MICROSERVICES CENTRAL LOGGING
Microservices have many advantages as they allow software teams to work on individual parts independently. However, there are some downsides to this microservices approach as well. Microservices often complicate the deployment plans, and they are not easy to debug. One logic error in one microservice often brings down a few other services. It may take quite a while to figure out the root cause and fix it. Thus, centralized logging of microservices becomes an important aspect in overcoming these problems.
Centralized Microservice Logging
The centralized microservices logging allows you one place for logs regardless of the place of origination of the log message. It simplifies log analysis and correlation tasks while providing you with a secure storage area. It also makes it easy to track the errors as you can identify the log information from the relevant services.
Features of Microservices Central Logging
A Single Logging Technology
As you are already aware, being able to write using a suitable technology is the key advantage and feature of this.
A Shared Logging Implementation for Every Service
The next important aspect is that it allows searching and sorting all information related to logs. The technology used for this is known as the log aggregators and has connectors for many languages.
Allows Queries
It is necessary to find a logging tool that allows the use of an advanced query language for searching and aggregation. Having a good graphical representation will give away a lot of information that you cannot identify soon from a log message.
Use a Correlation ID
Using a special transaction ID for each message at the initial event helps in identifying what went wrong. You will only need to enter the unique ID to the log aggregator search engine and you will see all the related log messages.
Include More Information
You may not be a fan of having bulky details when considering the performance and storage aspects of logging. But you will regret having too little information when you need it the most. Having more information in the log messages will secure the key facts needed for tracking down issues.
Don’t Rely on the Clocks
Although it may not seem so, it is difficult to synchronize clocks in multiple machines of a system. The clocks in a distributed system may be slightly out of sync even though the Network Time Protocol (NTP) is used.
Handling failures
The main expectation of having microservices central logging is to track and minimize errors. It will prevent failures from bringing down the whole system. You can handle failures by maintaining a local ring cache of logged messages as an effective strategy in the event of logging failures and using a fallback service to retain data until the logging is restored.
Tips for Microservices Central Logging
Once you have the logs in the same place, there are a few important things you need to do.
1. Correlate Between Services
After getting all the logs in one place, there will be thousands or even millions of entries per hour, especially if your site has high traffic. Since this is too much to look through, you can include a unique identifier to solve this issue. This identifier passes between the services involved in carrying out the request.
2. Get Everything Together
This is not a mistake of repeating the same as mentioned above. You need to get everything into one place more than the application logic. Have your logic for the container framework and the container orchestration systems logged properly. This will save you time and money when troubleshooting.
3. Monitor the Logs
It is necessary to know as soon as some problem occurs as you don’t want to lose someone’s business. But you cannot keep going through all the millions of logs every hour. Hence, it is essential to have automated monitoring of your microservices logging to detect any slowdowns or other issues in any microservice.
4. Don’t Search too Hard
It wouldn’t be practical if you have to search through all the logs. You need a quick and easy method to search for logs. You can go for simple text searching, but would not meet your requirements. It won’t be of any benefit if you cannot find the correct log at the necessary time.
In finding the right microservice logging solution, you can either build these tools yourself or hire someone to do it for you. It will make your logs more efficient and make them easier to handle. You will be able to track the logs from one place and scale your application to enhance your business.
