How do the raw log files work?

[v2rahn]

I am with Page-Zone since 3 weeks and have a basic question:

I can download raw log files using the link in the control panel. Whenever I do so, the content starts from the begin of the month (let's say since I signed up), not from the last time I downloaded it.

- When will the log file start over again?
- What will then happen to the old log file, will it remain with another filename and if yes how can that be deleted once I got it entirely?
- Is there another way to access the log file (e.g. by ftp)?
- Anything else of interest regarding raw log files?

Thanks a lot !

Stephen

[Jim]

Welcome!

- When will the log file start over again?

They start at the 0 hour each month.

- What will then happen to the old log file, will it remain with another filename and if yes how can that be deleted once I got it entirely?

It gets deleted without mercy by our server software

- Is there another way to access the log file (e.g. by ftp)?

It sits outside of your /home/user directory so there is no way to get to it via ftp.

- Anything else of interest regarding raw log files?

You can track people by their IP and read what they did on your site, but you probably already knew that.

[v2rahn]

Hello Jim,

that leads me to a few additional questions (that's how life is...):

(1)In principle, is there a way to change that time zero, with two advantages: It would not be at 5am of my local time that I have to download the monthly file, and more important: I would get the whole logs in my time.

(2) Is there a button I (or you) can switch to convert those IPs in the log files to meaningful host names?
If no, does you (or anyone else) know a handy and FAST Windows tool that converts a raw log file for me? My log analyzer takes hours to do it, I suspect it does not cache those frequent or repeating IPs or uses the wrong DNS for the lookup.

(3) Perhaps I am doing something wrong, but I have found at several occasions that files accessed using a subdomain address (sub.rahn.net/file) are not logged, while the same file accessed using the non-subdomain path (www.rahn.net/sub/file) is logged. If it's true this looks like a bug to me. Anything I can do to remedy this?

A lot of questions, already thanks for your answers!

Stephen

[Jim]

(1)In principle, is there a way to change that time zero, with two advantages: It would not be at 5am of my local time that I have to download the monthly file, and more important: I would get the whole logs in my time.

The server time is set to New York time, US. (eastern standard time) There can only be one clock on the system so at midnight "server time" it will change logs. No two ways about it.

(2) Is there a button I (or you) can switch to convert those IPs in the log files to meaningful host names?
If no, does you (or anyone else) know a handy and FAST Windows tool that converts a raw log file for me? My log analyzer takes hours to do it, I suspect it does not cache those frequent or repeating IPs or uses the wrong DNS for the lookup.

http://yourdomain.com:2082/awstats.pl?config=yordomain.com
(replace "yourdomain.com") Will get you an on-server logfile anylizer. THere will be a password box come up. You put your control panel username & password in it to get in.

(3) Perhaps I am doing something wrong, but I have found at several occasions that files accessed using a subdomain address (sub.rahn.net/file) are not logged, while the same file accessed using the non-subdomain path (www.rahn.net/sub/file) is logged. If it's true this looks like a bug to me. Anything I can do to remedy this?

There are things you can do to remedy it. If you are looking to log file downloads I'd suggest getting a cgi script to log it.
CGI Resources (click here) has a ton of resources to do just that. The way most of them work is, you call the file through the script, the script does what you want it to do then sends the file.

[v2rahn]

Jim, thanks for your answers!

Answer 1 is right what I thought it would be. That's ok.

The on-server logfile analyzer you recommend for my second question is what I come to from my control panel as well, I think. It's indeed very good. I had never seen it before and i love it. But I did ask that question about converting IPs in my raw log files to meaningful host names, because this on-server AWstats does NOT give us hostnames, just IPs. AWstats is wonderful, but its reports could be much more meaningful with hostnames instead of IP numbers.

To my third question, which is not about whatever downloaded file in my subdomain, but e.g. about the subdomains index.htm file (I expressed myself unclear the first time).
Reading both the online AWstats reports and the raw log file shows, that nothing, even not the index.htm file of the subdomain is tracked when accessing it via subdomain.rahn.net/index.htm. But if I access it via www.rahn.net/subdomain/index.htm, then it's indeed tracked in the log file and also shows up in the online statistics package.
It's this discepancy that I think is a bug, not some obscure download that's left untracked.
Subdomains are meant to be used opf course, so basically all of my visitors come using the subdomain URL, and none of them shows up in my stats.

This last point is the most important for me. Now that I stated it more clearly, could you please check again if this behaviour is normal or not?

Many thanks for your replies !

Stephen

[Jim]

We have another lisenced control pane which comes with subdomain stats, I've changed your account to show that control panel. It is a bit more graphics intensive but has subdomain stats. If you want to keep it let me know, or you can copy the url syntax of the stats and have me change the control panel back.

If you start back at http://yourdomain/cpanel/ and let the server lead you in you'll see the different control panel. Let me know what is is you want to keep (which CPanel version).

[v2rahn]

Thanks a lot, Jim, for you lighning fast reply and the new control panel!

I like the new panel much more and would like to keep it if possible. It has the subdomain stats and looks much better as well.

As I am someone looking into details very much, please let me know if you get a control panel that offers AWstats for subdomains or access to subdomain raw logs. Would be a nice add-on, but as I said I now get what I need in the first place from the new control panel.

Thanks again !

Stephen