You are here: SwitchKit® Development Environment - Installation and Maintenance Guide > 6 Logging and Configuration Updates > Log File Management
SwitchKit manages the logs files so they are not overwritten and not allowed to continue to grow indefinitely. When attempting to open a log file for the first time, if a file of that name already exists, it is renamed, using a random three-digit number. For example, whenever the LLC starts, if there is already a messages.log file, it is renamed to messages.nnn.log, where <nnn> is a random three-digit number.
All log files used by SwitchKit are automatically closed after a specified amount of time. By default, this is every 24 hours. The first time that logfile is closed, it is renamed to logfile_date.001.suffix. The suffix of the closed file is preserved. The logfile will once again contain current information. Once the closeout period has passed again, logfile is moved to logfile_date_002.suffix. Closed files can be archived or deleted, without affecting the current logging.
By default, the log files are written to the current directory of the program. Alternatively, you can specify SK_LOG_DIR as the directory in which to write these log files.
Important! Remove log files often to avoid filling your disk space and causing erratic system behavior. If you do not move your log files regularly, lack of disk space may cause a system outage.
You can specify the time the file is closed by modifying the default behavior. By default, each file is closed every day at midnight local time. The environment variable SK_FILE_CLOSEOUT_HOUR can be used to modify the time to close the files. The default is 0 (midnight). See SK_FILE_CLOSEOUT_HOUR for more information.
Alternatively, the environment variable SK_FILE_LIFETIME can specify in hours how frequently the files are closed. For example, if SK_FILE_LIFETIME is specified to be 6, then the log files will be closed 4 times a day, at midnight, 6a.m., noon, and 6p.m. See SK_FILE_LIFETIME for more information. SK_FILE_CLOSEOUT_HOUR and SK_FILE_LIFETIME should not both be used on a system.
SK_FILE_MAX_SIZE specifies the size, in megabytes, to which the log file is allowed to grow before cycling. When a log cycles because the size is too big, the existing timer is not reset. The log will still cycle at the proper time. See SK_FILE_MAX_SIZE for more information.
SK_FILE_MAX_SIZE can be used with all other log file management environment variables.
To clear a log file, perform the following steps:
1. Start the Converged Services Administrator (CSA).
2. From the CSA File menu, select Provisioning® System® Clear Logs.
3. A pop-up window appears. Select the files you want to clear. Click OK.
Debugging Channel Management Issues
There is additional logging available to debug channel management issues. As this is CPU-intensive logging, it should only be done with the help of an Excel support engineer. Please contact Excel technical support for assistance.