This section describes the contents of the System Explorer's logs display and explains how to interpret the information.
Table of log messages
The information in this section applies to all views (New unexpected logs, Recent unacknowledged logs, Find log from correlator and Find logs).
At the top of the screen is a table of the log messages, providing summary information for each message. You can select a particular message to view more details of the event it records.
Text at the top right of the table indicates the total number of messages in the table and the position of the message that is currently selected (for example "Displaying row 1 out of 500"), or displays a message about an operation that is currently in progress (such as refreshing the display or marking all logs as OK).
You can select the parameter on which the rows of the table are ordered by clicking on the appropriate column header; the default is to order on the date and time at which the log occurred. The current ordering is also indicated by text at the top right of the table. Clicking on the same column header again reverses the ordering. For example, you can order by the arrival time of the log in chronological order, or in reverse order so that the most recent logs are shown first; or you can order by log severity in ascending or descending order.
For each message, the following information is shown in the table. You can move the display using the horizontal scrollbar at the bottom of the table, drag a column header to a different position to change the column order, or resize individual columns in the table, so that you can see the columns containing the information you are interested in.
10+ | Diagnostics |
20+ | Verbose statistics |
30+ | Verbose operational |
40+ | Statistics |
50+ | Audit |
60+ | Operational |
70+ | Unexpected |
80+ | Error |
90+ | Fatal |
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You may have changed the severity level of a log using the Rules display. |
You can navigate through the table of log messages in the following ways:
Viewing recent unexpected logs
To view recent unexpected logs, choose the Recent unacknowledged logs tab at the top of the display. This view shows the most recent high-severity logs (representing unexpected events) that have not been marked as OK. At most 500 logs are displayed.
In general, this view shows the most recent logs of severity 70 or higher that have not been marked as OK. Messages with a severity of 60 or below are marked as OK automatically, because they do not generally require explicit action, and so are not shown in this view. (Using the Rules display, you can configure logs that are a severity of 60 or below that are not marked as acknowledged.)
To update the display and ensure that you are viewing the most recent information, use the Refresh button at the top of the display.
Viewing new unexpected logs
To view new unexpected logs, choose the New unexpected logs tab at the top of the display. This view shows only the that have been added to the database since you last used the Refresh button to update the display. Each time you refresh the display, the logs currently shown on the screen disappear (although they are still visible in other views) and are replaced by any unexpected logs that were added after the last refresh.
Finding a specific log
Some EMS objects include an Alarm log correlator field that specifies the log correlator for the log message corresponding to the event that raised the most recent alarm for that object. Error messages for failed operations may also specify a log correlator.
Wherever a log correlator is specified (in an alarm log correlator field or in an error message), there is an associated 'Go to log' pushbutton. Choosing this button displays a dialog, similar to the Logs display, showing details of that log.
Alternatively, you can make a note of the log correlator value and search for the log in the Logs display as follows.
The System Explorer refreshes the table of log messages to display details of the log message requested.
Finding a specific category of log messages
To help you focus on the messages that you are currently interested in, you can filter the logs so that only messages meeting certain criteria are displayed. To do this, choose the Find Logs tab at the top of the display.
In this view, the logs are displayed in the order in which they occurred. The Current filter section immediately below the logs table shows a summary of the filter options currently in effect.
To change the filter options, click on the ... button to the right of this section. This leads to a dialog where you can select the following:
To specify an individual filter, click on the checkbox to select it, and then click on the ... button to the right of the filter field. This leads to a new dialog where you can select one or more conditions to filter messages. If you select more than one condition, the filter acts as a logical AND, displaying messages only if they meet all the specified conditions.
= | Display only messages where the field value matches the value you specify. |
!= | Display only messages where the field value does not match the value you specify. |
>= | Display only messages where the field value is greater than or equal to the value you specify. |
<= | Display only messages where the field value is less than or equal to the value you specify. |
= | Display only messages where the text in the specified field exactly matches the text string you specify. |
!= | Display only messages where the text in the specified field does not match the text string you specify. |
contains | Display only messages where the text in the specified field includes the text string you specify. |
does not contain | Display only messages where the text in the specified field does not include the text string you specify. |
Set one or more of these fields to specify how you want to filter the logs, and then click the OK button to return to the filter selection dialog. If necessary, repeat the process to specify the second filter. Then choose OK on the filter selection dialog to apply the specified filters and redisplay the logs.
When you choose OK on the filter selection dialog, the System Explorer refreshes the table to show only log messages that match the criteria that you have specified. The counter in the top right-hand corner changes to show the number of messages you are currently displaying, not the total number of messages.
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Filtering the log messages only affects what is displayed on the screen. It does not remove messages from the stored database, so you can change the filter options later to redisplay messages that are currently hidden. |
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Changing the filter options automatically refreshes the logs table. |
Viewing low severity logs
By default, only logs with a severity of 60 or greater are recorded in the log database. If you require access to logs of severity less than 60 for a particular object, you can set the Diagnostics - logging - log level field of that object to specify the level of the lowest severity logs to be recorded for that object. For example, to monitor the operation of a particular Signaling Link, you may choose to set the Diagnostics - logging - log level for that Signaling Link to severity level 40 (statistics). Any logs of severity level 40 or above are then recorded for that object; for all other objects, the log database continues to record only logs of severity level 60 or above.
To check which EMS objects have low severity logs enabled, refer to the API Trace and Configured Logging object below the MetaSwitch object. Each EMS object that has low severity logs enabled is represented by a Tracing object that is a child of API Trace and Configured Logging.
Logs of severity less than 70 (60 for some EMS logs) are not displayed in the New unexpected logs or Recent unacknowledged logs views. To display low severity logs you should use the Find logs view, and set the Current filter to display logs of the appropriate severity level.
Note that if you have not specified for any objects that low severity logs should be recorded, setting the current filter to display low severity logs has no effect.
Details for a specific log message
The information in this section applies to all views (New unexpected logs, Recent unacknowledged logs, Find log from correlator and Find logs).
The lower part of the logs display, below the logs table, provides detailed information on a selected log message. As you select a message by clicking on it in the table, or by using the navigation buttons to move through the table, the selected message's Object name and Description text is shown. These are the same information as in the Description column of the table, but shown in a more easily readable format.
Next to the Description information, there are tabs for additional sections of information. Click on one of these tabs to bring the information into view (in place of the Description information), or click on the Description tab to return to viewing the Description information.
Acknowledging already-viewed log messages
The information in this section applies to all views (New unexpected logs, Recent unacknowledged logs, Find log from correlator and Find logs).
As you look through the log messages, you may want to make notes on the messages that you have already viewed. The System Explorer provides two mechanisms for you to do this: marking the message as OK, and adding a text comment. You can use either or both of these mechanisms independently.
You can mark an individual message as OK to indicate that you have already viewed it and taken any action required. To do this, select the message in the table, and click the OK checkbox at the bottom of the screen. You can click the checkbox again to unmark the message if you later decide you need to take further action.
Messages with a severity 60 or below are marked as OK automatically because they do not require explicit action, but you can unmark one of these messages if necessary.
While you are in any view other than Find log from correlator, you can use the Set all as OK or Set all as not OK pushbuttons (above the logs table) to mark or unmark all messages currently displayed (according to the selected filters). These actions take effect immediately and do not require confirmation. Messages not currently shown on the screen are not affected.
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In the Recent unacknowledged logs view, messages are displayed only if they are not marked as OK. If you mark one or more messages as OK and then use the Refresh button to update the display, the messages you have marked will disappear from the display. |
You can add a text comment to a message, for example to make notes on why the event occurred or what action you have taken to resolve a problem. To do this, select the message in the table, and type your comment in the User comment edit box. You can return to the same message later and edit the comment to update it.
After you have marked a message as OK or not OK, or have finished typing your comments, these changes are automatically saved back to the table of log messages when you move to another message in the table (by clicking on it or using the navigation buttons). This updates the OK and User Comment columns in the table of log messages to include your changes. Alternatively, you can click on the button at the top of the screen to apply your changes as soon as you have made them.
If you change your mind while adding or editing a comment, simply click the button at the top of the screen. This abandons your changes and does not update the table.
If use the Set all as OK or Set all as not OK pushbuttons to mark or unmark all messages currently displayed, these actions take effect immediately and do not require confirmation using the button.
Refreshing the logs table from the database
The table of log messages at the top of the screen shows a "snapshot" of the log messages that were in the NE's log database when you first changed to this view. As you spend time viewing these log messages, new messages can be added to the database. These messages are not immediately displayed on the screen, but the Recent unacknowledged logs tab at the top of the display is highlighted with a flashing red background to alert you to the fact that there is new information. To view these messages, change to the New unexpected logs or Recent unacknowledged logs view and click the Refresh button.
While you are using the Find logs view, the System Explorer refreshes the "snapshot" each time you change the filter options, so that new messages meeting the conditions you specify are automatically included. In addition, you can use the Refresh button above the logs table at any time, to update the display while retaining the current filter options.
Exporting information from logs
The information in this section applies to all views (New unexpected logs, Recent unacknowledged logs, Find log from correlator and Find logs).
You may want to export details of logs from the EMS, for example to print out or to include in an email. The EMS allows you to
You can also select whether to export the data to file or to the clipboard.
To export details of log messages:
Suppressing and altering the severity of logs
Sometimes, the severity assigned by the MetaSwitch Class 4/5 Softswitch for a particular log will not match your needs. You can create a rule based on the currently selected log by using the create / edit rule button, at the top of the display. A rule is used to alter the severity of a particular log type, identified by the Fault ID.
When you use the create /edot rule button, a new Create / edit rule window appears. The log's Fault ID and Summary will be displayed as the Match criteria, and you will also be able to see the default Severity. You can then select whether to change the severity of any similar logs created in the future, suppress those logs, and / or acknowledge those logs.
If you want to view your existing rules, press the view rules button, at the top of the display. This will launch the Rules display in a new window.