Question

I have been attempting to get log4net logging in my asp.net web application with no success or any noticable errors. I am attempting to use the ADONetAppender appender with the following config:

<log4net>
<appender name="ADONetAppender" type="log4net.Appender.ADONetAppender">
  <bufferSize value="1" />
  <connectionType value="System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection, System.Data, Version=1.0.3300.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" />
  <connectionString value="server=" />
  <commandText value="INSERT INTO Log ([Date],[Thread],[Level],[Logger],[Message],[Exception],[Context]) VALUES 
                            (@log_date, @thread, @log_level, @logger, @message, @exception, @context)" />
  <parameter>
    <parameterName value="@log_date" />
    <dbType value="DateTime" />
    <layout type="log4net.Layout.RawTimeStampLayout" />
  </parameter>
  <parameter>
    <parameterName value="@thread" />
    <dbType value="String" />
    <size value="32" />
    <layout type="log4net.Layout.PatternLayout">
      <conversionPattern value="%t" />
    </layout>
  </parameter>
  <parameter>
    <parameterName value="@log_level" />
    <dbType value="String" />
    <size value="512" />
    <layout type="log4net.Layout.PatternLayout">
      <conversionPattern value="%p" />
    </layout>
  </parameter>
  <parameter>
    <parameterName value="@context" />
    <dbType value="String" />
    <size value="512" />
    <layout type="log4net.Layout.PatternLayout">
      <conversionPattern value="%x" />
    </layout>
  </parameter>
  <parameter>
    <parameterName value="@logger" />
    <dbType value="String" />
    <size value="512" />
    <layout type="log4net.Layout.PatternLayout">
      <conversionPattern value="%c" />
    </layout>
  </parameter>
  <parameter>
    <parameterName value="@message" />
    <dbType value="String" />
    <size value="4000" />
    <layout type="log4net.Layout.PatternLayout">
      <conversionPattern value="%m" />
    </layout>
  </parameter>
  <parameter>
    <parameterName value="@exception" />
    <dbType value="String" />
    <size value="2000" />
    <layout type="log4net.Layout.ExceptionLayout" />
  </parameter>
</appender>
<root>
  <level value="DEBUG" />
  <appender-ref ref="ADONetAppender" />
</root>

In my global.asax Application_Start I call

log4net.Config.XmlConfigurator.Configure();

Then to attempt to log:

protected static readonly ILog log = LogManager.GetLogger(MethodBase.GetCurrentMethod().DeclaringType);
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{            
    log.Info("did I log yet?");
}

All of this does nothing as far as I can tell.

Answer 1

Have you added added the following section under under Configuration->Configsections

<section name="log4net" type="log4net.Config.Log4NetConfigurationSectionHandler, log4net"/>

Although it is possible to add your log4net configuration settings to your project’s app.config or web.config file, it is preferable to place them in a separate configuration file. Aside from the obvious benefit of maintainability, it has the added benefit that log4net can place a FileSystemWatcher object on your config file to monitor when it changes and update its settings dynamically.

To use a separate config file, add a file named Log4Net.config to your project and add the following attribute to your AssemblyInfo.cs file:

[assembly: log4net.Config.XmlConfigurator(ConfigFile = "Log4Net.config", Watch = true)]

Note: for web applications, this assumes Log4Net.config resides in the web root. Ensure the log4net.config file is marked as “Copy To Output” -> “Copy Always” in Properties.

From here.