Keep it up and running

Operations are all about keeping things up and running smoothly. If you're facing a content or functionality issue and need to diagnose it, then this is also the best place to start.

When things go wrong, the first thing you usually look at is the log files.

Log files

For rookies in the crowd: Content Server log file is a list of sequential entries where it takes a record of all significant activities it engages or is about to engage in.

Almost always, the log file contains more detail on error messages and you can look at a whole sequence of events; what Content Server was doing just before the error occurred.

Expand the Log Files folder under Administration. Click on Content Server Logs (as shown in the following screenshot):

Note

This screen is also available in Admin Server when you click on the instance name button (that is idc).

Click on the link that leads to a log file for the data you need to explore. Log file messages are fairly clear and self-explanatory, but if you need more information, I'll be helping you get maximum value of Oracle help, documentation, and support in Chapter 10.

You can also zoom in and capture mountains of additional information, not shown in the log files with System Audit Information.

System Audit Information

Follow the link on the left, the second one below Admin Applets.

This is where you control what information gets printed on Content Server output. If you need to see exactly what's going on with a specific sub-system like mail or indexer then select that in the dropdown and click on Update.

The round information icon following Tracing Section Information brings up a screen with their detailed description.

Full verbose tracing, where each tracing section displays an even greater level of details, may also come handy:

Tip

Just remember to un-check the box after you are done with diagnostics.

Keeping verbose tracing checked affects performance and uses up a lot of disk space.

Placing a checkmark in the Save box will preserve your choices between Content Server restarts.

Once tracing sections are configured, the following screen will actually show you the info you requested. The screen is called View Server Output.

View Server Output

Click on the View Server Output link on the top left of the screen (as shown in the following screenshot):

Server output is the most detailed, trace-level logging. If you were to start a Content Server process from a console window then this is exactly what you would see. As I mentioned, tracing provides you with the next level of details that you cannot get from the log files. You can also select what Content Server sections should be providing you with that level of info.

Use the Clear and Refresh buttons above to keep output to a manageable size.

The System Audit Information page also has a few vital indicators like memory and database connection information (you can also access this screen from Admin Server).

And the next link down under the Administration tray brings up Environment Packager.

Environment Packager

Environment Packager is a useful utility, which you use when contacting Oracle Support. It makes copies of your log files and your system configuration, and places then into one ZIP file. You can them e-mail it to Oracle Support or attach to your online inquiry. (I'll be helping you discover the treasure that lies hidden in Oracle Support later in Chapter 10.) In the next section we will see how to manage users.