Preparing Log Files for Reporting Errors

This page explains what AWI can log and where you can change log and trace settings. You need this information if you are experiencing issues with AWI and you want to investigate them. It also covers what you should do to prepare for CA Automic Support, when submitting a support ticket for error resolution.

What AWI Can Log and Where To Turn That On

AE API Tracing

This logs the communication between AE and AWI from the AWI point of view.

In the uc4config.xml file, set the trace element parameters to <trace count="10" xml="3"></trace>

Notes:

  • Contact your AE administrators to request the appropriate log level if AE server side tracing is requested
  • This is the same protocol that the AE Rich Client uses to talk to AE backend, which is why this is sometimes called the "Client Trace."

For more information, see uc4config.xml - Configuring the Connection Between AWI and AE.

Logging AWI Events

Define the level of messages that are logged in the logback.xml file. To collect log data for debugging AWI problems, set the log level to DEBUG (<root level=“DEBUG”>). In most cases, this setting collects sufficient log data for effective debugging without an excessive burden on performance. However, in some cases, CA Automic Support might request that you turn on full TRACE logging.

For more information, see logback.xml - Configuring Log Levels.

Note: You can modify the log level using the Automic Web Interface. The log files indicate that the log level was changed using the user interface, however, the modified log level is not store in the logback.xml. This is why this change is effective only until you restart the application server. For more information, seeAWI Management: Logging .

Activating Logging

If you change the trace or log settings as described above, you have to restart the application server for the changes to take effect.

To Prepare and Send Log Files to CA Automic Support

  1. (Recommendation) Save the old log files so that you have them in case the error cannot be reproduced.
  2. Turn on tracing and logging as already described.
  3. Restart your application server.
  4. Try to reproduce the error.
  5. Collect the following information and send it to CA Automic Support:
    • All Tomcat log files.

      All AWI log files are stored in the "logs" folder of the Tomcat web application server. The log files are named <Host_Name>_ECC_Log.##.TXT and trace files are named <Host_Name>_ECC_TRACE.##.TXT. The file number (##) is incremented, with 00 being the current file.

      If your organization is security sensitive, then please at least send all log files with named *_ECC_*. Of course, if possible, having all log files is more helpful for error analysis.

    • AE Server side Trace according to best practices on demand or when AE backend problem is very likely
    • The time that the error occurred. This is very important for debugging analysis.
    • If the problem is related to discrepancies between the AE Rich Client and AWI for the same AE server, make sure to log traces for the AE Rich client as well as the AWI. To collect traces from the Rich Client, set the trace element in uc4config.xml on the Rich Client also to <trace count="10" xml="3"></trace>.

If you need help, contact our support experts, see Files to Aid Technical Support.