Log File Documentation

This form documents the origin, structure, rotation, volume, reliability, classification, and compliance characteristics of a log file.

It supports operations, capacity planning, monitoring, audits, and GDPR reviews.

Version control

Version *

Effective from

Log File Origin & Location

Log File Name *

Log File Path / Location *

Host System / Node

Environment

Producing Software / Process

Application / Service Name *

Process / Component

Software Version

Runtime / Platform

Timestamp Format

Timestamp Format *

Timezone *

Log Structure & Examples

Log Line Specimens *

Log Encoding / Format *

Log Rotation & Collection

Rotation Interval

Rotation Size Threshold

Rotation / Harvesting Performed By

Application itself
App handles its own rotation logrotate
System logrotate Filebeat / Log harvester
External log collector Container runtime
Docker / Kubernetes logging driver

Rotation Notes

Log Volume & Monitoring

Average Events per Second

Peak Events per Second

Average Log Volume per Day

Peak Log Volume per Day

Maximum Expected Interval Between Events

Monitoring / Heartbeat Notes

Personal Data & GDPR Relevance

Personal Data Present in Logs

Identifiers (names, usernames) — Real names, usernames, aliases

Contact details — Email addresses, phone numbers

Online identifiers — IP addresses, cookies, device IDs

Location data — Geolocation or inferred location

Special categories (GDPR Art. 9) — Health, biometrics, political opinions

Other personal data — Any other GDPR-relevant data

Notes on Personal Data

Reliability, Failure & Transaction Dynamics

Flushing / Buffering Behaviour

Transaction / Log Dynamics

Reliability / Failure Notes

Retention & Compliance

Retention Period

Rationale

Archiving / Backup Rules