Log File Snapshots (Archive Logs)

Tableau Server includes functionality to generate a snapshot of log files for archival purposes. If you plan to clean up and delete old log files as part of regular server maintenance, you may consider archiving log files to an off-server storage location before deleting them.

Note: For instructions about collecting logs on older versions of Tableau Server for Windows, see the archived online help on the Tableau Help(Link opens in a new window) page.

Or, if you are working with Tableau Support on a case, the support engineer may request a server log file snapshot.

This topic describes:

  • How to generate a log file snapshot
  • How to send the snapshot directly to Tableau Support from the Tableau Server administration tools
  • How to download the snapshot
  • How to delete archived logs
  1. Open TSM in a browser:

    https://<tsm-computer-name>:8850. For more information, see Sign in to Tableau Services Manager Web UI.

  2. Click the Maintenance.

  3. Generate a log file snapshot.

    1. On the Server Maintenance page, under Log Files, click Generate Log File Snapshot.

      An options dialog displays:

    2. On the Options page, enter or select the options you want, including a Description, time Range of log files to be included, and the optional types of logs to be included (Include Netstat Info, Include MSInfo, Include Postgres Data, Include Recent Crash Dumps), then click Generate Log File Snapshot.

    The log file snapshot is saved to a fixed location on the computer where TSM and Tableau Server are installed. If you have a multi-node installation, the snapshot is saved to the initial node of the cluster. The location is specified by the basefilepath_log_archives variable.

    By default the snapshot is saved to:

    C:\ProgramData\Tableau\Tableau Server\data\tabsvc\files\log-archives

    You can find the current location by querying the basefilepath.log_archives setting, and change the location by specifying a new value for basefilepath.log_archive. For more information, see tsm File Paths.

  4. After you generate the snapshot, you can select it and upload it to Technical Support, download it to your local machine, or delete it:

  5. To download a local copy of the snapshot or to delete it, select the snapshot under Log Files and then select the appropriate Action.

Uploading log snapshots for Tableau Support

  1. Click the Maintenance tab.

  2. Select the snapshot you want to send.

  3. Click Upload to Technical Support Case.

  4. In the dialog that displays, enter the Support Case Number and your Contact Email Address, then click Upload Snapshot.

For additional methods to send log archives to Tableau Support, see Sending Large Files to Tableau(Link opens in a new window) in Salesforce Help.