When managing a Neo4j Aura instance, logs are essential for understanding database activity, diagnosing issues, and maintaining security.
In this lesson, you’ll learn:
How to access logs in Neo4j Aura
Understanding different types of logs available
Querying and filtering query logs
Understanding security logs
Free instances
Logs are not available for Free tier instances.
Understanding log types
Aura provides two types of logs to monitor different aspects of your database: query logs and security logs.
Open the logs by expanding the Operations menu and selecting Logs.
Switching log types
You can access the category of logs using the tabs at the top of the screen.
Exploring query logs
Query logs provide detailed visibility into every query executed against your database within the selected time period.
The Summary view shows an aggregated list grouped by the Cypher query. This provides you with an overview of the most common queries and provides an insight into their performance.
Status: The status of the query.
Count: The number of times a query has been executed.
From: The first time the query was executed.
To: The last time the query was executed.
Total time spent: The total time spent executing the queries.
Average time: The average time spent executing the queries.
This view helps you to identify slow or inefficient queries, track query patterns and frequency, and optimize database operations.
The Details view provides the data on each individual query execution.
Explore your query logs
Explore the query logs of your Aura instance.
Try to identify:
The most frequently executed query
Any slow running queries
Login attempts
Understanding security logs
Security logs track authentication and authorization events against your instance.
Status: The status of the event.
Message: The message of the event.
Executing user: The user who performed the action. This could be different from the authenticated user if the action was performed through impersonation.
Count: The number of times an event has occurred.
From: The first time the event occurred.
To: The last time the event occurred.
Authenticated users: The user(s) whose credentials were used to log in.
This view can help diagnose issues with authentication and authorization, and identify the number and source of connections to your database.
Download logs
You can download the logs for further analysis or compliance purposes.
Lesson Summary
In this lesson, you learned about accessing and understanding various types of logs in Neo4j Aura, and how to use them effectively for troubleshooting and monitoring.
In the next lesson, you will learn about reviewing metrics and performance indicators.
