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Configure Logging

Overview

The logging functionality, which is set up in Administrator, records events including who did what, when and to whom.

By default, basic logging is enabled at an informational level in all new repositories and is stored in a table that is created for that repository. The log will record when an inquiry object has been edited, but cannot record the details of what changed (for example formats or calculations).

All repositories have a folder called Logging that appears in the Administrator. This directory contains one Log Stream called Default, shown below:

The Logging directory can contain multiple log streams which can be enabled or disabled for different logging scenarios. Log Streams can be treated like any other object within the repository in that they can be created, renamed, deleted, copied, etc.

Important: Certain logging settings should only be used for specific situations and are not enabled continuously.

Be aware that setting the Categories to ‘All’ or setting the Severity to the ‘Debugging’ level can substantially increase the number of log entries recorded, which will impact the performance of any application within Hubble.

Once you have captured the desired information using the logging functionality, it is extremely important that you set the logging back to the default values.

Setting Up and Modifying Logging Configuration

You can edit a Log Stream to configure the status (active or not) as well as when to log activity according to the type of activity, the severity, the specific user and the specific machine.

To edit a Log Stream:

  1. Log into your repository if you are not logged in already.
  2. Highlight the Logging node in the tree on the left panel.
  3. In the right panel, right-click on the Log Stream you wish to edit whether it is the Default Log Stream or one you have already created.
  4. Click Edit. The Log Stream Configuration dialog will be displayed:

  5. Configure the Log Stream as needed:
    1. Name
    2. Status – active/inactive (It is recommended that you do not delete a Log Stream but disable it in case you to re-enable the logging later.)
    3. Category – set logging for specific situations.
    4. Severity - specify the level of information being recorded by the log stream. It is recommended that these logging settings are only used for specific situations and are not enabled continuously.

      > Be aware that setting the Categories to ‘All’ or setting the Severity to the ‘Debugging’ level can substantially increase the number of log entries recorded, which will impact the performance of Hubble.

    5. User – optionally, select individual users for logging (user groups cannot be selected). If left blank, it is used for all users.
      1. Click the “…” button to open the Select User dialog.
      2. Select a User.
      3. Click OK to return to the main dialog.
    6.  Machine – optionally, specify a PC name so that only activity originating from that PC is logged.
    7. Set thresholds for log generation. When the log count surpasses the specified limit, you receive notifications.

      As a Hubble administrator, you have the option to configure an alert threshold while setting up the log stream. Importantly, this field is not mandatory, so you can leave it blank if you prefer not to receive notifications.

    8. When editing a log stream that is used to log activity in Administrator, you must restart the application for the changes to be correctly applied.

      Note: Once you have captured the desired information using the logging functionality, it is extremely important that you set the logging back to the default values.

      As mentioned above, you should not continuously enable logging, particularly debugging, as it will impact the performance of any application within Hubble. It should only be set to capture specific information and then disabled once this information has been recorded.

Viewing Logged Activity

Administrators are automatically entitled to use the View History dialog. Non-administrators must be granted the Logging capability in order to get access to the dialog.

  1. Log into your repository if you are not logged in already.
  2. Highlight the item for which you wish to view the logging activity. (This can be an individual item such as the Documents folder, if logging had been set up for it, or the Default Log Stream under Logging to include all items.)
  3. Right-click on the item and select View History.
  4. Use the filters to narrow down the data returned:
    1. Severities - the required severity level of Errors, Warning, Information or Debug specified in the Log Stream(s).
    2. Categories - the Categories specified in the Log Stream(s).
    3. Document - the Document or Document Folder text. The logged events can be further narrowed down by using the associated drop-down control’s options of Equals, BeginsWith, Contains and EndsWith. (For example, Begins With if used in conjunction with Document would return all the logged events associated with all documents, reports and templates stored within the Documents folder.)
    4. Message - specific text within the Message column. The logged events can be further narrowed down by using the associated drop-down control’s options of Equals, Begins With, Contains and Ends With.
    5. Sort By - set the order of the logged events. Any of the associated filters can be selected and can be sorted by enabling/disabling the Descending checkbox.
    6. From Date/To Date - the date ranges of the activity. Either manually type in the dates or use the down arrow to select dates using the calendar. (You can overwrite the From Date that automatically defaults in.)
    7. User - the specific user making the changes. (Useful when multiple users are accessing the same repository.)
    8. Profile – a specific Profile. (This is particularly useful when diagnosing whether issues are related to a Profile configuration issue.)
    9. Code - the specific (numeric) Code for a function that is included within a Categories group. (You can see the specific codes by looking in the Code column or in the Categories dialog, accessed by clicking on the … next to the Categories filter.)
    10. Repository – the specific repository.
    11. Log Stream –the specific Log Stream being used.
    12. Machine – the specific Machine PC/Server.
  5. Click Run Query to refresh the logged events displayed in the lower half of the dialog.

The View History dialog also allows the users to export the logged events via:

  • Copy - copies any highlighted records into the local computer’s clipboard, allowing the user to paste these records into an appropriate program.
  • Save - save all displayed Logged Events into a CSV file for later analysis.

In the example shown, the selection of the Document folder has populated Document in the Document Filter. However the pre-population of filters will work with inquiries, templates, report packs, reusable inquiry objects, and profiles.

Deleting Logged Activity

Logged data can be purged via the Delete History functionality. Individual objects within the repository can have their logged events purged or, alternatively, this can be done by individual Log Streams as shown below:

  1. Log into your repository if you are not logged in already.
  2. In the left panel, highlight Logging.
  3. In the right panel, highlight the specific Log Stream for which you wish to delete the logging activity and select Delete History.
  4. In the Delete History dialog, specify:
    1. Log Stream – either the selected stream or all streams.
    2. Older than – log streams older than the date specified will be deleted. (If left blank, all entries will be deleted.) The default date can be overridden.

  5. Click Delete. The Hubble Information dialog that appears tells you how many log entries were deleted.

Reusable Inquiry Objects

From Administrator, you can manage Reusable Inquiry Objects (RIO) by creating new folders and defining Permissions to users/groups for the folders and/or the individual RIO items within the folders. (From Hubble , new folders can be created but permissions can only be set for them through Administrator.)

To create a Reusable Inquiry Objects (RIO) folder:

  1. Log into your repository if you are not logged in already.
  2. In the left panel, expand the RIO node in the tree structure. You will then see a folder for Global as well as folders for any individual profile that has been set up. The Global folder holds RIO items that can be used in all profiles.
  3. Right-click on the level you wish to create a folder, whether it is Global or a specific profile, and select New > Folder.
  4. Provide a name for the folder.
  5. Assign permissions by right-clicking on a specific folder or an item within a folder and selecting Permissions.