All Softdial applications create comprehensive log files that can be used to quickly diagnose the cause of virtually any issue that may arise.
Most logs are in an easy to read and interpret format, normally based on the SDMP message protocol or in some cases other standard formats such as SQL.
Log files can also be very useful in understanding how your system is performing and Sytel provides various log analysis tools and scripts to help with this (e.g. Statlog Analyser and AWK scripts).
Log file analysis is taught on the Sytel training courses and there are various documents in this guide that can be used to supplement and update the training information.
A PDF of the log analysis slides from the Sytel training course is available - download here.
Getting Started
In order to understand the log files and be able to follow SDMP message flow and session events, you first need to study the SDMP format and get familiar with how each message is used.
A very useful starting point for this is to follow the Dialer Chat tutorial. This not only introduces the Dialer Chat tool itself which is an essential diagnostic tool for any support person, it also provides a very comprehensive introduction to the SDMP message protocol and how these messages are used to control call sessions over the basic application layers - Agent, Campaign, Management and CTI.
See also the video Introduction to SDMP below. (Note: this video is silent)
In addition to this there is a detailed breakdown of message flow for a inbound/ outbound blending example in Inbound SDMP Messaging.
See also the following pages for practical examples of testing inbound and outbound call sequences:
- Testing 2 - Outbound (Outbound)
- Testing 3 - Inbound (Inbound)
You can use the API message section to understand more about the messages used in these examples.
Location of Softdial Logs
All Softdial service logs
The Logs folder contains a folder for each service as detailed below which in turn contains landlord and/ or tenant scope log files. In most cases the log filename shown below is appended with a datetimestamp value. The file format is .txt unless stated otherwise:
| Folder Name | Service | Scope | Log File Name/s |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlertMonitor | Alert Monitor | Landlord | AM |
| CM | Campaign Manager Server | Landlord/ Tenant | <campaign>.TXLog, SCM.txt, SCM.SQLErrorLog |
| CMC | Campaign Manager Client (Win) | Instance | CMClient |
| HSBridge | HttpSDMPBridge | Landlord/ Tenant | Bridge, CallGem, Mongo, Web, Processor, Replay |
| ListImport | List Import | Landlord | ListImport |
| PUB | Publisher | Landlord | DialerGate, ODBC Reporter, Publisher (Primary/Secondary) |
| PUBSEC | Secondary Publisher | Landlord | - |
| RecordMonitor | Record Monitor | Landlord | RecordMonitor |
| SCH | Scheduler | Landlord/ Tenant | Scheduler |
| SCR2 | Scripter 2 | Landlord/ Tenant | ScripterEngine, <campaign> |
| SNB | NetBridge | Landlord | - |
| SP | CallGem/Dialer | Landlord | Dialer.AbandonLog, Dialer.CCLog, Dialer.SecurityLog, Dialer.SysLog, Dialer.TransactionLog |
| SP | CallGem/Dialer | Tenant | <campaign>.MsgLog, <campaign>.Normal.StatLog, <campaign>.Callback.StatLog |
| SP_Managed | CallGem (Managed Code) | Landlord | SP_Managed_Trace |
| STG | Telephony Gateway | Landlord |
TelephonyGateway YYYY-MM-DD HH-MM-SS (part X).txt See STG Log Files |
| SWS | Workflow Server | Landlord | WorkflowServer |
| TenantProvisioning | Tenant Provisioning | Landlord | TenantProvisioning |
| WebServer | Web Server | Landlord | access, error |
.NET Service Log Configuration
On installation, by default, Softdial Contact Center™ is configured to perform reasonably detailed logging and persist log files for 28 days.
This default is necessary to ensure that the logging information is still available if there is a delay in escallating an issue to Sytel.
All Sytel services have simple configuration options to turn logging levels up or down, as follows:
.NET services have a .EXE.Config file with the following entries:
<logFile>
<!-- Settings for main log file: -->
<!-- Location could also be 'Absolute' to use 'Path' as a fully qualifiedpath -->
<add key="Location" value="ApplicationFolder"/>
<!--add key="Path" value="Logs" /-->
<add key="MaxDaysOld" value="28"/>
<add key="BreakAtMidnight" value="true"/>
<add key="BreakAtSize" value="10000000"/>
</logFile>
<system.diagnostics>
<switches>
<addname="Trace" value="4"/>
<addname="Debug" value="4"/>
<addname="Instrument" value="0"/>
</switches>
</system.diagnostics>
To reduce log file size on a stable production system, setting MaxDaysOld to a value less than 28 will ensure logs are purged according to the cycles specified. Higher trace values gives more detailed logging. Changing the Trace value to 3 on a stable production system will remove verbose logging from log files.
| Trace Level | Value |
|---|---|
| Off | 0 |
| Error | 1 |
| Warning | 2 |
| Info | 3 |
| Verbose | 4 |
For Softdial CallGem™ and Softdial Campaign Manager™, log purge settings are stored in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Sytel. The purge cycles for Softdial CallGem™ logs are documented in the Deployment Guidelines / Configuration Issues page. There is no option to alter logging levels for Softdial Contact Center™ core components.