# Access Logging

This section highlights the observability features of the Application Load Balancer (ALB) access logging. The ALB supports comprehensive logging that offer visibility into the application traffic. When enabled, all logs are transmitted to our observability system, where they can be queried and analyzed for valuable insights. Central logging must be enabled for this functionality, ensuring effective monitoring and troubleshooting of application traffic. This allows for proactive identification and resolution of potential issues, enhancing overall application performance and reliability.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** This feature is only available for newly created ALBS in non-US datacenters and requires central logging to be enabled as a prerequisite.
{% endhint %}

## Access Logs

Once central logging is enabled, logs from your ALB will be sent to the logging service. You can access and analyze these logs using a dedicated Grafana instance.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** The Grafana URL where the logs will be available will follow the pattern as in this example: `https://grafana.d6b7a2374abe.dev.logging.de-txl.ionos.com/` where `d6b7a2374abe` is a hash of the contract number.
{% endhint %}

### Enable Central Logging

* **Requirement:** Enabling central logging is mandatory for the ALB to send logs.
* **Configuration:** Send a `POST` request to the ALB endpoint to enable central logging. Here's an example using curl:

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** Replace `datacenterId` and `TOKEN` with your actual data center ID and authorization token.
{% endhint %}

```bash
curl -X "POST" "https://api.ionos.com/cloudapi/v6/datacenters/{datacenterId}/applicationloadbalancers" \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer TOKEN' \
-d '{
  "type": "applicationloadbalancer",
  "metadata": {},
  "properties": {
    "name": "My Application Load Balancer",
    "listenerLan": 1,
    "ips": [
      "81.173.1.2",
      "22.231.2.2",
      "22.231.2.3"
    ],
    "targetLan": 2,
    "lbPrivateIps": [
      "81.173.1.5/24",
      "22.231.2.5/24"
    ],
    "centralLogging": true,
    "loggingFormat": "%{+Q}o %{-Q}ci - - [%trg] %r %ST %B \"\" \"\" %cp %ms %ft %b %s %TR %Tw %Tc %Tr %Ta %tsc %ac %fc %bc %sc %rc %sq %bq %CC %CS %hrl %hsl"
  },
  "entities": {
    "forwardingrules": {
      "type": "collection",
      "offset": 0,
      "limit": 1000,
      "_links": {}
    }
  }
}'
```

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:**

* Enabling or disabling central logging is also possible via `PUT` requests.
* Enabling central logging incurs additional costs.
  {% endhint %}


---

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