System log

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of System log

    The System log in ServiceNow Yokohama release provides real-time tracking and visibility into instance processes, records, and non-critical events such as server memory usage. It captures a wide range of operational data including workflows, configuration changes, chat sessions, page transactions with load times, email traffic, system events, imports, integrations, warnings, errors, script logs, and upgrade activities. Log entries are limited to the current day, with access to previous logs available through the log file browser. Syslog messages serve diagnostic and maintenance purposes and help identify the source and severity of system occurrences.

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    Key Features

    • Message Severity Levels: Logs are classified into Debug, Information, Warning, and Error levels, helping customers prioritize review and troubleshooting efforts.
    • Source Identification: Each log entry identifies the process or area affected (e.g., EMAIL, Memory) and the associated application package, enabling targeted analysis.
    • Detailed Workflow Logging: Tracks execution details such as start/end times, state, result, errors, and transition history for each workflow activity, supporting comprehensive process monitoring.
    • Change Tracking: Records configuration changes with metadata including action type, category, comments, XML differences, associated update sets, timestamps, user information, and object details.

    Key Outcomes

    ServiceNow customers can leverage the System log to effectively monitor operational health, diagnose issues, and audit changes within their instance. Understanding log severity and source ensures efficient identification of relevant messages, helping to maintain system stability and performance. Detailed workflow and configuration change logs provide transparency and traceability, which are critical for compliance and troubleshooting in complex IT environments.

    View warnings and errors for instance processes, records, and non-critical events, such as memory usage on the server machine.

    The following information is tracked in the system log:

    • Workflows
    • Configuration
    • Chats sessions
    • Transactions for each view of each page in the system, including load times for network, server, and browser
    • Inbound and outbound email
    • Events triggered in the system
    • Imports and integrations
    • System warnings, errors, and script logs
    • Upgrade information for any plugin activations, update sets, or system upgrades

    Log entries appear for the current day only. To view other log files, use the log file browser.

    Syslog messages serve diagnostic and maintenance purposes. Log messages can have different owners and may not require action from all readers. Check the message source to determine relevance and ownership. The following fields describe the attributes of each message.

    Table 1. System log
    Field Description
    Created Date and time of the logging activity for the locale of the machine running the instance.
    Level The severity classification of the message. Levels indicate the nature of the event, not necessarily whether action is required. Messages are generated by the ServiceNow platform, installed applications, and custom scripts. The levels are Debug, Information, Warning, and Error.
    • Debug: Detailed diagnostic information, typically used during development or active troubleshooting.
    • Information: Confirmation that an operation completed as expected.
    • Warning: An unexpected condition was encountered, but the operation completed successfully. May require investigation depending on context and source.
    • Error: An operation failed or could not complete as intended. Instances can generate a high volume of Error messages, primarily from the platform itself. These do not necessarily indicate a platform issue and do not always require further investigation.
    Message System-generated message regarding the nature of the occurrence.
    Source Name of the process or area affected by the occurrence. For example, the source of the occurrence might be EMAIL or Memory.
    Source Package Name of the application package associated with the occurrence. Select the name to view the Store Application [sys_store_app] record for this package.

    Workflow logging

    • Each activity executed, including:
      • Date and time started
      • Date and time ended
      • State, for example, Finished, Cancelled, Timed Out, Error
      • Result
      • Fault description, if there was an error
    • Transition history, including:
      • Time of transition
      • Activity transitioned from
      • Activity transitioned to
      • Which transition was triggered
    • Workflow log, including any log statements added to the workflow

    Configuration information

    • Action taken, including insert, update, and delete
    • Category of change
    • Comments recorded with the change
    • Name of the change
    • XML difference of the change
    • Update set associated with the change
    • Date and time of the change
    • User who made the change
    • Table where the change was made
    • Name of the object being changed
    • Type of object being changed
    • View in which the change was made, for form or list changes