Update logging.mdx

Author: deniseschannon

vcluster/configure/vcluster-yaml/logging.mdx

@@ -8,34 +8,25 @@ description: Configuration for setting structured logging options for vCluster.
 import InterpolatedCodeBlock from '@site/src/components/InterpolatedCodeBlock'
 import Logging from '../../_partials/config/logging.mdx'
 
-vCluster outputs structured logs that help you monitor and troubleshoot your virtual clusters. You can configure the log format to suit your monitoring and analysis tools and workflows.
+By default, vCluster creates logs in the control plane pod in console format, which is easy to read and preferred for manual log review. However, you can configure the logging in the control plane pod to JSON format. By enabling the JSON format, logs can be sent to external tools to aggregate logs across multiple virtual clusters to help monitor and troubleshoot these virtual clusters. 
 
-## Configure log encoding
-
-You can set the log encoding format in your `vcluster.yaml` configuration:
+## Log encoding formats
 
-<InterpolatedCodeBlock 
-  code={`logging:
-  encoding: [[VAR:ENCODING:json]]`} 
-  language="yaml" 
-/>
+vCluster supports two log encoding formats for the vCluster control plane pod.
 
-Select either `json` or `console` for the `encoding` value.
+- console (_Default_): Human-readable format. Ideal for development and manual log review.
+- JSON: Structured format for log aggregation. Ideal for external monitoring and analysis tools. 
 
 :::note Platform logging
-The `logging.encoding` setting only affects vCluster component logs. Platform-generated logs use a separate configuration.
+The `logging.encoding` setting only affects vCluster control plane pod logs. Platform logs generated from a virtual cluster connected to the platform uses a separate configuration and will not be affected by these formats.
 :::
 
-## Log encoding formats
-
-vCluster supports two log encoding formats:
-
-- [console](#console-format) (_Default_): Human-readable format ideal for development and manual log review.
-- [JSON](#json-format): Structured format for log aggregation and automated analysis.
-
 ### Console format
 
-The console format provides human-readable logs with timestamps, log levels, source locations, and contextual information:
+The console format provides human-readable logs with timestamps, log levels, source locations, and contextual information. The console format is best suited for use cases where users will be troubleshooting a single virtual cluster.  Choose this format in environments where human readability is more important than structured log parsing. Example use cases include:
+
+* Local development and testing, where developers benefit from quick, readable output
+* Single virtual cluster analysis, where users will manually review logs and debug in a terminal
 
 ```text
 2025-06-16 04:43:25	INFO	license	loader/inject.go:52	initializing license...	{"component": "vcluster"}
@@ -44,11 +35,11 @@ The console format provides human-readable logs with timestamps, log levels, sou
 2025-06-16 04:43:29	INFO	online/license.go:146	rancher-integration	{"component": "vcluster"}
 ```
 
-The console format is best suited for local development and testing, where developers benefit from quick, readable output. It also works well for manual log review and debugging, especially when troubleshooting issues directly in the terminal. Choose this format in environments where human readability is more important than structured log parsing.
-
 ### JSON format
 
-The JSON format structures log data for programmatic processing and integration with log management systems:
+The JSON format structures log data for programmatic processing and integration with log management systems. The JSON format is best suited for use cases where external tools are used to monitor and analyze logs for multiple virtual clusters. Log aggregation tools (e.g. Elasticsearch or Splunk) can ingest these logs to support automated analysis, alerting, and integration with monitoring platforms (e.g. Prometheus and Grafana).  Examples use cases include:
+
+* Product environments where multiple virtual clusters are being monitored and logs from all of them need need to be parsed and processed automatically.
 
 ```json
 {"level":"info","ts":1750160027.442782,"logger":"license","caller":"loader/inject.go:52","msg":"initializing license...","component":"vcluster"}
@@ -71,26 +62,22 @@ Each JSON log entry contains the following standard fields:
 
 Additional fields might be displayed based on context and log content.
 
-The JSON format is ideal for production environments where logs need to be parsed and processed automatically. It works well with log aggregation tools like Elasticsearch or Splunk and supports automated analysis, alerting, and integration with monitoring platforms such as Prometheus and Grafana.
-
-## Examples
+## Enable log encoding
 
-### Development environment
+Logging is enabled in your `vcluster.yaml` configuration file. 
 
-For local development with human-readable logs:
+You can enable the JSON format of log encoding.
 
-```yaml
+```yaml 
 logging:
-  encoding: console
+  encoding: json
 ```
 
-### Production environment
-
-For production with structured logging and monitoring:
+If you want to disable the JSON format, you can either remove the `logging` field or explicitly set the console format.
 
 ```yaml
 logging:
-  encoding: json
+  encoding: console
 ```
 
 ## Config reference