Monitoring System and Mail Server Logs | Plesk Obsidian documentation

Troubleshooting issues with various Plesk services can be significantly simplified by examining the information contained within their respective log files. The Log Browser extension is designed to streamline this process, offering a convenient interface to view and search through logs from numerous services.

Please note that while the Log Browser extension facilitates access to valuable troubleshooting information, it does not automate issue resolution or provide direct assistance. If you encounter an issue and are uncomfortable with hands-on troubleshooting, consider utilizing the Plesk Repair Utility or contacting support.

Log Browser is a complimentary extension exclusively available to the Plesk administrator and is only compatible with Plesk for Linux.

Prerequisites for Using Log Browser

The Log Browser extension is typically included in the “Recommended” preset during Plesk installation, so it may already be present in your environment. If it is not, you can easily install the extension from the Extensions Catalog. Once installed, the Log Browser icon will become visible within Extensions > My Extensions in your Plesk control panel, ready for use.

Troubleshooting Issues with Log Browser

Log Browser empowers you to diagnose and resolve problems not only related to mail services but also a wide range of other Plesk services. This is achieved by allowing you to manually configure the sources of log entries you wish to examine.

Troubleshooting Mail-Related Issues

1. Begin by logging in to your Plesk account.
2. Navigate to Tools & Settings, and then click on Log Browser (found under the “Assistance and Troubleshooting” section).
3. Select the “Mail” tab to focus on mail server logs.
4. The subsequent steps depend on whether you are investigating a past incident or a reproducible issue:
   • For issues that occurred previously: Click the “Select date” field and specify the exact date and time when the issue took place. This action will filter the displayed logs to show entries from that specific date and time onwards, helping you narrow down your search efficiently.
   • For reliably reproducible issues: Activate the Real-time update toggle button so it displays “Enabled”, and then click Clear. Subsequently, reproduce the issue you are investigating. The log list will then populate with relevant entries generated during the reproduction, offering real-time insight into the problem.
5. Click the filter icon to access the filter configuration options.
6. Under “Priority”, define the types of messages you wish to see. Priority levels are ordered from 0 (“Emergency”, representing the highest criticality) to 7 (“Debug”, indicating the lowest). You must select at least one priority level, and multiple levels can be chosen simultaneously to broaden your view.

   While troubleshooting, messages with a priority level below four (“Warning”) are often less critical and may cause unnecessary distraction. However, for complex issues that are difficult to diagnose, including messages with priority level seven (“Debug”) can provide more detailed information that might be crucial for resolution.

7. (Optional) To further refine your search, select one or more specific services under “Source” to view only log entries pertinent to those services. By default, all messages related to mail services are displayed.
8. Click the filter icon again to close the filter configuration.

Following these steps will present you with all relevant log entries for the specified mail services within the chosen time frame, enabling a more focused troubleshooting effort.

Troubleshooting Issues with Other Plesk Services

1. Access your Plesk control panel by logging in.
2. Go to Tools & Settings, and then click Log Browser (located under “Assistance and Troubleshooting”).
3. Switch to the “System” tab to view logs for general system services.
4. Determine your next action based on whether the issue is historical or reproducible:
   • For past issues: Utilize the “Select date” field to specify the date and time when the issue occurred. This action will display log entries from that point forward, significantly reducing the volume of data you need to review.
   • For reproducible issues: Toggle the Real-time update button to “Enabled” and click Clear. After this, proceed to reproduce the issue. The log list will dynamically update with new entries, providing immediate feedback on the problem.
5. Click the filter icon to open the filter settings.
6. Under “Priority”, select the desired message types. Priority levels range from 0 (“Emergency”, highest) to 7 (“Debug”, lowest). You must select at least one, and you can select multiple priority levels as needed.

   It is important to note that when actively troubleshooting, messages with a priority level lower than four (“Warning”) are generally less helpful and might obscure critical information. Nevertheless, if a resolution proves elusive, expanding your filter to include messages with priority level seven (“Debug”) can offer deeper insights into the service's operations.

7. (Optional) To narrow down the messages, select their source. By default, all messages meeting the date/time and priority criteria are shown. You can refine this by specifying:
   • Facility: Choose one or more broad categories (e.g., “Mail system” or “FTP daemon”) to see messages from related groups of services.
   • Source: Select one or more specific services (e.g., “nginx” or “dovecot”) for highly targeted log viewing.

   Important: Only use either “Facility” or “Source” for filtering, not both simultaneously. Attempting to select incompatible combinations (such as “Mail system” and “nginx”) will result in an empty filter and no displayed log entries.

8. Click the filter icon once more to close the filter configuration panel.

With these filters applied, you will see a focused list of log entries for the specified services within the designated time frame, facilitating a more effective diagnostic process.

Searching for Mail Log Entries Effectively

By default, when you initiate a search for log entries on the Mail tab, Log Browser will examine logs from the last 30 days. If no relevant entries are found within this period, the extension will prompt you with a suggestion to extend your search. Each time you choose to extend the search, an additional 30 days of log entries are included in the search scope. For instance, clicking “Yes” will expand the search to the last 60 days, and a subsequent extension would cover the last 90 days, and so forth.

Alternatively, you have the option to specify a precise starting date for your search using the calendar tool located in the top-left corner of the screen. After selecting a starting date (e.g., October 1st), Log Browser will search for entries from that date plus the subsequent 30 days (e.g., October 1st to October 31st). Each time you continue the search, the system will look through the next 30-day period (e.g., November 1st to November 30th), allowing for a structured and sequential review of older logs.

Should you need to adjust the default 30-day search period, you can do so by modifying the panel.ini configuration file.

Changing the Default Mail Log Search Time Frame

To customize the default search time frame on the Log Browser Mail tab, follow these steps:

1. Locate and open the panel.ini file for editing. Its typical locations are:
   • (Plesk for Linux): /usr/local/psa/admin/conf/panel.ini
   • (Plesk for Windows): %plesk_dir%admin\conf\panel.ini

   For convenience, you can also edit this file directly within the Plesk interface using the Panel.ini Editor extension.

2. Add the following lines to the panel.ini file, ensuring proper formatting, and then save your changes:

   [ext-log-browser]
   mail.SearchTimePeriod = <number of time units><time unit>

   For example, to configure the search time frame to two weeks, you would add these specific lines:

   [ext-log-browser]
   mail.SearchTimePeriod = 2week

The mail.SearchTimePeriod setting accepts various time values, which can be suffixed with units such as year, month, week, day, hour, or min. For instance, valid entries include 2month or a combination like 2month 1day. Alternatively, you can specify a value in seconds without any suffix; for example, 5184000 represents 60 days.