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Logging and tracing for containers and new services

Starting CF200, a new mechanism is introduced for configuring log settings at runtime (without pod restarts) in Helm-based DX deployments. Log levels and trace strings are set in your custom-values.yaml file. Configure and Access Logs gives more detail on how to configure logging in Helm amd how to access Kubernetes container logs.

Prerequisite: Install and configure Content Composer and Digital Asset Management to your HCL Digital Experience deployment.

  • Trace string format

    The trace strings must use the following format. Any text not in angled brackets ("<>") should not be changed:

    hcl.logging.<app-name>.client.<severity>.<client-hierarchy>.*=all

    The text strings in angled bracket placeholders must be replaced as described here.

  • app-name

    The application name is configured in the Digital Asset Management shared settings. The following values are currently in use:

    • medialibrary - for Digital Asset Management
    • content-ui - for Content Composer

  • severity

    This presents the logger severity level. The values used are:

    • info
    • debug

  • client-hierarchy

    This specifies the subsections of the client application where tracing can be enabled. It is specified in dot-separated trace strings and is converted by the Digital Asset Management to colon-separated trace strings. The exact hierarchy depends on the client application. Examples include:

    • app.*
    • app.redux.*
    • app.redux.actions.*

  • Example trace strings

    Following are some examples of full trace strings for Content Composer and Digital Asset Management and their results:

    • hcl.logging.content-ui.*=all - Enables debug message logging for all files in the DAM application user interface source folder app/redux/actions. Specifically, the debug string client:debug:app:redux:actions:* is set for the DAM client logger. This tracing is enabled either permanently or just for the current HCL Digital Experience 9.5 container.

    HCL Digital Experience 9.5 uses the IBM® WebSphere Application Server trace facilities to create trace information.

    If you need detailed trace output of Content Composer or Digital Asset Management to troubleshoot a problem, follow these steps in the succeeding sections.

Note

The following tracing configurations for enabling tracing only apply to client-side logging. The Warning The configured trace state included the following specifications that do not match any loggers currently registered in the server: ''hcl.logging.content-ui.=all:hcl.logging.medialibrary.=all'' Ignore this message if the trace specifications ''hcl.logging.content-ui.=all:hcl.logging.medialibrary.=all'' are valid. can be ignored.

Enabling tracing permanently

  1. Start WebSphere Application Server.
  2. Open the WebSphere Integrated Solutions Console.
  3. Go to Troubleshooting > Logs and Traces > HCL Digital Experience > Diagnostic Trace.
  4. Click Change log detail levels.
  5. Select the Enable Trace check box.

  6. Enter the trace details you would like to enable in the TraceSpecification field.

    For example, to trace all events, use the following value:

    hcl.logging.content-ui.*=all 
hcl.logging.medialibrary.*=all

  7. Save the changes.

  8. Restart HCL Digital Experience 9.5 container session.

Enabling tracing for the current HCL Digital Experience 9.5 session

  1. Click the Administration menu icon. Then, click Tracing: Gather data about the site.

  2. Enter any of the following values in the Append these trace settings field.

    For example, to trace all events, enter the following value:

    hcl.logging.content-ui.*=all 
hcl.logging.medialibrary.*=all

Once a trace string is added or removed in the Tracing portlet, the Digital Experience platform page containing the Tracing portlet application must be refreshed in the browser.

Viewing logs in the browser console using developer tools

You can view the client logs using the developer tools in the web browser. The following image shows an example on how to view the logs of Content Composer.

View Logs in Web Browser

Important

WebSphere Application Server consolidates the trace strings list by removing strings that are logically contained within others. For example, if you have a string x.y.z.*=all in the list, it disappears when you add x.y.*=all

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