Evaluate Messages

Messages generally include information about the attempted action, the outcome of the action, and, if applicable, the cause of jeopardy or failure.

Types of Messages

The log files contain the following general types of message entries:

• Error – These messages mark critical failures that cause status to be reported as Failed. Error messages generally provide detailed information about the nature and the cause of the problem that occurred.

• Warning – These messages mark non-critical failures. Warning messages generally contain information about the cause and the nature of the failure, and also provide possible remedies.

• Information – These messages mark normal completion of particular tasks.

Error Messages

A problem is often accompanied by an error message that prevents the application from proceeding.

• In some cases, the message is very clear about what is wrong and what needs to be done, if anything, to fix it. For example the 'Deployment Pending' link that appears on the administration console whenever an instance configuration is modified.

  In this case, the message gives clear guidance and the problem can be disregarded.

• Sometimes an error message gives only general information about the problem or solution, or suggests multiple possibilities.

  In this case, the problem is not obvious, or there might be multiple things wrong. You might have to consider various possibilities and perhaps a number of solutions. If the proposed fix is time consuming or costly, take steps to ensure that the fix is likely to be correct before actually doing anything.

• Some error messages are either not helpful or provide little guidance.

  In this case, there is very little information to go on. It is especially important to identify the exact situation that caused the error, and what the symptoms are before proceeding.

  For descriptions of all the Web Server error messages, refer to the later sections in this guide.