Log <log>

Overview

The <log> element specifies several global logging options for Internet Information Services (IIS) 7. For example, the centralLogFileMode attribute specifies whether site-level logging, central W3C logging, or central binary logging is enabled.

Site-level logging creates individual log file directories for each site on your server, where each folder contains only the log files for that site. Central logging enables the use of a single log file for all sites for the time period specified by the period attribute for the <centralBinaryLogFile> or <centralW3CLogFile> element. The time period can be daily, weekly, monthly, hourly, or a maximum file size.

Compatibility

Setup

The <log> element is included in the default installation of IIS 7.

How To

How to enable central binary logging for a server

1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager:

   • If you are using Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2:

     • On the taskbar, click Server Manager, click Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

   • If you are using Windows 8 or Windows 8.1:

     • Hold down the Windows key, press the letter X, and then click Control Panel.
     • Click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

   • If you are using Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2:

     • On the taskbar, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

   • If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7:

     • On the taskbar, click Start, and then click Control Panel.
     • Double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

2. In the Connections pane, click the server name.

3. In the server's Home pane, double-click Logging.
   

4. On the Logging page, under One log file per, select Server from the drop-down list, then choose Binary from the Format drop-down list.
   

5. Click Apply in the Actions pane.

How to enable central W3C logging for a server

1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager:

   • If you are using Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2:

     • On the taskbar, click Server Manager, click Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

   • If you are using Windows 8 or Windows 8.1:

     • Hold down the Windows key, press the letter X, and then click Control Panel.
     • Click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

   • If you are using Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2:

     • On the taskbar, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

   • If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7:

     • On the taskbar, click Start, and then click Control Panel.
     • Double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

2. In the Connections pane, click the server name.

3. In the server's Home pane, double-click Logging.
   

4. On the Logging page, under One log file per, select Server from the drop-down list, then choose W3C from the Format drop-down list.
   

5. Click Apply in the Actions pane.

Configuration

Attributes

Child Elements

Configuration Sample

The following configuration sample specifies that IIS will use site-level logging.

<log centralLogFileMode="Site">
   <centralBinaryLogFile enabled="true" directory="%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles" />
   <centralW3CLogFile enabled="true" directory="%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles" />
</log>

The following configuration sample specifies that IIS will use central binary logging, and configures binary log file rotation on a daily basis.

<log centralLogFileMode="CentralBinary">
   <centralBinaryLogFile enabled="true" directory="%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles" period="Daily" />
   <centralW3CLogFile enabled="true" directory="%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles" />
</log>

The following configuration sample specifies that IIS will use central W3C logging, and configures W3C log file rotation on a daily basis.

<log centralLogFileMode="CentralW3C">
   <centralBinaryLogFile enabled="true" directory="%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles" />
   <centralW3CLogFile enabled="true" directory="%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles" period="Daily" />
</log>

Sample Code

The following code samples specify that IIS will use central binary logging, and configure binary log file rotation on a daily basis.

AppCmd.exe

appcmd.exe set config -section:system.applicationHost/log /centralLogFileMode:"CentralBinary" /commit:apphost

appcmd.exe set config -section:system.applicationHost/log /centralBinaryLogFile.period:"Daily" /commit:apphost

C#

using System;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.Web.Administration;

internal static class Sample
{
   private static void Main()
   {
      using (ServerManager serverManager = new ServerManager())
      {
         Configuration config = serverManager.GetApplicationHostConfiguration();

         ConfigurationSection logSection = config.GetSection("system.applicationHost/log");
         logSection["centralLogFileMode"] = @"CentralBinary";
         ConfigurationElement centralBinaryLogFileElement = logSection.GetChildElement("centralBinaryLogFile");
         centralBinaryLogFileElement["period"] = @"Daily";

         serverManager.CommitChanges();
      }
   }
}

VB.NET

Imports System
Imports System.Text
Imports Microsoft.Web.Administration

Module Sample

   Sub Main()
      Dim serverManager As ServerManager = New ServerManager
      Dim config As Configuration = serverManager.GetApplicationHostConfiguration

      Dim logSection As ConfigurationSection = config.GetSection("system.applicationHost/log")
      logSection("centralLogFileMode") = "CentralBinary"
      Dim centralBinaryLogFileElement As ConfigurationElement = logSection.GetChildElement("centralBinaryLogFile")
      centralBinaryLogFileElement("period") = "Daily"

      serverManager.CommitChanges()
   End Sub

End Module

JavaScript

var adminManager = new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.ApplicationHost.WritableAdminManager');
adminManager.CommitPath = "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST";

var logSection = adminManager.GetAdminSection("system.applicationHost/log", "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST");
logSection.Properties.Item("centralLogFileMode").Value = "CentralBinary";
var centralBinaryLogFileElement = logSection.ChildElements.Item("centralBinaryLogFile");
centralBinaryLogFileElement.Properties.Item("period").Value = "Daily";

adminManager.CommitChanges();

VBScript

Set adminManager = WScript.CreateObject("Microsoft.ApplicationHost.WritableAdminManager")
adminManager.CommitPath = "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST"

Set logSection = adminManager.GetAdminSection("system.applicationHost/log", "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST")
logSection.Properties.Item("centralLogFileMode").Value = "CentralBinary"
Set centralBinaryLogFileElement = logSection.ChildElements.Item("centralBinaryLogFile")
centralBinaryLogFileElement.Properties.Item("period").Value = "Daily"

adminManager.CommitChanges()

The following code samples specify that IIS will use central W3C logging, and configure W3C log file rotation on a daily basis.

AppCmd.exe

appcmd.exe set config -section:system.applicationHost/log /centralLogFileMode:"CentralW3C" /commit:apphost

appcmd.exe set config -section:system.applicationHost/log /centralW3CLogFile.period:"Daily" /commit:apphost

C#

using System;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.Web.Administration;

internal static class Sample
{
   private static void Main()
   {
      using (ServerManager serverManager = new ServerManager())
      {
         Configuration config = serverManager.GetApplicationHostConfiguration();

         ConfigurationSection logSection = config.GetSection("system.applicationHost/log");
         logSection["centralLogFileMode"] = @"CentralW3C";
         ConfigurationElement centralW3CLogFileElement = logSection.GetChildElement("centralW3CLogFile");
         centralW3CLogFileElement["period"] = @"Daily";

         serverManager.CommitChanges();
      }
   }
}

VB.NET

Imports System
Imports System.Text
Imports Microsoft.Web.Administration

Module Sample

   Sub Main()
      Dim serverManager As ServerManager = New ServerManager
      Dim config As Configuration = serverManager.GetApplicationHostConfiguration

      Dim logSection As ConfigurationSection = config.GetSection("system.applicationHost/log")
      logSection("centralLogFileMode") = "CentralW3C"
      Dim centralW3CLogFileElement As ConfigurationElement = logSection.GetChildElement("centralW3CLogFile")
      centralW3CLogFileElement("period") = "Daily"

      serverManager.CommitChanges()
   End Sub

End Module

JavaScript

var adminManager = new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.ApplicationHost.WritableAdminManager');
adminManager.CommitPath = "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST";

var logSection = adminManager.GetAdminSection("system.applicationHost/log", "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST");
logSection.Properties.Item("centralLogFileMode").Value = "CentralW3C";
var centralW3CLogFileElement = logSection.ChildElements.Item("centralW3CLogFile");
centralW3CLogFileElement.Properties.Item("period").Value = "Daily";

adminManager.CommitChanges();

VBScript

Set adminManager = WScript.CreateObject("Microsoft.ApplicationHost.WritableAdminManager")
adminManager.CommitPath = "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST"

Set logSection = adminManager.GetAdminSection("system.applicationHost/log", "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST")
logSection.Properties.Item("centralLogFileMode").Value = "CentralW3C"
Set centralW3CLogFileElement = logSection.ChildElements.Item("centralW3CLogFile")
centralW3CLogFileElement.Properties.Item("period").Value = "Daily"

adminManager.CommitChanges()