Understanding the log files

The log files capture information in chronological order. The log file name matches the name of the component installer.

By default, most logging levels are set to WARN and the samples in this section describes the WARN logging level. For more information about the different logging levels, see Log Levels.

In the instructions on this page, AO_HOME represents the general installation directory for  components or other products used with  (for example, AO_HOME/tomcat represents the default Tomcat installation directory).

 creates several different types of logs:

Installation logs

During the installation process, installation log files are created in the target computer's temporary directory. For details about the installation logs, see Installation log files.

grid.log and processes.log

The grid.log and processes.log files constantly receive information (which is appended to the logs) and the logs can become large. After the file reaches 4 MB, the file is archived to a sequentially numbered file, grid.log.# or processes.log.#, where # is a single digit from 1 to 9, and  creates a new grid.log or processes.log file. The rolled over file, grid.log.# or processes.log.#, no longer receives logging information. Over time, you will see many grid.log.# or processes.log.# files in the AO_HOME/tomcat/logs directory.

The following BMC Communities video (4:49) describes how to check the grid status using the health metrics recorded in the grid.log file.

 https://youtu.be/lpPrVx6YeaY

Logging levels for the grid.log and processes.log files 

The log files record information in chronological order. They include information according to the logging level that you set.

To change logging levels for the grid.log file, use the Manage > Peers tab. You can set a different logging level for each peer.

To change logging levels for the process.log file, use the Manage > Grids tab.  You can set a different logging level for each grid.
The following table describes the information provided at each logging level. Some basic logging information may appear in the log regardless of the logging level.

Tomcat logs

Tomcat logging is useful when troubleshooting issues such as the container failing to start, a web application failing to start, or if the server stops responding unexpectedly. Information about the failure might be logged in the catalina or the localhost logs. Tomcat is a servlet container. By default, a Tomcat server is installed in the AO_HOME/tomcat directory on the computer where the the peer is installed. Tomcat logs are recorded in the AO_HOME/tomcat/logs directory where the peer is installed.

Tomcat logs include:

• admin.date.log
• catalina.date.log or catalina.out
• host-manager.date.log
• localhost.date.log
• manager.date.log

catalina log

The catalina log contains log messages about actions by the container, actions on startup and shutdown, and any actions taken to load a web application. The following example shows a catalina log message for a failure to start a web application.

SEVERE: Error initializing endpoint
java.net.BindException: Address already in use<null>:8080

Web contexts are used to identify the  applications in the catalina log files. You will not see terms like CDP, activity peer, or Grid Manager. During installation, you can specify alternate names for the web context, which are reflected in catalina log. The default web context names are:

• baocdp for a configuration distribution peer (CDP)
• baoap for an activity peer (AP)
• baolap for a lightweight activity peer (LAP)
• baoocp for  Operator Control Panel

localhost logs

The localhost logs are used to troubleshoot startup and shutdown errors. The localhost logs appear in the same directory as catalina logs. By default, the localhost logs are logged with a date in the file name; for example: localhost.2008-12-12.log.

Logging configuration files

 uses the log4j logging framework. You can review the logging properties for the components in these files.

The following table shows where you can find the logging configuration files for each component. For server components, the log paths in the table are relative to the Tomcat installation directory and assume that the default context name is used. The default Tomcat installation directory is AO_HOME/tomcat.

Custom logs

Custom logging may be set up in your environment. If your organization uses custom logging for custom adapters and processes, you can refer to the custom logs for more information. For more information, see the following pages:

• Enabling custom logging with custom adapters
• Configuring adapters
• Enabling custom logging for processes

Related topics

Managing logs

Increasing log file size and creating separate peer health log