Gathering Datto diagnostic logs

Topic

This article explains how to gather and send diagnostic logs to Datto Support for use in a support case while troubleshooting backups.

NOTE  The steps in this article are specific to the products listed in the Environment field below. For Datto Endpoint Backup products, see Gathering Support Diagnostic Files.

Environment

  • Datto Windows Agent
  • Agentless Backups
  • VMware

Description

Select the type of backup protection your server uses to continue:

Gathering Datto Windows Agent Logs

IMPORTANT  This section only applies to protected systems running the Datto Windows Agent. If the system you are gathering logs from is not running this backup solution, do not perform these steps.

Part 1: Gather the Windows Logs

  1. Perform the following steps from Microsoft's Archive an Event Log article (external link):
    • A. Start Event Viewer.
    • B. In the console tree, navigate to the log you want to archive.
    • C. On the Action menu, click Save Events As.
    • D. In File name, enter a name for the archived log file.
    • E. In Save as type, select a file format, and then click Save. Datto recommends exporting logs in EVTX format when possible.
    • F. Click OK.
  1. Attach the exported logs to your support ticket.

Part 2: Gather the Datto Windows Agent Logs

  1. Navigate to the proper location on the protected machine based on your version of Windows.
    For Windows Vista and up (including Server 2008, 2012, 2016, 2019, and Windows 10):
%systemdrive%\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Datto\Datto Windows Agent\

For Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 systems:

%systemdrive%\windows\system32\config\systemprofile\Local Settings\Application Data\Datto\Datto Windows Agent
  1. Add the contents of the logs directory and the agent.sqlite file to a ZIP, RAR, or 7z archive.
  2. Attach this archive to your support ticket.

NOTE  If you receive any 'path not found' error messages, it might be necessary to click through each folder in the path to the agent.sqlite file, starting with the C:\ drive, and respond to any User Account Control messages you receive.

IMPORTANT  Depending on your version of Windows, you may need to copy the agent.sqlite file to another location (such as the Windows Desktop) before you can attach it to the support ticket.


Figure 1: Logs directory & agent.sqlite file on a production server

Gathering Datto Windows Agent Installation Logs

The Datto Windows Agent includes installer logging. The logs generated by the installation process can help Technical Support troubleshoot common setup issues.

Datto Windows Agent - Version 2.0 and below

You can find logs generated by the install process on the protected endpoint at %systemdrive%\Program Files\Datto.

When contacting Datto Technical Support for assistance with installation issues, please gather the following logs, and attach them to your support ticket:

  • DattoBackupAgentInstall.log

Datto Windows Agent - Version 2.1 and above

You can find logs generated by the install process on the protected endpoint at %systemdrive%\Users\[USER]\AppData\Local\Temp.

When contacting Datto Technical Support for assistance with installation issues, please gather the following logs, and attach them to your support ticket:

  • Datto_Windows_Agent_[timestamp].log
  • Datto_Windows_Agent_[timestamp]_[numbers]_DattoWindowsAgent[platform].msi.log

Another Widows installation log that may sometimes be useful is:

C:\Windows\INF\setupapi.dev.log

When you are browsing to find these files, we recommend sorting the files in the %TEMP% directory by Date modified.

Gathering Linux Agent Logs

Gather the following files from the production machine, and attach them to your support ticket:

Attach /var/log/messages (standard syslog location) or /var/log/syslog(Debian/Ubuntu syslog location).

If neither of the above logs exists, access syslog with journalctl.

You should also include:

/var/log/kern.log.

/var/log/dmesg.

/etc/datto/dla/logs/dba_<year>-<month>-<day>.log.

/etc/datto/dla/agent.sqlite. This log contains the job information in an SQLite database. In Datto Linux Agent versions older than 2.0, you will find this log file at /etc/datto/dla/dlad.sqlite.

Gathering VMware Logs for Agentless Backups

IMPORTANT  This section only applies to protected systems running the agentless backup solution. If the system you are collecting logs from is not running this backup solution, do not perform these steps.

See Collecting diagnostic information for VMware ESX/ESXi (653) (external link) for details about gathering VMware logs from protected systems running agentless backups.