Server log management software

A server log is a log file automatically created and maintained by a server. These types of log files record all the changes and activities happening on a server and will tell you what went wrong if the system suddenly stops working. Server admins usually go through server logs to ascertain what erroneous events took place or what warning alert came up to get to the root cause of the failure within seconds.

Log files are an essential source of information for server administration. Logs contain information about server errors, using which a server admin will know what happened and what type of error it was. Amplified visibility into enterprise-wide events also equates to an increased awareness of real-time activity, which ultimately improves an organization’s overall fault detection posture by empowering IT staff to react quickly.

Server log management and real-time event alerts are integral to any network monitoring tool. Server log reports are also commonly requested by network auditors. A server log management tool is a must-have feature when purchasing a network monitoring solution.

OpManager: A server log management tool

OpManager is an agent-based server logs monitoring and management solution that monitors logs for errors defined by the admin. Once an error is printed in the log file, OpManager will raise an alert. OpManager checks server logs once every ten seconds for:

  • Strings.
  • Regexes.
  • The latest added content.
  • Commands.
  • Error messages.
  • Text patterns.

Advanced server log management features in OpManager

  • Control which users can read log files. OpManager's log file monitoring agent also tracks duplicate entries and raises suitable alerts.
  • Monitor server log files for text, regular expressions, content patterns, phrases, etc. to check for application errors or anomalies. For this, the agent needs to be installed on the same server as the log file.
  • Monitor multiple strings and raise an alert when any one or all of them occur.

Server log alerts from OpManager using an agent

Server Log Management Software - ManageEngine OpManager

Using agent-based server log monitoring software, the content of the log file can be monitored for errors and exceptions; this gives you a clear idea of the status of the application running on the server. In OpManager, downloading and activating the agent takes one step: Install the agent on the server that’s running the business-critical application whose logs you want to monitor. Once the agent is downloaded in OpManager, you can view the status and last updated time of the agent. After the agent is mapped to a particular server and you’ve added a search term in the log file, the agent searches for any occurrence of the term and raises an alarm that mentions the severity of the issue.

Setting up log file monitoring in OpManager

Server Log Management Tools - ManageEngine OpManager

Once set up, the server log file monitoring agent installed on the machine where the application is present monitors log files continuously for a specified match case or string. Under File Contains, enter the error message, text, or regex you want to identify from the logs in the Search String field. Check Match Case as per your requirements.

OpManager's notification and alarm mechanism for server log file monitoring

Server Log File Monitoring - ManageEngine OpManager

You can set up alerts to be generated by a Time Window, Delayed Trigger, or Recurring Trigger. Select Test Action to check if the profile behaves as intended before saving it.

When the agent installed on any device goes down, OpManager alerts you through email and alarms in its web interface. On finding the specified string in the logs of the associated server, the agent immediately notifies the OpManager server in real time, which in turn raises an alarm based on the polling interval you’ve set.

 
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