17. Diagnostic and Security v1

This module covers Workflow logging, diagnostics, and security.

Logging

Using Workflow Logs

By default, all steps executed within a Workflow are logged. Here are the different ways you can view these logs:

  • See a live view of Workflow logs while a Workflow is running on the Workflow Design screen.
  • See recent runs of a Workflow from its Workflow landing screen.
  • Search logs for a specific Workflow from the Workflow landing screen by clicking Workflow Logs.
  • See recent logs for a specific Node from the Workflow Design screen by clicking the Node header v → Load Recent Logs.
  • Search across logs for all Workflows from the Workflow logs screen in the main navigation.

In some log views, there are two coloured circles on the left side of each log row. The first represents the Workflow, so where you see the same color across multiple rows, this indicates the same Workflow. The second indicates the Workflow instance or in other words the run of a particular Workflow. Where you see the same color over multiple rows, this indicates that the logs belong to the same instance of the Workflow.

These guides are helpful when you're searching across multiple Workflows or multiple instances of the same Workflow, as they enable you to tell the logs apart without viewing their detail properties.

As you hover a log row, you'll see a ⋮ button on the left-hand side. Clicking this button opens a context menu showing options available for the selected log.

  • Go to Workflow Design opens the Workflow Design screen for the Workflow in a new browser tab.
  • Go to sub-Workflow drills into an entry for the Workflow Node where a sub-Workflow is being invoked.
  • Show from Start Log loads a log that displays the first entry for the instance of the Workflow (i.e. the Start Node entry).
  • Show with Parent/Child Workflows loads a log showing the parent Workflow and all child Workflows in a single view (by default, child Workflows are not shown).

In some log views, you can filter by a date and time. These will be defaulted to the current time. Log searches work backwards, so searching from a specific date and time returns the first 100 log rows up to that time. If you want to see a page of earlier log rows, click the Search Earlier than... label.

For more information, see Workflow Logs Screen.

Low Logging

Although having detailed logs is helpful for diagnosing issues, in some cases, this amount of logging can slow down Workflow execution. This is particularly likely when Workflows contain a large number of steps that execute very quickly.

You can reduce logging on a Workflow from the Workflow Design screen by opening Workflow settings and setting Logging level to Low Logging instead of Full Logging.

In this mode, only Workflow Start entries and Nodes that end with an error will be logged.

For more information, see Workflow Log Logging.

Property Redaction

If a Workflow processes sensitive information, you may wish to redact sensitive Properties.

On the Workflow Design screen, click the label of the Property you want to redact and set Logged to Redacted.

Redacted Properties are indicated in yellow and their values are never logged even if the Node errors. When using this feature, take care to trace all downstream Properties that may include sensitive data and mark them as redacted too. For example, if you redact an input Custom Property, you should also redact the output Property on the Node if the value of the Custom Property will appear somewhere within it.

For more information, see Property Redaction.

Metrics

Metrics are accessed from the left-hand menu and provide a summary of Workflow activity in the context of a Subscription.

You can change the period of time the metrics are shown for by using the filter provided.

  • Concurrent Workflows (total) shows the peak Concurrent Workflows over a period.
  • Concurrent Workflows (by mode) breaks down peak Concurrent Workflows by API-invoked, Always On, and all other categories.
  • Workflow Activations shows the number of top-level Workflows that have activated over a period, along with the number of activations that terminated with an error.
  • Sub-Workflow Activations shows the number of sub-Workflow invokes over a period, along with the number of sub-Workflow invokes that ended with an error.
  • Node Activations shows the number of Nodes invoked over a period along with the number that ended with an error.

Relationships

Certain Flowgear plans allow you to explore relationships between different objects, such as Workflows, Connections, API Keys, and DropPoints.

Click the Relationships button on the relevant screen to see a tree view of all related objects.

This technique is useful when you want to understand the impact of a change. For example, you can see whether a Workflow is used by another Workflow, or whether a Connection is in use in any Workflows.

The Relationships screen allows you to select the Environment whose relationships you want to view. When Release Management is enabled, relationships between objects can differ across Environments.

Audit Trail

Key events in the Platform, such as saving a Connection or promoting a Workflow, are stored in an audit trail. Click Audit trail on an object's details screen to view its events.

Export

You can export the content of most panes by clicking the download button on the right-hand side. For panes like Workflow or Connection lists, this option will give you a CSV document of the list of objects.

On the Workflow Design screen, use the export button to view the Workflow as JSON or download an SVG representation.