Get Started with Webalizer for Unix and Linux

Webalizer is a popular web analytics tool that's been around for a while, and it's still widely used today. It's a great option for those who want a simple and easy-to-use solution for tracking their website's traffic.

To get started with Webalizer on Unix or Linux, you'll need to install it first. You can do this by downloading the source code from the official Webalizer website.

Once you've installed Webalizer, you'll need to configure it to work with your web server. This typically involves editing a few configuration files, such as the webalizer.conf file, to specify the location of your log files and other settings.

To install Webalizer, you'll first need to download the software from the official website.

The installation process is straightforward and can be completed in a few minutes.

You can install Webalizer on various operating systems, including Linux and Windows.

Installing the system requires a thorough preparation of the site, including clearing the area of any debris and leveling the ground to ensure a stable foundation.

The installation process typically begins with the excavation of a shallow trench for the pipes, which should be at least 6 inches deep to prevent freezing in cold climates.

Clear the area of any obstructions, including trees, rocks, and other underground utilities, to ensure a safe and efficient installation.

The trench should be backfilled with compacted soil to prevent settling and ensure the pipes remain stable.

The installation of the system's electrical components, including the control panel and wiring, should be done in accordance with local electrical codes and regulations.

The control panel should be located in a well-ventilated area, away from any potential sources of moisture or water.

A grounding system should be installed to prevent electrical shock and ensure the system operates safely.

Running the Webalizer is a crucial step in getting started. The program scans the current directory for a default configuration file named webalizer.conf, which is used if found and owned by the invoking user.

The Webalizer also checks for command line arguments, which can include the specification of a configuration file. This file is processed at the time it is encountered, allowing for dynamic configuration.

You can specify a log file to process, which is opened and made ready for processing. If no log file is given, STDIN is used for input. Specifying a log filename of ’-’ forces the use of STDIN.

The program changes directory to the specified output directory, or uses the current directory if none is given. This is done using a chdir(2) system call.

If you've specified a non-zero number of DNS Children processes, they will be started and the log file will be processed. The specified DNS cache file is also created or updated.

The Webalizer attempts to get the hostname using a uname(2) system call, and falls back to ’localhost’ if that fails.

You can customize what's displayed in the Top tables by using the Hide Object Keywords. These keywords allow you to hide user agents, referrers, hosts, URLs, and usernames from the various "Top" tables.

You can specify as many of these keywords as you want without limit, and values cannot exceed 80 characters in length. To hide user agents, for example, you can use the HideAgent keyword, which is also available as a command line argument: -a.

The HideAgent keyword allows you to hide specified user agents from the "Top User Agents" table. Not very useful, since there are a zillion different names by which browsers go by today, but could be useful if there is a particular user agent (ie: robots, spiders, real-audio, etc..) that hits your site frequently enough to make it into the top user agent listing.

You can also use the HideReferrer keyword to hide specified referrers from the "Top Referrers" table. Normally, you would only specify your own web server to be hidden, as it is usually the top generator of references to your own pages.

Here's a list of the Hide Object Keywords:

Note that values for these keywords are the same as those used in their command line counterparts.

The Webalizer is a highly configurable web traffic analysis application, with over one hundred available configuration parameters. This means you can tailor it to your specific needs.

The default configuration file is named "webalizer.conf" and is searched for in the current directory, and if not found, in the /etc/ directory.

You can also specify a user-specified configuration file using the -c option, which allows you to override options found in the default file. This is useful if you have specific settings for certain logs.

The Webalizer always looks for and reads configuration options from a default configuration file before doing anything else. This means you can override options found in the default file by use of additional configuration files specified on the command line.

There are lots of different ways you can combine the use of configuration files and command line options to produce various results. The Webalizer is flexible and allows you to experiment with different configurations to find what works best for you.

Here are some common configuration options:

The Webalizer also has a monthly history file named "webalizer.hist" which stores data for the previous 12 months. You can change the name of this file if needed.

Webalizer produces two kinds of reports by default: a yearly summary report and a detailed monthly report, one for each analyzed month.

The yearly summary report provides information such as the number of hits, file and page requests, hosts and visits, as well as daily averages of these counters for each month. It's accompanied by a yearly summary graph.

Each monthly report is generated as a single HTML page containing various reports, including a monthly summary, daily report, hourly report, URL report, host report, and more. These reports group counters for different time frames, such as days, hours, or URLs.

Here are the types of reports you can expect to see in each monthly report:

Each report lists only the top entries for each item, but you can configure Webalizer to produce separate reports for each item, listing every single item.

The Webalizer produces two types of reports by default: a yearly summary report and a detailed monthly report, one for each analyzed month.

The yearly summary report is a comprehensive overview of the website's activity, providing information on hits, file and page requests, hosts, and visits, as well as daily averages of these counters for each month. It's accompanied by a yearly summary graph.

Each monthly report is generated as a single HTML page containing various reports, including a monthly summary report, a daily report, an aggregated hourly report, a URL report, a host report, website entry and exit URL reports, a referrer report, a search string report, a user agent report, and a country report.

These reports list only top entries for each item, with the actual number of lines controlled by configuration. You can also configure The Webalizer to produce a separate report for each item, listing every single item.

The Webalizer can also produce comma-delimited dump files, which list all of the report data in a plain-text file. These files can be imported to spreadsheet applications or databases for further analysis.

Some reports, such as the Top User Agents table, can be customized using hide object keywords, which allow you to hide specific user agents, referrers, hosts, URLs, and usernames from the various "Top" tables.

Here are some examples of hide object keywords:

Note that some of these keywords require specific configuration values, such as the Robot configuration parameter to identify robots.

Hits are counted as any request made to the server, regardless of success.

Each valid line in the server log is counted as a hit, representing the total number of requests made during the specified report period.

A request doesn't have to be successful to be counted as a hit, such as when a non-existing file is requested.

The web server will respond with a 404 (Not Found) error and the log file will contain an entry for this request, which will be counted as one hit.

Any type of request, including html pages, graphic images, and audio files, is considered a hit.

This means that even if a request is made for something that doesn't exist, it's still counted as a hit.

Visits are counted based on the time since a previous request from a given IP address, with a threshold of 30 minutes before it's considered a new visit.

The default visit timeout value can be changed, but by default, it's set to 30 minutes. This means if a user visits your site at 1:00 in the afternoon and returns at 3:00, two visits would be registered.

Any request made to the server, whether successful or not, starts a new visit.

For example, if a user makes a request to the server that's not successful, it's still counted as a start of a new visit.

The Top Hosts table in the reports shows a sum of all visits of the grouped hosts.

The Transfer value shows the amount of data that was sent out by the server during the specified reporting period. This value is generated directly from the log file, so it is up to the web server to produce accurate numbers in the logs.

Most servers only log outgoing amounts, which means they only report the size of responses sent back to clients. However, some servers like IIS, Nginx, and Apache may also log incoming amounts, such as request sizes.

Stone Steps Webalizer will include incoming traffic into the Transfer amount if UpstreamTraffic is set to yes in the configuration file. This setting can help provide a more comprehensive view of server traffic.

Transfer amounts are reported since version 4.2 with a unit suffix, such as 12.3 GB. The ClassicKBytes setting can change this behavior to report Transfer amounts as a number of kilobytes instead.

One kilobyte is counted as either 1024 or 1000 bytes, depending on the value of the DecimalKBytes configuration variable.

Direct Usage Popularity is a key metric to consider when evaluating a project's success.

The npm package webalizer receives a total of 0 downloads a week, which is a stark contrast to other projects.

As such, we scored webalizer popularity level to be Limited.

Downloads are calculated as moving averages for a period of the last 12 months, excluding weekends and known missing data points.

The project has been starred 1 time on GitHub, indicating a small but dedicated community of users.

This limited usage is a clear indication that the project may not be as widely adopted as others in its category.