Logging

If an adverse event occurs, it is always desirable to correct it as soon as possible. The IQ4docs logging functions provide you with assistance for this. Logging information is stored in the database and can be viewed live (with highlighting) in the browser-based administration interface or be filtered afterwards. Especially with a highly frequented cluster installation, this makes it is possible to trace the processing of a procedure (which can be shared by several servers). Remote access to the server to view logging files is not required for this.

The logging level determines with how much detail operations should be logged. If the logging level is low, little is logged. The time period that is logged is then long and the system is loaded only very little by the continuous writing of the logs. However, the significance of the logs is low. The higher the logging level is set, the smaller the time period displayed and the higher the system load. The informative value of the logs increases. Set the logging level as follows.

A high logging level generates very meaningful logs, but also puts a strain on the system. Only set the logging level to a high value when necessary and then reset it back to a lower value.

To open the web administration, enter http://<hostname>/webadmin in the web browser (where hostname corresponds to the server on which IQ4docs WebAdmin was installed). In a client environment, enter the URL that you received from the client administrator (for example, http://server/webadmin/#/cf992178-4bd6-431c-b815-b9d734d0ded3). If you are not already logged in, log in with a user that has administrator rights (login and password) or as the IQ4docs system administrator (administrator with password admin by default).

In the menu in the Web Administration, click Logging > Logging Configuration.

You can set the logging level for each microservice individually or for all services at the same time (Set For All drop-down list). The default value for the logging level is Information.

The following logging levels can be selected from low to high (the value in parentheses is shown in the log file on the log line):

  • Errors (ERROR)
  • Warnings (WARNING)
  • Information (INFO)
  • Detailed (DEBUG)
  • Very detailed (TRACE)

The live logging information is stored in the database. This makes it possible to view the logs of all services involved in chronological order in the administration web interface. For example, you can track a print job by filtering the logs by the GUID of the print job.

The live logging function should only be used for small installations, as the number of log lines becomes too large on larger or highly frequented systems and they run by too fast. In this case it is better to use the log filter, see Log filter.

The function of live logging is very computationally intensive for the web browser in which it is displayed because changed data is sent to the browser very often, which means it has to rebuild a part of the web page.

To open the web administration, enter http://<hostname>/webadmin in the web browser (where hostname corresponds to the server on which IQ4docs WebAdmin was installed). In a client environment, enter the URL that you received from the client administrator (for example, http://server/webadmin/#/cf992178-4bd6-431c-b815-b9d734d0ded3). If you are not already logged in, log in with a user that has administrator rights (login and password) or as the IQ4docs system administrator (administrator with password admin by default).

In menu in the Web Administration, click Logging > Live Log. The writing of the log lines starts immediately. If you want to pause the page refresh, activate Pause.

Any term can be entered in the Text Search field. Only those lines are then displayed that contain the entry in all relevant fields (even as part of a word). Upper and lowercase are irrelevant.

  • Logging level: Specify the logging levels whose log lines you want to see. No selection shows all logging levels. If a level is not logged at all, it cannot be displayed here (e.g. if INFO is set, no line with DEBUG can be found, see Setting the logging level).
  • Logger: Origin of the log data (service or access to MongoDB or RabbitMQ), see also IQ4docs Server Components.
  • Text search: Any term can be entered in the Text Search field. Only those lines are then displayed that contain the entry in all relevant fields (even as part of a word). Upper and lowercase are irrelevant.

You can activate the filter with Apply and reset it to the default values with Reset.

To show or hide columns, click the Select Columns button and select the desired columns. By default, not all available columns are displayed.

Field Contents
Timestamp Timestamp of the log entry consisting of date and time (incl. seconds and milliseconds).
Server name Name of the computer on which the logging component is running.
Level Logging level assigned to the message, see also Setting the logging level.
Assembly Version number of the component performing execution (logger).
P ID Process ID of the Windows process.
T ID Thread ID of the Windows threads.
Logger IQ4docs component that logged the line (the first area before the dot indicates the service, e.g. ImageService for the entry "imageservice.integration.ImageServiceInteractor").
Message Logging message, information about what happened.

The logging information of logs stored in the DB (web administration) and the log files is almost but not completely identical.

The log filter information is stored in the database. This makes it possible to view the logs of all services involved in chronological order in the administration web interface. This is especially useful in cluster installations because the services are distributed over several servers and a process can extend over the logs of several servers. For example, you can track a print job by filtering the logs by the GUID of the print job.

With the filter you can limit the number of log lines:

  • Date range: Specify a from and a to timestamp. The timestamp of the log line must be in this range.
  • Logging level: Specify the logging levels whose log lines you want to see. No selection shows all logging levels. If a level is not logged at all, it cannot be displayed here (e.g. if INFO is set, no line with DEBUG can be found, see Setting the logging level).
  • Logger: Origin of the log data (service or access to MongoDB or RabbitMQ), see also IQ4docs Server Components.
  • Text search: Any term can be entered in the Text Search field. Only those lines are then displayed that contain the entry in all relevant fields (even as part of a word). Upper and lowercase are irrelevant.

You can activate the filter with Search and the desired rows will be searched for. With Reset the filter is reset to the default values.

To show or hide columns, click the Select Columns button and select the desired columns. By default, not all available columns are displayed.

Field Contents
Timestamp Timestamp of the log entry consisting of date and time (incl. seconds and milliseconds).
Server name Name of the computer on which the logging component is running.
Level Logging level assigned to the message, see also Setting the logging level.
Assembly Version number of the component performing execution (logger).
P ID Process ID of the Windows process.
T ID Thread ID of the Windows threads.
Logger IQ4docs component that logged the line (the first area before the dot indicates the service, e.g. ImageService for the entry "imageservice.integration.ImageServiceInteractor").
Message Logging message, information about what happened.

With the Highlighting button you can add a color highlight to rows that match a search pattern. The search covers all relevant fields (not case sensitive).

In the drop-down area, you can add or remove an entry. Enter a term under Search - if a log line contains this term it will be highlighted in color. Click on the color to the right of the color's hex value (default #ffffff) to select a color (in the color picker, select the color range with the vertical slider and then click on the desired location in the left color area). Exit the dialog by clicking on an area outside the window. Note that the color should not be too light, as marked lines are displayed with white text.

With the Export button you can export the displayed log lines to a CSV file.

All microservices are located in the installation directory under Logs. The log files bear the name of the associated microservice. As soon as the maximum size of a log file is reached, it is automatically compressed and saved as a zip file. To find out which service performs which action, look at the system components, see IQ4docs Server Components.

The logging information of logs stored in the DB (web administration) and the log files is almost but not completely identical.

If client software is installed on the device (e.g. in Kyocera or Lexmark devices), logging can also take place on the device. The log file is saved on the device. You can download the log file via the web interface of the device.

To do this, log in to the web interface of the device. Open the application area. Here you will find the Logging tab. Here you can set the logging level and download the log file.