Support Center

mControl includes a rich logging system, which logs all activity into log files. Log files are kept in the C:\Program Files\Embedded Automation\mControl\logs directory, or if you are using a Windows Home Server environment the log files are kept in the C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\mcontrol\logs directory.

Verbosity
mControl allows various levels of verbosity (i.e., how much information is shown) for each component.

To adjust the verbosity for the mControl server, use the mControl Service Manager, select the App Setting tab and modify the the System Wide Debug Level parameter. The default level is 5, maximum is 99. You can also adjust the # of log files used, log file sizes, etc.

To adjust the verbosity for any of the mControl drivers (e.g., INSTEON, Z-Wave), use the mControl Service Manager, select the Adapters tab, then edit a specific driver. Change the DebugLevel parameter for any of the Adapters.

Verbosity is defined by the following values:

• SILENT = 0 (little or no log information writte)
• DEFAULT = 5 (default logging level: typically errors and pertinent information)
• TRACE = 7 (base trouble-shooting level)
• VERBOSE = 9 (detailed information)
• LUGUBRIOUS = 99 (all the information that's fit to print)   :)

In addition to driver information, general mControl system operation can be similiarly viewed. Use the "Systemwide Debuglevel" in the system tab.

In all cases, if you make any changes, you must restart mControl to have these changes take effect.

Types of Files
mControlxxx.log - log files associated with the mControl Automation Service
MSASAddinxxx.log - log files associated with the Media Center Aggregator (e.g., the events from Media Center)

How to Read Log Files
mControl log files follow this basic format:
[Current Time] <Time since mControl Automation Service started> (mControl thread) |Type of Message - D=debug, E=error, W=warning, I=info, M=macro|.- |Adapter| Log Message

During setup, it is often useful to view log files in real-time while using mControl to see what's going on "under the hood". We recommend the following utility: http://www.withdata.com/tail4win.html. Once tail4win is loaded, simply point it to mControl000.log. We find it useful to use mControl for IE (with 50-75% magnification) or the mControl Editor in the foreground, and tail4win inthe background.



Things to look for
1. mControl sends status messages out to all clients via a "Broadcast Message". Broadcast messages are only sent if there is a change in the value(s) associated with a device. Generally speaking, if the device does not send us any information back, even though we might have asked it to go to a different value, we will not adjust value of the device (exceptions to this rule are X10 devices which communicate one-way).

If you're not getting status udpates on the clients, you might want to check to see if mControl is indeed sending out the Broadcast Message within the log file. Broadcast messages look something like this:
[2007-10-23 18:27:24.555] <00:01:30.5288859> (026) I.- Broadcasted notification: ["HAIRC:1", "C|-40|-40|-40|27|HEAT|AUTO|OFF|OFF|NORMAL"] for device [HAIRC]

2. Often pressing a button on mControl doesn't appear to do anything. Check to see if the underlying adapter (or what we use to communicate to the device with) is working. If it isn't attached or communicating, you might see messages like this:

[2007-10-23 16:16:52.803] <00:00:02.5196383> (017) E.- Serial port COM1 is not available!
-- or
[2007-10-17 21:57:19.328] <00:43:06.1270046> (013) E.- INSTEON PowerLinc adapter not detected - can't perform the action.