Logging and Monitoring - Kofax Total Agility

Logging and system monitoring is important for any enterprise system. KTA generates logging data, and it is important to understand the levels of logging and how to change the logging parameters as per project needs.

Logging is a process used to track and record important errors, such as database failures or script failures. These errors are recorded in the Windows Event log, including errors that occur in services and when SDK web service calls are made. KTA utilizes the Unity logging framework, which allows for advanced logging options through various configuration settings. The Unity logging framework also allows for configuration of logging output to various destinations. Logging can be enabled for the Web Server, Core Worker, Export Service, Streaming Service, Transformation Server, and Reporting Server. Additionally, different outputs such as event log and log files can be chosen for logging (with event log being the default).

Let's explore how to find and review event logs and determine the source of logging information. The table below lists Total Agility components in the left column and the specific event source system information in the right column.

Examine the event source and event ID in the Windows Application Event Viewer to determine which service is causing problems. For instance, a screenshot displaying a log entry of an export service restart highlights the event source, giving a quick understanding of the entry and source service.?

As another example, consider a licensing service error entry. Observe the source.

Typically, accessing event logs requires access to the server, but there may be cases where server access is unavailable. An alternative is to enable file-based logging and save the generated logs to a storage location by modifying the settings in the product's internal configuration files. These settings can be found in configuration files but are commented out by default. By enabling these settings, logs can be written to specific files. For example, logging can be activated by making changes in the following configuration files:

????i.?????????Web.config

??ii.?????????Agility.Server.Core.WorkerService.exe.config

iii.?????????Agility.Server.StreamingService.exe.config

?iv.?????????Agility.Server.Core.ExportService.exe.config

Let’s try to enable file-based logging for Core WorkerService.

Step 1 :- Locate the configuration file from KTA installation path. For default installation path will be, C:\\Program Files\Kofax\TotalAgility\CoreWorkerService

Step 2: Open the file and locate System. Diagnostic.?

Step 3: Uncomment the section, notice “<!—” and “-->” lines are removed.

Step 4: You can notice that log file is created and similar to Windows event viewer log entries are made into this text based log file,?

Note: Before enabling file-based logging, consider the space requirements on the server or storage drives. It's also crucial to have a proper archival plan, especially if enabling deep trace level logs.

There could be some situation where you might need to generate information on demand to work on the issues. Two such tools for Kofax windows service and database:-

1. Microsoft Performance Monitor
2. SQL Server Profiler

To use Microsoft Performance Monitor,

• Open the Run dialog box by pressing the Windows key + R
• Type "perfmon" and press Enter
• The Performance Monitor will open and you can start monitoring your server's performance by adding related KTA server

It can be used to monitor performance counters for Core Worker and Export Services, including thread pools, worker tasks, and other automatic activities in Windows. Performance counters for Kofax TotalAgility are installed by default. These counters are identified by the KTA prefix, e.g. 'KTA Core Worker:WorkerTasks' counter.

To use SQL Server Profiler,

SQL Profiler is a graphical tool for capturing and analyzing SQL Server events in real-time. It's part of the standard client tools bundle included with SQL Server.

• Open SQL Server Management Studio
• Connect to the database server you want to profile
• Click on the "Tools" menu and select "SQL Server Profiler"
• The SQL Server Profiler tool will open and you can start creating traces to monitor database activity

Click on run button and analyze the trace info,

Other ways to monitor system behavior include analyzing through the workload form and management console. These tools are useful for system administrators to support large-scale KTA implementations. If necessary, custom logging can be added to processes or data can be written to custom databases to meet an organization's specific logging requirements.

Please let me know your comments if this article helped you, and if you would like me to explore and share info on any other topic related to Kofax.?

Reference - Kofax official product documentation