Server Logging Configuration for Ascp and Ascp4

Server transfer logs are stored in the default location (see Log Files), rotated once they are 10 MB, and log at "log" level.

For ascp transfers, you can configure a different log directory, log size, and logging intensity on the server, and apply these settings by default or to specific users. For ascp4 transfers, you can configure a default log size (A4 does not support user-specific logging settings). These settings do not affect Sync logging, which is configured in a different section (see Configuring Sync Endpoints).

If the client specifies a log directory on the server (using -R remote_log_dir) or the location and size of the local log directory (using -L local_log_dir[:size]), then these take precedence over the server settings.

Logging settings are configured by manually editing aspera.conf:

  1. Open aspera.conf in a text editor run with administrator privileges.

    /opt/aspera/etc/aspera.conf

  2. Add the logging settings to the <default> or <user> section.
    Note: Default settings override user-specific settings. To enable user-specific settings, do not set default settings. User settings do not apply to ascp4 transfers.

    Default Settings

    Default logging settings are configured in the <logging> sub-section of the <default> section:

    ...
<default>
    <file_system>...</file_system>
    <logging>
        <directory>logging_directory</directory>
        <log_size>size_mb</log_size>
        <level>log_level</level>
    </logging>
</default>
...
    Object Description
    directory The full path to the logging directory. Applies only to ascp transfers.
    log_size The size of the log file, in MB, at which it is rotated (the oldest information is overwritten by the newest information). Default: 10 MB. Applies to ascp and ascp4 transfers.
    level The logging level. Valid values are log (default), dbg1, or dbg2. Applies only to ascp transfers.

    User Settings

    Configure user settings by creating a <logging> section at the top level of the XML structure in which user-specific settings are defined and assigned an ID (the value of <classes>). Users are assigned a logging configuration by setting <logging_class> to the <classes> ID.

    For example, the following aspera.conf excerpt creates two logging classes, admin and home. The home logging class uses the substitution string $(home) to log to the user's home directory, ensuring that the transfer users have access to the log files for their transfers. It assigns user root to the admin logging configuration, and users user1 and user2 to the home logging configuration.

    ...
<logging>
    <log_setting>
        <classes>admin</classes>
        <directory>/root/logs</directory>
        <log_size>3</log_size>
        <level>dbg</level>
    </log_setting>
    <log_setting>
        <classes>home</classes>
        <directory>$(home)/logs</directory>
        <log_size>20</log_size>
        <level>log</level>
    </log_setting>
</logging>
<aaa><realms><realm>
    <users>
        <user>
           <name>root</name>
           <logging_class>admin</logging_class>
           <file_system>...</file_system>
        </user>
        <user>
           <name>user1</name>
           <logging_class>home</logging_class>
           <file_system>...</file_system>
        </user>
        <user>
           <name>user2</name>
           <logging_class>home</logging_class>
           <file_system>...</file_system>
        </user>
    </users></realm></realms>
</aaa>
...
  3. Save your changes.
  4. Validate the XML form of aspera.conf: 
    # /opt/aspera/bin/asuserdata -v