The FileNet Content Engine runs as an application within a Java EE application server, typically IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS). The systemout.log file is the primary log for a WAS server instance. It captures standard output (System.out) and standard error (System.err) streams, which include runtime messages, exceptions, and trace information from the server and its deployed applications. When authentication fails, the Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) login modules used by Content Engine will write detailed error messages and exceptions (e.g., LoginException, CommunicationException) to this log, making it the most critical resource for diagnosing the root cause of authentication problems.

A. messages.log: This log is part of the High-Performance Extensible Logging (HPEL) framework in WebSphere, which is an alternative to the default text-based logging. While it can contain the necessary information, systemout.log is the standard, default log file and the most common starting point.

B. console.log: This log is associated with a client-side web browser's developer console. It is used for debugging client-side scripts (like JavaScript) and is irrelevant for troubleshooting server-side authentication processes.

D. LDAP configuration data: While an incorrect LDAP configuration is a common cause of authentication issues, the configuration data itself is static. The systemout.log is the troubleshooting tool that reveals the runtime errors resulting from that misconfiguration (e.g., "bind failed," "user not found").

1. IBM WebSphere Application Server Documentation

"Viewing JVM logs": "The application server and its applications write to two Java virtual machine (JVM) log files: SystemOut.log and SystemErr.log. The System.out and System.err streams are

by default

directed to the SystemOut.log file... These files can be used to monitor the health of the running application server and to diagnose problems." This establishes SystemOut.log as the primary location for runtime problem diagnosis.

2. IBM Content Platform Engine Documentation

"Troubleshooting logon problems": "To troubleshoot logon problems

you can enable tracing on the Content Platform Engine server and examine the log files... The trace information is written to the p8servertrace.log file and the application server's standard output file (for example

SystemOut.log for WebSphere Application Server)." This directly links authentication troubleshooting to the SystemOut.log file.

3. IBM WebSphere Application Server Documentation

"Security component trace": "Use security component trace to debug security problems in WebSphere Application Server... The trace output is sent to the trace.log file... Error messages are also logged in the SystemOut.log file." This confirms that even when detailed tracing is enabled

critical errors related to security and authentication are still reported in SystemOut.log.