Troubleshooting and Monitoring Tips for AEM Cloud Service Log Tailing

Tailing logs in AEM (Adobe Experience Manager) within the AEM Cloud Service is a routine practice for troubleshooting and monitoring purposes. AEM Cloud Service, provided by Adobe, operates AEM within a cloud-based environment, which necessitates a slightly different approach for accessing logs compared to on-premises setups. Here is a general procedure for tailing AEM logs in AEM Cloud Service:

To tail logs in an AEM as a Cloud Service environment, follow these steps:

Step 1: Configure Adobe I/O CLI

1. Open the Command Prompt/Terminal and proceed to install the Adobe I/O CLI tool. For additional information on Adobe I/O CLI, refer to the following link: Adobe IO CLI details here
2. Confirm whether Node.js is installed on your system. If not, please install it. For Node.js installation instructions, consult the following link: Node.js installation details here

$ npm install -g @adobe/aio-cli        

Post Install of adobe/ aio-cli

$ aio info
output: - 
rj00752505@BGINCHAMLP00792 ~ % aio info

  System:
    OS: macOS 13.4.1
    CPU: (10) arm64 Apple M1 Pro
    Memory: 87.38 MB / 16.00 GB
    Shell: 5.9 - /bin/zsh
  Virtualization:
    Docker: Not Found
  npmGlobalPackages:
    @adobe/aio-cli: 9.3.0        

Step 2: Configure the Adobe IO Cloud Manager CLI Plugin

Installation

aio plugins:install @adobe/aio-cli-plugin-cloudmanager
        

Updating

$ aio plugins:update
        

Step 3: Authentication

a) Browser-Based Authentication - Browser-based authentication starts by running this command.

aio auth:login
        

This command will open a browser window in which you will authenticate using your Adobe Identity.

b) Service Account Authentication To use a service account authentication, an integration (aka project) must be created in the Adobe I/O Console which has the Cloud Manager service.

The required type of server-to-server authentication

{
  "client_id": "value from your CLI integration (String)",
  "client_secret": "value from your CLI integration (String)",
  "jwt_payload": { value from your CLI integration (JSON Object Literal) },
  "token_exchange_url": "https://ims-na1.adobelogin.com/ims/exchange/jwt"
}
        

Step 4: Setting Up the Default Program and Default Environment

To Find the Env and Program id - Navigate to my.cloudmanager.adobe.com, you’ll see a URL after logging in like “https://experience.adobe.com/#/@the_cool_name_of_my_company/cloud-manager/home.html/program/{PROGRAM_NUMBER}

$ aio config:set cloudmanager_programid 34562 // setting up default program
$ aio config:set cloudmanager_environmentid 124551 //setting up default env        

The Importance of Log Tailing

Log files in AEM contain valuable information about the system's operation, errors, warnings, and other critical events. Log tailing involves continuously monitoring these log files in real-time. Here's why it's important:

1. Issue Identification: Log tailing allows you to quickly identify and diagnose issues such as errors, performance bottlenecks, or security incidents. This proactive approach can prevent potential downtime or user disruptions.
2. Performance Optimization: By monitoring logs, you can identify areas where your AEM Cloud Service may be underperforming or inefficient. This data can help you optimize your configuration and resources.
3. Security: Monitoring logs is essential for identifying and responding to security threats. Unusual activities, unauthorized access attempts, or other suspicious events can often be detected through log analysis.
4. Compliance: Many industries and organizations have compliance requirements that mandate log monitoring and retention. Log tailing ensures you meet these obligations.