Web Server Log Files

Your Virtual Private Server Apache Web Server logs all the traffic at your Web site to log files located in your ~/www/logs directory. There are either two or four log files there depending upon how web server is configured. Newer Virtual Private Servers are configured by default to log in the Combined Log Format. All information is logged to the access_log or the error_log

Older Virtual Private Servers are configured by default to log in the Common Log Format. All information is logged to four log files. These files are the access_log, agent_log, referer_log, and the error_log.

Logged in the files above is the volume of activity at each page on your web site, the type of browser used to access each page, any errors that users may have experienced downloading pages from your site, and where users were referred from when they accessed pages at your site.

Log File Analysis Programs

The actual data logged in the web server log files is cryptic, to say the least. To make sense of it, you will probably want to use a Web Log Analyzer to process and analyze it for you. Fortunately there are numerous programs that will do just that.

Log File Configuration and Management

You are free to configure and manage your Virtual Private Server web server log files however you like.

• Changing Your Web Server Log File Format
• Rotating Your Web Server Log Files
• vnukelog - Clearing Your Virtual Private Server Log Files