Because I am confronting sometime with lack of usage of the following core ServiceNow capability, I would like to share some my ideas and experience with the community.
ServiceNow provides an indispensable tool - Transaction Logs - that offers system admins and developers detailed insights into platform operations. It has a huge value, and understand how they can be seamlessly integrated into your daily workflow (and, hopefully save time and money).
What are ServiceNow Transaction Logs?
ServiceNow transaction logs, as the name suggests, are records of transactions or activities within the ServiceNow platform. Each log entry encompasses vital information about a specific transaction, such as its creation time, type, origin, creator, response time, output length, SQL count, SQL time, business rule count, ACL time, URL, and GZip status.
You can find them under System Logs (this application has more valuable modules). There, you will find All Transaction, and then categorised by User Transactions, Background Transactions, Client Transactions.
User Transactions provide details on any access or any data operation / manipulation.
Background Transactions show any activities executed by system schedulers.
The Value of ServiceNow Transaction Logs
ServiceNow transaction logs present a gold mine of valuable information. Their value can be broken down into three primary categories:
Performance Monitoring: These logs allow us to track key performance indicators like response times and SQL times. This information can highlight bottlenecks or inefficiencies, prompting timely remediation.
Security Auditing: Transaction logs also track user activities, which aids in maintaining system integrity and security. You can see who initiated a transaction, giving you visibility into potential unauthorized activities.
Troubleshooting & Debugging: If something goes wrong within your ServiceNow platform, transaction logs are often the first place to look. They can provide clues to problematic APIs, slow database queries, or failed business rules.
Integrating Transaction Logs Into Your Daily Routine
Regular Checkups: Regularly reviewing transaction logs helps identify any ongoing performance issues or unusual user activities. Establish a schedule that suits your business requirements. This could be daily, weekly, or monthly.
Automated Alerts: You can set up automated alerts based on specific criteria like response times exceeding a certain threshold, or a high SQL count. This allows you to catch potential issues as soon as they arise.
Performance Optimization: Use the transaction log data to optimize your system performance. This could involve optimizing SQL queries, adjusting business rules, or tuning system settings.
Debugging and Troubleshooting: Include transaction logs review as part of your problem-solving toolkit. Whenever an issue arises, scrutinize the logs around the time the problem occurred to identify possible root causes.
Audit and Compliance: Regular transaction logs review is a great practice for maintaining system compliance. You can easily track activities, ensure authorized usage, and maintain a secure system environment.
However, keep in mind, that ServiceNow stores a huge number of logs and so queuing and starting any events or flows can have a negative effect on the system.
For an extensive log analysis and to get even more details then under Transactions, like to find out what did lead to an flow issue, or who manipulated what data, you might want better to export the logs via Node Log utility and perform you research "offline".
As a simple example, you see in the screenshot below, an indication to a potential unauthorised field value change through a user (of, course, this activity could be identified also on other way).
I already, had some situations in my past, where I had to identify and proof unwanted activities through users or jobs. Keep, in mind, the logs are getting rotated weekly.
Conclusion
ServiceNow transaction logs is sometimes an underutilized resource that can tremendously improve your system performance, security, and overall efficiency. Play around with that and understand its potential. Integrating them into your daily operational routine, you can proactively maintain a robust, secure, and high-performing ServiceNow environment.
Q&A/Feedback
Do you have any questions about ServiceNow transaction logs, or perhaps some experiences to share? Feel free to comment below. Your feedback and insights are invaluable to our continuous learning and improvement.
References/Additional Resources
- ServiceNow Documentation: Transaction Logs
- Troubleshooting Guide: Using the Transaction Logs
- Knowledge Article: All the logs in ServiceNow
