Enabling reconciliation job logs


As an administrator, you can change the log settings from the CMDB core Configurations screen. You can use the log file information to identify and troubleshoot issues related to reconciliation jobs and the Reconciliation Engine. The Reconciliation Engine logs all activities that it performs. A log file for a job is created each time the Reconciliation Engine runs that job. Configure the number of log files to retain to avoid filling a hard drive with log files. When you create a reconciliation job or edit an existing job, use the option Retain all Job Run in History. By default, the check-box is selected. To change the number of files that are retained, clear the check-box and enter a number.

 

Important

If the logging level is set to Error, the Reconciliation Engine creates a new 0 byte log file for each run of a failed or successful reconciliation job. Configure the deletion of 0 byte log files for individual reconciliation jobs by selecting the Delete Files on Exit option.

For more information about changing the log settings, see Changing-log-settings-for-core-CMDB-components.

To control the size of the reconciliation log file

To control the size of the log file, you can edit the reconciliation engine configuration options.

  1. From the Dashboard, select Configurations > Core configurations > Reconciliation
  2. To view logging configuration option, click Logging.
    The default log level is WARN.
  3. Enter the desired value in Maximum Log File Size field.
    You can specify the log file size value in the range from 0 to 20480KB (20MB). A value of zero indicates that the limit on the maximum file size is not specified. In that case, the log file takes the default value. The default value is 300KB.

Similarly, you can specify the maximum log file size for ARRecond that are the Reconciliation Engine process logs. The default value for ARRecond logs is 20480 KB. In the Reconciliation Engine, if the logging level is set to debug, the arrecond.log file that stores the logs becomes large in size. It can grow to a size that is in multiple Gigabytes (GB). As a result, it is difficult to open the log file to analyze logs.

When the file size reaches the maximum size, the Reconciliation job log files use the following naming convention for the log files:

<jobName>_<ctr>.log

jobName is the name of the job that you created in the Reconciliation Manager (for example, BMCAsset - Identification and Purge). 
ctr is a numeric value that starts from 1 and is incremented when a new log file is created for the job run.

Thus, the <jobName>.log file is always the latest log file, and the <jobName>_<highestNumber>.log is the latest backup file.

For example, if multiple files are created for the BMCAsset - Identification and Purge job run, the job log files will be named as:

  • BMCAsset - Identification and Purge_1.log
  • BMCAsset - Identification and Purge_2.log


To troubleshoot Reconciliation Engine logging issues

If the Reconciliation Engine contains incorrect log path settings, insufficient permissions to write to the log directory, or stops responding, logging might be abruptly stopped. Follow these verification procedures to troubleshoot the reconciliation engine logging issues:

Issue

Cause and resolution

The log path is incorrect.

The log file might be saved to the incorrect log path.

Solution:

When you specify the log file path, make sure that:


    • The directory exists on the AR System server.
    • It is a directory and not a file name.
    • The Reconciliation Engine has permissions to create files in that directory.
      For testing purpose, specify a short log file path with no spaces.
      For example, 
      (UNIX)/tmp/RELog/.

If you do not specify a log file path or if the log file path is empty, the Reconciliation Engine log is generated in the Db subdirectory of your AR System server installation directory by default.

Constantly changing process ID in the armonitor configuration file.

When the Reconciliation Engine process stops abruptly, the armonitor configuration file restarts the process and a new process ID is assigned to it. Therefore, if you notice that the process ID changes frequently, it indicates that the reconciliation engine is constantly restarted.

Solution:

To verify if the process ID frequently changes, note its value every few minutes.

Verify the following on the AR System server:

  • The Reconciliation Engine is running.
    The process name for the Reconciliation Engine is arrecond.exe on Windows and arrecond on UNIX.
  • The value in the process ID field is not changing.

The arrecond.log file is missing.

The arrecond.log file fails to log all activities related to the Reconciliation Engine schedule such as when the reconciliation engine started and stopped.

Solution:

Confirm that the arrecond.log file exists on the AR System server.



 

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