Understanding Server Logs and SmarterLogs

SmarterStats was developed for a wide variety of users, from the webmaster with one or two sites to large-scale enterprises with 10,000 sites. With this philosophy in mind, SmarterStats incorporates a data structure that reduces the amount of raw log files stored on a web server.

In a nutshell, SmarterStats acts like an optimized file-based relational database by taking traditional web server log files and segregating redundant data. This step alone can reduce log file sizes up to 80%. Additionally, SmarterStats compresses the already small SmarterLogs even further, adding another 5-10% reduction in the size of the log files. This allows system administrators to easily archive, or even delete, the original log files created by the web server to conserve disk space on the server. However, if the original logs are ever needed, SmarterLogs can easily be exported in their original format.

Because the unique architecture results in smaller log files and smaller disk space requirements, the benefits include:

• Less disk space is required for log file storage
• Less backup space is required for backing up log files
• Shorter download times for clients
• Faster data queries and faster display times
• Faster backup schedules
• Lower overhead for monitoring backups
• Lower initial hardware investment

Supported Log Files

SmarterStats supports these common log file types: W3C, IIS, NCSA, NCSA Extended, Apache, Apache NCSA, and IPlanet Common Logs. Compressed logs in .GZ or .ZIP format are also supported. Rotating logs are also supported as of SmarterStats 8.x.