Exception Logging In MVC Using Elmah

Ravi Patel

10y109.8k25100Article

ASP.NET MVCELMAHException LogException Logging Using Elmah

25 Comments

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Vishal I6y ago
Hello, I have implemented this elmah error log , it working in my local but while i publish it it shows "login failed for user...."
- Ravi Patel6y ago
  Check your database connection string , it might be possible you are using local database , if you are publishing the website some where in internet (Azure or godady or any other) your database must be accessible from anywhere.
Pankaj Negi7y ago
Hi Ravi, I am implemented this article. It's worked for me in database log maintain but it is not showing on Elmah.axd. Please suggest what should i missing.
- Ravi Patel7y ago
  Its seems like you are missing something in web config file, please check the web config file <elmah>   <security allowRemoteAccess="0" /> <errorLog type="Elmah.SqlErrorLog, Elmah" connectionStringName="DefaultConnection" />  </elmah>
Pankaj Negi7y ago
Hi Ravi, Iam implemented this article
Mayur Padhiyar7y ago
Hello as I have implemented elmah in one of my application and it is running fine as expected now the requirement is I have to give the feature to the client that user will start and stop error logging by himself either give in UI or give permission to change in web.config file. So how can I set dynamically OFF or ON elmah error logging? Please give suggestion on this!
vaibhav pancholi8y ago
How can i use mongodb database with elmah
ANIYAN C8y ago
Can I implement it in a Web API project?
- Ravi Patel8y ago
  Yes you can
Dhruvin Shah9y ago
Will it work on Simple asp.net web application
- Mayur Padhiyar9y ago
  Yes definitely will work
Naveen Nautiyal9y ago
I have implemented this in my project and its working.
Rehan Haque9y ago
I cannot see the errors in sql server on executing select * though i can see on elmah.axd in browser , where and how is the stored procedure getting executed?
- Mayur Padhiyar9y ago
  It will execute whenever exception throws you can see by using express profiler to see when and what stored procedure call and other sql related stuff
Mayur Padhiyar9y ago
Very Helpful and amazing just need to add one thing about to set connection string that is like defaultconnection string of entity framework connectionstring. Those whose application is not running please change your connection string and make it like this. <add name="ExceptionLogEntities" connectionString="Data Source=yourenginename;Initial Catalog=ExceptionLog;Integrated Security=True" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" /> if use id and password there just add it and your application will run. Please note the database by default used in this demo is mdf file and the entity framework database has only Elmah_Error table. So you can not see user field and related information in Elmah_Error table. The reason is by detault when you create any application it will create mdf files inside the App_Data and use that mdf files to store and retrieve the information for existing application and the database which we are using for elmah is different that we have created in the sql server as queries given in the demo. So both database are different. Don't forget to use your connectionstring inplace of default connection string in <errorLog type="Elmah.SqlErrorLog, Elmah" connectionStringName="DefaultConnection" /> in DefaultConnection use your connectionstring that you have just created.
Nabil Nawaz9y ago
I've implemented this project this is great, everything is working good. I'm facing a problem. i create table and stored procedures of ELMAH database in my own database. i'm using entity framework in my project, when i pass the connection string name to ELMAH in webconfig it gives me error about "metadata" which is in entity framework connection string. how can i use elmah to use Entityframework connection string ? i changed my Entityframework connectionstring to ADO connectionstring then things were working but was not able to login and perform any database action.
- Mayur Padhiyar9y ago
  Please change your connection string and make it like this <add name="ExceptionLogEntities" connectionString="Data Source=yourenginename;Initial Catalog=ExceptionLog;Integrated Security=True" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" /> If you use userid and password don't forget to add it and finally please read my above comment so you will get better understanding.
Ravi Patel10y ago
thanks Kabir
Humayun Kabir Mamun10y ago
Nice...
Ravi Patel10y ago
thanks Santhakumar sir
Santhakumar Munuswamy10y ago
Thanks for nice article. Keep it up
Ravi Patel10y ago
thanks all..
Sibeesh Venu10y ago
Nice Share
Gowtham K10y ago
Good One, Thanks for sharing
Ankur Mistry10y ago
Helpful, thanks for sharing

What is Elmah

According to Scott Mitchell, Error Logging Modules And Handlers (ELMAH) offers another approach to log runtime errors in a production environment. ELMAH is a free, open source error logging library that includes features like error filtering and the ability to view the error log from a web page, as an RSS feed, or to download it as a comma-delimited file.

What we will achieve through Elmah

Logging of nearly all unhandled exceptions.
Email notification of each error at the time error occurs.
View the error log from a web page.
RSS feed .

Step 1: Create a MVC web Application

Open Visual Studio create new project or press CTRL +SHIFT +N. Go to Web tab, select ASP.NET Web Application template. Give name as MVCExceptionLog as in the following screenshot,

Step 2: Add Elmah Package from Nuget,

Right click on project solution go to Manage NuGetPackages for Solution, click on it and search elmah and install it,

Step 3: Now open web config file and add the following code inside <system.web> </system.web>,

< httpHandlers >
< add verb = "POST,GET,HEAD"path = "elmah.axd"type = "Elmah.ErrorLogPageFactory, Elmah" / >
< /httpHandlers>

Also, add the following code inside <system.webServer></system.webServer>,

< handlers >
< add name = "Elmah"verb = "POST,GET,HEAD"path = "elmah.axd"type = "Elmah.ErrorLogPageFactory, Elmah" / >
< /handlers>

Step 4: Create table and Stored Procedure,

Here I am using SQL Server database to log the exception. I have already created database SQL Server named ExceptionLog. Open SQL Server Management Studio, run the following code in ExceptionLog database one by one.

For Table

CREATE TABLE[dbo].[ELMAH_Error]
(
[ErrorId][uniqueidentifier] NOT NULL,
[Application][nvarchar](60) NOT NULL,
[Host][nvarchar](50) NOT NULL,
[Type][nvarchar](100) NOT NULL,
[Source][nvarchar](60) NOT NULL,
[Message][nvarchar](500) NOT NULL,
[User][nvarchar](50) NOT NULL,
[StatusCode][int] NOT NULL,
[TimeUtc][datetime] NOT NULL,
[Sequence][int] IDENTITY(1, 1) NOT NULL,
[AllXml][ntext] NOT NULL
)

Stored procedure

1. Create PROCEDURE[dbo].[ELMAH_GetErrorsXml]
3. (
4. @Application NVARCHAR(60),
5. @PageIndex INT = 0,
6. @PageSize INT = 15,
7. @TotalCount INT OUTPUT
9. )
11. AS
13. SET NOCOUNT ON
15. DECLARE @FirstTimeUTC DATETIME
16. DECLARE @FirstSequence INT
17. DECLARE @StartRow INT
18. DECLARE @StartRowIndex INT
19. SELECT
21. @TotalCount = COUNT(1)
23. FROM
25. [ELMAH_Error]
27. WHERE
29. [Application] = @Application
30. SET @StartRowIndex = @PageIndex * @PageSize + 1
31. IF @StartRowIndex <= @TotalCount
33. BEGIN
35. SET ROWCOUNT @StartRowIndex
37. SELECT
39. @FirstTimeUTC = [TimeUtc],
41. @FirstSequence = [Sequence]
43. FROM
45. [ELMAH_Error]
47. WHERE
49. [Application] = @Application
51. ORDER BY
53. [TimeUtc] DESC,
54. [Sequence] DESC
56. END
58. ELSE
60. BEGIN
62. SET @PageSize = 0
64. END
66. SET ROWCOUNT @PageSize
68. SELECT
70. errorId = [ErrorId],
72. application = [Application],
73. host = [Host],
74. type = [Type],
75. source = [Source],
76. message = [Message],
77. [user] = [User],
78. statusCode = [StatusCode],
79. time = CONVERT(VARCHAR(50), [TimeUtc], 126) + 'Z'
81. FROM
83. [ELMAH_Error] error
85. WHERE
87. [Application] = @Application
89. AND
91. [TimeUtc] <= @FirstTimeUTC
93. AND
95. [Sequence] <= @FirstSequence
97. ORDER BY
99. [TimeUtc] DESC,
101. [Sequence] DESC
103. FOR
105. XML AUTO
1. Create PROCEDURE[dbo].[ELMAH_GetErrorXml]
3. (
5. @Application NVARCHAR(60),
6. @ErrorId UNIQUEIDENTIFIER
8. )
10. AS
12. SET NOCOUNT ON
13. SELECT
15. [AllXml]
16. FROM
18. [ELMAH_Error]
19. WHERE
21. [ErrorId] = @ErrorId
22. AND
23. [Application] = @Application
1. Create PROCEDURE[dbo].[ELMAH_LogError]
3. (
5. @ErrorId UNIQUEIDENTIFIER,
6. @Application NVARCHAR(60),
7. @Host NVARCHAR(30),
8. @Type NVARCHAR(100),
9. @Source NVARCHAR(60),
10. @Message NVARCHAR(500),
11. @User NVARCHAR(50),
12. @AllXml NTEXT,
13. @StatusCode INT,
14. @TimeUtc DATETIME
16. )
18. AS
20. SET NOCOUNT ON
22. INSERT
24. INTO
26. [ELMAH_Error]
27. (
29. [ErrorId],
30. [Application],
31. [Host],
32. [Type],
33. [Source],
34. [Message],
35. [User],
36. [AllXml],
37. [StatusCode],
38. [TimeUtc]
40. )
42. VALUES
44. (
46. @ErrorId,
47. @Application,
48. @Host,
49. @Type,
50. @Source,
51. @Message,
52. @User,
53. @AllXml,
54. @StatusCode,
55. @TimeUtc
57. )

After creating the database table and stored procedure. The schema will look like the following:

Now again open web config file, add the following code inside in <configuration>,

</configuration>
<elmah>
<security allowRemoteAccess="0" />
<errorLog type="Elmah.SqlErrorLog, Elmah" connectionStringName="DefaultConnection" />
</elmah>

Now my final webconfig file look like the following,

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!--
For more information on how to configure your ASP.NET application, please visit
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=301880
-->
<configuration>
<configSections>
<section name="entityFramework" type="System.Data.Entity.Internal.ConfigFile.EntityFrameworkSection, EntityFramework, Version=6.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" requirePermission="false" />
<sectionGroup name="elmah">
<section name="security" requirePermission="false" type="Elmah.SecuritySectionHandler, Elmah" />
<section name="errorLog" requirePermission="false" type="Elmah.ErrorLogSectionHandler, Elmah" />
<section name="errorMail" requirePermission="false" type="Elmah.ErrorMailSectionHandler, Elmah" />
<section name="errorFilter" requirePermission="false" type="Elmah.ErrorFilterSectionHandler, Elmah" />
</sectionGroup>
</configSections>
<connectionStrings>
<add name="DefaultConnection" connectionString="Data Source=.;Initial Catalog=ExceptionLog;Integrated Security=True" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
</connectionStrings>
<appSettings>
<add key="webpages:Version" value="3.0.0.0" />
<add key="webpages:Enabled" value="false" />
<add key="ClientValidationEnabled" value="true" />
<add key="UnobtrusiveJavaScriptEnabled" value="true" />
<add key="elmah.mvc.disableHandler" value="false" />
<add key="elmah.mvc.disableHandleErrorFilter" value="false" />
<add key="elmah.mvc.requiresAuthentication" value="false" />
<add key="elmah.mvc.IgnoreDefaultRoute" value="false" />
<add key="elmah.mvc.allowedRoles" value="*" />
<add key="elmah.mvc.allowedUsers" value="*" />
<add key="elmah.mvc.route" value="elmah" />
<add key="elmah.mvc.UserAuthCaseSensitive" value="true" />
</appSettings>
<system.web>
<authentication mode="None" />
<compilation debug="true" targetFramework="4.5.1" />
<httpRuntime targetFramework="4.5.1" />
<httpHandlers>
<add verb="POST,GET,HEAD" path="elmah.axd" type="Elmah.ErrorLogPageFactory, Elmah" />
</httpHandlers>
<httpModules>
<add name="ErrorLog" type="Elmah.ErrorLogModule, Elmah" />
<add name="ErrorMail" type="Elmah.ErrorMailModule, Elmah" />
<add name="ErrorFilter" type="Elmah.ErrorFilterModule, Elmah" />
</httpModules>
</system.web>
<system.webServer>
<handlers>
<add name="Elmah" verb="POST,GET,HEAD" path="elmah.axd" type="Elmah.ErrorLogPageFactory, Elmah" />
</handlers>
<modules>
<remove name="FormsAuthentication" />
<add name="ErrorLog" type="Elmah.ErrorLogModule, Elmah" preCondition="managedHandler" />
<add name="ErrorMail" type="Elmah.ErrorMailModule, Elmah" preCondition="managedHandler" />
<add name="ErrorFilter" type="Elmah.ErrorFilterModule, Elmah" preCondition="managedHandler" />
</modules>
<validation validateIntegratedModeConfiguration="false" />
</system.webServer>
<runtime>
<assemblyBinding xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1">
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="Microsoft.Owin" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-3.0.0.0" newVersion="3.0.0.0" />
</dependentAssembly>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="Microsoft.Owin.Security.OAuth" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-3.0.0.0" newVersion="3.0.0.0" />
</dependentAssembly>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="Microsoft.Owin.Security.Cookies" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-3.0.0.0" newVersion="3.0.0.0" />
</dependentAssembly>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="Microsoft.Owin.Security" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-3.0.0.0" newVersion="3.0.0.0" />
</dependentAssembly>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="Newtonsoft.Json" culture="neutral" publicKeyToken="30ad4fe6b2a6aeed" />
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-6.0.0.0" newVersion="6.0.0.0" />
</dependentAssembly>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.Helpers" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="1.0.0.0-3.0.0.0" newVersion="3.0.0.0" />
</dependentAssembly>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.Mvc" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-5.2.2.0" newVersion="5.2.2.0" />
</dependentAssembly>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.Optimization" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="1.0.0.0-1.1.0.0" newVersion="1.1.0.0" />
</dependentAssembly>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.WebPages" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="1.0.0.0-3.0.0.0" newVersion="3.0.0.0" />
</dependentAssembly>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="WebGrease" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" />
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-1.5.2.14234" newVersion="1.5.2.14234" />
</dependentAssembly>
</assemblyBinding>
</runtime>
<entityFramework>
<defaultConnectionFactory type="System.Data.Entity.Infrastructure.LocalDbConnectionFactory, EntityFramework">
<parameters>
<parameter value="mssqllocaldb" />
</parameters>
</defaultConnectionFactory>
<providers>
<provider invariantName="System.Data.SqlClient" type="System.Data.Entity.SqlServer.SqlProviderServices, EntityFramework.SqlServer" />
</providers>
</entityFramework>
<elmah>
<security allowRemoteAccess="0" />
<errorLog type="Elmah.SqlErrorLog, Elmah" connectionStringName="DefaultConnection" />
</elmah>
</configuration>

Step 5: Let us create some exception

Suppose I want to open a page that are not in our application. Let us say About2 page: localhost:55776/Home/About2
Create divide by zero exception in contact page