Logging

Owned by Akash Kumar Jaiswal (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Aug 12, 2020Version comment
6 min read

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. 

Adeptia recommends that you set the log level to NOTICE for logging messages.

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

There are two types of logging that Adeptia Connect supports. 

By default, Asynchronous logging is enabled in Adeptia Connect. Click here to get more details.

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.

Adeptia recommends that you use asynchronous logging to substantially improve the throughput and lower the latency in the overall execution of the 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 configuration

Logging parameters are pre-configured in the application. However, if you want to update the configuration parameters, you can follow the steps below to navigate to the Asynchronous logging properties window and update the properties:

  1. Click Configure > Developer Studio.
  2. Click Proceed.
  3. On the Connect Server home page, click Administer tab.
  4. Go to Setup menu and select the Application Settings option.
  5. Click Update System Properties.

  6. Navigate to Systems > Asynchronous Logging.



    Setting the abpm.log4j.async.logging.enable property to false changes the logging to be in Synchronous mode. By default, this property is set to true. You can also update the rest of the listed properties based on your requirements.

Properties configuration

If required, you can configure the logger properties in server-configure.properties file. Follow the steps below to perform this action:

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

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

    PropertyDescriptionPossible value
    log4j.rootLogger
    		System and process flow logging level. For production server, it is recommended to use NOTICE log level.ERROR, NOTICE, INFO, and DEBUG
    log4j.logger.EventEvents logging level. For production server, it is recommended to use NOTICE log level or leave it without any value. In case of no value, it will consider the logging level from the property log4j.rootLogger.ERROR, NOTICE, INFO, and DEBUG. Or, you can leave it without any value.
    log4j.logger.runtimeRuntime logging level. For production server, it is recommended to use NOTICE log level or leave it without any value. In case of no value, it will consider the logging level from the property log4j.rootLogger.ERROR, NOTICE, INFO, and DEBUG. Or, you can leave it without any value.
    log4j.logger.auditAudit logging level. For production server, it is recommended to use NOTICE log level or leave it without any value. In case of no value, it will consider the logging level from the property log4j.rootLogger.ERROR, NOTICE, INFO, and DEBUG. Or, you can leave it without any value.
    log4j.logger.systemSystem logging level. For production server, it is recommended to use NOTICE log level or leave it without any value. In case of no value, it will consider the logging level from the property log4j.rootLogger.ERROR, NOTICE, INFO, and DEBUG. Or, you can leave it without any value.
    abpm.log4j.async.logging.enableEnable/disable asynchronous logging in the application.true or false
    log4j2.asyncLoggerExceptionHandlerName of a class that will be notified when an exception
    occurs while logging the messages.    		Name of the class. For example,
    com.adeptia.indigo.logging.
    AsyncLoggerExceptionHandler.
    log4j2.asyncLoggerRingBufferSizeSize (number of slots) in the RingBuffer used by the asynchronous
    logging subsystem.    		Minimum size = 128.
    Maximum size = Based on your requirements.
    log4j2.asyncQueueFullPolicyTo drop events whose level is equal or less than the threshold level
    (INFO by default) when the queue is full.    		Discard
    log4j2.discardThresholdTo determine which events to be dropped when the queue becomes full.
    This works only when 'log4j2.asyncQueueFullPolicy' property is set.    		ERROR, INFO, and DEBUG

  4. Restart the Connect Server.


Configuring SMTP and Windows NTEvent Appender 

In case you have been using SMTP and Windows NTEvent Appender for message logging in the previous version, you need to configure these two Appenders in this version of Adeptia Connect.

Configuring SMTP Appender

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:

    PropertyDescriptionPossible value
    abpm.log4j.appender.smtp.enableEnable and Disable the SMTP Appender.true/false
    log4j.appender.smtp.To List of recipient email addresses separated by commas.user-defined
    log4j.appender.smtp.CcList of recipient email addresses that will be carbon copied separated by commas.user-defined
    log4j.appender.smtp.BccList of recipient email addresses that will be blind carbon copied separated by commas. user-defined
    log4j.appender.smtp.FromThe email address of the sender.  user-defined
    log4j.appender.smtp.ReplytoThe 'Reply to' email address.  user-defined
    log4j.appender.smtp.SubjectThe 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.UserNameThe username to be used to authenticate with the SMTP server. user-defined
    log4j.appender.smtp.PasswordThe 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.BufferSizeThe cyclic buffer used to hold the logging events.  user-defined
    log4j.appender.smtp.ThresholdThe 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.
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