Configuring logging for runtime environments

You can handle logging and tracing configurations in your runtime environments by using Run Engine commands.

Note: When you work with IBM to debug request processing problems, there might be occasions where low-level tracing components must be enabled to capture details for how the request is processed. These low-level Application server trace components do not know the request intent or the potential data within. Therefore, when enabled, it is possible that these tracing components might potentially include sensitive information, in plain text, in the trace file.

It is recommended that you do not enable these types of tracing components on a production system and attempt to simulate the problem on a quality assurance environment to capture the appropriate information. However, if the tracing components must be enabled on a production system, handle the trace files with caution. Before you send the trace, remove sensitive data that might be in the trace before you allow a third party to use the trace for diagnosis. Further, when the trace is no longer required, remove the files with a military-grade data wiping process. When the problem is found and the tracing component is no longer required, immediately disable the low-level tracing components.

To configure tracing in the Transaction server, you either use the WebSphere Application Server Administrative console or use Run Engine commands. To configure tracing in the Search, Store, and Customization servers, you can only use Run Engine commands. For more information, review the following topics.