Skip to content
TIC Talk Blogs

TIC Talk Blogs

  • About TIC Blogs
  • Request for More Information
  • What We Offer

Know Your OSS Logs Part 1 – iTP Web Server Logs

February 6, 2020 by Phil Ly

 

 

 

 

 

In this article, I want to share with you some basic information on some important iTP Web Server logs. Since a lot of information is already available in the HP documentation, I thought I would give  you a “Cliff Notes ” tour by using “5 W’s + 1 H” approach:

What?

access.log The access log file records the request history of a server. The information in this file is structured in the common log format (CLF).
httpd.log The extended log file combines the functions of the access log and the error log files, recording information concerning requests and errors. This format places errors in context with the relevant request
error.log The error log file records all request and server errors. The information in this file is
structured in the common log format (CLF).

Why?

By monitoring these logs, it allow you to gauge the health of the webserver and to detect errors as soon as they occur.

  • Are Web requests coming in?
  • Are they completing with code 200 (normal) or errors like 404 or 500?
  • What pages are being accessed?
  • Where are the requests coming in from?
  • Are there any errors?

Where?

The locations of these log files are specified by the ErrorLog directive in the server
configuration file. These are their common locations

access.log /usr/tandem/webserver/logs/access.log
httpd.log /usr/tandem/webserver/logs/httpd.log
error.log /usr/tandem/webserver/logs/error.log

 Who?

The Operation team are usually the people that monitor these log files as it allows them to gauge the health of the system. If there are errors, then Development may be contacted to look at them.

access.log Operation, Administrator
httpd.log Administrator, Development
error.log Administrator, Development

How?

If you do it manually, then you should remember cat, tail and vi. For example:

  • To view the whole log file (equivalent to FUP COPY)
    cat access.log 
  • To view the last entries:
    tail access.log
  • You can also view them using the vi editor
    vi access.log

The Take-Away

 

 

iTP Web Server records its web activities in log files. By monitoring these log files, you can be assured that transactions are flowing normally, or if there is an error condition that needs to be addressed.

 Automate!

 

 

 

Instead of having to manually view these files in OSS directly, you can automate by using TIC LogWatch to:

  • Monitor the files for new entries
  • Clone a copy of the entries to a Guardian file
  • Scan the entry content to look for specific information, e.g. any HTTP completion code that is other than “200”
  • Raise an alert by sending an email to an Administrator or Developer based on the detected condition

Click here to learn more about how LogWatch can help you monitor iTP Web Server logs.

Next Topic: Know your OSS logs – Java Servlet and NS/JSP

Many iTP Web Serve applications are actually built on Java Servlet and Java Server Pages. This environment involves additional log files beyond the ones discussed here. I will discuss the usage of these log files in my next blog.


Feedback please

Do you find this tutorial blog helpful? Let us know what you think, and how we can make it even better. Don’t forget, you can subscribe to our blogs (top right-hand corner) to get automatic email notification when a new blog is available.


Phil Ly is the president and founder of TIC Software, a New York-based company specializing in software and services that integrate NonStop with the latest technologies, including Web Services, .NET and Java.
Prior to founding TIC in 1983, Phil worked for Tandem Computer in technical support and software development.

Post navigation

Previous Post:

Stuart Selip’s Closer Look at: Software Modeling

Next Post:

Know Your OSS Logs Part 2 – Java Servlet and NS/JSP Logs

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TIC Website

WWW.TICSOFTWARE.COM

Search

Subscribe

Enter your email to subscribe to future updates

Recent Posts

  • NonStop Integration – LogWatch and uLinga
  • Kafka and HPE NonStop – A Perfect Combo!
  • API Blog Series
  • A Closer Look: The Man Behind the Pathway Videos
  • Modernize Your Middleware with REST

Categories

  • ALM
  • API Gateway
  • Application Development
  • Business Intelligence
  • Cloud
  • Community
  • Connect
  • Development
  • Enterprise
  • iTP Web Server
  • LightWave
  • LogWatch
  • Methodology
  • Modernization
  • NonStop
  • Operation
  • OSS
  • REST
  • Security
  • SOAP
  • TAG
  • Tandem
  • TeleFax
  • TeleFTP
  • TeleMail
  • Thunder Suite
  • Tools
  • TOP
  • Training
  • uLinga
  • Uncategorized
  • Web Services
  • XML

Follow us on LinkedIn

Follow us on Twitter!

© 2023 TIC Talk Blogs | WordPress Theme by SuperbThemes