Gather statistics from the PowerPages HISTORY.TXT file
Source of the script is available from here. The manual page for the script is reproduced below. If you wish
to receive a mail message when parseFAXhistory.pl is updated or have any comments about the script, send me an e-mail message.
The current version is 1.1, released on 5 Jun 1997. Here are some comments on the current version:
- 1.0 to 1.1: When outputing the statistics, subtracted the number of articles sent from the number of pages. This number represents the number of PowerPages pages sent out of the system, a truer comparison with the statistics from the PowerPages print server.
- To do: Perhaps make all phone number patterns part of the %locations hash configured at the top of the program.
<![CDATA[
parseFAXhistory.pl [ -b mm/dd/yy ] [ -e mm/dd/yy ] [ file ... ]
]]>
This script will parse a HISTORY.TXT file from a PowerPages FAX machine
and categorize the log entries as success or failure, and count the number
of articles and pages. Each record is further categorized by output location
based on the phone number. Output is sent to STDOUT.
-
-b mm/dd/yy
-
Ignore log file entries before this date. The format of the date is numeric
month, day, and year, seperated by slashes. For example: ``6/5/97''
-
-e mm/dd/yy
-
Ignore log file entries after this date. The format is the same as above.
-
file ...
-
One or more log files. Optionally, the log file can come into this script
via STDIN.
<![CDATA[
parseFAXhistory.pl -b 5/1/97 -e 6/1/97 HISTORY.TXT
]]>
You must set up your PowerPages FAX server to keep a log file of these entries
to disk. To do this, follow these general directions:
- Reboot your PowerPages FAX server and at the ``Starting MS-DOS...''
message as the system is booting, press F5 to skip the processing of the
CONFIG.SYS and the AUTOEXEC.BAT files.
- Change directory into the \CASMGR directory. Run the Setup program.
- Choose ``Advanced Setup''. Choose ``Setup technical software options''.
- Choose ``History File''. Choose ``ON''. Note the message about erasing the log file
occasionally. Press F10 twice to save your changes.
- Choose ``Exit Setup''. IMPORTANT: Choose NOT to
update the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files; instead, choose ``Quit''.
- Reboot your PowerPages FAX server.
The location of the log file is C:\CASMGR\HISTORY.TXT.
You must then set up the parseFAXhistory.pl program. There are two things
that you need to look at:
-
%locations
hash variable
-
At the top of the program, there is a hash variable called %locations that
should be filled in with the locations of your in-library PowerPages fax
machines so that these locations are counted seperately. The key for each
record is the location name and the value is the FAX phone number.
-
Phone number patterns
-
The second place that needs configuration is in the phone number
patterns near the middle of the program. Several examples are provided
and there are comments in that section giving an overview of how to make
the patterns is in the comments.
The number of errors is not really reflective of the number of problem requests.
Requests to incorrect phone numbers will cycle through the Retry queue
many times before the FAX server gives up; each one of these tries is logged in
the HISTORY.TXT file, inflating the actual number of errors by a dramatic amount.
The number of errors is probably useless.
Copyright 1997 by Case Western Reserve University.
Peter Murray
Library Systems Manager
Digital Media Services
Case Western Reserve University
pem@po.cwru.edu
http://www.cwru.edu/home/pem.html
Updates available from http://www.cwru.edu/dms/homes/pem/projects/parseFAXhistory.html