Service manual

Access Logging
140 Sun ONE Directory Server Installation and Tuning Guide • June 2003
Access Logging
The access log contains detailed information about client connections and
operations performed. The access log canbe indispensable whendiagnosingaccess
problems, verifying server configuration settings, and evaluating server usage
patterns. The default logging level results, however, in significant disk activity for
most deployments,and the volume of disk activity can negatively affect server
performance.
Although the access log provides beneficial troubleshooting information, it may
become an I/O bottleneck. Consider disabling access logging once the directory is
deployed and running without errors or performance problems. When access
logging becomes necessary in a production environment, set logging levels to the
minimum required level. Additionally, consider placing the access log on its own
physical disk or fast disk subsystem having a large I/O buffer. Table 8-2 provides
further recommendations for specific attributes.
Table 8-2 Tuning Recommendations for Access Logging
Configuration Attribute (on dn: cn=config) Short Description and Tuning Recommendations
nsslapd-accesslog Specifies the path and filename of the access log file.
For low volume deployments, the access log may
share a disk with the audit and error logs.
For high volume deployments, consider putting the
access log on its own disk or disk subsystem, with its
own controller. Choose a disk with a large I/O buffer.
nsslapd-accesslog-level Specifies the level of informational logging used.
Change to0,noaccesslogging,(default256, logging
for access to an entry) unless a higher level is
required.
nsslapd-accesslog-logbuffering Determines whether the access log is buffered.
Leave on (default) unless you must disable buffering
to see access log messages as they are triggered.
Disabling buffering can result in a drop in overall
performance.