Logging and Monitoring in Access Server⁠

Overview⁠

Access Server records logs and provides access to the information from the Admin Web UI and through the command-line interface (CLI). This topic provides you with the following:

Where logs are stored.
Managing log files.
Troubleshooting with log files.
Using the logdba tool.

The following sections help you work with Access Server's logs for troubleshooting, debugging, and querying.

Where to find log information⁠

You can find log information in the following places:

In the VPN client app, OpenVPN Connect.
Saved on the client device.
In the Admin Web UI.
Saved on the VPN server.

The client log files can help you figure out the following:

Why a client has connection problems.
Which routes and instructions the client receives.

Locate the files in one of the following locations.

In OpenVPN Connect⁠

Export the log data from within OpenVPN Connect v3 directly:

Launch OpenVPN Connect.
Click the log icon in the corner.
- The Log File window displays.
Click the mail icon.
1. The window opens to save the log file.
Select a location and click Save.

On the client device⁠

OpenVPN Connect v3 stores the log data locally on the client device:

Windows: <User Folder>\AppData\Roaming\OpenVPN Connect\log\openvpn.log
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/OpenVPN Connect/log/ovpn.log

OpenVPN Connect v2 stores the log data locally in these locations:

Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenVPN Technologies\OpenVPN Client\etc\log\openvpn_(uniquename).log
macOS: /Library/Application Support/OpenVPN/log/openvpn_(unique_name).log

Access Server stores log files that contain technical and sensitive information. Most common sensitive data, like login credentials, is normally redacted, but some sensitive information can be visible in the logs if you enable certain debug flags. Also, should errors occur, partial certificate data may be included.

We recommend you treat the log data as sensitive.

You can expand the technical information contained in the server logs to include extra information using debug flags, as explained in this tutorial:

Tutorial: Setting Debug Flags

In the Admin Web UI⁠

Access Server displays log information in the Admin Web UI. To view it:

Sign in to the Admin Web UI.
Click Status > Log Reports.

With these logs, you can see the following:

When a user connects.
The connection duration.
If users connect to the VPN, to a web service, etc.
Their data usage.
Simple error messages from authentication or connection issues.

On the server⁠

You can find Access Server's server-side logs here:

/var/log/openvpnas.log
/var/log/openvpnas-node.log (for a failover setup)

When troubleshooting, you can create a clean log file by following these steps:

Stop the Access Server service:
```
systemctl stop openvpnas
```

Move and rename the log file:

mv /var/log/openvpnas.log /var/log/openvpnas.log.old

Restart the Access Server service:
```
systemctl start openvpnas
```
Stop the Access Server service:
```
systemctl stop openvpnas
```
Now you can get the log file from /var/log/openvpnas.log for analysis.
Start the Access Server service again:
```
systemctl start openvpnas
```

Set up a log file rotation⁠

You can set up a log file rotation that sets an allowable file size and deletes older files. Follow our tutorial steps:

Tutorial: Setting Up a Log File Rotation

Log to the syslog⁠

You can log to the local syslog daemon or an external syslog server by following the tutorial steps here:

Tutorial: How To Log To Syslog

Turn off audit and service logging⁠

You can turn off logging by following the tutorial steps here:

Tutorial: Turn Off Audit and Service Logging

Implementing debug flags⁠

You can add debug flags to log additional information to help with troubleshooting. Follow this tutorial:

Tutorial: How To Use Debug Flags

Querying the logs⁠

You can query the logs from the Log Report page in the Admin Web UI or with the logdba tool:

Log Reports (Admin Web UI User Manual)
Tutorial: Query the Access Server Log Database with the logdba Tool
Video: How to Query Logs in Access Server

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