Log Management Required for Developers

Are you still connecting to your server via SSH to view logs?

The method of logging directly into the server and checking the log file has several limitations. First, if you operate multiple servers, you have to access each server individually, which takes a lot of time and makes management complicated. Second, it is difficult to monitor logs in real time, making it difficult to respond quickly when a problem occurs. In addition, since log search and analysis are done manually, important information may be missed or it may take time to find errors. This method is especially inefficient in large-scale distributed systems, and can have a negative impact on the stability of the service and the user experience. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce a more systematic and automated log management method.

Log management is an important tool that goes beyond simply recording errors, but also understands the heartbeat of an application and predicts problems in advance. Especially in modern complex distributed systems, log management can determine the stability of services and user experience. In practice, the ability to quickly identify and resolve problems amidst a large amount of data and traffic is essential.

In this lecture, "Log Management for Developers," we will cover various strategies and tips that can be applied immediately in practice, from what logs to leave to how to utilize logs. You will systematically learn the entire process of log management from beginning to end, and experience firsthand how logs can be utilized in service operation.

First, we will cover the basic knowledge of logs. In this lecture, you will understand the basic concept and importance of logs, learn what information should be logged, how to use logs in exception handling, and learn the meaning and utilization of various log levels. Through this, you will recognize the importance of logs in the development process and learn how to leave logs effectively.

Secondly, we will cover Logback configuration. We will explain the basic concepts of Logback and its connection with Slf4j, and learn how to write an actual Logback configuration file through practice. You can learn the configuration techniques required in practice, such as separating logs into multiple files using various Appenders, managing logs by day, and compressing log files. You will also learn how to implement flexible log management by applying different Logback settings for each development environment.

Next, we will introduce the importance of log collection and how to use Elasticsearch and Logstash, which are tools for this. We will practice installing Elasticsearch and Logstash using Docker and forwarding logs to Elasticsearch through LogstashAppender. We will learn how to efficiently collect and manage logs in a distributed environment and also learn how to effectively check the logs collected in Elasticsearch.

Finally, we will cover log visualization and utilization methods. You will learn how to visualize log data using Kibana and monitor logs in real time through a dashboard. You will learn how to add service and host information to log data to improve the readability of logs and how to build a system that can respond quickly when errors occur through alarm settings. You will also learn how to receive alarms through Slack in conjunction with Jenkins to build a log monitoring environment that can be used immediately in practice.

This course provides essential content for developers and engineers who want to systematically learn from the basics of log management to advanced settings. It will be of great help to anyone who wants to improve the stability of the system through effective log management and develop the ability to respond quickly when problems occur.

Example Logback configuration file

 < configuration >
    < property name = "LOG_FILE" value = "application.log" />

    
    < appender name = "LOGSTASH" class = "net.logstash.logback.appender.LogstashTcpSocketAppender" >
        < destination > localhost:5044  destination >
        < encoder class = "net.logstash.logback.encoder.LogstashEncoder" />
     appender >

    
    < appender name = "CONSOLE" class = "ch.qos.logback.core.ConsoleAppender" >
        < encoder >
            < pattern > %d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss} %-5level [%thread] %logger{36} - %msg%n  pattern >
         encoder >
     appender >

    
    < appender name = "FILE" class = "ch.qos.logback.core.rolling.RollingFileAppender" >
        < file > ${LOG_FILE}  file >
        < rollingPolicy class = "ch.qos.logback.core.rolling.TimeBasedRollingPolicy" >
            < fileNamePattern > application.%d{yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm}.log.gz  fileNamePattern >
            < maxHistory > 5  maxHistory >
         rollingPolicy >
        < encoder >
            < pattern > %d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss} %-5level [%thread] %logger{36} - %msg%n  pattern >
         encoder >
     appender >

    
    < root level = "trace" >
        < appender-ref ref = "CONSOLE" />
        < appender-ref ref = "FILE" />
        < appender-ref ref = "LOGSTASH" />
     root >
 configuration >

Log visualization example

Learn about these things

Things to note before taking the class