How can I analyse my log file?

This screen is part of a Web Feed Reference section for the Web Feed Generator. Please ask us if you cannot find the answer to your question.

There are many Web server log analysis programs available and it is likely the package you currently use for your Web site will do the job. The Analog package is very popular, flexible, fast and free. The notes below are intended to produce a basic report using Analog, but there are many other options you can use to tailor reports to your requirements.

The Metacentric Web server uses what is known as the "combined" log file format, which is standard for Analog but needs to be added to the configuration file analog.cfg before your log file reference:

LOGFORMAT COMBINED

LOGFILE FeedRequests.log
      

In this example, your log file has been saved into the Analog installation directory and named FeedRequests.log.

After you have configured these two lines, run Analog by double clicking on the program icon. On Windows systems, Analog will momentarily open a command window and close it again when the analysis is complete. If you leave all other configuration options with their default values, your log report will be output to a file called Report.html in the Analog directory. Check for errors in the errors.txt file.