Using Wwwstat

Summary

This article introduces how to use wwwstat. Instructions are provided to help you analyze your current access_log data, and examples are included to help you customize the output of wwwstat. This article assumes a familiarity with the Personal Log File Service.

Included on this page:

• Introduction
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• Customizing Your Summaries

Introduction

The Personal Log File Service delivers raw log file data to your personal access_log file. The wwwstat program can help you summarize this data into several categories:

• Number of requests per day
• Number of requests per hour
• Number of requests from specific computers
• Number of requests to each file

Example wwwstat output is available on the wwwstat home page.

Note: before you can use wwwstat you need access_log data. See information on the Personal Log File Service to learn how to turn on your access_log file and start accruing data.

Step-by-Step Instructions

The following instructions show you how to process the data in your current access_log file and deposit the results in your Web directory where they can be viewed with a Web browser.

Although the Personal Log File service delivers new data every night, you have to run the wwwstat command each time you want to generate a new summary. You might run the wwwstat command once a week or perhaps only on the first day of each month.

1. Log in to your Homer or Dante account.

2. Press the O key for Other, then press the W key to drop into the Web development environment.

3. At the prompt, enter the following command to change directories to your Web directory:

   cd public_html

   Your personal access_log is in this directory.

4. At the prompt, enter the following command to process your access_log file:

   wwwstat -C 206 access_log > stats.html

   This command deposits its results in a file called stats.html. The -C flag tells wwwstat not to count requests with HTTP status code 206, which was added in HTTP 1.1.

5. Since this file is in your Web directory, you view it in a Web browser with the URL http://servername.washington.edu/youruwnetid/stats.html. Substitute servername and youruwnetid appropriately.

Customizing Your Summaries

The wwwstat command supports several ways to create customized summaries:

• Summarize requests during April

  wwwstat -d 'Apr' access_log > stats.html

• Summarize requests made to your home page (replace user)

  wwwstat -n '^/user/$' access_log > stats.html

• Summarize requests made to a subdirectory (replace user)

  wwwstat -n '^/user/private/' access_log > stats.html

• Exclude requests made to a subdirectory

  wwwstat -N '/graphics/' access_log > stats.html

• Exclude requests made to .gif files

  wwwstat -N '.gif$' access_log > stats.html

• Exclude requests made from a specific address (e.g. aol.com)

  wwwstat -A '^aol.com$' access_log > stats.html

• Summarize requests made to your home page during April, excluding requests made to .gif files and from a specific address

  wwwstat -n '^/user/$' -d 'Apr' -N '.gif$' -A '^aol.com$' access_log > stats.html

To learn more about wwwstat, enter wwwstat -h at the prompt or refer to the wwwstat home page.

UW Technology
help@u.washington.edu
Modified: April 27, 2009