Set the log settings

Log files provide an archeological record of events that occur in the application. Administrators and technical support personnel can use log files to pinpoint when events occur and resolve issues in the application.

Beginning in version 12.7.3, all Web Help Desk errors are recorded in the Web Help Desk log file (whd.log) located at <WebHelpDesk>/logs. To prevent unauthorized system access, this log file cannot be sent to a remote server.

The Log Settings window includes three log groups with corresponding log levels that control the level of event detail recorded in the Web Help Desk log file. These settings are not required for your initial configuration, but are typically used for troubleshooting. You can access the Log Settings window at Setup > General > Logs.

The log settings displayed above are the default settings. You can change these settings to track specific issues in the application. After you restart Web Help Desk, all log settings return to their default values.

If your organization requires you to monitor specific events, you can modify the default log settings as required.

Log groups

The Log Settings window includes three log groups that log specific events to the whd.log file. The following table describes the log events recorded in each group.

Group	Description	Log file identifier
Web Help Desk Daemon Services	Logs events generated from daemon services. These services monitor application processes, such as alerts, LDAP synchronization, and ticket asset recovery.	whd.daemon
Web Help Desk Application	Logs application process events related to data imports, utilities, and authorization. This group also logs events for exchange connectors used to monitor incoming and outgoing mail communications between Web Help Desk and a Microsoft Exchange server. These connectors include App Logger and HTTP Client.	whd.application (except for exchange connectors)
Web Help Desk SolarWinds Connection & WHD Discovery Engine	Logs events generated between the Web Help Desk and Orion Platform servers in a SolarWinds Orion alert integration. This group also logs events for asset discovery connections.	com.solarwinds

Log levels

A log level defines the events recorded in the Web Help Desk log file for a corresponding log group. The following table describes the logging levels you can apply to each log setting.

Level	Indicator	Description
Off		Records no events.
Error		Records error events that may impact application performance or cause the application to fail.
Warn		Records error and warning events that may cause some features to generate unexpected results.
Info		Records information events that highlight application processes. These events indicate normal behavior.
Debug		Records the path of execution from the first application entry point to the point in the code where the exception occurred. This granular information can be useful for debugging the application. This level may impact the application performance.
Trace		Provides verbose logging compared to Debug. This level may impact the application performance.

Modify the default log settings

The Log Settings window includes the default log settings. You can modify the default settings by performing the following steps:

1. Select the log settings and corresponding log levels you want to define for your default settings.
2. Create an argument for each new log setting.
3. Add the new arguments to the logback configuration file.
4. Restart Web Help Desk.

The following sections provide an example of how to modify selected log settings with default log levels.

Select the target log settings

1. Log in to Web Help Desk as an administrator.
2. Click Setup > General > Logs.

3. Select the log settings you want to configure as your new default settings.

   

4. Locate the identifier for each selected log setting.

   • Web Help Desk Application (whd.helpdesk)
   • Web Help Desk Packages (whd.helpdesk.com.macdesign.whd)
   • Web Help Desk SolarWinds Connection & WHD Discovery Engine (com.solarwinds)

5. Determine the log level that you want to apply to each setting.

   Identifier	Desired log level
   whd.helpdesk	Trace
   whd.helpdesk.com macdesign.whd	Debug
   com.solarwinds	Error

Create an argument for each new log setting

Create arguments for each identifier and corresponding log level using the following syntax:

<logger name="<identifier>" level="DESIRED_LOG_LEVEL">

Identifier	Syntax
whd.helpdesk	<logger name="whd.helpdesk" level="TRACE">
whd.helpdesk.com.macdesign.whd	<logger name="whd.helpdesk.com.macdesign.whd" level="DEBUG">
com.solarwinds	<logger name="com.solarwinds" level="ERROR">

Add the new arguments to the logback configuration file

Add the arguments you created in the previous section to the logback configuration file. When you are finished, restart Web Help Desk and verify that your new default settings are correct.

1. Log in to the Web Help Desk server as an administrator.

2. Navigate to:

   <WebHelpDesk>/conf

   where <WebHelpDesk> is your Web Help Desk home folder.

3. Backup the logback-config.xml file to a separate location.
4. Right-click the logback-config.xml file and select Run as administrator.
5. Open the file in a text editor (such as Notepad).

6. Locate the following code in the file. This code indicates the current default settings.

   <logger name="com.solarwinds" level="INFO" />
   <root level="ERROR">
      <appender-ref ref="R"
      <appender-ref ref="STDOUT" />
   </root>
   

   In this section of code, <root level="ERROR"> indicates that all log levels are set to Error except for the settings defined in logger_name arguments.

7. Change the com.solarwinds log level to ERROR.

   <logger name="com.solarwinds" level="ERROR" />
   <root level="ERROR">
      <appender-ref ref="R"
      <appender-ref ref="STDOUT" />
   </root>
   

8. Enter your new arguments under the first logger_name argument.

   <logger name="com.solarwinds" level="ERROR" />
   <logger name="whd.helpdesk" level="TRACE"
   <logger name="whd.helpdesk.com.macdesign.whd" level="DEBUG"
   <root level="ERROR">
      <appender-ref ref="R"
      <appender-ref ref="STDOUT" />
   </root>
   

9. Save and close the file.
10. Restart Web Help Desk.
11. Log in to Web Help Desk.

12. Click Setup > General > Logs.

    The Log Settings window displays the new default settings.

    

    In this example: 

    • All Web Help Desk Application parent and child settings are set to Trace.
    • The Web Help Desk Packages settings are set to Debug because the logger name argument for this setting overrides its parent setting.
    • The Exchange Connector settings retain the root-level Error setting because the new default setting only applies to file names that include whd.helpdesk.
    • The Web Help Desk SolarWinds Connection & WHD Discovery Engine setting is set to Error.