Chapter 14
Logging

This chapter briefly describes how to use the Admin Console to configure logging and view the server log. It contains the following sections:

About Logging
Admin Console Tasks for Logging

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About Logging

Log Records
The Logger Namespace Hierarchy

Log Records

The Sun Java™ System Application Server Platform Edition 8 uses the Java 2 platform Logging API specified in JSR 047. Logging messages are recorded in the server log, normally found at install_dir/domains/domain1/logs/server.log.

The components of the Application Server generate logging output. You may also specify loggers for your own application components.

Log records follow a uniform format:

[#|yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss.SSS-Z|Log Level|ProductName_Version|LoggerName|Key Value Pairs|MessageId: Message|#]

For example:

[#|2004-01-29T11:43:43.516-0500|INFO|sun-appserver-pe8.0|javax.enterprise. system.core|_ThreadID=14;|CORE5004: Resource Deployed: [ccp:jms/DurableTopicConnectionFactory].|#]

In this example,

[# and #] mark the beginning and end of the record.
The vertical bar (|) separates the record fields.
2004-01-29T11:43:43.516-0500 specifies the date and time.
The Log Level is INFO. This level may have any of the following values: SEVERE, WARNING, INFO, CONFIG, FINE, FINER, and FINEST.
The ProductName_Version is sun-appserver-pe8.0.
The LoggerName is a hierarchical logger namespace that identifies the source of the log module, in this case javax.enterprise.system.core. All logger names begin with either javax.enterprise.system or javax.enterprise.core.
The Key Value Pairs are key names and values, typically a thread ID such as _ThreadID=14;.
The MessageId is an identifier that is provided for all SEVERE and WARNING messages and many INFO messages. Typically it consists of a module code and a numerical value, such as ADM1042 or, in this case, CORE5004.
The Message is the text of the log message.

The log record format may be changed or enhanced in future releases.

The Logger Namespace Hierarchy

The Sun Java™ System Application Server Platform Edition 8 provides a logger for each of its modules. Table 14-1 lists the names of the modules and the namespace for each logger in the order in which they appear on the Log Levels page (see Configuring Log Levels). The last four modules in the table do not appear on the Log Levels page.

Table 14-1  Application Server Logger Namespaces

Module Name	Namespace
Root	javax.enterprise
Server	javax.enterprise.system
EJB Container: Enterprise JavaBeans components	javax.enterprise.system.container.ejb
MDB Container: Message-driven beans	javax.enterprise.system.container.ejb.mdb
Web Container	javax.enterprise.system.container.web
Classloader	javax.enterprise.system.core.classloading
Configuration	javax.enterprise.system.core.config
Naming: Java Naming and Directory Interface	javax.enterprise.system.core.naming
Security	javax.enterprise.system.core.security
JTS: Java Transaction Service (transaction manager)	javax.enterprise.system.core.transaction
JTA: Java Transaction API	javax.enterprise.resource.jta
Admin: Server administration commands and tools	javax.enterprise.system.tools.admin
Deployment: Deployment of resources and applications	javax.enterprise.system.tools.deployment
Verifier	javax.enterprise.system.tools.verifier
JAXR: Java API for XML Registries	javax.enterprise.resource.webservices.registry
JAX-RPC: Java API for XML-Based RPC	javax.enterprise.resource.webservices.rpc
SAAJ: SOAP with Attachments API for Java	javax.enterprise.resource.webservices.saaj
CORBA	javax.enterprise.resource.corba
JavaMail	javax.enterprise.resource.javamail
JMS: Java Message Service	javax.enterprise.resource.jms
Connector: J2EE Connector Architecture	javax.enterprise.resource.resourceadapter
JDO: Java Data Objects	javax.enterprise.resource.jdo
CMP: Entity beans that use container-managed persistence	javax.enterprise.system.container.cmp
Core	javax.enterprise.system.core
Util	javax.enterprise.system.util
System Output (System.out.println)	javax.enterprise.system.stream.out
System Error (System.err.println)	javax.enterprise.system.stream.err

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Admin Console Tasks for Logging

Configuring General Logging Settings
Configuring Log Levels
Viewing the Server Log

Configuring General Logging Settings

In the tree component, select the Application Server node.
Click the Logging tab.

On the Logging Settings page, you can customize logging using the following fields:

Log File: To specify an alternative name or location for the server log file, type the new path name in the text field. By default, the location is install_dir/domains/domain1/logs/server.log.
Log Messages to Standard Error: To send logging messages to both standard error and the server log file whether or not you use the --verbose option to start the Application Server, select the Enabled checkbox. By default, when you do not use the --verbose option, the messages go only to the server log file.
Write to System Log: On Solaris systems only, to send logging output to the Solaris syslog facility in addition to the server log, select the Enabled checkbox.
Log Handler: To send logs to a destination other than server.log or syslog, you can plug in a custom log handler. The custom handler must extend the class java.util.logging.Handler (a JSR 047 compliant API). Type the absolute class name of the handler in the Log Handler field. Also put the handler class in the Application Server classpath so that the handler can be installed during server startup. The log records from the custom handler will have the format described in Log Records.
Log Filter: To filter log records that are sent to destinations such as server.log, syslog, or a destination specified by a custom log handler, you can plug in a custom log filter. The custom filter must implement the interface java.util.logging.Filter. Type the absolute class name of the filter in the Log Filter field. Also put the filter class in the Application Server classpath so that the filter can be installed during server startup.
File Rotation Limit: When the server log reaches the specified size in bytes, create a new, empty file named server.log and rename the old file server.log_date, where date is the date and time when the file was rotated. The default value is 2 gigabytes. The minimum value for the limit is 500 kilobytes; if you specify a lower value, the file will rotate when it reaches 500 Kbytes.

Click Save to save your changes.

When you make changes to this page, you must stop and restart the server in order for the changes to take effect.

Configuring Log Levels

In the tree component, select the Application Server node.
Click the Logging tab.
On the Logging Settings page, click Log Levels.
On the Module Log Levels page, choose a new value from the combo box opposite the module or modules whose log level you wish to change. The default level is INFO, meaning that messages at that level or higher (WARNING, SEVERE) will appear in the log. You may specify any of the following values (listed from highest to lowest):
SEVERE
WARNING
INFO
CONFIG
FINE
FINER
FINEST
OFF
Use the Additional Properties area to configure log levels for any application loggers you specified on the Logging Settings page. The property name is the logger namespace, and the value is one of the eight possible levels.

Also use this area to change the log level for a submodule, such as the transport submodule of the CORBA module:

javax.enterprise.resource.corba.ORBId.transport
Click Save to save your changes, or click Load Defaults to restore the default values.

Calls to System.out.println will be logged at the INFO level using the logger name javax.enterprise.system.stream.out. Calls to System.err.println will be logged at the WARNING level using the logger name javax.enterprise.system.stream.err. To turn off the logs from these sources, specify the logger name with the value OFF in the Additional Properties area.

Changes to the Log Level settings take effect immediately. They are also saved in the domain.xml file to be used when the server restarts.

Viewing the Server Log

In the tree component, select the Application Server node.
Click the Logging tab.
On the Logging Settings page, click Open Log Viewer. The Log Viewer opens in a new window.

The most recent 40 entries in the server log appear, with the settings you specified on the Logging Settings and Log Levels pages.

Click the triangle next to the Timestamp header to sort the messages so that the most recent one appears last.

To view a formatted version of any message, click the link marked

(details)

A window labeled Log Entry Detail appears, with a formatted version of the message.

Note

Click Modify Search to go to an area that allows you to customize and filter the log viewer. Use the fields as follows:

Timestamp: To view the most recent messages, select Most Recent (the default). To view messages only from a certain period of time, select Specific Range and type a date and time value in the From and To fields. For the Time value, the syntax must take the following form (SSS stands for milliseconds):
hh:mm:ss.SSS

For example:

17:10:00.000

Log Level: To filter messages by log level, choose a log level from the combo box and select either This Log Level and Coarser or This Log Level Only.

By default, all log messages specified by the Log Levels page will appear.

Logger: To filter by module, select one or more namespaces from the combo box. You can use either shift-click or control-click to choose multiple namespaces.

Choosing a namespace at a higher level selects all the namespaces below it. For example, if you select javax.enterprise.system, you get the loggers for all the modules under that namespace: javax.enterprise.system.core, javax.enterprise.system.tools.admin, and so on.

Custom Logger: To view messages from loggers specific to your application, type the logger names in the text field, one per line. If your application has several modules, you may view any or all of them. For example, suppose your application has loggers with the following names:
com.mycompany.myapp.module1
com.mycompany.myapp.module2
com.mycompany.myapp.module3

To view messages from all modules in the application, type com.mycompany.myapp. To view messages from module2 only, type com.mycompany.myapp.module2.

To view the messages from Tomcat, type org.apache in this field.

If you specify one or more custom loggers, messages from the Application Server modules will not appear.

Name-Value Pairs: To view output from a specific thread, type the key name and value for that thread in the text field. The key name is _ThreadID. For example:
_ThreadID=13

Suppose that com.mycompany.myapp.module2 runs in several threads. You can refine the log viewer to show only the output from a single thread by specifying that module’s logger in the Custom Logger field and then specifying the thread ID in this field.

Display: To view more than 40 messages at a time (the default), choose another of the available values from the combo box (100, 250, or 1000).

To view stack traces, deselect the “limit excessively long messages” checkbox. By default, stack traces do not appear in the viewer.

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Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.