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Appendix B. Logging and reporting problems

The following sections describe the most commonly used log files and debugging tools available in Satellite.

B.1. Configuring logging levels with Hammer CLI
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You can use Hammer to log debugging information for various Satellite components. The default logging level is INFO.

  • To list the components whose logging level you can change by using hammer: 

    $ hammer admin logging --list

  • To set DEBUG level logging for all components: 

    $ hammer admin logging --all --level-debug
# satellite-maintain service restart

  • To set PRODUCTION level logging for all components: 

    $ hammer admin logging --all --level-production
# satellite-maintain service restart

  • To set DEBUG level logging for a specific component: 

    $ hammer admin logging --components My_Component --level-debug
# satellite-maintain service restart

  • To list all available logging options: 

    $ hammer admin logging --help

Additional resources

B.2. Configuring logging type and layout
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By default, Satellite uses file-based logging. You can use satellite-installer to change the logging type and logging layout.

Configuring logging with journal

Enter the following satellite-installer command to configure logging to the journald service: 

# satellite-installer \
--foreman-logging-type journald \
--foreman-proxy-log JOURNAL

To inspect the log messages, use the journalctl utility. For example:

  • journalctl --unit foreman and journalctl --unit foreman-proxy show messages for the foreman and foreman-proxy units
  • journalctl REQUEST=request_ID shows messages for a specified request
Configuring file-based logging

Enter the following satellite-installer command to configure file-based logging: 

# satellite-installer \
--reset-foreman-logging-type \
--reset-foreman-proxy-log

To inspect the log messages, view these files:

  • /var/log/foreman/production.log
  • /var/log/foreman-proxy.log
Procedure for configuring logging to JSON output

On your Satellite Server, enable logging to JSON output for satellite-installer: 

# satellite-installer \
--foreman-logging-layout json \
--foreman-logging-type file

To inspect the log messages, use jq: 

# cat /var/log/foreman/production.log | jq

Additional resources

B.3. Selective debugging with individual loggers
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You can enable individual loggers for selective debugging.

Procedure

  1. Enable the required individual loggers. For example, to enable sql and ldap loggers, enter the following command: 

    # satellite-installer \
--foreman-loggers ldap:true \
--foreman-loggers sql:true

  2. Optional: Reset all loggers to their default values: 

    # satellite-installer --reset-foreman-loggers

B.4. Overview of individual loggers
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The following list provides an overview of selected loggers. You can find the complete list of loggers with their default values in /usr/share/foreman/config/application.rb under Foreman::Logging.add_loggers.

app

Logs web requests and all general application messages.

Default value: true.

audit

Logs additional fact statistics, numbers of added, updated, and removed facts.

Default value: true.

background
Logs information from the background processing component.
blob

Logs contents of rendered templates for auditing purposes.

Important

The blob logger might contain sensitive data.

dynflow
Logs information from the Dynflow process.
ldap

Logs high level LDAP queries and LDAP operations.

Default value: false.

notifications
Logs information from the notifications component.
permissions

Logs queries to user roles, filters, and permissions when loading pages.

Default value: false.

sql

Logs SQL queries made through Rails ActiveRecord.

Default value: false.

telemetry
Logs debugging information from telemetry.
templates
Logs information from the template renderer component.

Satellite uses a set of back-end services. When troubleshooting, you can check the status of Satellite services by using Hammer CLI.

Procedure

  • Get information from the database and Satellite services: 

    $ hammer ping

  • Check the status of the services running in systemd: 

    # satellite-maintain service status

    Run satellite-maintain service --help for more information.

  • Perform a health check: 

    $ satellite-maintain health check

    Run satellite-maintain health --help for more information.

B.6. Restarting services
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Satellite uses a set of back-end services. When troubleshooting, you can restart the services if needed.

Procedure

  • Restart Satellite services: 

    # satellite-maintain service restart

B.7. Utilities for processing log information
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You can collect information from log files to troubleshoot Satellite.

sosreport

The sos report command collects configuration and diagnostic information from a Linux system, such as the running kernel version, loaded modules, running services, and system and service configuration files. Additionally, it collects information about Red Hat Satellite, such as its back-end services and tasks. This output is stored in a tar file located at /var/tmp/sosreport-XXX-20171002230919.tar.xz.

For more information, run sos report --help or see What is a sosreport and how can I create one? in the Red Hat Knowledgebase.

Important

The sos report command removes security information such as passwords, tokens, and keys while collecting information. However, the tar files can still contain sensitive information about the Satellite Server. Send the tar files directly to the intended recipient and not to a public target.

foreman-tail

The foreman-tail command displays Satellite logs in real time.

For more information, see the foreman-tail(8) man page.

B.8. Log file directories
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The following table provides an overview of selected log directories on Satellite Server.

Expand
Log file directoryDescription of log file content

/var/log/candlepin/

Subscription management

/var/log/foreman-installer/

Installer

/var/log/foreman-maintain/

Foreman maintain

/var/log/foreman-proxy/

Foreman proxy

/var/log/foreman/

Foreman

/var/log/httpd/

Apache HTTP server

/var/log/messages/

Various other log messages

/var/log/puppetlabs/puppet/

Puppet

/var/log/tomcat/

Candlepin web service logs

B.9. System journal metadata
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The following table lists metadata that the journald service uses in Satellite. You can use this metadata to filter your queries.

AUDIT_ACTION

Audit action performed

Example: Create, update, or delete

AUDIT_TYPE

Audit resource type

Example: Host, Subnet, or ContentView

AUDIT_ID
Audit resource database ID as a number
AUDIT_ATTRIBUTE
Audit resource field or an updated database column
AUDIT_FIELD_OLD
Old audit value of an update action
AUDIT_FIELD_NEW
New audit value of an update action
AUDIT_ID
Record database ID of the audit subject
AUDIT_ATTRIBUTE

Attribute name or column on which an action was performed

Example: Name or description

EXCEPTION_MESSAGE
Exception message when error is logged
EXCEPTION_CLASS
Exception Ruby class when error is logged
EXCEPTION_BACKTRACE
Exception backtrace as a multiline string when error is logged
LOC_ID
Location database ID
LOC_NAME
Location name
LOC_LABEL
Location label
LOGGER

Logger name

To see the current list of loggers enabled by default, enter this command: 

# awk '/add_loggers/,/^$/' /usr/share/foreman/config/application.rb
ORG_ID
Organization database ID
ORG_NAME
Organization name
ORG_LABEL
Organization label
REMOTE_IP
Remote IP address of a client
REQUEST
Request ID generated by the Action Dispatch module
SESSION
Random ID generated per session or a request for a sessionless request
TEMPLATE_NAME
Template name
TEMPLATE_DIGEST
Digest (SHA256) of rendered template contents
TEMPLATE_HOST_NAME
Host name for a rendered template if present
TEMPLATE_HOST_ID
Host database ID for a rendered template if present
USER_LOGIN
User login name
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