Managing log files

Overview

When Cloud 66 provisions servers, we automatically configure logging for various services. There are several logs available for different server components. Depending on the specifics of your application, log names and directories may vary. The information below is for a typical case.

Rails applications

Default Rails deployments

Default Rails deployments on Cloud 66 use Passenger (via Nginx) and the logs are stored in $STACK_PATH/log:

Application (Rails) log: $STACK_PATH/log/<environment>.log
Nginx error (server) log: $STACK_PATH/log/nginx_error.log
Background processes: $STACK_PATH/log/<PROCESS_NAME>_<NUMBER_OF_PROCESS>.log

Custom Rails deployments

If you are using a custom web server, such as Puma, Thin or Unicorn then your log file paths will depend on whether your servers use systemd or Bluepill to manage processes. To check this:

Open your Cloud 66 Dashboard, and click the application in question
Click ⚙Settings & Information in the right-hand panel
Find the Process Manager line - it will show you which one your application is using

Servers using systemd

Application (Rails) log: $STACK_PATH/log/<environment>.log
Application logs (STDOUT + STDERR):
◦ Web: $STACK_PATH/log/custom_web.log
◦ Background processes: $STACK_PATH/log/<PROCESS_NAME>_<NUMBER_OF_PROCESS>.log
System logs
◦ Web server: sudo journalctl -u cloud66_web_server
◦ Background processes: sudo journalctl -u cloud66_process_<PROCESS_NAME>@* -f

Servers using Bluepill (legacy)

Application (Rails) log: $STACK_PATH/log/<environment>.log
Application logs (STDOUT + STDERR):
◦ Web: $STACK_PATH/log/unicorn_bluepill.log
◦ Background processes: $STACK_PATH/log/user_<PROCESS_NAME>_<NUMBER_OF_PROCESS>.log
System logs:
◦ Web server: /tmp/web_server_bluepill.log
◦ Background processes: $STACK_PATH/log/user_<PROCESS_NAME>_pill.log

Other log directories

Auth requests, Fail2Ban: /var/log
Nginx access and errors: /opt/nginx/logs

Log rotation

Your logs in $STACK_PATH/log and /var/log are automatically rotated on a daily basis and by default kept for 14 days into a sub-directory called archive in each respective directory. These logs are compressed, and can be uncompressed with the following command: gzip -d <log_file>.log.gz.