logFaces

LogFaces is an exceptional out-of-the-box log server that works perfectly with applications using log4j as their logging framework. The major feature here is 'off the shelf', which means that installation is effortless. You'll just need to install it next to your system and redirect your appenders to the logFaces server. It works incredibly well with TCP or UDP sockets as both are supported by log4xxx.

LogFaces is designed such that you can select processes, hosts, and even classes that should work with logFaces. Thanks to log4xxx configuration magic, this is easily achievable and non-intrusive. For instance, suppose you're dealing with multi-host systems that require testing in QA with a lot of data. In that case, logFaces can partition the data and focus it on particular aspects.

The LogFaces viewer provides such capability which is called a log perspective. Perspectives allow you to focus on individual applications on particular hosts, packages, or even classes, all without touching your production code. LogFaces works with various databases such as Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Apache Derby, which collect, filter and are ready for different queries. The data received from applications is also dispatched to clients and persisted, and routing is done in real-time, with each client separately configuring it to their liking.

LogFaces isn't just for large systems; it works well with smaller applications as well. If you only need routing capabilities and not persistence, disabling the database is another effortless option. Lastly, some users only use LogFaces for viewing logs in real-time, making it an incredibly versatile log server.