This topic describes how to install the Logtail client on Windows servers.

Supported systems

The following Windows systems are supported:

  • Windows 7 (Client) 32-bit
  • Windows 7 (Client) 64-bit
  • Windows Server 2008 32-bit
  • Windows Server 2008 64-bit
  • Windows Server 2012 64-bit
  • Windows Server 2016 64-bit

Prerequisites

  • Your account has at least one server under it.
  • You have determined the required network type for log collection according to the server type and region to which the server belongs. For more information, see Select a network type.
    Figure 1. Select a network type


Install Logtail

  1. Download the required Logtail installation package as follows:
  2. Decompress logtail_installer.zip to the current directory.
  3. Install Logtail according to the region to which the Log Service project belongs.

    Run Windows PowerShell or CMD as the admin user to enter the logtail_installer directory, where you decompress the Logtail installation package. Then, run the installation command according to the region and network type.

    The following table describes installation commands you can use according to the network type.
    Region Alibaba Cloud intranet Internet Global acceleration
    China (Qingdao) .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-qingdao .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-qingdao-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-qingdao-acceleration
    China (Beijing) .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-beijing .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-beijing-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-beijing-acceleration
    China (Zhangjiakou) .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-zhangjiakou .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-zhangjiakou-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-zhangjiakou-acceleration
    China (Hohhot) .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-huhehaote .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-huhehaote-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-huhehaote-acceleration
    China (Hangzhou) .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-hangzhou .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-hangzhou-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-hangzhou-acceleration
    China (Shanghai) .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-shanghai .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-shanghai-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-shanghai-acceleration
    China (Shenzhen) .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-shenzhen .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-shenzhen-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-shenzhen-acceleration
    China (Chengdu) .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-chengdu .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-chengdu-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-chengdu-acceleration
    Hong Kong .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-hongkong .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-hongkong-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install cn-hongkong-acceleration
    US (Silicon Valley) .\logtail_installer.exe install us-west-1 .\logtail_installer.exe install us-west-1-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install us-west-1-acceleration
    US (Virginia) .\logtail_installer.exe install us-east-1 .\logtail_installer.exe install us-east-1-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install us-east-1-acceleration
    Singapore .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-southeast-1 .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-southeast-1-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-southeast-1-acceleration
    Australia (Sydney) .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-southeast-2 .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-southeast-2-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-southeast-2-acceleration
    Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-southeast-3 .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-southeast-3-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-southeast-3-acceleration
    Indonesia (Jakarta) .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-southeast-5 .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-southeast-5-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-southeast-5-acceleration
    India (Mumbai) .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-south-1 .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-south-1-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-south-1-acceleration
    Japan (Tokyo) .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-northeast-1 .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-northeast-1-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install ap-northeast-1-acceleration
    Germany (Frankfurt) .\logtail_installer.exe install eu-central-1 .\logtail_installer.exe install eu-central-1-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install eu-central-1-acceleration
    UAE (Dubai) .\logtail_installer.exe install me-east-1 .\logtail_installer.exe install me-east-1-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install me-east-1-acceleration
    UK (London) .\logtail_installer.exe install eu-west-1 .\logtail_installer.exe install eu-west-1-internet .\logtail_installer.exe install eu-west-1-acceleration
    Note When you use Logtail on a server deployed in an on-premises IDC or provided by another cloud product vendor, Log Service cannot obtain the owner information about ECS servers under other Alibaba Cloud accounts or other types of servers. In this case, after installing Logtail, you need to manually configure AliUids for the servers by following the instructions provided in Configure AliUids for ECS servers under other Alibaba Cloud accounts and on-premises IDCs. Otherwise, Logtail heartbeats become abnormal, or Logtail cannot collect logs.

Installation path

By default, Logtail is installed in the specified path, which cannot be changed. In this path, you can view the Logtail version in the app_info.json file or uninstall Logtail.

The installation path is:

  • C:\Program Files\Alibaba\Logtail in Windows 32-bit systems
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Alibaba\Logtail in Windows 64-bit systems
Note Logtail is a 32-bit program. For Windows 64-bit systems, Logtail will be installed in the Program Files (x86) directory.

View the Logtail version

Logtail is automatically installed to the default directory. You can open the app_info.json file to view the logtail_version field, which indicates your Logtail version.

The following examples shows that the Logtail version is 1.0.0.0: 
{
	"logtail_version" : "1.0.0.0"
}

Upgrade Logtail

  • Automatic upgrade

    In normal cases, Windows supports automatic Logtail upgrades.

  • Manual upgrade

    You need to manually upgrade Logtail if the source version is earlier than 1.0.0.0 and the target version is 1.0.0.0 or later. For more information about how to manually upgrade Logtail, see Install Logtail.

    Note Manually upgrading Logtail means that Logtail will be automatically uninstalled and then reinstalled. In this case, files in the original installation path will be deleted. We recommend that you back up the files before manually upgrading Logtail.

Manually start and stop Logtail

In the Control Panel, choose System and Security > Administrative Tools, and then open the Services program.

Find the target service according to your Logtail version:
  • For Logtail 0.x.x.x: LogtailWorker
  • For Logtail 1.0.0.0 and later: LogtailDaemon
Then, perform the following operations as needed:
  • Manually start Logtail: Right-click Logtail and click Start in the shortcut menu.
  • Stop Logtail: Right-click Logtail and click Stop in the shortcut menu.
  • Restart Logtail: Right-click Logtail and click Restart in the shortcut menu.

Uninstall Logtail

Run Windows PowerShell or CMD as the admin user to enter the logtail_installer directory, namely, the directory for decompressing the installation package you have downloaded. Then, run the following command: 

.\logtail_installer.exe uninstall

After Logtail is deleted successfully, the Logtail installation path will be deleted. However, some residual configuration information will be retained in the C:\LogtailData directory. You can manually delete the information as needed. The information includes the following:

  • checkpoint: contains checkpoint information of all agents (for example, the Windows event log agent).
  • logtail_check_point: contains major checkpoint information of Logtail.
  • users: contains all AliUids.