A Guide to Smarter Stats: Locating and Accessing IIS Log Files

IIS logs are data records from Internet Information Services (IIS), web pages, and applications. They provide specific statistics about the website, such as user data, site visits, IPs, and queries, which can help detect issues and optimize the site’s performance.

a) How does it apply to IIS 7 and above in Smarter Stats ?

1. First, hover over Administrative Tools in the Windows Start menu and click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

2. Then, expand the server name folder and click on the Sites folder to view a list of sites in the tree view content pane, and note the site ID.

3. After that, double-click on the site’s settings in the content pane or expand the Sites folder and click on the site name in the tree view.

4. Next, select “Logging” from the content pane to load logging settings, and enter the path to the logs in the “Directory” field.

5. Then, navigate to the LogFiles folder by following the path contained in the Directory field.

6. Finally, the LogFiles folder contains subfolders for each site configured in Smarter Stats, labeled W3SVC1, W3SVC2, and so on. The last number in the folder name corresponds to the Site ID. Find the folder matching your site ID to find its location.

b) How does it apply to IIS 6 and below in Smarter Stats ?

1. First, hover over Administrative Tools in the Windows Start menu and click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

2. Then, navigate to the Sites folder in the tree view on the left to expand your server name folder.

3. After that, right-click on the desired site name and select “Properties“. The settings will be loaded into the content pane.

4. Next, locate the option at the bottom of the Site tab to format an activity log and click on the “Properties” button.

5. Finally, the General Properties tab displays a box at the bottom with the log file directory and name. The full log path includes the directory and the first part of the file name, like C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles\W3SVC1.