Switching to HPEL mode for logging and tracing on WebSphere Application Server V8.0 or later

There are two modes of logging and tracing for WebSphere® Application Server V8.0 or later, which are basic mode and High Performance Extensible Logging (HPEL) mode. HPEL is designed to provide faster log and trace handling capabilities than the basic mode.

Before you begin

Viewing log and traces in HPEL mode using the workbench is only available for WebSphere Application Server V8.0 or later running on Windows or Linux operating systems.

Important: Applicable to WebSphere Application Server traditional

About this task

The basic mode is the default logging and tracing setting for the server. In basic mode, the log and trace contents are written in plain text format to the log files, such as SystemOut.log, SystemErr.log, trace.log, and activity.log files.

In HPEL mode, the log and trace contents are written to a log data or trace data repository in a proprietary binary format. The use of a binary log format instead of a plain text format is designed to improve performance of the server by providing faster log and trace handling capabilities. To enable HPEL mode, you must use the administrative console or wsadmin scripting that is provided by WebSphere Application Server. You can use the workbench to translate a snapshot of the binary (HPEL) server logs in to readable text that displays in the editor pane. In addition, during the run time of the server you can view HPEL log and traces in the Console view in a readable text format.

The log and trace records in HPEL mode uses the same message format as the basic mode. The following table describes the data that makes up a log record:
Data Description
Time Stamp The time when the event was recorded.
Thread ID The identity of the thread that recorded the event in hexadecimal notation.
Logger The logger that recorded the event.
Level The type of event that was recorded.
Message The message from the recorded event. If the message has a message ID, the message ID is underlined. In the Console view, you can click the message ID to get an explanation and recommended user action for the message. In the editor pane, the message ID link is not available and display as plain text only.
Here is an example of a log record:
[3/3/11 23:01:30:147 EST] 0000000f ApplicationMg Z   WSVR0221I: Application started: DefaultApplication

In this example, [3/3/11 23:01:30:147 EST] is the time stamp, 0000000f is the thread ID, ApplicationMg is the logger, Z is the level, and WSVR0221I: Application started: DefaultApplication is the message where WSVR0221I is the message ID.

Procedure

  1. In the Servers view, right-click the WebSphere Application Server V8.0 server entry and select Properties > WebSphere Application Server.
  2. Under the Server log directory section, the default settings of basic mode show Open SystemOut.log in editor and Open SystemErr.log in editor links. You can click these links to display the basic mode of the log and trace content of the SystemOut.log and SystemErr.log files in the editor pane.
  3. You must use the administrative console or wsadmin scripting tools that are provided by WebSphere Application Server to switch from the basic mode to HPEL mode by completing the Changing from basic mode to HPEL logging and tracing topic in the information Center for WebSphere Application Server.
    Tip: You can open the administrative console within the workbench by going into the Servers view, right-click the server and select Administration > Run Administrative Console. For more information, seeAccessing the administrative console.
  4. Restart the server to enable the server configuration changes. In the Servers view, right-click the WebSphere Application Server V8.0 server entry and select Restart.
  5. In the Servers view, right-click the WebSphere Application Server V8.0 server entry and select Properties > WebSphere Application Server.
  6. When the server is in HPEL mode, under the Server log directory section shows the Display a snapshot of the binary server logs link. You can click this link to display in the editor pane a capture at a point in time of the log and trace content in HPEL mode; which the workbench translates from binary and displays as readable text. The snapshot of the binary (HPEL) server log includes both System.out and System.err output and displays as a single file in the editor pane.
    Tip: If you want an update of the logs and traces as the server continues running in HPEL mode, you must click Display a snapshot of the binary server logs link again, to generate another snapshot report of the binary (HPEL) log file.

What to do next

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Timestamp icon Last updated: July 17, 2017 21:58

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