin/flexanlg.

> To run flexanlg, type the following command and options at the command prompt:

> flexanlg [ -P ] [-n name] [-x] [-r] [-p order] [-i file]* [ -m metafile ]* [ o file][ c opts] [-t opts] [-l opts] [-h help]

> Command Options (Options marked with * can be repeated).

> -i filename

> input log file(s)

> -P

> proxy log format

> -n servername

> the name of the server

> -x

> output in HTML

> -r

> resolve IP addresses to hostnames

> -p [ c, t, l ]

> output order; default order is counts, time statistics, and lists

> -m filename

> meta file(s)

> -o filename

> output log file; default is stdout

> -c [ h, n, r, f, e, u, o, k, c, z ]

> count these items; default is: h, n, r, e , u, o, k, c

> h: total hits

> n: 304 Not Modified status codes (use local copy)

> r: 302 Found status codes (redirects)

> f: 404 Not Found status codes (Document Not Found)

> e: 500 Server Error status codes (Misconfiguration)

> u: total unique URLs

> o: total unique hosts

> k: total kilobytes transferred

> c: total kilobytes saved by caches

> z: Do not count any items

> -t [ sx, mx, hx, xx, z ]

> find general statistics; default is: s5m5h24x10

> s (number): Find top (number) seconds of log

> m (number): Find top (number) minutes of log

> h (number): Find top (number) hours of log

> u (number): Find top (number) users of log

> a (number): Find top (number) user agents of log

> r (number): Find top (number) referers of log

> x (number): Find top (number) for miscellaneous keywords

> z: Do not find any general statistics

> -l [ cx, hx ]

> Make a list of the specified suboption; default is: c+3h5

> c (x, +x): most commonly accessed URLs

> x: only list x entries

> +x: only list if accessed more than x times

> h (x, +x): hosts or IP addresses most often accessing your server

> x: only list x entries

> +x: only list if accessed more than x times

> z: Do not make any lists

> EXAMPLE: Using the flexanlg command

> flexanlg -i /var/opt/SUNQappserver7/domains/domain1/server1/logs/access

> Note | Before running the log analyzer, you should archive the server logs.

> ##

> Viewing Events (Windows)

> In addition to logging errors to the server.log file, Sun Java System Application Server logs severe system errors to the Event Viewer. The Event Viewer lets you monitor events on your system. Use the Event Viewer to see errors resulting from fundamental configuration problems, which can occur before the error log is opened.

> To use the Event Viewer, perform the following steps:

> 1. From the Start menu, select Programs and then Administrative Tools. Choose Event Viewer in the Administrative Tools program group.
> 2. Choose Application from the Log menu.

> The Application log appears in the EventViewer. Errors from Sun Java System Application Server has a source label of https-serverid.

> 3. Choose Find from the View menu to search for one of these labels in the log. Choose Refresh from the View menu to see updated log entries.

> For more information about the Event Viewer, consult your system documentation.

> Previous Contents Index Next

> Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.