IIS Logs question

[Joe]

Hello:

I've been examining IIS logs downloaded from my web host's server, and
I noticed that entried that they should have been created by me going
to my own site minutes before are not there. In fact, it seems the
logs were way off timewise. How does IIS write to logs? Does it keep a
cache and then dumps it once in a while to the logs, or writes right
away (the latter doesn't seem the case). I am concerned by this an
other anomalies in which my hosting service seems involved.

[Ray Costanzo [MVP]]

Are you sure it's not just that the server's time setting is in a different
time zone? Are you looking at the GMT time?

Ray at work

"Joe" <in******@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:tE********************@news20.bellglobal.com. ..

Hello:

I've been examining IIS logs downloaded from my web host's server, and
I noticed that entried that they should have been created by me going
to my own site minutes before are not there. In fact, it seems the
logs were way off timewise. How does IIS write to logs? Does it keep a
cache and then dumps it once in a while to the logs, or writes right
away (the latter doesn't seem the case). I am concerned by this an
other anomalies in which my hosting service seems involved.

[Dave Anderson]

Joe wrote:

I've been examining IIS logs downloaded from my web host's server, and
I noticed that entried that they should have been created by me going
to my own site minutes before are not there. In fact, it seems the
logs were way off timewise. How does IIS write to logs? Does it keep a
cache and then dumps it once in a while to the logs, or writes right
away (the latter doesn't seem the case). I am concerned by this an
other anomalies in which my hosting service seems involved.

Per the W3C Extended Log File Format:

"All dates are specified in GMT."

http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-logfile.html


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Dave Anderson

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[Joe]

Thanks for the replies. I knew that the web server in question writes
GMT logs, but still, the logs are off, and the very last visits aren't
written down immediately. All I have to do is go to my website, click
a few links, then download the current log. The log will be behind at
least 15 minutes, probably much more. Therefore my initial question
below :

logs were way off timewise. How does IIS write to logs? Does it keep a cache and then dumps it once in a while to the logs, or writes right away (the latter doesn't seem the case).

[Jeff Cochran]

On Wed, 3 Nov 2004 22:34:48 -0500, "Joe" <in******@sympatico.ca>
wrote:

Thanks for the replies. I knew that the web server in question writes
GMT logs, but still, the logs are off, and the very last visits aren't
written down immediately. All I have to do is go to my website, click
a few links, then download the current log. The log will be behind at
least 15 minutes, probably much more. Therefore my initial question
below :

> logs were way off timewise. How does IIS write to logs? Does itkeep a > cache and then dumps it once in a while to the logs, or writesright > away (the latter doesn't seem the case).

Depends on version of IIS. IIS does cache changes to the log file and
write them later, and IIS6 has changed some of this as well. Though
the times should be accurate, the events may not be written for some
time after they happen.

Try the IIS group for details on your specific version.

Jeff