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More logging variables
Last month, Professor INI answered a very detailed customer question about logging-related Notes.ini variables. The column provided information about 10 specific variables that the customer had found in the server's Notes.ini file. (Actually, these turned out to be nine variables because one was bogus.) However, this is only the tip of the iceberg as far as logging is concerned—Notes/Domino 6 offers many other logging-related variables not mentioned in the April column. So this month, we look at a few more of these variables.

Note that the total number of logging variables is too large to cover adequately in a single column. So we focus on particularly interesting ones not described (or only mentioned in passing) in previous installments of Ask Professor INI. As always, Professor INI recommends you never edit your Notes.ini file unless you're an experienced Notes/Domino user or administrator, ideally working under the direction of IBM Lotus Support.

Log and related variables
Any discussion of Notes.ini logging settings should naturally begin with the server variable Log. This controls the content of the log file and sets other logging actions. The syntax for this variable is:

Log=logfilename, log_option, not_used, days, size

where:

SettingDescription
logfilenameLog database file name, for example Log.nsf
log_optionThese are as follows:
1 = Log to the console
2 = Force database fixup when opening the log file
3 (not currently used, reserved)
4 = Full document scan
not_usedThis is always zero
daysNumber of days to save log documents
sizeSize of log text (in bytes) in event documents

Note that you can edit these settings only through the Notes.ini file; there is no UI equivalent.

Closely related to the Log variable are a number of Notes.ini variables that determine whether or not specific types of messages are logged. Among these are the following.

Log_Authentication
Determines whether or not authentication logging is enabled on the server. Set Log_Authentication=1 to enable authentication logging; zero disables it.

Log_Connections
Enables or disables connection logging on the server. Setting this variable to 1 enables connection logging; zero disables it. When this setting is enabled, the server console displays:
Log_DirCat
Specifies which information associated with the Directory Cataloger is recorded in the Miscellaneous Events view of the log file. Note that allowable settings are 1 and 3 (yes, 1 and 3, not 0 and 1 or 1 and 2 like other variables). Setting Log_DirCat=1 records:
Entering Log_DirCat=3 records all the preceding data, as well as the names of all entries processed. Note that setting this variable to 3 can impact server performance, so we recommend you use it sparingly (for instance, when trying to track down a potential problem).

Log_Replication
Defines the logging level of replication events. Acceptable values are:

Setting
Replication events recorded
0
None
1
Only the fact that a database is replicating
2
Summary data about each database
3
Information about each replicated document, including design and data
4
Information about each field replicated

Log_Update
Controls the level of Indexer events recorded at the server console and in the log file. Allowable values are:

Setting
Indexer event recorded
0
Indexer starts and stops
1
Indexer starts, stops, and updates views and full text indexes for specific databases
2
All events listed for 1 and records the names of views updated

Log_View_Events
Specifies whether or not messages generated when views are rebuilt are logged in the log file. Log_View_Events=1 logs these messages; zero (or omitting this variable from Notes.ini) disables logging of these messages.

Transaction logging
There are a number of Notes.ini server variables dedicated to controlling transaction logging. These are as follows. (For more details on transaction logging in Domino 6, see the Performance Perspectives column "More on Domino 6 transaction logging" in the January 2003 issue of LDD Today.)

Translog_Style
Specifies transaction logging type either 0 (circular; the system continuously reuses existing log files) or 1 (archive; no reuse of existing log files). The default is 0 (circular).

Translog_Status
Controls transaction logging for Domino 5 databases on the server. Enter 0 to disable transaction logging or 1 to enable it. This variable is equivalent to the Transactional logging field on the Transactional Logging tab of the Server document.

Translog_MaxSize
Sets the maximum size (in MB) for the transaction log. We recommend at least 192 MB. If you don't set Translog_MaxSize, Domino determines a log size approximately three times the size of the server's RAM. This variable is equivalent to the Maximum log space field on the Transactional Logging tab of the Server document.

Translog_UseAll
Determines whether or not to use all available disk space on the log device. Enter 0 to instruct the system to use the default (or the specified value in Translog_MaxSize). Enter 1 to tell the system to use all available space on the disk for the transaction log. This variable is equivalent to the "Use all available space on log device" field on the Transactional Logging tab of the Server document.

Translog_Performance
Sets the trade-off between transactional log runtime and restart recovery time. Entering 1 tells the system to favor runtime. Entering 3 favors restart recovery time. The default is 2, meaning neither is favored. This variable is equivalent to the Runtime/Restart performance field on the Transactional Logging tab of the Server document.


Do you have a Notes.ini question? Send it in to Professor INI. We'll answer as many questions as we can in future "Ask Professor INI" columns. Keep in mind, however, that we may not be able to answer every question, nor can we quickly respond to requests that require immediate attention. If you need an immediate response to a question, we recommend you post it in the Notes/Domino Gold Release Forum where someone from the general Notes community might be able to help, or contact Lotus Support Services.