Logging

Adeptia Connect logs messages during the execution of a service (for example, a Process Flow) to help you monitor and troubleshoot the application. Message logging is done at four levels: ERROR, NOTICE, INFO, and DEBUG. The NOTICE log level captures all the notable events in the application including the error messages. For example, the Cluster and Queue Processor component log messages at the NOTICE log level. 

The following sections describe the types of logging, benefits and constraints, format of log messages, logging properties.

There are two types of logging that Adeptia Connect supports. 

• Synchronous logging
• Asynchronous logging

Synchronous logging

In Synchronous logging, the application logs the messages as and when there is one to be logged and execution of the service is put on hold until the complete message is written in the log. For example, If there are three error messages generated during a Process Flow execution, the execution proceeds to the next stage only after these three error messages are logged. The same execution thread is used for logging also which leads to a stalled execution of the service for the time while the messages are being logged.

Asynchronous logging

In Asynchronous logging, the logging happens in a thread that is separate from the service execution thread. This leads to an uninterrupted execution of the service as it does not need to wait for the logging to be completed. An effective logging mechanism depends on two key factors, low latency and maximum throughput. 

• Latency: Time taken for performing the action and producing the result. 
• Throughput: The number of actions executed per unit of time.

Asynchronous logging substantially improves the throughput and lowers the latency in the overall execution of a service.

Benefits and constraints of Asynchronous logging

Asynchronous logging benefits a user in terms of achieving lower latency and maximum throughput. 

• Maximum throughput: With an asynchronous logger, it can log messages at a higher rate in comparison to synchronous logger.
• Lower latency: As the logging occurs in a separate thread, it significantly lowers the latency to the minimum in the overall execution of the service.

Although asynchronous logging can give significant performance benefits, it has the following limitations to take into account:

• In case of an abrupt shutdown which is a rare scenario, the log messages get lost if they are present in the async queue and have not been already logged.
  

  In case of graceful shutdown, Adeptia Connect implements a shutdown hook to ensure that all logs in the queue are logged before bringing the application down.
• In case of a vast number of messages to be logged, the log may display the messages with a delay or after the execution of the service.

Format of log messages

The actual message in the log is accompanied by several other useful information. All the information in the logs is stored in key-value pair format. Storing the information in key-value pair format in the logs has its advantage – the mapped key-value pattern proves to be useful as it tells you what is the meaning of each field that is being printed on the console or file.

The following example gives you an idea about the log message format:

2020-03-17 12:52:48,785 INFO [Adeptia Connect 3.2 Kernel Thread] system com.adeptia.indigo.event.QuartzEventFactory.activateAutoCleanupService(QuartzEventFactory.java:636)

- category="initializeEvent" groupId="administrators" message="DEFAULT.autoCleanup will run at: Sat May 23 03:00:00 UTC 2020" nodeName="10.0.0.72" userId="admin"

Logging properties

Logging properties are pre-configured for Adeptia Connect microservices. However, you can configure them based on your requirement. For a complete list of logging properties related to different microservices, refer to the application properties page.

If you want the log messages to be delivered to your email, you need to configure the SMTP Appender and update its properties as explained below:

1. Go to …<ConnectServerInstallFolder>\AdeptiaServer\ServerKernel\etc location.
2. Open server-configure.properties file.
3. Set the abpm.log4j.appender.smtp.enable property value as true.

4. The following table contains the list of configurable properties:

   Property	Description	Possible value
   abpm.log4j.appender.smtp.enable	Enable and Disable the SMTP Appender.	true/false
   log4j.appender.smtp.To	List of recipient email addresses separated by commas.	user-defined
   log4j.appender.smtp.Cc	List of recipient email addresses that will be carbon copied separated by commas.	user-defined
   log4j.appender.smtp.Bcc	List of recipient email addresses that will be blind carbon copied separated by commas.	user-defined
   log4j.appender.smtp.From	The email address of the sender.	user-defined
   log4j.appender.smtp.Replyto	The 'Reply to' email address.	user-defined
   log4j.appender.smtp.Subject	The subject line of the email.	user-defined
   log4j.appender.smtp.Protocol	The transport protocol.	user-defined
   log4j.appender.smtp.SMTPHost	The SMTP relay mail server to be used to send the email messages.	user-defined
   log4j.appender.smtp.Port	The port on which the SMTP server is listening.	user-defined
   log4j.appender.smtp.UserName	The username to be used to authenticate with the SMTP server.	user-defined
   log4j.appender.smtp.Password	The password to be used to authenticate with the SMTP server.	user-defined
   log4j.appender.smtp.Debug	Enable Debug to analyze the standard system output if an error occurs, such as an SMTP login failure. It should not be used during production because username and password information may be included in the output. Debug logs are printed in the WebrunnerApplication.log file.	true/false
   log4j.appender.smtp.BufferSize	The cyclic buffer used to hold the logging events.	user-defined
   log4j.appender.smtp.Threshold	The threshold level of this appender.	ERROR, INFO, and DEBUG

   If you are sending mail through the Gmail server then you need to enable the less secure app property in Gmail.

   
   

5. Restart the Connect Server.

Configuring Windows NTEvent Appender

If you want the log messages to be recorded in the Event Viewer, you need to configure the Windows NTEvent Log Appender and update its properties as explained below:

1. Copy the NTEventLogAppender.amd64.dll, NTEventLogAppender.x86.dll, and NTEventLogAppender.dll files from the …<ConnectServerInstallFolder>\AdeptiaServer\ServerKernel\etc folder and paste them into …<ConnectServerInstallFolder>\jre\bin location.

   To check for the possible path or folder for storing the DLLs files, follow the instruction below:

   1. Click Configure > Developer Studio > Proceed.

   2. Click Administer > Setup > Application Setting > System Configuration.

   3. Search for java.library.path to find the location where you can place the DLLs files. 

2. Go to …<ConnectServerInstallFolder>\AdeptiaServer\ServerKernel\etc location.
3. Open server-configure.properties file.

4. Set the abpm.log4j.appender.ntevent.enable property value as true.

   You can update the log4j.appender.ntevent.threshold property in server-configure.properties file to set the threshold level of this Appender. By default, its level is set to ERROR.
5. Restart the Connect Server.
6. To check the log messages in the Event Viewer, follow the steps below:
   1. Go to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools folder.
   2. Click Event Viewer to open.

   3. On the left pane. expand Windows  Logs and then select Application to take a look at the log messages. 

      The log messages under the Log4j source are from Adeptia Connect application.