Real World SharePoint® 2010: Indispensable Experiences from 22 MVPs

Chapter 3. Monitoring SharePoint 2010

By Todd Klindt

Getting SharePoint up and running is only half the battle. Keeping it up and running is another thing entirely. Once you have SharePoint installed and configured, and you have end users telling you how great it is (and you are), it's easy to get comfortable and just admire your handiwork. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security. Forces are working against you and your poor, innocent SharePoint farm.

It's your job to keep these problems at bay and keep SharePoint spinning like a top. Using the tools you read about in this chapter, you will be able to see what SharePoint is doing behind the scenes, as well as see ways to predict trouble before it happens. After you're finished with this chapter, you'll almost look forward to experiencing problems with SharePoint so that you can put these tools to good use and get to the bottom of the issues.

ULS

The Unified Logging Service (ULS) is the service responsible for keeping an eye on SharePoint and reporting what it finds. It can report events to three different locations:

• SharePoint trace logs

• Windows Event Log

• SharePoint logging database

Where the event is logged (and if it's logged at all) depends on the type of event, as well as how SharePoint is configured. The ULS is a passive service, which means that it only watches SharePoint and reports on it; it never acts on what it sees.

Let's take a look at each of the three locations and see how they differ.

TRACE LOGS

The trace logs are the ...