Log Files

There are a few different log file types:

Configuration Log - Shows how the configuration file has been interpreted. Primarily used for debugging purposes.
Status Logs - Show real-time status snapshots. These can be disabled, overwritten at each post, or appended to provide summarized rate information over time. Status data can also be provided via XCI without creating actual log files.
Scan / Activity Logs - Show message scan and special event data. These logs can be created in a "classic" multi-line format and / or the new XML structured format. These logs can also be configured to provide varying levels of detail. Activity log entries can also be provided via XCI without creating actual log files.

Basic Logging Features

NOTE: When changing configuration options it is NOT necessary to restart SNFServer. The new configuration will be read when SNFServer notices that the file has changed.

You can specify a path for log files in the configuration file. The path describes a directory where log files should be stored. Near the top of your SNF configuration file locate:
```
 <paths> 
   <log path='/path/to/log/files/'/>
				  
```
You can enable log rotation. When log rotation is turned on the log file is stamped with the date in compressed ISO format (similar to SNF log files, but missing hours, minutes, and seconds).
Status reports that have their append option turned on automatically have rotation turned on. For example, if you want your minute status report to record a log file with one entry per minute (for easier trends analysis) you might use:
```
<logs>
    ...
      <status>
         ...
            <minute log='yes' append='yes'/>
			
```

Classic log files can be created with or without rotation. To enable classic SNF log files with rotation you might use:

<logs>
  ... 
    <scan>
      ...
        <classic mode='file' rotate='yes' matches='unique'/>

XML log files have similar features. To turn on xml log files with rotation and full detail you might use:

<logs> 
  ...
    <scan>
      ...
        <xml mode='file' rotate='yes' matches='all' performance='yes' gbudb='yes'/>

By default, "Midnight" for log rotation is based on UTC - the same as the timestamps in the log file. However, a feature has been added to use the local time to determine "Midnight" for log rotation. Timestamps remain UTC based. To enable that feature use:
```
<logs>
  ...
    <rotation localtime='yes'/>
```