Evaluating Web Server Log Analysis Tools David Strom SD’98 2/13/98

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.2 Summary Examine different log files What you can and can’t learn from your logs Pros and cons of various tools

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.3 Different types of log files Access Error Referral Other

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.4 Access logs Domain name Date, time Server command processed and result URL of visitor Bytes transmitted

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.5 Sample access log data rm258.fav.usu.edu [31/May/1995:09:03: ] "GET /NEI.html HTTP/1.0" rm258.fav.usu.edu [31/May/1995:09:03: ] "GET /xculture/nei/nei.html HTTP/1.0" rm258.fav.usu.edu [31/May/1995:09:03: ] "GET /gifs/sedlbutton.gif HTTP/1.0" [31/May/1995:09:20: ] "GET /RELs.html HTTP/1.0" Leslie-Francis.tenet.edu [31/May/1995:09:36: ] "GET / HTTP/1.0" ls973.ulib.albany.edu [31/May/1995:09:40: ] "GET /viii1.html HTTP/1.0"

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.6 Errors reported in your logs Clients that time out (or leave in frustration!) Scripts that don’t produce any output Server bugs User authentication or configuration problems

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.7 Sample error log data [Thu May 30 07:25: ] send timed out for bamberg.sedl.org [Thu May 30 07:57: ] send timed out for kenya.sedl.org [Thu May 30 08:23: ] send timed out for ppp092.kyoto- inet.or.jp [Thu May 30 09:15: ] access to /usr/local/www/htdocs/scimath/compass/vol03 failed for , reason: File does not exist [Thu May 30 09:57: ] send timed out for dd compuserve.com [Thu May 30 10:47: ] read timed out for ncia110b.ncia.net

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.8 Referral logs Who links to your site? Who downloads your pages?

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.9 Sample referral log data ->/change/welcome.html - >/welcome.html - >/policy/networks/toc.html - >/policy/networks/toc.html - >/resources/SCIMAST/announcement.html - >/policy/networks/toc.html - >/welcome.html

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.10 Common log format Output by most standard servers Needed by most third-party log analyzers hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu/docs/setup/httpd/Overview.html

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.11 Extended/custom log formats Log whatever you wish in whatever order you wish Useful if you will read them regularly! But can’t work with the analyzers Now in IIS v4, NSCP v3, others.

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.12 What you can learn from your log files Hits per day Domain origins The path people take in and around your web Problem areas

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.13 HITS (How Idiots Track Success) Nobody uses this word anymore Doesn’t really measure individual users, just access Catching servers and proxies mess up these statistics

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.14 Domain origins Where users are coming from -- sometimes Just because they are from ibm.net doesn’t mean they work at IBM! Forgotten accounts, friends and family using the account Hacked user names Proxies don’t help here either

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.15 The path people take in and around your web Search engines help sometimes Which search site was the most popular front door Who links to you and why Is there a pattern or a random walk?

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.16 Problem areas to deal with Broken links (locally) Broken outbound links Time outs (sunspots?)

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.17 What you can’t learn from your logs Who are these people, anyway? –No specific user names –Is it a bot or a real human? How long did they view a page? –Most people don’t spend much time on your web –Where did they go visit next?

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.18 What technologies are available? Built-in analyzer tools Sites that capture user info Secure sites with registration Build your own from perl Third-party tools

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.19 Built-in tools WebSite, website.ora.com IIS with Site Server, Netscape servers, Easy to use but limited

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.20 WebSite Professional v2 Win NT, 95 Best web server for learning about logs, best docs QuickStats module for instant analysis: –single report but nice set of information –shows today, last two days requests and unique hosts –IP addresses of visitors, average requests/hour

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.21 IIS Site Server NT Server v4 w/SP3 only Lots of preconfigured reports Two versions, Express and Full (customized reports) backoffice.microsoft.com/products/siteserve r/express/

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.22 Netscape v3 web servers Various NT, Unix versions Reports for a few variables but nothing too extensive Best to use a third-party tool here

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.23 Sites that capture user info WebCounter, -- third-party hit counter Someone else does the programming and debugging But beyond your control

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.24 Secure sites with registration You know your users But many won’t register, or forget their passwords Requires scripting, database integration, more maintenance

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.25 Build your own from perl Needs some in-house support Works best with Unix-based webs Examples: –refstats, members.aol.com/htmlguru/refstats.html –surfreport, bienlogic.com/SurfReport/

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.26 Third-party tools WebTracker, WebTrends, net.Genesis, MarketWave, IIS Assistant,

SD'98 (c) David Strom, Inc.27 Third-party tools (con’t) Can make very pretty reports Customizable Make sure they support your particular log format Not that expensive, mostly run on Windows