Configure diagnostic logging in Unified Service Desk

Unified Service Desk and the underlying support libraries provide several layers of diagnostic logging that you can use to help troubleshoot issues. You can also use diagnostic logs in a production deployment of Unified Service Desk to troubleshoot specific issues on an ongoing basis.

By default, error logging is enabled for the Unified Service Desk client application. A log file, UnifiedServiceDesk.log, is available at the following location on the client computer to record operational errors in the client application: c:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\UnifiedServiceDesk\<Version>. The log file is created the first time you encounter any errors in the client application.

In This Topic

Configure diagnostic logging

Diagnostic log sources

Diagnostic logging levels

Diagnostic log listeners

Configure diagnostic logging

You can enable logging by using the UnifiedServiceDesk.exe.config file, which is available in the Unified Service Desk client installation directory on your computer. To configure the type of logging and location of the Unified Service Desk log file:

1. Open the UnifiedServiceDesk.exe.config file for editing. If you installed the Unified Service Desk client at the default location, this file will typically be available at C:\Program Files\Microsoft Dynamics CRM USD\USD.

2. Navigate to the <switches> section in the file:

   <switches>
   <!-- 
        Possible values for switches: Off, Error, Warning, Information, Verbose
           Verbose:      includes Error, Warning, Info, Trace levels
           Information:  includes Error, Warning, Info levels
           Warning:      includes Error, Warning levels
           Error:        includes Error level
    -->
       <add name="EventTopicSwitch" value="Error"/>
       <add name="Microsoft.Uii.Common.Logging" value="Error"/>
       <add name="Microsoft.Xrm.Tooling.CrmConnectControl" value="Error"/>
       <add name="Microsoft.Xrm.Tooling.Connector.CrmServiceClient" value="Error"/>
       <add name="Microsoft.Xrm.Tooling.WebResourceUtility" value="Error"/>
       <add name="Microsoft.Crm.UnifiedServiceDesk" value="Error"/>
       <add name="Microsoft.Crm.UnifiedServiceDesk.Dynamics" value="Error"/>
       <add name="Microsoft.Crm.UnifiedServiceDesk.CommonUtility.UserProfileManager" value="Error"/>
       <add name="UnifiedServiceDesk.KPIControl" value="Error"/>
   </switches>
   

3. In the <switches> section, specify a logging source (such as EventTopicSwitch), and then specify a logging level value (such as Error). The <switches> section controls logging levels for various sources. By default, error logging is enabled for all the switches:

   • For information about the available logging sources, see Diagnostic log sources later in this topic.

   • For information about the values that you can specify for each logging source, see Diagnostic logging levels later in this topic.

4. To configure the location of the log files, navigate to the <shareListeners> section in the file:

   <sharedListeners>
       <add name="fileListener"
           type="Microsoft.Xrm.Tooling.Connector.DynamicsFileLogTraceListener, Microsoft.Xrm.Tooling.Connector"
               BaseFileName="UnifiedServiceDesk"
                   Location="LocalUserApplicationDirectory"
           />
       <add name="USDDebugListener" type="Microsoft.Crm.UnifiedServiceDesk.Dynamics.UsdTraceListener, Microsoft.Crm.UnifiedServiceDesk.Dynamics" />
   </sharedListeners>
   

   The <sharelisteners> section controls location and type of logs that are generated for Unified Service Desk. By default, fileListener will create a file called UnifiedServiceDesk.log in c:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\UnifiedServiceDesk\<Version> directory, and USDDebugListener will create events in the Debug Output tab of the Debugger hosted control.

5. If you want to change the location of the UnifiedServiceDesk.log file, change the value of the Location parameter.

6. By default, file and debugger logging is enabled for all sources. If you want to add or remove a listener from a diagnostic source, locate the required source in the <sources> section, and then modify the <listeners> section of the source to include the listener you want.

   For example, to add event logging for the Unified Service Desk, add the event logging listener to the Microsoft.Crm.UnifiedServiceDesk source:

   <source name="Microsoft.Crm.UnifiedServiceDesk" switchName="Microsoft.Crm.UnifiedServiceDesk" switchType="System.Diagnostics.SourceSwitch">
       <listeners>
           <add name="fileListener"/>
           <add name="USDDebugListener" />
           <add name="eventLogListener" type="System.Diagnostics.EventLogTraceListener" initializeData="USD"/>
       </listeners>
   </source>
   

   This will now report events to the Windows event log with the tag “USD”, in addition to the file and Debugger. For more information about diagnostic listeners, see Diagnostic log listeners later in this topic.

Diagnostic log sources

Common troubleshooting log sources are listed in the following table.

You can toggle each of these log sources independently to support troubleshooting and isolation of issues or information inside Unified Service Desk.

Diagnostic logging levels

There are several distinct logging levels available for use. However, as you increase the level of logging, more data is generated and stored in the log files.

Diagnostic log listeners

Diagnostics log listeners are used to target the diagnostic log output to files, the event log, or other sources. By default, all diagnostic sources are wired to both the default (Debugger) and file (text) listeners. You can configure additional log listeners for diagnostic logging for Unified Service Desk. For more information about the .NET default listeners, see:

• DefaultTraceListener

• EventLogTraceListener

• TextWriterTraceListener

You can also create custom listeners to send diagnostic logs to a location of your choice. Custom listeners are created by deriving a class from the TraceListener abstract class. You can find a walkthrough of the process on CodeGuru.com.

See Also

Concepts

Debug issues in Unified Service Desk

Other Resources

Troubleshoot Unified Service Desk using debugger and diagnostic logging

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