Viewing Logs with the SAP Management Console

Using the SAP Management Console (SAP MC) log viewing functions you can view system logs and trace files, and create stack traces for the processes.

Context

The trace and log messages contain important information about system operation. It is helpful to check and analyze them if you experience errors or unexpected behavior.

Using the SAP Management Console (SAP MC) log viewing functions you can:

  • View all system log and trace files

  • View developer trace files

  • Create stack traces for the processes

Types of Log and Trace Files:

  • Instance developer trace and log files contain information about the startup process. You can check these files in case of errors or unexpected behavior during the startup process. The data from the last three restarts is retained by default.

    • The developer trace files of the Java instance are located in directory <Drive>:\usr\sap\ <SAPSID>\ <instance_name>\work (Windows) /usr/sap/ <SAPSID>/ <instance_name>/work (UNIX), where <SAPSID> is the system ID (for example, CE1) and <instance_name> is the instance name of the Java instance (for example, J03).

    • The developer trace files of the central services instance are located in directory <Drive>:\usr\sap\ <SAPSID>\ <instance_name>\work (Windows) /usr/sap/ <SAPSID>/ <instance_name>/work (UNIX) , where <SAPSID> is the SAP system ID (for example, CE1) and <instance_name> is the instance name of the central services instance (for example, SCS02).

  • AS Java logs

    The log and trace files generated by the AS Java processes and the applications running on top of AS Java are stored in directory <Drive>:\usr\sap\ <SAPSID>\ <instance_name>\j2ee\cluster\server <n>\log (Windows) /usr/sap/ <SAPSID>/ <instance_name>/j2ee/cluster/server <n>/log (UNIX).

Procedure

  • Proceed as follows to view the developer trace file of a process:
    • Select the relevant process and choose ShowDeveloper Trace from the context menu.
    • If the information in the developer trace is insufficient or too detailed, choose Increment/Decrement Trace Level to adjust the launcher trace level to the required level.
  • Proceed as follows to dump the Java stack trace:
    • To dump Java stack trace of the server processes, select the relevant server process, and choose Dump Stack from the context menu.
    • To view the dump stack trace, choose Show Developer Trace (see above).

      The resulting Java server stack trace is stored in the dev_server <n> file in directory <Drive>:\usr\sap\ <SAPSID>\ <instance_name>\work (Windows) /usr/sap/ <SAPSID>/ <instance_name>/work (UNIX).

  • Proceed as follows to view logs from the SAP MC:
    1. To view all the log and trace files of an instance, select the Log Files node from the tree structure of the relevant instance.
    2. In the navigation pane, select the file you want to view and choose Show Log File from the context menu.
    3. A dialog box appears, in which you can browse the log messages and view their detailed description.

      • To view the log file of the service, select an instance and choose Show Trace File from the context menu.

      • To view log records filtered by severity, time, and entries, select an instance and choose Analyze Log Files.

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