What’s in a log?

Do system logs get the respect they deserve? No, they do not! But this disrespect is not due to a lack of trying or caring. Sometimes, even the lowly system log needs a hand-up. Oft-relegated to the mundane grind of recording everyday IT life, it gets little love and nurturing. Sure, we use it to track performance trends that help us optimize cost, scale, and operation. We frequently make it the first stop when troubles arise. And we celebrate the individual who finds that nasty bug that was wreaking havoc on the entire service.

What is the problem with our current approach?

Individual teams decide what to log for their systems, how the logs should be structured, and where they should be stored. We are diligent at this. But this distributed and uncoordinated approach results in highly variable system logs that are hard to access, parse, and use, especially when they are most needed. Improving the process will derive better business value from the investment.

• Identify and mitigate security risks.
• Audit compliance with regulatory and policy requirements.
• Identify and remediate system performance issues.
• Identify and remediate application and IT solution defects.
• Analyze IT operations to support data-driven management and planning.

Introducing the Minimum Logging Standard

Over a dozen ITS technology specialists collaborated on developing our initial Enterprise Logging Standard (Standards Repository). Jason Shuff, lead writer of the logging standard, is “hoping that our approach, written by IT for IT, makes developers’ and admins’ lives easier. We think it will.” By defining a minimum logging practice it simplifies adoption and allows for flexibility. The standard covers popular development languages, servers, operating systems, virtualization, containerization, and databases.

What’s next?

“It will take some time for us to see the benefits of this effort,” says Michael DeSalvatore, a contributor to the standard, “but this simplified and standardized approach will bring needed consistency to our logs and establish a solid foundation for the future.” 

Starting in January 2024, all new projects and significant lifecycle events must comply with the new standard. Begin the journey now. Take a few minutes to jump over to the Enterprise Logging Standard (Standards Repository) to check out the scope and note how the standard will impact your team.