Log Explorer and queries in GCP - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is the purpose of Log Explorer in Google Cloud?

Log Explorer helps you find, view, and analyze logs from your Google Cloud resources in one place.

beginner

What is a basic component of a Log Explorer query?

A basic query includes a filter that selects logs by resource type, severity, or text content.

intermediate

How do you filter logs by severity in Log Explorer?

Use the filter expression like: severity>=ERROR to see logs with error or higher severity.

beginner

What does the 'resource.type' field represent in a Log Explorer query?

It identifies the Google Cloud resource that produced the log, like 'gce_instance' for a VM.

beginner

How can you use Log Explorer to find logs containing a specific text?

Include the text in quotes in the query, for example: "error connecting to database".

Which field would you use to filter logs by the Google Cloud resource type?

A logName

B resource.type

C severity

D timestamp

The 'resource.type' field specifies the type of Google Cloud resource that generated the log.

What does the filter expression 'severity>=WARNING' do in Log Explorer?

A Shows logs with severity exactly WARNING

B Shows logs with severity lower than WARNING

C Shows only WARNING logs

D Shows logs with severity WARNING or higher

The '>=' operator means logs with WARNING, ERROR, or CRITICAL severity will be shown.

How do you search for logs containing the phrase 'timeout error'?

A timeout error

B timeout OR error

C "timeout error"

D timeout AND error

Using quotes searches for the exact phrase 'timeout error' in the logs.

Which of these is NOT a valid Log Explorer query filter?

A timestamp = "yesterday"

B resource.type = "gce_instance"

C severity >= ERROR

D textPayload : "failed"

You cannot filter timestamp by a string like 'yesterday'; timestamps require specific date/time formats.

What does the 'logName' field represent in a log entry?

A The name of the log stream or log file

B The severity level of the log

C The resource type that generated the log

D The timestamp of the log entry

'logName' identifies the specific log stream or log file within Google Cloud Logging.

Explain how to build a basic query in Log Explorer to find error logs from Compute Engine instances.

Think about filtering by resource type and severity level.

Describe how you would search for logs containing a specific phrase and filter by time range in Log Explorer.

Combine text search with timestamp filters.