View the service log

Service logs are logs written in a binary format. We cannot view a service log directly using a text editor. You should never directly edit the service log, as doing so will corrupt the log.

To move a service log from one machine to another, use a mechanism like FTP, which supports binary file transfer. We can view a service log in two ways:

• IBM recommends that you use the Log and Trace Analyzer tool to view the service log. This tool provides interactive viewing and analysis capability that is helpful in identifying problems.

• If unable to use the Log and Trace Analyzer tool, use the Showlog tool to convert the contents of the service log to a text format that we can then write to a file or dump to the command shell window.

Run the showlog script to view the contents of the service log as described in the following procedure.

 

1. Open a shell window on the machine where the service log resides.

2. Change the directory to APP_ROOT/bin where APP_ROOT is the fully qualified path where WAS v7 is installed.

3. Run the showlog script.

   (Windows) showlog.bat

   [Linux] [Solaris]

   [AIX] [HP-UX] showlog.sh

4. Run the following showlog script with no parameters to display usage instructions.

   (Windows) showlog.bat

   [Linux] [Solaris]

   [AIX] [HP-UX] showlog.sh

5. Display the service log contents to the shell window.

    showlog service_log_filename
   

   If the service log is not in the default location, fully qualify the service_log_filename

6. Format and write the service log contents to a file.

    showlog service_log_filename output_filename
   

   If the service log is not in the default location, fully qualify the service_log_filename