Creating Logs in the Report Server for .NET

The Report Server for .NET uses Serilog to allow writing diagnostic logging information from the server onto a file for easier troubleshooting.

Setup

The configuration options for Serilog that would usually be set up through the C# API - Serilog Configuration Basics, can be configured in two ways:

1. Environment Variables - Set system-wide environment variables.
2. Configuration Files - Modify the appsettings.json files directly.

Using Environment Variables

You can enable logging for both the Report Server Manager and Service Agent at the same time by setting the following environment variables:

Serilog__MinimumLevel=Verbose
Serilog__WriteTo__1__Name=File
Serilog__WriteTo__1__Args__path=Logs/rsnetlogs.txt

This requires the default Serilog configuration to exist in the appsettings.json files for both the manager and service components, as environment variables are intended to override these base settings as needed.

When the Report Server is installed using the MSI installer, it runs under a dedicated Windows user account (ReportServerUser) or a system account (e.g., LocalSystem) depending on your installation choice. These accounts do not have access to user-level environment variables. To ensure environment variable overrides work correctly, you must define them at the system level.

Using Configuration Files

Alternatively, you can define the configuration in the appsettings.json configuration files of the Report Server for .NET.

Report Server Manager

The appsettings.json file of the Report Server Manager for .NET resides in its installation directory, for example, C:\Program Files (x86)\Progress\Telerik Report Server\Telerik.ReportServer.Web.NET\. The following configuration settings can be added to that file, at the top level:

  "Serilog": {
   "MinimumLevel": "Verbose",
    "WriteTo": [
      {
        "Name": "Console"
      },
      {
        "Name": "File",
        "Args": { "path": "Logs/logServerManagerAll.txt" }
      }
    ]
  }

Service Agent

The Report Server for .NET ServiceAgent's appsettings.json file can be found in its installation directory, by default - C:\Program Files (x86)\Progress\Telerik Report Server\Services\.NET\. The following configuration settings can be added to that file, at the top level:

  "Serilog": {
   "MinimumLevel": "Verbose",
    "WriteTo": [
      {
        "Name": "Console"
      },
      {
        "Name": "File",
        "Args": { "path": "Logs/logServiceAgentAll.txt" }
      }
    ]
  }

For more configuration settings, refer to Serilog Configuration Basics.

See Also

• Report Server for .NET Introduction
• Report Server for .NET: Installation on Windows
• Report Server for .NET: Installation on Docker Container