How to Run the Web Server Log Import DTS Task

  • Article

Web server log files store data that you obtain when users visit your site and click links to site pages. The data includes the length of time that a user spent visiting your site, referring site, ad clicks, ad reach, click frequency, and the path the user takes through the site, including entry and exit pages.

You use the Web server log import Data Transformation Services (DTS) task to specify which log files to import into the Data Warehouse, and where they are located. The Web log file import DTS task looks for the log files in the specified location, parses them, and applies the properties that you configured for the Web server log import DTS task.

Note

If you are using SQL Server 2005, you must install DTS 2000 Designer and run the Data Warehouse Import Wizard to create a package. You must have already created a package using the Data Warehouse Import Wizard or have existing packages to import before you can perform this task.

To run the Web server log import DTS task

  1. Run the Configuration synchronization DTS task to synchronize your site configuration with the Data Warehouse. For instructions, see How to Run the Configuration Synchronization DTS Task.

  2. If you are using SQL Server 2005, do the following:

    1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and then click SQL Server Management Studio.

    2. In SQL Server Management Studio, in the Object Explorer pane, expand the server on which your Data Warehouse is installed, expand Management, and then expand Legacy.

    3. Right-click the package that contains the task that you want to run, and then click Open.

      If the package that you want to open is not in the list, right-click Data Transformation Services, and then click Open Package File or Import Package File. In the Open DTS 2000 Package or Import DTS 2000 Package dialog box, click the package that you have previously saved and want to open or import, and then click Open.

  3. In the DTS Package or DTS 2000 Package Designer window, on the Task menu, click Web server log import (Commerce Server).

  4. In the Import Web Server Logs Properties dialog box, do the following:

    Use this

    To do this

    Description

    Type a description for the import task.

    Operation level

    Select Site level from the drop-down list.

    Select Data Warehouse level to import the Web server logs for all sites.

    Site

    Select the site that contains the Web server log file that you want to import.

    Log file path

    Type the path of the Web log file that you want to import, or click Log Files to select the Web log files that you want to import from the Web Server Log Files list.

    All logs since last import

    Select this option to import all log files that were created since the last import.

    Logs by data/time range

    Select this option to import only the log files that were created between the Start date/time and End date/time.

    Start date/time

    Type the date and time for the starting of the range from which log files will be imported. This option is available only if you select the Logs by date/time range option.

    The value for this option is stored in the Sitesummary table in the Data Warehouse.

    End date/time

    Type the date and time for the end of the range from which log files will be imported. This option is available only if you select the Logs by date/time range option.

    The value for this option is stored in the Sitesummary table in the Data Warehouse.

  5. In the Retry properties section, do the following:

    Use this

    To do this

    Number of retries

    Type the number of times you want the task to retry connection failures to the Data Warehouse. The default number of retry attempts is 10. To specify the number of times to restart the Web log import process before it continues with the next import process, click Advanced, and then click the Restart tab.

    Seconds between retries

    Type the time in seconds that you want the task to wait between retry attempts. The default time interval is 30 seconds.

  6. In the Import Web Server Logs Properties dialog box, click OK.

  7. On the Package menu, click Execute.

    Note

    Clicking Execute on the Package menu will execute all tasks associated with the selected package. If you want to execute a specific task, for example the Web server log import task, right-click Web server log import (Commerce Server), and then click Execute Step.

    The Executing Package dialog box appears that displays the progress of the import.

  8. In the Package Execution Results dialog box informing you that it completed successfully, click OK.

  9. In the Executing Package dialog box, click Done.

    The data from the Web log file is imported into the Data Warehouse.

See Also

Other Resources

How to Run the Report Preparation DTS Task

How to Run the Configuration Synchronization DTS Task

Running the DTS Tasks

Importing Data into the Data Warehouse

Managing the Data Warehouse

Commerce Server Operations