# Log File Monitoring

Log files of systems and applications contain invaluable information such as operation status & results, errors, and much more. Monitoring the log files helps IT administrators to know the performance of the systems and mission critical applications such as Oracle, SAP, ERP, IIS, etc. in real-time.

OpManager offers agent-based log file monitoring to monitor system and application logs. The agent deployed on the end Windows system monitors the text log files in real-time.

![Log File Monitoring](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/images/log-file-monitoring-new.png)

## The advantages of using OpManager to implement efficient log file monitoring include:

- Additional security.
- Problems with network infrastructure are becoming more widely known.
- Enhanced server, service, and application availability.
- Rapid identification of protocol errors and network breakdowns.
- Detecting failing services and processes quickly.

## Highlights of Log File Monitor

### Real-time Log Monitoring & Alerting

The agent monitors the log files every 10 seconds once for the configured string. Once the application or system prints the string in its log, the agent captures it in real-time and raises an alarm in OpManager.

### Match String & Case

The agent scans the log files for exact string match. The string can be a regex (regular expression) and can also include special characters. In addition to these you can also configure the agent to match the case of the string.

### Latest Content Scanning

When the log files are scanned, the last scanned position is noted. The subsequent scan starts from the previously scanned position. This helps scan the only latest log prints.

### Unobtrusive Log File Reading

To avoid log file getting locked while monitoring, the agent monitors only the log files that have shared read access.

### Log Entry Counters

The Monitoring Agent also tracks duplicate entries and raises alert. This will be helpful in cases where you need to be alerted if the error message gets printed for N consecutive times.

### Secure Communication

The communication between OpManager server and agent takes place via the default HTTPS mode. This secures the data communicated between the agent and OpManager server.

### Lightweight & easy to install

The monitoring agent is very lightweight and does not consume much of the system resources. It is also easy to install.

**Note:**

1. At present the agent monitors log files printed in English only. Support for other languages will be included down the line.
2. The agent supports Windows 2003 and above devices only.

## Related Products

- [Network Monitoring](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/?relPrd)
- [Bandwidth Monitoring & Traffic Analysis](https://www.manageengine.com/products/netflow/?relPrd)
- [Network Configuration Management](https://www.manageengine.com/network-configuration-manager/?relPrd)
- [Switch Port & IP Address Management](https://www.manageengine.com/products/oputils/?relPrd)
- [Firewall Management](https://www.manageengine.com/products/firewall/?relPrd)
- [Network Monitoring Software for MSPs](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring-msp/?relPrd)
- [IT Operations Management](https://www.manageengine.com/it-operations-management/)
- [Application Performance Monitoring](https://www.manageengine.com/products/applications_manager/?relPrd)