ifone_lover

Q: How can I verify clients are getting updates from the Caching Service?

I just set up a 10.11 Server with Server.app version 5.0.15 to act as a Caching Service server to provide updates to Mac clients (no iOS devices).

 

I can see that it has downloaded updates from the Stats section when I selected Bytes Served in the drop-down menu at the bottom.

 

I want to verify that this is working and that clients are getting updates from this sever when in the office.

 

I've done a lot of searching but have not found something definitive. I've seen suggestions at looking at the /Library/Server/Caching/Logs/Debug.log, but nothing in there can tell me whether or not a client received an update from the Caching Service. It is suggested in the Server Essentials book from PeachPit to look at Activity Monitor to check the network packet in and outtake, but that only shows that the Server has successfully contacted Apple and verified the IP address.

 

I need to know and verify that this Caching Service is actually working by provided updates to clients on our network. Does anyone know how to do this?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

EDIT: I just checked the server again and it only downloaded 226MB of data. I set this up yesterday afternoon. Shouldn't there be a lot more data?

Posted on Mar 9, 2016 8:52 AM

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Q: How can I verify clients are getting updates from the Caching Service?

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  • by raimattern,Helpful

    raimattern raimattern Mar 9, 2016 10:07 AM in response to ifone_lover
    Level 1 (104 points)
    Mar 9, 2016 10:07 AM in response to ifone_lover

    https://help.apple.com/serverapp/mac/5.0/?lang=en#/apd5E1AD52E-012B-4A41-8F21-8E 9EDA56583ALog

    LogLevel -> verbose
    I get sufficient information about activities

  • by ifone_lover,

    ifone_lover ifone_lover Mar 9, 2016 10:06 AM in response to raimattern
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Mar 9, 2016 10:06 AM in response to raimattern

    Thanks for that tip, raimattern.

     

    How do I view the log once I add the LogLevel entry to the plist file? And, doesn't the log get big quickly since it's set to Verbose?

  • by raimattern,

    raimattern raimattern Mar 9, 2016 10:21 AM in response to ifone_lover
    Level 1 (104 points)
    Mar 9, 2016 10:21 AM in response to ifone_lover

    Read the Help file carefully !

     

    The Server App has a menu entry: logs. Select the service you are interested in.

     

     

     

    Of course, you have to pay a penalty for additional Infos :Note: Bildschirmfoto 2016-03-09 um 19.10.35.jpgYou should leave the logging level at the default setting on a production system; if you raise it, there may be a performance penalty. If you increase the logging level above the default, additional logging is saved to /Library/Server/Caching/Logs/Debug.log, and won’t appear in the Server app under the Logs section.

  • by ifone_lover,

    ifone_lover ifone_lover Mar 9, 2016 10:46 AM in response to raimattern
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Mar 9, 2016 10:46 AM in response to raimattern

    The Server app Service log for caching literally has 7 entries there and is not helpful in telling me that clients are receiving updates from the caching service. it just tells me when the service was started or shut down and if the registration was successful.

     

    I saw what you posted, except the example log. Again, looking at the Debug.log on the server isn't really helping me even after adding the LogLevel Verbose entry in the .plist.. I looked for an entry like the example you gave in the screenshot, but I don't see any entries similar to what's in the example. Specifically I see no macserver AssetCache entries. IS 172.16.0.75 the IP of the caching server?

  • by raimattern,

    raimattern raimattern Mar 9, 2016 11:21 AM in response to ifone_lover
    Level 1 (104 points)
    Mar 9, 2016 11:21 AM in response to ifone_lover

    172.16.0.75 is the IP address of a client

  • by Bosco1983,

    Bosco1983 Bosco1983 Mar 10, 2016 12:53 AM in response to raimattern
    Level 1 (61 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Mar 10, 2016 12:53 AM in response to raimattern

    download an app, watch the graph on the Server and see if the line goes up....

  • by raimattern,

    raimattern raimattern Mar 10, 2016 2:28 AM in response to ifone_lover
    Level 1 (104 points)
    Mar 10, 2016 2:28 AM in response to ifone_lover

    sudo serveradmin settings caching

    ....

    ....
    caching:ReservedVolumeSpace = 25000000000

    caching:ServerRoot = "/Library/Server"

    caching:LogClientIdentity = yes
    ...
    ....


    Again, I only use the logs provided by the server app. No subirectories .....

  • by More Broccoli Please,Solvedanswer

    More Broccoli Please More Broccoli Please Mar 11, 2016 7:44 AM in response to ifone_lover
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Mar 11, 2016 7:44 AM in response to ifone_lover

    I need to know and verify that this Caching Service is actually working by provided updates to clients on our network. Does anyone know how to do this?

    The setting you want is LogClientIdentity.

    $ sudo serveradmin stop caching

    $ sudo serveradmin settings caching:LogClientIdentity = yes

    $ sudo serveradmin start caching

    Then the clients' IP addresses will be logged and visible in Server > Logs > Caching Service Log.


    As raimattern said, you should leave the LogLevel at default.

    $ sudo serveradmin settings caching:LogLevel = default

    (Caching does not need to be stopped and restarted when changing this setting.)

    The Server app Service log for caching literally has 7 entries


    Then most likely caching is not working for you, yet.  Try rebooting the clients.  When clients find no caching server on a network  (as they likely did before you set up your new caching server) they remember that for a while so they don't keep uselessly checking.  Rebooting forces a fresh lookup.  If rebooting doesn't help please double-check the "Country Restrictions" section of https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204675 and the public/private network configuration information in https://www.apple.com/support/osxserver/cachingservice/.

  • by ifone_lover,

    ifone_lover ifone_lover Mar 14, 2016 8:30 AM in response to More Broccoli Please
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Mar 14, 2016 8:30 AM in response to More Broccoli Please

    @More Broccoli Please - Thanks for your post, it really helped me.  @Raimattern thanks for your help too. It got me started in the right direction.

     

    It seems that this is kind of working. After making the changes that MBP made, I can now see that 1 (one) client has used the caching service. I made the changes on Friday, 3/11, and there hasn't been much activity over the weekend. This morning, I can see a GET request with an IP address of a client, so it is working (i assume) but I am surprised more clients haven't used the caching service yet.