Changes made dynamically to log settings in your application's Administrator user interface apply to the console and main log file(s) only. There is one main log file per node, for example, AribaBuyernodenameLog.txt, where nodename is the name of an Ariba Buyer logical node.

The logging level for the audit log category, which monitors actions performed in your application's Administrator user interface and changes made using the command-line administration tool (for example, the servermonitor command in Ariba Buyer) is not displayed.

To change database log settings and to change the logging level for the audit log category, you must modify the config/Parameters.table file and then restart your Ariba Spend Management application. Some log categories are for Ariba internal use and are not visible in your application's Administrator user interface in the default configuration.

The Log Settings task allows you to view and dynamically change logging levels for individual log categories, one logical node at a time. By default, logging levels are displayed for all log categories except the audit log category. You can search for specific log categories, and you can switch to another node. The ability to change logging levels dynamically can help you monitor the operation of your Ariba Spend Management application to detect problems or unusual behavior.

There are several logging levels that can be set for a log category:

• Off: Error messages only (the least verbose setting)
• Warning: Warning and error messages
• Info: Info, warning, and error messages
• Debug: Debug and all other messages (the most verbose setting)

Changes to log settings apply to the console and main log file(s) only. They do not apply to the database log. (In Ariba Buyer, changes made using the servermonitor command also apply to the console and main log file(s) only.) The Console and MainLogFile log listeners must be enabled in the config/Parameters.table file for changes to take effect. In the default configuration of Ariba Buyer, the Console and MainLogFile log listeners are enabled for all log categories with logging level Warning. It is strongly recommended that these log listeners always be enabled.

When you save changes to logging levels, log settings for all log categories displayed on the screens you visited are immediately applied to the currently selected node. Changes are not saved permanently. Instead, they are retained in memory. If a logical node is shut down or restarted, log settings for that node revert to their initial settings.

The initial log settings displayed are based on the log settings in the Parameters.table file and are determined as follows: your application's Administrator user interface reads the log settings for all enabled log listeners in the Parameters.table file. The most verbose logging level for each log category is then displayed. If a log category is not included in Parameters.table, it is displayed with logging level Warning by default.