Introduction to log analysis

Every web server comprises a repository of actions and events that occur on the server. This repository is called the “Logs” directory and contains a raw log file called “Log”. This file contains raw information (information that is not formatted or analyzed; simply plain statistical data) that quantifies user traffic on your Web and FTP servers, and is updated on a nightly basis.

Intelligent analysis of this data provides a statistical baseline that can be used to determine server load, failed requests and other events that illustrate site usage patterns. This information can be distilled to provide valuable leads on marketing and site management.

A typical log report conveys the following:

- The number of requests received by your server

- The date and time when the request was made

- The pages or files requested

- The address of the requesting host

- The page from which a user visited your site

- The last page viewed by a user on the site