Importance of Log Management System
Published: 2022-05-27 11:33:21



Within your [log management system](https://dev.to/nalangekrushna/a-primer-on-enterprise-log-management-systems-3k7) lies a log level, an indicator that captures the importance and urgency of all entries within the log. Log levels alert you if certain events require your immediate attention or if you can continue with your day. They can also serve as a filter for the IT team which allows them to easily sort out all log events and focus on events that are of the highest priority.

It can be challenging for organizations to run log management effectively and efficiently.it is important to set-up meaningful log levels in the log management process because members who access and read logs use logging levels to understand the significance of the message that they see in the log or any observation tools being used.
 
History of log levels
The first introduction of logging levels was in the 1980s with syslog, a logging solution for Sendmail (an email logging tool that enables various mail-transfer and delivery systems). Logging levels were then adapted by other applications, quickly becoming an industry standard.
Since logging levels were first introduced, programming levels have grown and evolved. In this new age of technology, each programming language has its own logging framework which allows user flexibility in the format in which data is saved, and how it can be exported.
 
Why are logging levels important?
Acts as an alert level for the It team. This is because it can flag critical issues such as system outage, cyberattack, or events that put an organization, its customers, and its data at risk. Issues that need immediate response.
Helps reduce information overload and alert fatigue within the IT organization because there are many categories within the logging system.
Helps the IT team to focus on high-value, business critical issues.
 
The Importance of The Log
There is a lot of data that can be found in logs. The log contains too much information for humans to effectively sort and analyze. For this reason, IT teams cannot rely on the log only, they need the following to capture and act on information within the logger:
Filtering: IT teams can filter log events by level and display events within a specified category such as fatal or error.
Alerting: when a particular event is added to a category within the logger, the IT team receives an alert.
 
Common types of logging levels
A logging framework is organized by the following logging levels:
Fatal: indicates that at least one system component is inoperable, therefore causing a fatal error within the larger system.
Error: indicates that at least one system component is inoperable, therefore interfering with the operability of other functionalities.
Warn: indicates that an unexpected event has occurred in an application that may disrupt or delay other processes.
Info: capture an event that has occurred.
Debug: captures relevant details of events that may be useful during software debugging or troubleshooting within the test environment.
Trace: capture the execution of the code. It does ot require action but it may be useful when the team needs full visibility within the application or a third-party library.
 
For some systems, the following catch-all categories may serve as a default log level:
All: all activities and events added to the logger.
Off: no activity or event added to the logger.
 
You may need to consider the following challenges:
Inconsistency, excessive logging, and alert fatigue because they directly affect a log management system.