The SIS Logs page displays all user interface (UI) process logs for all Student Information System (SIS) integrations. Log files play an important part in troubleshooting the system as well as monitoring the progress of system transactions. Setting the log verbosity during integration creation dictates the type and depth of logging kept on the system for the selected integration. The logs are live, and can be filtered, viewed, and purged from the SIS Logs screen.

Log levels

Four types of log levels are available, and each SIS Integration reports a different level of logging based on the configuration of the integration. This list describes the kind of messages that each integration should be posting to the logs at the different levels.

  • Error: Any fatal issues, any issues preventing create, update, disable, or purge operations.
  • Warning and Above: Any non-fatal issues, any issue with an individual record, or any successful operation that required a change to the record.
  • Message and Above: Any successful activity, including record types and counts, timing, and data.
  • Debug and Above: All individual records, and data transformation attempts.

View and filter log entries

Logs can be filtered using an advanced search method that includes the type of error, the integration, and a date range. New log entries are easily visible, with a count attached to the type of log entry. The logs can be refreshed to retrieve the latest count, and details of each type of log. Clearing the log count will only clear the number associated to the log type, but will not purge the logs. Purging logs cannot be undone and a verification prompt is presented before the logs are permanently purged. The Purge Log button applies only to the selected integration. The Clear Counts button applies to all integrations.

  1. On the Administrator Panel, under Integrations, select Data Integration.
  2. Select Student Information System Integrations.
  3. Select View All Errors.
  4. Type a search word in the Search field. Exact results are returned.
  5. Select the integration from the first menu.
  6. Select the verbosity level from the second menu.
  7. Select the From check box to set a start date and time range. Type dates and times in the boxes or use the pop-up Date Selection Calendar and Time Selection Menu to select dates and times.
  8. Select the To check box to set an end date and time range. Type dates and times in the boxes or use the pop-up Date Selection Calendar and Time Selection Menu to select dates and times.

    You can't search for logs in a date range greater than seven days.

  9. Select Go.
  10. Log entries are listed, along with the integration, Date, Log Level, and Description.
  11. Select the log entry to view details of the log.

Manage log entries

You can manage your log entries to make it easier to find data issues. For example if you are encountering a specific error, it is easier to sift through less information. Managing log entries also is beneficial in keeping the amount of space used at a minimum. You should periodically purge logs to keep the information fresh and up to date.

  1. On the Administrator Panel, under Integrations, select Data Integration.
  2. Select Student Information System Integrations.
  3. Select View All Errors.
  4. Select Refresh to retrieve new logs.
  5. Select Clear Counts to clear the Errors, Warnings, Messages, and Debug Items counts for all integrations.
  6. Select Purge Log to remove the log information for a specific integration.

Log location

For purposes of log file management or historical data analysis you can find the data integration log files under the ~blackboard logs directory:

~blackboard/logs/data-integration/<integration_type>/<integration_name>

where:

<integration_type> is one of: bb-flatfile (Snapshot Flat File), bb-lis (LIS 2.0), bb-ss-xml (Snapshot XML), bb-ims-vista-xml (IMS Enterprise Vista), or bb-ims-xml (IMS Enterprise)

and

<integration_name> is the name of your integration as specified in the integration configuration.

Access logs via REST Web Services

In the new framework, you can access this report via REST web services. To access the logs, append /learn/api/v1/logs/sis/{dataSetUid} to your Blackboard Learn domain. The system provides a reference code, dataSetUid, for each time a feed file is processed. This parameter is required to return results. The error and success message are logged to table DATA_INTGR_LOG.

Additional parameters are available to segment the data:

  • logLevel parameter: /learn/api/v1/logs/sis/{dataSetUid}?logLevel=(DEBUG,WARNING,ERROR,INFORMATION).
  • Standard paging parameters: /learn/api/v1/logs/sis/{dataSetUid}?limit=25&&offset=10. By default, the standard request has a 20-page limit, unless you change this value.

The process to troubleshoot record errors in Web Services has not changed from the process to troubleshoot error logs. If you encounter a “not found” error message, it’s possible that the dataSetUid does not exist in the system or the feed file is still being processed.