Access log files can supply a lot of useful information to the webmaster, such as; the number of hits the web site has received within a given period of time or the type of browser visitors are using to view your site. Such information can be accessed by analysing the log file.

The logs available are:

  • access.log (current)
  • access.log.0 (last week - uncompressed)
  • access.log.1.gz (week before and is compressed)

The folder also contains the corresponding error logs (error.log).

Note: Users do not have write permission in the /web/logs/foo directory.

To access the log file for your OUCS-hosted web site you will need to securely access your site using WinSCP or similar product. Linux users can access their log files using SCP and Mac users can use a GUI called Fugu obtainable from http://rsug.itd.umich.edu/software/fugu/. The following guide takes you through the steps required to download your web logs onto a Windows machine.

  • Start WinSCP and type in linux.ox.ac.uk as the host
  • Type in your username e.g. foo
  • Type in your password



  • From the side panel select directories
  • For the remote directory type in the following code substituting foo for your host username



  • Press the login button to connect to linux.ox.ac.uk. the logs folder will then be displayed.



  • Select the logs you need to transfer and drag them to a folder on your machine. The files will be copied across. Close the application when you have finished.