FTP Central Logging Options <centralLogFile>

Overview

The <centralLogFile> element specifies the settings for the central log file, which is used when you specify centralLogFileMode for the centralLogFileMode attribute of the <system.ftpServer/log> element. When you specify central logging, a single log file will be kept for all of your FTP sites.

Compatibility

Version Notes
IIS 10.0 The <centralLogFile> element was not modified in IIS 10.0.
IIS 8.5 The <centralLogFile> element was not modified in IIS 8.5.
IIS 8.0 The <centralLogFile> element was not modified in IIS 8.0.
IIS 7.5 The <centralLogFile> element of the <log> element ships as a feature of IIS 7.5.
IIS 7.0 The <centralLogFile> element of the <log> element was introduced in FTP 7.0, which was a separate download for IIS 7.0.
IIS 6.0 The <system.ftpServer> element and its child elements replace the IIS 6.0 FTP settings that were located in the LM/MSFTPSVC metabase path.

Note

The FTP 7.0 and FTP 7.5 services shipped out-of-band for IIS 7.0, which required downloading and installing the modules from the following URL:

https://www.iis.net/expand/FTP

With Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, the FTP 7.5 service ships as a feature for IIS 7.5, so downloading the FTP service is no longer necessary.

Setup

To support FTP publishing for your Web server, you must install the FTP service. To do so, use the following steps.

Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2

  1. On the taskbar, click Server Manager.

  2. In Server Manager, click the Manage menu, and then click Add Roles and Features.

  3. In the Add Roles and Features wizard, click Next. Select the installation type and click Next. Select the destination server and click Next.

  4. On the Server Roles page, expand Web Server (IIS), and then select FTP Server.

    Note

    To support ASP.Membership authentication or IIS Manager authentication for the FTP service, you will need to select FTP Extensibility, in addition to FTP Service.
    Image of Web Server I I S and F T P Server in Server Roles page expanded and F T P Server highlighted. .

  5. Click Next, and then on the Select features page, click Next again.

  6. On the Confirm installation selections page, click Install.

  7. On the Results page, click Close.

Windows 8 or Windows 8.1

  1. On the Start screen, move the pointer all the way to the lower left corner, right-click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, click Programs and Features, and then click Turn Windows features on or off.

  3. Expand Internet Information Services, and then select FTP Server.

    Note

    To support ASP.Membership authentication or IIS Manager authentication for the FTP service, you will also need to select FTP Extensibility.
    Screenshot of F T P Server pane expanded and F T P Extensibility selected and highlighted.

  4. Click OK.

  5. Click Close.

Windows Server 2008 R2

  1. On the taskbar, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Server Manager.

  2. In the Server Manager hierarchy pane, expand Roles, and then click Web Server (IIS).

  3. In the Web Server (IIS) pane, scroll to the Role Services section, and then click Add Role Services.

  4. On the Select Role Services page of the Add Role Services Wizard, expand FTP Server.

  5. Select FTP Service.

    Note

    To support ASP.Membership authentication or IIS Manager authentication for the FTP service, you will also need to select FTP Extensibility.
    Screenshot of F T P Service selected from F T P Server pane in Select Role Services page of the Add Role Services Wizard.

  6. Click Next.

  7. On the Confirm Installation Selections page, click Install.

  8. On the Results page, click Close.

Windows 7

  1. On the taskbar, click Start, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, click Programs and Features, and then click Turn Windows Features on or off.

  3. Expand Internet Information Services, and then FTP Server.

  4. Select FTP Service.

    Note

    To support ASP.Membership authentication or IIS Manager authentication for the FTP service, you will also need to select FTP Extensibility.
    Screenshot of F T P Extensibility selected from the F T P Server pane.

  5. Click OK.

Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista

  1. Download the installation package from the following URL:

  2. Follow the instructions in the following walkthrough to install the FTP service:

How To

How to configure site-level or server-level logging for the FTP service

  1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager:

    • If you are using Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2:

      • On the taskbar, click Server Manager, click Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
    • If you are using Windows 8 or Windows 8.1:

      • Hold down the Windows key, press the letter X, and then click Control Panel.
      • Click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
    • If you are using Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2:

      • On the taskbar, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
    • If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7:

      • On the taskbar, click Start, and then click Control Panel.
      • Double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
  2. In the Connections pane, click the server name.

  3. In the Home pane, double-click the FTP Logging feature.
    Screenshot of Home pane with F T P Logging selected.

  4. In the One log file per drop-down list, choose one of the following options:

    • Choose Site to specify that each FTP site will write to individual log files.
    • Choose Server to specify a single log file for all of your FTP sites.
      Screenshot of F T P Logging displaying Site chosen from One log file per drop down list and log file drop down menu.
  5. In the Actions pane, click Apply.

Configuration

The <centralLogFile> element is configured at the global level in ApplicationHost.config.

Attribute Description
directory Optional string attribute.

Specifies the logging directory, where the log file and logging-related support files are stored.

The default value is %SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles.
enabled Optional Boolean attribute.

true if logging is enabled; otherwise false.

The default value is true.
localTimeRollover Optional Boolean attribute.

true if a new log file is created based on local time; otherwise, false for Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which was previously called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Note: Regardless of the setting, the time stamp for each W3C Extended Logging log record is UTC-based.

The default value is false.
logExtFileFlags Optional flags attribute.

Specifies the categories of information that are written to either the log file (when you use W3C Extended log file format) or to the ODBC data source during logging events for a site. The logExtFileFlags attribute can be one or more of the following values. If you specify more than one value, separate them with a comma (,).

The default values are Date, Time, ClientIP, UserName, ServerIP, Method, UriStem, FtpStatus, Win32Status, FtpSubStatus, ServerPort, Session, and FullPath.
Value Description
BytesRecv Log the number of bytes that the server received.

The numeric value is 8192.
BytesSent Log the number of bytes that the server sent.

The numeric value is 4096.
ClientIP Log the IP address of the client that made the request.

The numeric value is 4.
ClientPort Log the port of the client that made the request.

The numeric value is 33554432.
ComputerName Log the name of the server on which the log file entry was generated.

The numeric value is 32.
Date Log the date on which the activity occurred.

The numeric value is 1.
FtpStatus Log the FTP status code.

The numeric value is 1024.
FtpSubStatus Log the sub-status code of the FTP error.

The numeric value is 2097152.
FullPath Log the full relative path. Note: This may be different from the URI that the client requested, which is logged by setting the UriStem flag.

The numeric value is 8388608.
Host Log the virtual host name, if there is one.

The numeric value is 1048576.
Info Log extended debugging information, if there is any.

The numeric value is 16777216.
Method Log the requested action. For example, USER , PASS, etc.

The numeric value is 128.
ServerIP Log the IP address of the server on which the log file entry was generated.

The numeric value is 64.
ServerPort Log the server port number that is configured for the site.

The numeric value is 32768.
Session Log the unique identifier for the FTP session. This is useful for analyzing session activity in your logs.

The numeric value is 4194304.
SiteName Log the Internet service name and instance number for the site.

The numeric value is 16.
Time Log the time in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), at which the activity occurred.

The numeric value is 2.
TimeTaken Log the length of time taken for a request to be completed. The time taken is recorded in milliseconds.

The numeric value is 16384.
UriStem Log the Universal Resource Identifier (URI) stem information, which is the target of the action. Note: This shows the URI stem exactly as the client requested, which may not be the full relative path. For the full relative path, use the FullPath flag.

The numeric value is 256.
UserName Log the name of the authenticated user who accessed your server. Anonymous users are indicated by a hyphen.

The numeric value is 8.
Win32Status Log the Windows status code.

The numeric value is 2048.
period Optional enum attribute.

Specifies how often the FTP service creates a new log file. The period attribute can be one of the following possible values.

The default value is Daily.
Value Description
Daily Create a new log file daily.

The numeric value is 1.
Hourly Create a new log file hourly.

The numeric value is 4.
MaxSize Create a new log file when a maximum size is reached. The maximum size is specified in the truncateSize attribute.

The numeric value is 0.
Monthly Create a new log file monthly.

The numeric value is 3.
Weekly Create a new log file weekly.

The numeric value is 2.
selectiveLogging Optional flags attribute.

Specifies the verbosity for FTP logging.

The default value is LogSuccessful,LogError,LogInfrastructure.
Value Description
LogError Specifies that errors will be logged. The amount of data actually logged also depends on the setting of LogInfrastructure flag.

The numeric value is 2.
LogInfrastructure Specifies that all FTP commands and low-level data channel activity will be logged. For example, if the LogInfrastructure flag is set then the logs will contain entries for DataChannelOpened, DataChannelClosed, PORT/EPRT, and PASV/EPSV.

The numeric value is 4.
LogSuccessful Specifies that successful activity will be logged. The amount of data actually logged also depends on the setting of LogInfrastructure flag.

The numeric value is 1.
truncateSize Optional int64 attribute.

Specifies the maximum size of the log file (in bytes) after which to create a new log file. This value is only applicable when MaxSize is chosen for the period attribute. The minimum file size is 1,048,576 bytes. If this attribute is set to a value less than 1,048,576 bytes, the default value is implicitly assumed as 1,048,576 bytes.

The default value is 20971520.

Child Elements

None.

Configuration Sample

The following configuration example enables central file logging for the FTP service.

<system.ftpServer>
   <log centralLogFileMode="Central">
      <centralLogFile enabled="true" />
   </log>
</system.ftpServer>

Sample Code

The following examples enable central file logging for the FTP service.

AppCmd.exe

appcmd.exe set config -section:system.ftpServer/log /centralLogFileMode:"Central" /commit:apphost

appcmd.exe set config -section:system.ftpServer/log /centralLogFile.enabled:"True" /commit:apphost

Note

You must be sure to set the commit parameter to apphost when you use AppCmd.exe to configure these settings. This commits the configuration settings to the appropriate location section in the ApplicationHost.config file.

C#

using System;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.Web.Administration;

internal static class Sample
{
   private static void Main()
   {
      using (ServerManager serverManager = new ServerManager())
      {
         Configuration config = serverManager.GetApplicationHostConfiguration();

         ConfigurationSection logSection = config.GetSection("system.ftpServer/log");
         logSection["centralLogFileMode"] = @"Central";

         ConfigurationElement centralLogFileElement = logSection.GetChildElement("centralLogFile");
         centralLogFileElement["enabled"] = true;

         serverManager.CommitChanges();
      }
   }
}

VB.NET

Imports System
Imports System.Text
Imports Microsoft.Web.Administration

Module Sample
   Sub Main()
      Dim serverManager As ServerManager = New ServerManager
      Dim config As Configuration = serverManager.GetApplicationHostConfiguration

      Dim logSection As ConfigurationSection = config.GetSection("system.ftpServer/log")
      logSection("centralLogFileMode") = "Central"

      Dim centralLogFileElement As ConfigurationElement = logSection.GetChildElement("centralLogFile")
      centralLogFileElement("enabled") = True

      serverManager.CommitChanges()
   End Sub
End Module

JavaScript

var adminManager = new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.ApplicationHost.WritableAdminManager');
adminManager.CommitPath = "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST";

var logSection = adminManager.GetAdminSection("system.ftpServer/log", "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST");
logSection.Properties.Item("centralLogFileMode").Value = "Central";

var centralLogFileElement = logSection.ChildElements.Item("centralLogFile");
centralLogFileElement.Properties.Item("enabled").Value = true;

adminManager.CommitChanges();

VBScript

Set adminManager = createObject("Microsoft.ApplicationHost.WritableAdminManager")
adminManager.CommitPath = "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST"

Set logSection = adminManager.GetAdminSection("system.ftpServer/log", "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST")
logSection.Properties.Item("centralLogFileMode").Value = "Central"

Set centralLogFileElement = logSection.ChildElements.Item("centralLogFile")
centralLogFileElement.Properties.Item("enabled").Value = True

adminManager.CommitChanges()