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Sun Java System Application Server 8 2004Q4 Beta Platform Edition Administration Guide

Chapter 14
Configuring 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 Application Server uses the Java 2 platform Logging API specified in JSR 047. Application Server logging messages are recorded in the server log, normally found at install_dir/domains/domain1/logs/server.log.

In the install_dir/domains/domain1/logs directory are two other kinds of logs in addition to the server log. In the access subdirectory are the HTTP Service access logs, and in the tx subdirectory are the Transaction Service logs. For information about these logs, see "Configuring the HTTP Service Access Log" and "Configuring Transactions".

The components of the Application Server generate logging output. Application components can also generate logging output.

Log records follow a uniform format:

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

For example:

[#|2004-07-29T11:43:43.516-0500|INFO|sun-appserver-pe8.1|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.
2004-07-29T11:43:43.516-0500 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-pe8.1.
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 Message is the text of the log message. For all Application Server SEVERE and WARNING messages and many INFO messages, it begins with a message ID that consists of a module code and a numerical value (in this case, CORE5004).

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

The Logger Namespace Hierarchy

The Application Server provides a logger for each of its modules. The following table lists the names of the modules and the namespace for each logger in the order in which they appear on the Log Levels page of the Admin Console (see "Configuring Log Levels"). The last three 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	javax.enterprise.system.container.ejb
MDB Container	javax.enterprise.system.container.ejb.mdb
Web Container	javax.enterprise.system.container.web
CMP Container	javax.enterprise.system.container.cmp
Classloader	javax.enterprise.system.core.classloading
Configuration	javax.enterprise.system.core.config
Naming	javax.enterprise.system.core.naming
Security	javax.enterprise.system.core.security
JTS	javax.enterprise.system.core.transaction
JTA	javax.enterprise.resource.jta
Admin	javax.enterprise.system.tools.admin
Deployment	javax.enterprise.system.tools.deployment
Verifier	javax.enterprise.system.tools.verifier
JAXR	javax.enterprise.resource.webservices.registry
JAX-RPC	javax.enterprise.resource.webservices.rpc
SAAJ	javax.enterprise.resource.webservices.saaj
CORBA	javax.enterprise.resource.corba
JavaMail	javax.enterprise.resource.javamail
JMS	javax.enterprise.resource.jms
Connector	javax.enterprise.resource.resourceadapter
JDO	javax.enterprise.resource.jdo
CMP	javax.enterprise.system.container.cmp
Util	javax.enterprise.system.util
Resource Adapter	javax.enterprise.resource.resourceadapter
Synchronization (Enterprise Edition only)	javax.ee.enterprise.system.tools.synchronization
Node Agent (Enterprise Edition only)	javax.ee.enterprise.system.nodeagent
Core	javax.enterprise.system.core
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, use the following fields to customize logging:
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.
Alarms: To route SEVERE and WARNING messages through the JMX framework, select the Enabled checkbox.
Log Messages to Standard Error: To send logging messages to both standard error and the server log file whether or not the --verbose option is specified at Application Server startup, select the Enabled checkbox. By default, if the --verbose option is not specified, 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, it is possible to 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 is 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, it is possible to 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 is 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 rotates when it reaches 500 Kbytes.
File Rotation Time Limit: Rotate the server log after the specified number of minutes is reached. The default value is zero, which means that the file is rotated when it reaches the size specified in the File Rotation Limit field. If you specify one or more minutes, the time limit takes precedence over the size limit.
Click Save to save your changes.
Stop and restart the Application Server.

Configuring Log Levels

In the tree component, select the Application Server node.
Click the Logging tab.
On the Logging Settings page, click the Log Levels tab.
On the Module Log Levels page, choose a new value from the drop-down list opposite the module or modules whose log level is to be changed. The default level is INFO, meaning that messages at that level or higher (WARNING, SEVERE) appear in the log. Choose 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. The property name is the logger namespace, and the value is one of the eight possible levels. For example, the property name could be samples.logging.simple.servlet, and the value could be FINE.

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 the changes, or click Load Defaults to restore the default values.

Calls to System.out.println are logged at the INFO level using the logger name javax.enterprise.system.stream.out. Calls to System.err.println are 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 for use when the server restarts.

Viewing the Server Log

In the tree component, select the Application Server node.
On the General Information page, click Open Log Viewer.

The most recent 40 entries in the server log appear, with the settings 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.

At the end of the list of entries, click the

Click Modify Search to customize and filter the log viewer. Use the fields as follows:

Instance Name: Choose an instance name from the drop-down list to view the log for that server instance. The default is the current server instance.
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 drop-down list and select either This Log Level and Coarser or This Log Level Only.

By default, all log levels are shown. If you choose to filter log messages based on log level, only messages matching the specified filter criteria are shown. However, this filtering does not affect which messages are logged to the server log. To ensure that the messages you want to view appear in the log file, first set the appropriate log levels on the Log Levels page. See "Configuring Log Levels".

Logger: To filter by module, choose one or more namespaces from the drop-down list. Use shift-click or control-click to choose multiple namespaces.

Selecting 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 can view any or all of them. For example, suppose the 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.

When you specify one or more custom loggers, messages from Application Server modules appear only if you specify them explicitly in the Logger area.

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. To refine the log viewer to show only the output from a single thread, specify that module's logger in the Custom Logger field, and then specify 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 drop-down list (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, but you can view them by clicking the (details) link for a message.

Archived Log Files: Choose a filename from the drop-down list to view an archived log file. The default is the current log file, server.log.

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Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.