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6.6.0.13: Log Analyzer main window

6.6.0.13: Log Analyzer main window

The Log Analyzer takes one or more activity or trace logs, merges all the data, and, by default, displays the entries in unit of work groupings. It analyzes error conditions in the log entries to provide error message explanations. The Log Analyzer's main window has the following interface:

Window panes
The Log Analyzer window has three panes:

  • Logs pane (left)
    You may find the unit of work UOW grouping useful when you are trying to find related entries in the activity log or when you are debugging problems across multiple machines. By default, Log Analyzer's Logs pane displays log entries by unit of work. It lists all the unit of work (UOW) instances and its associated entries from the logs that you have opened. The file name of the first log that you opened is shown in the pane's title bar. By default, the log entries are shown in UOW sequence. There is a root folder and under it, each UOW has a folder npofoldr.gif (927 bytes) icon which you can expand to show all the entries for that UOW. All log entries without any UOW identification are grouped into a single folder in this tree view. The UOW folders are sorted to show the UOW with the latest timestamp at the top of the list. The entries within each UOW are listed in the reverse sequence, that is the first (earliest) entry for that UOW is displayed at the top of the list. If you have merged several logs in the Log Analyzer, all the log entries are merged in timestamp sequence within each UOW folder, as if they all came from the same log.

    Each UOW line has the following format:

    npolguow.gif (2138 bytes)

    Click the npolgpls.gif (868 bytes) icon next to the UOW folder to see all the log entries for the UOW. Each log entry's identification has the following format:

    For the WebSphere Enterprise Edition:

    npolgent.gif (2052 bytes)

    For WebSphere Advanced Edition:

    npolgadv.gif (2052 bytes)

    Every log entry is assigned an entry number, Rec_nnnn, when a log is opened in the Log Analyzer. If more than one file is opened in the Log Analyzer (merged files), the Rec_nnnn identification will not be unique because the number is relative to the entry sequence in the original log file and not to the merged data that the Log Analyzer is displaying. This Rec_nnnn appears in the first line (RecoredId) in the Records pane.

    By default, each entry in this pane is color-coded to help you quickly identify the ones that have high severity errors.

    • Non-selected log entry with background color of:
      • Pink indicates that it has a severity 1 error.
      • Yellow indicates that it has a severity 2 error.
      • White indicates that it has a severity 3 error.
    • Selected log entry with background color of:
      • Red indicates that it has a severity 1 error.
      • Green indicates that it has a severity 2 error.
      • Blue indicates that it has a severity 3 error.

    These colors are configurable and can be changed in the Log Analyzer's Preferences Log page. See Background color for different error severity levels and for more information on how to do this.

    The Log Analyzer can display the log entries in different groupings. Use the Log Analyzer Preferences notebook: Logs page to set the grouping filters.

    After the Analyze action has been invoked, each analyzed log entry has the following icons:

    • npocross.gif (996 bytes) indicates that the entry has some analysis information in one or more pages in the Analysis pane.
    • npocasca.gif (935 bytes) indicates that the entry has some analysis information and that it has a reraised or remapped exception. You may want to look at the log entry prior to this one when diagnosing problems.
    • npoquest.gif (948 bytes) indicates that the entry has either a severity 1 or 2 error but no additional analysis information is available for it.
    • npoblank.gif (942 bytes) indicates that the entry has a severity 3 error and it has no analysis information.
  • Record pane (upper right)
    When you select an entry under the unit of work in the Logs pane, you see the entry in the Record pane. The entry's identification is shown in the pane's title bar. Right-click in this Record pane to see the actions that you can perform on the entry. There is a drop down arrow next to Record which allows you to go back to look at the last ten  records that you have viewed. The cache for the historical data (10, by default) is set in the Preferences General page.

      Note:
    1. The associated analysis data for these cached records are not shown. To see analysis information for cached data, reselect the entry from the Logs pane.
    2. The timestamp format that appears in the Record pane must match the format that was used by the showlog command when formatting the log.

    You can enable/disable line wrap mode for the Record Pane using the Log Analyzer Preferences notebook: Record. To print contents of this pane, select Record > Print when the Record pane is in focus.

  • Analysis pane (lower right)
    When analyze action has been invoked and additional information is available, the information will appear in the Symptom page. The page, GPF, is filled in only when the analyze action is invoked and there is a GPF dump. If the page tab is grayed out, there is no information in that page. The pages of the Analysis pane are:
    • Symptom
      The Log Analyzer provides a database of information to help you recover from some common WebSphere errors. As a part of the analyze action, if such recovery information is found in the database for the selected log entry, the information is displayed in this page.

    You can set line wrap for information that appears in the Symptom page in the Analysis pane using the Log Analyzer Preferences notebook -- Analyzer output.

    The Symptoms page can be detached into separate windows to make it easy for you to view all the information by selecting View > Detach into a new window.

    You can set line wrap for information that appears in the Symptoms page in the Analysis pane using the Log Analyzer Preferences notebook -- Analyzer output.

Status line
There is a status line at the bottom of the window showing the status of actions.

Menu bar
The menu bar in the Log Analyzer's main window, has the following selections:

  • File
    • Open...
      Opens a new log file in the analyzer. You can select either a formatted activity/trace log or a previously saved XML file. If you want the Log Analyzer to format a raw log file (by running the showlog command) prior to opening it, name the log file with suffix.log. If the Log Analyzer finds that the .log file contains formatted data, it skips the showlog formatting step.

      If you want to merge data from another log, select Merge with.

    • Merge with...
      When another log file is already opened in the Log Analyzer, use the Merge with action to open subsequent logs. The Log Analyzer merges the data from all the logs that it opens and displays all the entries within timestamp sequence in the UOW folders. The data appears as if they came from one log.

      If you want the Log Analyzer to run the showlog utility prior to opening it, name the log file activity.log.

    • Redisplay logs
      To redisplay the logs using the recently set filters.
    • Save as...
      Saves the log as an XML file (or text file). If analyze action has been performed, all the Symptom analysis information is also saved. If logs are merged in the Log Analyzer, the saved file contains entries of all the merged logs in the sequence that is shown in the Logs pane.

      Note: If the merged logs have different timestamp formats, you should not save the merged information because the Log Analyzer only recognizes a single timestamp format for each file that it opens.

    • Save
      Is only enabled if the first file that you opened is an XML file. It resaves the XML file with all the data that is currently displayed in the Log Analyzer. Any Symptom information is also saved. If logs are merged in the Log Analyzer, the saved file contains entries of all the merged logs in the sequence that is shown in the Logs pane. Note: If the merged logs have different timestamp formats, you should not save the merged information because the Log Analyzer only recognizes a single timestamp format for each file that it opens.
    • Print Log...
      Prints all the entries that the Log Analyzer is displaying. If logs are merged in the Log Analyzer, the output contains entries of all the merged logs in the sequence that is shown in the Logs pane. If analyze action has been performed, all Symptom analysis information is also printed. To print parts of the log, use Record > Print.
    • Close
      Closes the opened log.
    • Update Database
      Updates the symptom database which is used for Symptom analysis. It downloads the latest version of the symptom database from the URL specified in the ivblogbr.properties file.
    • Preferences...
      Lets you configure and change the appearance of the Log Analyzer window and its contents.
    • Exit
      Exits the Log Analyzer and closes its window.
  • Edit
    • Copy
      Copies the selected text in the Record or Analysis pane to the clipboard. If you have not selected any text, Copy does not appear in the menu.
    • Find
      Allows you to find text strings in the focused pane.
  • View
    • Logs
      Toggles the visibility of the Logs pane.
    • Record
      Toggles the visibility of the Record pane.
    • Symptom
      Toggles the visibility of the Symptom page in the Analysis pane.
  • Record
    All the actions under this menu applies to the focused pane.

    To select several entries, hold down the Ctrl key when making the selection. When a folder is selected, the action applies to all the entries in that folder.

    • Analyze
      Retrieves and displays additional documentation on known errors and error messages in the Analysis pane (Symptom page). Select the folder(s) and/or entries in the Logs pane, right-click to select the Analyze action, or from the menu bar, select Record > Analyze. Note: If you invoke Analyze for the root folder, then all the entries in the log that you are viewing will be analyzed.

      If some analysis information is available for an entry, it will either have a npocross.gif (889 bytes) or npocasca.gif (897 bytes) icon next to it in the Logs pane. If the analyze action has already been performed, the selection will be grayed out.

    • Save to file
      Saves the selected entries in the Logs pane. If UOW folders are selected, all the entries in the folder are saved. Any retrieved analysis information is also saved. If the focused pane is either the Records or Analysis pane, then only that pane's information is saved.
    • Print
      • If the focused pane is Logs, the action prints the selected folder(s) and/or entries. Any retrieved analysis information for those entries is also printed.
      • If the focused pane is Record, the action prints the entry that is currently in the Record pane. Any retrieved analysis information is not printed.
      • If the focused pane is Analysis, the action prints the Symptom page contents.
  • Windows
    If you have detached the Symptom page in the Analysis pane into separate windows, all the windows will be listed under this menu and you can select the windows that you want to bring to the foreground.
  • Help
    Provides a list of WebSphere's on-line documentation for additional information.

Pop-up actions
In the focused pane, right-click to bring up a list of actions in a pop-up menu. Actions that you cannot perform are grayed out. When a folder is selected in Logs pane, the action applies to all the entries in that folder. To select several folders or entries in the Logs pane, hold down the Ctrl key when making the selection.

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