Troubleshooting Ignition: Logs, Diagnostics, and Common Issues
Key Takeaway
Diagnostic tools and troubleshooting procedures for Ignition SCADA — gateway logs, thread monitoring, OPC diagnostics, database connection issues, and performance bottlenecks.
Quick Answer
Ignition provides built-in diagnostic tools accessible through the gateway web interface including real-time logs, thread monitoring, OPC connection diagnostics, database status, and script performance metrics. Most issues can be diagnosed from the Status section of the gateway console.
Gateway Logs
Navigate to Status > Logs in the gateway web interface. Logs are categorized by subsystem (OPC-UA, database, alarming, scripting, gateway network). Filter by log level (TRACE, DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR) to isolate issues. Key log files on disk:
logs/wrapper.log— Gateway startup, shutdown, and JVM-level eventslogs/gateway.log— Application-level logs from all gateway subsystems
Common Issues and Solutions
Gateway won't start
- Check
wrapper.logfor JVM errors or port conflicts - Verify no other process is using ports 8088, 8043, or 8060
- On Linux, ensure the ignition service has correct file permissions
OPC device disconnecting
- Check the device status page for error messages
- Verify network connectivity (ping, traceroute)
- Check firewall rules for the device protocol port
- For DNP3 RTUs, verify master and outstation addresses match
- Reduce scan rate if the device CPU is overloaded
Tags showing Bad quality
- Verify the OPC item path matches the device register address
- Check for data type mismatches (e.g., Float vs. Integer)
- For Modbus, verify byte order (big/little endian) and register offset (0-based vs. 1-based)
- Ensure the tag's scan class is active and not disabled
Slow client performance
- Check the number of bindings per screen — aim for under 500
- Replace polling bindings with tag-driven bindings where possible
- Optimize SQL queries used in query bindings
- Increase gateway JVM memory if frequent garbage collection is observed in the diagnostics page
Database connection pool exhaustion
- Increase the max pool size in the database connection settings
- Check for long-running queries blocking connections
- Ensure transaction groups and scripts close result sets properly
Diagnostic Tools
- Status > Diagnostics — Thread dump, heap dump, CPU profiling, and connection pool status
- Status > OPC Connections — Device connection state, communication statistics, and error counts
- Config > Tags > Diagnostics — Tag execution engine metrics, scan class performance, and stale tag counts
- Script Performance — Execution time, call count, and error rate for all gateway, tag, and client scripts
Frequently Asked Questions
Gateway logs are accessible via the web interface at Status > Logs. On disk, check logs/wrapper.log for JVM events and logs/gateway.log for application-level events in the Ignition install directory.
Check Status > OPC Connections for error messages. Verify network connectivity, firewall rules, and protocol addresses. For DNP3 devices, ensure master and outstation addresses match the RTU configuration.
Bad quality typically indicates a communication problem or address mismatch. Verify the OPC item path, check data type settings, confirm the device is reachable, and ensure the scan class is active.