Analog
First up in the free software world is Analog,
the program that claims to be the "most popular log file analyzer in the world."
That may be true, but how does it stand up against the
competition? Very well, it turns out.
Analog is fully configurable, which means you can tweak it to produce
referer reports, error reports, or anything that's reflected in your raw log
file data. The only thing is, you have to know how to tweak it. A
complete user manual is available on the Web, plus there's a user email list
that you can turn to if you get stuck. This is helpful as the learning
curve tips a little steep for the inexperienced user. It runs on Windows,
Macintosh, Linux, Unix, and BSD. It understands almost every log file format
on the Web, and it can generate reports in over 30 languages. On top of all
that, it's free!
The reports generated by Analog are pumped into one large HTML file that
you can drag into your browser and scroll through (here, see a sample). All sorts of highly detailed data is here, but
the reports are not as easy to read as the commercial applications, which are
more concerned with look and feel. Of course if you'd like to see more
stylish-looking reports, you can download a free add-on called Report Magic, which gives
Analog the pretty user interface you'd expect from a program that costs
a whole lot more.
Webalizer
In the Linux crowd, many would argue that nothing beats Webalizer. The free application
generates highly detailed, easy-to-read reports in HTML (check out the graphing capabilities in these sample reports). It also runs on a host of operating systems and
speaks multiple languages.
Webalizer, being born of Unix-kind, is more difficult to use and
customize than other applications. If you know your way around Bash or Perl,
then you'll have no problem configuring reports from the command-line. If
that's all Greek to you, then your reports will remain on the stale side.
The default settings produce such beautiful-looking logs, however, I can't
help but recommend it.
HTTP-analyze
Last but not least in the freeware world is HTTP-analyze. This highly configurable application has
the grooviest interface of all the options I looked at. The user interface
is frames-based, making it easy to navigate through your log reports.
The interface uses a handy JavaScript pop-up navigation window that allows you to jump around the different sections of the report. There's also an
optional VRML interface that presents charts and graphs in 3-D right in your
browser (check out some sample reports).
HTTP-analyze does have a few bits of bad karma. The most prominent is
that it only effectively parses CLF and DLF/ELF log files. If your server
uses even the slightest variation from standard format for the access logs,
HTTP-analyze will generate an incomplete report. Also, HTTP-analyze is a
Unix-based program, meaning that its operating system support is more
limited than the others.
A few pieces of helpful documentation, such as the
user manual and FAQ, are't even available online yet, but they should be
finished soon. But if you're running Windows NT or a flavor of Unix,
download it and take advantage of the unique interface.
next page»
