Making use of SIMCA®-online server logging for finding problems (Q742)
A SIMCA-online system is a complex client / server system with connections to external data sources. Diagnosing problems and understanding the server is made easier by analyzing server log files which contain time-stamped entries of server and SimApi activity.
Tip: The server- and configuration audit trails are accessed in the SIMCA-online client, and are is useful for tracking what user do and includes information such as when batches start and end, alarms are triggered and so on.
This article describes how to use log files. Learn more on troubleshooting SIMCA-online in the built-in help and the SIMCA-online Technical Guide.
Interpreting Logs
1. Interpreting logs
Here are some tips what to look for in the log files:
• Locate the right log file based on the time of modification of the file, using Windows File Explorer. The server cycles between 11 files.
• Search for entries at, or just before, the time of interest. Time stamps of log entries are local time of the server computer.
• Search for the texts [Critical], [Error] or [Warning] to find those kinds of entries.
• Compare with previous log files when things used to work
• Look in both the server log files, and the SimApi log files for the same time period.
• Warning events [Warning] [SimApiProxy::SendMessage()] "The call to [...] has not finished" yet indicate a slow data source that should be investigated.
• For Debug-logs the elapsed time for entries are logged. Sometimes the elapsed time is cumulative and includes many other log entries as well. If something takes unusually long time it is a sign of problem.
• Tip: if the data source also has logs or debugging tools, use those too. Windows event logs can also be useful.
2. How to send the log files to support
Sometimes you might need to send log files to support for further investigation. Given that log files can be big, it is a good idea to ZIP them before sharing them.
Details on how server logging works
There are both server logs, and log files for each SimApi used on the server computer:
1. Server log files
Server log files are are found on the server computer. They contains entries about what happens in the SIMCA-online server.
Text based
The log files are text based and can be viewed in text editors such as Notepad. Each entry in the log file contains the date/time of the entry. Times are local on the server. New entries are added at the end of the file. Here is an example of one entry:
[2012-05-28 09:58:50.063+02:00] [TID:6684] [Debug] [BatchCalculation::ExecuteBatch()]
Predicted batch PS6_2012-05-28 09:53:10 (1453), for observation at 2012-05-28 09:58:50 (1338191930), elapsed time 35.4616 ms.
Log files folder: the Database Directory
The log files are stored in the Database directory folder of your server. This is configurable in SIMCA-online Server Options utility (see below). The default Database Directory is: C:\ProgramData\Umetrics\SIMCA-online Server\17.0\Database
Log files names
The current log file is always called SIMCAonlineserver.log. It contains the most recent entries. The log file grows until it reaches the configured maximum size when it is moved to a backup .bak file. The backup files are names named SIMCAonlineserver.log.n.bak (where n is between 0 and 9). After creating ten backups like this SIMCA-online overwrites the oldest file when a new backup is needed.
What is logged? Setting the log level
The configurable Log level determines what is logged by the server. Available log levels are: Debug, Information (default), Warning, Error, or Critical. Debug gives the most information and Critical the least information in the log file. For more information about these levels, see the SIMCA®-online help.
To get the most info in your log files, set the Log Level to Debug. This greatly increases the amount of available information in the log files. Note that for servers with lots of tags (variables) and many observations Debug-logging can put a higher load on the server. If you experience this, once you no longer need debug logging you should set the log level back to a lower setting such as Information.
How-to: change log file settings using the SIMCA-online Server Options utility
Server Options is a small program that you can run from Start on the server computer. In Server Options you change the Database directory, and on the Miscellaneous tab the settings for Log Level, the maximum size for each log file (as well as all other settings global to the server).
2. SimApi log files
In addition to the server log files, the SimApi used by the server to connect to the external data source can also create log files. A SimApi log files contains detailed information and error message from the connection to the data source.
Each SimApi creates its own log file named after the SimApi and always ending in SimApiLog.log. These log files can typically be found in the C:\ProgramData\Umetrics\SimApi folder. The logging level and other settings related to the logging can be modified in an XML-file for the SimApi or sometimes using the Configure button from the SimApi tab of the Server Options utility. For more information, refer to the user guide of the SimApi used on the server. See www.sartorius.com/umetrics-simapi.
