Corner Bowl Log Manager
Real-Time Text Log File Monitoring

Corner Bowl Log Manager is a text log file monitoring tool that provides System Administrators with the ability to real-time and on-demand monitor, filter, alert, consolidate, archive, schedule web and email reports and tail critical operating system and application log files.

Monitor Rolling Text Log Files

Many applications, such as IIS, generate log files that contain the date within the filename. Log Manager includes support to easily monitor and consolidate these log files and directories. Worried entries might be missed? No need. We have worked with customers for the last 10 years to develop robust text log monitoring functions that guarantee entries are not missed.

Delimited and Non-Delimited

Monitor both delimited and non-delimited text log files. Delimited log files, such as SQL Server log files, follow a specific format enabling programmatic parsing over multiple lines. Delimited files are read line by line until the next entry delimiter is reached. Once reached, all lines are concatenated together to form a single entry which is then filtered. Non-delimited log files do not follow a defined format making programmatic parsing impossible. These files are read and filtered one line at a time.

CSV File Monitoring

Monitor CVS files (comman seperated value) or any other type of text data file such as tab or space delimited columns. Log Manager supports both numeric and string based filtering. For example, if a CSV file contains values such as water flow rates through a dam, Log Manager can notify you when the flow rate exceeds a defined threshold such as 3,000 cfs.

Unobtrusive

Worried monitoring your log files will cause a file lock? No worries, Log Manager only opens log files for read access and always enables read/write sharing.

Lightweight

When files are read, the last know position and entry are saved. Each subsequent scan advances to the last known position, checks to verify the last know entry exists then reads the new content. If the file does not contain the last known entry, as would be the case in a self-truncating log file, the file is re-read from the beginning until the last know entry is found. This format enables the software to transmit the least amount of data on the wire as necessary while providing the most robust text log file monitoring possible.

Supports Scanning and Subscriptions

Many applications keep a handle open to their log files causing real-time subscriptions to lag. Our real-time text log file monitor lets you choose between scheduled scanning and real-time subscriptions.

Real-Time Text Log File Viewer

Much like the Unix tools tail and grep, our real-time Text Log File viewer enables you to watch your log files while applying your filters. For example, limit the real-time viewer to all entries that contain the word 'error'.

Filters and Log Entry Counters

Create and apply simple filters or complex regular expression driven filters that pick out entries of interest. Our real-time monitors also include log entry counters that trigger when duplicate entries are received within a window. For example:

  • Get notified when an error occurs 3 times within an hour.
  • Get notified when a successful message is missing from a text log file.

Alerts, Notifications and Actions

Corner Bowl Log Manager offers a wide range of alerts and actions including:

  • Send a fully customizable email
  • Send SNMP traps
  • Send a page via an SMS gateway
  • Write to a database table
  • Write to a file (CSV, HTML, TXT, XML)
  • Forward to another Event Log
  • Forward to another Syslog server
  • Start a background or interactive process
  • Display a message box or tray popup
  • Play a sound

Avoid getting spammed with alerts by configuring your real-time text log file monitors to limit the number of alerts over time. For example, limit emails to no more than 5 per hour.

Maintenance Window Support

If you have scheduled maintenance which you do not want to receive alerts during, you can configure your real-time text log file monitors to shutdown or, if using entry counters, suspend alerting while continuing to apply text log file entries to your entry counters.