Should you check your server logs?

Do you need to check your server logs? If you are a shared web hosting customer then the logs that you have access to maybe only error logs. If you are a VPS or dedicated server customer then you probably have access to all your server logs.

Not just one log file

When you are not a shared web hosting customer you have to keep an eye on your server and make sure it is performing as expected. A server log is not simply one log but there are a few depending on the web server you are using. The logs that can be looked at include:

-email logs

-ftp logs

-web page error logs

-web page access logs

-system logs

These are the primary logs that many web server administrators will take a look at when there are issues.

Unexpected finds

You can find unexpected issues if you look at the logs every few weeks. These issues can be from scripts failing to start or something causing your ftp software to not work properly. When you do a quick skim of your logs. You can help identify and fix any issues that you find.

What if you don’t look?

If you don’t look at your server log then issues that can be fixed may last a lot longer then they need to. Some performance issue or networking issue could’ve been fixed but the prolong delay will have an impact your server’s performance.