diff --git a/lib/pbench/common/exceptions.py b/lib/pbench/common/exceptions.py
index 051bccea02..757a71f102 100644
--- a/lib/pbench/common/exceptions.py
+++ b/lib/pbench/common/exceptions.py
@@ -26,10 +26,6 @@ class UnsupportedTarballFormat(Exception):
     pass
 
 
-class SosreportHostname(Exception):
-    pass
-
-
 class JsonFileError(Exception):
     pass
 
diff --git a/lib/pbench/server/indexing_tarballs.py b/lib/pbench/server/indexing_tarballs.py
index 547a7f0b1d..3439aee3eb 100644
--- a/lib/pbench/server/indexing_tarballs.py
+++ b/lib/pbench/server/indexing_tarballs.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 import os
 import glob
 import signal
-import tarfile
 import tempfile
 from pathlib import Path
 from collections import deque
@@ -11,7 +10,6 @@
 from pbench.common.exceptions import (
     BadDate,
     UnsupportedTarballFormat,
-    SosreportHostname,
     BadMDLogFormat,
     TemplateError,
 )
@@ -37,6 +35,23 @@ class SigTermException(Exception):
     pass
 
 
+class ErrorCode:
+    def __init__(self, name, value, tarball_error, message):
+        self.name = name
+        self.value = value
+        self.success = value == 0
+        self.tarball_error = tarball_error
+        self.message = message
+
+
+class Errors:
+    def __init__(self, *codes):
+        self.errors = {code.name: code for code in codes}
+
+    def __getitem__(self, key):
+        return self.errors[key]
+
+
 def _count_lines(fname):
     """Simple method to count the lines of a file.
     """
@@ -49,7 +64,38 @@ def _count_lines(fname):
 
 
 class Index:
-    """class used to collect tarballs and index them"""
+    """ class used to collect tarballs and index them
+
+        Status codes used by es_index and the error below are defined to
+        maintain compatibility with the previous code base when pbench-index
+        was a bash script.
+    """
+
+    error_code = Errors(
+        ErrorCode("OK", 0, None, "Successful completion"),
+        ErrorCode("OP_ERROR", 1, False, "Operational error while indexing"),
+        ErrorCode("CFG_ERROR", 2, False, "Configuration file not specified"),
+        ErrorCode("BAD_CFG", 3, False, "Bad configuration file"),
+        ErrorCode(
+            "TB_META_ABSENT", 4, True, "Tar ball does not contain a metadata.log file",
+        ),
+        ErrorCode("BAD_DATE", 5, True, "Bad start run date value encountered"),
+        ErrorCode("FILE_NOT_FOUND_ERROR", 6, True, "File Not Found error"),
+        ErrorCode("BAD_METADATA", 7, True, "Bad metadata.log file encountered"),
+        ErrorCode(
+            "MAPPING_ERROR",
+            8,
+            False,
+            "Error reading a mapping file for Elasticsearch templates",
+        ),
+        ErrorCode(
+            "TEMPLATE_CREATION_ERROR",
+            9,
+            False,
+            "Error creating one of the Elasticsearch templates",
+        ),
+        ErrorCode("GENERIC_ERROR", 12, False, "Unexpected error encountered"),
+    )
 
     def __init__(self, name, options, idxctx, incoming, archive, qdir):
 
@@ -80,6 +126,7 @@ def collect_tb(self):
         # find -L $ARCHIVE/*/$linksrc -name '*.tar.xz' -printf "%s\t%p\n" 2>/dev/null | sort -n > $list
         tarballs = []
         idxctx = self.idxctx
+        error_code = self.error_code
         try:
             tb_glob = os.path.join(self.archive, "*", self.linksrc, "*.tar.xz")
             for tb in glob.iglob(tb_glob):
@@ -119,26 +166,45 @@ def collect_tb(self):
             raise
         except Exception:
             idxctx.logger.exception(
-                "Unexpected error encountered generating list"
-                " of tar balls to process"
+                "{} generating list of tar balls to process",
+                error_code["GENERIC_ERROR"].message,
             )
             # tuple to return the status and return value
-            return (12, [])
+            return (error_code["GENERIC_ERROR"].value, [])
         else:
             if not tarballs:
                 idxctx.logger.info("No tar balls found that need processing")
-                return (0, [])
 
-        return (0, tarballs)
+        return (error_code["OK"].value, sorted(tarballs))
+
+    def emit_error(self, logger_method, error, exception):
+        """Helper method to write a log message in a standard format from an error code
+
+            Args
+                logger_method -- Reference to a method of a Python logger object,
+                                like idxctx.logger.warning
+                error -- An error code name from the Errors collection, like "OK"
+                exception -- the original exception leading to the error
+
+            Returns
+                Relevant error_code object
+
+            Although all log messages will appear to have originated from this method,
+            the origin can easily be identified from the error code value, and this
+            interface provides simplicity and consistency.
+        """
+        ec = self.error_code[error]
+        logger_method("{}: {}", ec.message, exception)
+        return ec
 
     def process_tb(self, tarballs):
         """Process Tarballs For Indexing and creates report
 
             "tarballs" - List of tarball, it is the second value of
                 the tuple returned by collect_tb() """
-
-        # We always process the smallest tar balls first.
+        res = 0
         idxctx = self.idxctx
+        error_code = self.error_code
 
         tb_deque = deque(sorted(tarballs))
 
@@ -152,8 +218,7 @@ def process_tb(self, tarballs):
             idxctx.logger.debug("update_templates [start]")
             idxctx.templates.update_templates(idxctx.es)
         except TemplateError as e:
-            idxctx.logger.error("update_templates [end], error {}", repr(e))
-            res = 9
+            res = self.emit_error(idxctx.logger.error, "TEMPLATE_CREATION_ERROR", e)
         except SigTermException:
             # Re-raise a SIGTERM to avoid it being lumped in with general
             # exception handling below.
@@ -162,14 +227,14 @@ def process_tb(self, tarballs):
             idxctx.logger.exception(
                 "update_templates [end]: Unexpected template" " processing error"
             )
-            res = 12
+            res = error_code["GENERIC_ERROR"]
         else:
             idxctx.logger.debug("update_templates [end]")
-            res = 0
+            res = error_code["OK"]
 
-        if res != 0:
+        if not res.success:
             # Exit early if we encounter any errors.
-            return res
+            return res.value
 
         report = Report(
             idxctx.config,
@@ -192,7 +257,7 @@ def process_tb(self, tarballs):
             raise
         except Exception:
             idxctx.logger.error("Failed to post initial report status")
-            return 12
+            return error_code["GENERIC_ERROR"].value
         else:
             idxctx.set_tracking_id(tracking_id)
 
@@ -289,37 +354,30 @@ def sighup_handler(*args):
                                     # Turn off the SIGINT handler when not indexing.
                                     signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, signal.SIG_IGN)
                         except UnsupportedTarballFormat as e:
-                            idxctx.logger.warning("Unsupported tar ball format: {}", e)
-                            tb_res = 4
+                            tb_res = self.emit_error(
+                                idxctx.logger.warning, "TB_META_ABSENT", e
+                            )
                         except BadDate as e:
-                            idxctx.logger.warning("Bad Date: {!r}", e)
-                            tb_res = 5
+                            tb_res = self.emit_error(
+                                idxctx.logger.warning, "BAD_DATE", e
+                            )
                         except FileNotFoundError as e:
-                            idxctx.logger.warning("No such file: {}", e)
-                            tb_res = 6
-                        except BadMDLogFormat as e:
-                            idxctx.logger.warning(
-                                "The metadata.log file is curdled in" " tar ball: {}", e
+                            tb_res = self.emit_error(
+                                idxctx.logger.warning, "FILE_NOT_FOUND_ERROR", e
                             )
-                            tb_res = 7
-                        except SosreportHostname as e:
-                            idxctx.logger.warning("Bad hostname in sosreport: {}", e)
-                            tb_res = 10
-                        except tarfile.TarError as e:
-                            idxctx.logger.error(
-                                "Can't unpack tar ball into {}: {}",
-                                ptb.extracted_root,
-                                e,
+                        except BadMDLogFormat as e:
+                            tb_res = self.emit_error(
+                                idxctx.logger.warning, "BAD_METADATA", e
                             )
-                            tb_res = 11
                         except SigTermException:
                             idxctx.logger.exception(
                                 "Indexing interrupted by SIGTERM, terminating"
                             )
                             break
                         except Exception as e:
-                            idxctx.logger.exception("Other indexing error: {}", e)
-                            tb_res = 12
+                            tb_res = self.emit_error(
+                                idxctx.logger.exception, "GENERIC_ERROR", e
+                            )
                         else:
                             beg, end, successes, duplicates, failures, retries = es_res
                             idxctx.logger.info(
@@ -334,7 +392,7 @@ def sighup_handler(*args):
                                 failures,
                                 retries,
                             )
-                            tb_res = 1 if failures > 0 else 0
+                            tb_res = error_code["OP_ERROR" if failures > 0 else "OK"]
                         try:
                             ie_len = ie_filepath.stat().st_size
                         except FileNotFoundError:
@@ -378,7 +436,7 @@ def sighup_handler(*args):
                         # `linkerrdest` for later retry.
                         controller_path = linksrc_dir.parent
 
-                        if tb_res == 0:
+                        if tb_res is error_code["OK"]:
                             idxctx.logger.info(
                                 "{}: {}/{}: success",
                                 idxctx.TS,
@@ -391,7 +449,7 @@ def sighup_handler(*args):
                             rename_tb_link(
                                 tb, Path(controller_path, self.linkdest), idxctx.logger
                             )
-                        elif tb_res == 1:
+                        elif tb_res is error_code["OP_ERROR"]:
                             idxctx.logger.warning(
                                 "{}: index failures encountered on {}", idxctx.TS, tb
                             )
@@ -402,25 +460,28 @@ def sighup_handler(*args):
                                 Path(controller_path, f"{self.linkerrdest}.1"),
                                 idxctx.logger,
                             )
-                        elif tb_res in (2, 3):
+                        elif tb_res in (error_code["CFG_ERROR"], error_code["BAD_CFG"]):
                             assert False, (
                                 f"Logic Bomb!  Unexpected tar ball handling "
-                                f"result status {tb_res:d} for tar ball {tb}"
+                                f"result status {tb_res.value:d} for tar ball {tb}"
                             )
-                        elif tb_res >= 4 and tb_res <= 11:
+                        elif tb_res.tarball_error:
                             # # Quietly skip these errors
                             with skipped.open(mode="a") as fp:
                                 print(tb, file=fp)
                             rename_tb_link(
                                 tb,
-                                Path(controller_path, f"{self.linkerrdest}.{tb_res:d}"),
+                                Path(
+                                    controller_path,
+                                    f"{self.linkerrdest}.{tb_res.value:d}",
+                                ),
                                 idxctx.logger,
                             )
                         else:
                             idxctx.logger.error(
                                 "{}: index error {:d} encountered on {}",
                                 idxctx.TS,
-                                tb_res,
+                                tb_res.value,
                                 tb,
                             )
                             with erred.open(mode="a") as fp:
@@ -471,11 +532,11 @@ def sighup_handler(*args):
                 # exception handling below.
                 raise
             except Exception:
-                idxctx.logger.exception("Unexpected setup error")
-                res = 12
+                idxctx.logger.exception(error_code["GENERIC_ERROR"].message)
+                res = error_code["GENERIC_ERROR"]
             else:
                 # No exceptions while processing tar ball, success.
-                res = 0
+                res = error_code["OK"]
             finally:
                 if idxctx:
                     idxctx.dump_opctx()
@@ -541,4 +602,4 @@ def sighup_handler(*args):
                 except Exception:
                     pass
 
-        return res
+        return res.value
diff --git a/server/bin/gold/test-5.2.txt b/server/bin/gold/test-5.2.txt
index d21ad8582f..90aa58fb66 100644
--- a/server/bin/gold/test-5.2.txt
+++ b/server/bin/gold/test-5.2.txt
@@ -683,7 +683,7 @@ drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-dispatch
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-index
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-index-tool-data
 -rw-rw-r--        265 logs/pbench-index-tool-data/pbench-index-tool-data.log
--rw-rw-r--       7679 logs/pbench-index/pbench-index.log
+-rw-rw-r--       7805 logs/pbench-index/pbench-index.log
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-server-prep-shim-002
 -rw-rw-r--       2988 logs/pbench-server-prep-shim-002/pbench-server-prep-shim-002.log
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-sync-satellite
@@ -968,31 +968,31 @@ run-1970-01-01T00:00:42-UTC: Processed 10 result tar balls, 7 successfully (0 pa
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- start processing list of tar balls
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Starting /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-b-with-prefixes/TO-INDEX/tarball-0_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz (size 212)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- open tar ball
-1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Unsupported tar ball format: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-b-with-prefixes/tarball-0_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-0_1970.01.01T00.42.00/metadata.log".
+1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs emit_error -- Tar ball does not contain a metadata.log file: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-b-with-prefixes/tarball-0_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-0_1970.01.01T00.42.00/metadata.log".
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Finished /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-b-with-prefixes/TO-INDEX/tarball-0_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz (size 212)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Starting /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-g-normal/TO-INDEX/tarball-normal_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz (size 216)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- open tar ball
-1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Unsupported tar ball format: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-g-normal/tarball-normal_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-normal_1970.01.01T00.42.00/metadata.log".
+1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs emit_error -- Tar ball does not contain a metadata.log file: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-g-normal/tarball-normal_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-normal_1970.01.01T00.42.00/metadata.log".
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Finished /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-g-normal/TO-INDEX/tarball-normal_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz (size 216)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Starting /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/ONE::controllerA/TO-INDEX/tarball-simple1_1970-01-01T00:42:00.tar.xz (size 220)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- open tar ball
-1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Unsupported tar ball format: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/ONE::controllerA/tarball-simple1_1970-01-01T00:42:00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-simple1_1970-01-01T00:42:00/metadata.log".
+1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs emit_error -- Tar ball does not contain a metadata.log file: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/ONE::controllerA/tarball-simple1_1970-01-01T00:42:00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-simple1_1970-01-01T00:42:00/metadata.log".
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Finished /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/ONE::controllerA/TO-INDEX/tarball-simple1_1970-01-01T00:42:00.tar.xz (size 220)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Starting /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/ONE::controllerB/TO-INDEX/tarball-simple2_1970-01-01T00:41:00.tar.xz (size 220)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- open tar ball
-1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Unsupported tar ball format: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/ONE::controllerB/tarball-simple2_1970-01-01T00:41:00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-simple2_1970-01-01T00:41:00/metadata.log".
+1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs emit_error -- Tar ball does not contain a metadata.log file: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/ONE::controllerB/tarball-simple2_1970-01-01T00:41:00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-simple2_1970-01-01T00:41:00/metadata.log".
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Finished /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/ONE::controllerB/TO-INDEX/tarball-simple2_1970-01-01T00:41:00.tar.xz (size 220)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Starting /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-b-with-prefixes/TO-INDEX/tarball-w-dot-prefix_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz (size 224)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- open tar ball
-1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Unsupported tar ball format: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-b-with-prefixes/tarball-w-dot-prefix_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-w-dot-prefix_1970.01.01T00.42.00/metadata.log".
+1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs emit_error -- Tar ball does not contain a metadata.log file: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-b-with-prefixes/tarball-w-dot-prefix_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-w-dot-prefix_1970.01.01T00.42.00/metadata.log".
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Finished /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-b-with-prefixes/TO-INDEX/tarball-w-dot-prefix_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz (size 224)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Starting /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-b-with-prefixes/TO-INDEX/tarball-w-prefix-dot_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz (size 224)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- open tar ball
-1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Unsupported tar ball format: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-b-with-prefixes/tarball-w-prefix-dot_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-w-prefix-dot_1970.01.01T00.42.00/metadata.log".
+1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs emit_error -- Tar ball does not contain a metadata.log file: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-b-with-prefixes/tarball-w-prefix-dot_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-w-prefix-dot_1970.01.01T00.42.00/metadata.log".
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Finished /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller-b-with-prefixes/TO-INDEX/tarball-w-prefix-dot_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz (size 224)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Starting /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/ONE::controllerC/TO-INDEX/tarball-simple0-prefix_1970-01-01T00:42:00.tar.xz (size 228)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- open tar ball
-1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Unsupported tar ball format: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/ONE::controllerC/tarball-simple0-prefix_1970-01-01T00:42:00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-simple0-prefix_1970-01-01T00:42:00/metadata.log".
+1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs emit_error -- Tar ball does not contain a metadata.log file: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/ONE::controllerC/tarball-simple0-prefix_1970-01-01T00:42:00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "tarball-simple0-prefix_1970-01-01T00:42:00/metadata.log".
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Finished /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-5.2/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/ONE::controllerC/TO-INDEX/tarball-simple0-prefix_1970-01-01T00:42:00.tar.xz (size 228)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- stopped processing list of tar balls
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- pbench-index.run-1970-01-01T00:00:42-UTC: indexed 0 (skipped 7) results, 0 errors
diff --git a/server/bin/gold/test-7.1.txt b/server/bin/gold/test-7.1.txt
index 2d244a515d..4fd44953f7 100644
--- a/server/bin/gold/test-7.1.txt
+++ b/server/bin/gold/test-7.1.txt
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-audit-server
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-index
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-index-tool-data
 -rw-rw-r--        265 logs/pbench-index-tool-data/pbench-index-tool-data.log
--rw-rw-r--       2305 logs/pbench-index/pbench-index.log
+-rw-rw-r--       2294 logs/pbench-index/pbench-index.log
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs
 -rw-rw-r--          0 logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs/pbench-unpack-tarballs.error
 -rw-rw-r--        860 logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs/pbench-unpack-tarballs.log
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ drwxrwxr-x          - tmp
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- start processing list of tar balls
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Starting /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.1/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller/TO-INDEX/test_7.1_1970.01.01T00.00.00.tar.xz (size 1256)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- open tar ball
-1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- The metadata.log file is curdled in tar ball: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.1/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller/test_7.1_1970.01.01T00.00.00.tar.xz - error fetching required metadata.log fields, "No section: 'run'"
+1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs emit_error -- Bad metadata.log file encountered: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.1/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller/test_7.1_1970.01.01T00.00.00.tar.xz - error fetching required metadata.log fields, "No section: 'run'"
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Finished /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.1/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller/TO-INDEX/test_7.1_1970.01.01T00.00.00.tar.xz (size 1256)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- stopped processing list of tar balls
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- pbench-index.run-1970-01-01T00:00:42-UTC: indexed 0 (skipped 1) results, 0 errors
diff --git a/server/bin/gold/test-7.18.txt b/server/bin/gold/test-7.18.txt
index 42b01d2e26..bf1904be54 100644
--- a/server/bin/gold/test-7.18.txt
+++ b/server/bin/gold/test-7.18.txt
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-audit-server
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-index
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-index-tool-data
 -rw-rw-r--        265 logs/pbench-index-tool-data/pbench-index-tool-data.log
--rw-rw-r--       2640 logs/pbench-index/pbench-index.log
+-rw-rw-r--       2629 logs/pbench-index/pbench-index.log
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs
 -rw-rw-r--          0 logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs/pbench-unpack-tarballs.error
 -rw-rw-r--       1271 logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs/pbench-unpack-tarballs.log
@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ drwxrwxr-x          - tmp
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- start processing list of tar balls
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Starting /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.18/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/bad-controller/TO-INDEX/test_7.18_2018.02.05T15.31.08.tar.xz (size 1512)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- open tar ball
-1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- The metadata.log file is curdled in tar ball: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.18/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/bad-controller/test_7.18_2018.02.05T15.31.08.tar.xz - error fetching required metadata.log fields, "run.controller ("alphaville.example.com") does not match controller_dir ("bad-controller")"
+1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs emit_error -- Bad metadata.log file encountered: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.18/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/bad-controller/test_7.18_2018.02.05T15.31.08.tar.xz - error fetching required metadata.log fields, "run.controller ("alphaville.example.com") does not match controller_dir ("bad-controller")"
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Finished /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.18/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/bad-controller/TO-INDEX/test_7.18_2018.02.05T15.31.08.tar.xz (size 1512)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- stopped processing list of tar balls
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- pbench-index.run-1970-01-01T00:00:42-UTC: indexed 0 (skipped 1) results, 0 errors
diff --git a/server/bin/gold/test-7.2.0.txt b/server/bin/gold/test-7.2.0.txt
index 17b270aacb..ac93a20a1f 100644
--- a/server/bin/gold/test-7.2.0.txt
+++ b/server/bin/gold/test-7.2.0.txt
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-audit-server
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-index
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-index-tool-data
 -rw-rw-r--        265 logs/pbench-index-tool-data/pbench-index-tool-data.log
--rw-rw-r--       2302 logs/pbench-index/pbench-index.log
+-rw-rw-r--       2320 logs/pbench-index/pbench-index.log
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs
 -rw-rw-r--          0 logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs/pbench-unpack-tarballs.error
 -rw-rw-r--        870 logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs/pbench-unpack-tarballs.log
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ drwxrwxr-x          - tmp
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- start processing list of tar balls
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Starting /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.2.0/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller/TO-INDEX/test_7.2.0_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz (size 1224)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- open tar ball
-1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Unsupported tar ball format: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.2.0/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller/test_7.2.0_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "test_7.2.0_1970.01.01T00.42.00/metadata.log".
+1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs emit_error -- Tar ball does not contain a metadata.log file: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.2.0/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller/test_7.2.0_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz - tar ball is missing "test_7.2.0_1970.01.01T00.42.00/metadata.log".
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Finished /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.2.0/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller/TO-INDEX/test_7.2.0_1970.01.01T00.42.00.tar.xz (size 1224)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- stopped processing list of tar balls
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- pbench-index.run-1970-01-01T00:00:42-UTC: indexed 0 (skipped 1) results, 0 errors
diff --git a/server/bin/gold/test-7.2.1.txt b/server/bin/gold/test-7.2.1.txt
index 3157c5b922..d9a0597607 100644
--- a/server/bin/gold/test-7.2.1.txt
+++ b/server/bin/gold/test-7.2.1.txt
@@ -976,7 +976,7 @@ drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-audit-server
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-index
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-index-tool-data
 -rw-rw-r--        265 logs/pbench-index-tool-data/pbench-index-tool-data.log
--rw-rw-r--       2357 logs/pbench-index/pbench-index.log
+-rw-rw-r--       2375 logs/pbench-index/pbench-index.log
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs
 -rw-rw-r--          0 logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs/pbench-unpack-tarballs.error
 -rw-rw-r--        861 logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs/pbench-unpack-tarballs.log
@@ -1046,7 +1046,7 @@ drwxrwxr-x          - tmp
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- start processing list of tar balls
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Starting /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.2.1/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller/TO-INDEX/uperf__2016-10-06_16:34:03.tar.xz (size 5809020)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- open tar ball
-1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Unsupported tar ball format: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.2.1/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller/uperf__2016-10-06_16:34:03.tar.xz - directory prefix should be "uperf__2016-10-06_16:34:03", but is "." instead, for tar ball member "./uperf__2016-10-06_16:34:03"
+1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs emit_error -- Tar ball does not contain a metadata.log file: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.2.1/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller/uperf__2016-10-06_16:34:03.tar.xz - directory prefix should be "uperf__2016-10-06_16:34:03", but is "." instead, for tar ball member "./uperf__2016-10-06_16:34:03"
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Finished /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.2.1/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/controller/TO-INDEX/uperf__2016-10-06_16:34:03.tar.xz (size 5809020)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- stopped processing list of tar balls
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- pbench-index.run-1970-01-01T00:00:42-UTC: indexed 0 (skipped 1) results, 0 errors
diff --git a/server/bin/gold/test-7.3.txt b/server/bin/gold/test-7.3.txt
index f3e7b72a0d..b60bf37e65 100644
--- a/server/bin/gold/test-7.3.txt
+++ b/server/bin/gold/test-7.3.txt
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-audit-server
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-index
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-index-tool-data
 -rw-rw-r--        265 logs/pbench-index-tool-data/pbench-index-tool-data.log
--rw-rw-r--       2307 logs/pbench-index/pbench-index.log
+-rw-rw-r--       2296 logs/pbench-index/pbench-index.log
 drwxrwxr-x          - logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs
 -rw-rw-r--          0 logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs/pbench-unpack-tarballs.error
 -rw-rw-r--        860 logs/pbench-unpack-tarballs/pbench-unpack-tarballs.log
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ drwxrwxr-x          - tmp
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- start processing list of tar balls
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Starting /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.3/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/alphaville/TO-INDEX/test_7.3_2015.09.21T15.31.08.tar.xz (size 1492)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- open tar ball
-1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- The metadata.log file is curdled in tar ball: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.3/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/alphaville/test_7.3_2015.09.21T15.31.08.tar.xz - error fetching required metadata.log fields, "empty pbench.script"
+1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 WARNING pbench-index.indexing_tarballs emit_error -- Bad metadata.log file encountered: /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.3/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/alphaville/test_7.3_2015.09.21T15.31.08.tar.xz - error fetching required metadata.log fields, "empty pbench.script"
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- Finished /var/tmp/pbench-test-server/test-7.3/pbench/archive/fs-version-001/alphaville/TO-INDEX/test_7.3_2015.09.21T15.31.08.tar.xz (size 1492)
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 DEBUG pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- stopped processing list of tar balls
 1970-01-01T00:00:42.000000 INFO pbench-index.indexing_tarballs process_tb -- pbench-index.run-1970-01-01T00:00:42-UTC: indexed 0 (skipped 1) results, 0 errors
diff --git a/server/bin/pbench-index.py b/server/bin/pbench-index.py
index 103daf68ee..3792b51f24 100755
--- a/server/bin/pbench-index.py
+++ b/server/bin/pbench-index.py
@@ -44,39 +44,6 @@ def main(options, name):
        All exceptions are caught and logged to syslog with the stacktrace of
        the exception in a sub-object of the logged JSON document.
 
-       Status codes used by es_index and the error below are defined from the
-       list below to maintain compatibility with the previous code base when
-       pbench-index was a bash script and invoked index-pbench (yes, a bit
-       confusing), the predecessor to this program.  The codes were used to
-       sort the errors we encountered processing tar balls in to categories
-       of retry or not:
-
-            0 - normal, successful exit, no errors
-            1 - Operational error while indexing
-            2 - Configuration file not specified
-            3 - Bad configuration file
-            4 - Tar ball does not contain a metadata.log file
-            5 - Bad start run date value encountered
-            6 - File Not Found error
-            7 - Bad metadata.log file encountered
-            8 - Error reading a mapping file for Elasticsearch templates
-            9 - Error creating one of the Elasticsearch templates
-           10 - Bad hostname in a sosreport
-           11 - Failure unpacking the tar ball
-           12 - generic error, needs to be investigated and can be retried
-                after any indexing bugs are fixed.
-
-       Return Values (now a sub-set of the original status codes above):
-         0 - Successfully processed all tar balls (errors processing tar
-             balls are reported in the logs and in index status reports)
-         1 - Failed to process one or more tar balls for unknown reasons
-             (see logs)
-         2 - Missing configuration file
-         3 - Invalid configuration file
-         8 - Unable to load and process expected mapping files
-         9 - Unable to update index templates in configured Elasticsearch
-             instance
-
         Signal Handlers used to establish different patterns for the three
         behaviors:
 
@@ -121,6 +88,7 @@ def main(options, name):
     _name_suf = "-tool-data" if options.index_tool_data else ""
     _name_re = "-re" if options.re_index else ""
     name = f"{name}{_name_re}{_name_suf}"
+    error_code = Index.error_code
 
     if not options.cfg_name:
         print(
@@ -129,20 +97,20 @@ def main(options, name):
             " use --config <file> on the command line",
             file=sys.stderr,
         )
-        return 2
+        return error_code["CFG_ERROR"].value
 
     idxctx = None
     try:
         idxctx = IdxContext(options, name, _dbg=_DEBUG)
     except (ConfigFileError, ConfigParserError) as e:
         print(f"{name}: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
-        return 2
+        return error_code["CFG_ERROR"].value
     except BadConfig as e:
         print(f"{name}: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
-        return 3
+        return error_code["BAD_CFG"].value
     except JsonFileError as e:
         print(f"{name}: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
-        return 8
+        return error_code["MAPPING_ERROR"].value
 
     if options.dump_index_patterns:
         idxctx.templates.dump_idx_patterns()
@@ -152,7 +120,7 @@ def main(options, name):
         idxctx.templates.dump_templates()
         return 0
 
-    res = 0
+    res = error_code["OK"]
 
     ARCHIVE_rp = idxctx.config.ARCHIVE
 
@@ -161,23 +129,23 @@ def main(options, name):
         "INCOMING", INCOMING_rp, idxctx.logger
     )
     if not INCOMING_path:
-        res = 3
+        res = error_code["BAD_CFG"]
 
     qdir = idxctx.config.get_conf(
         "QUARANTINE", "pbench-server", "pbench-quarantine-dir", idxctx.logger
     )
     if not qdir:
-        res = 3
+        res = error_code["BAD_CFG"]
     else:
         qdir_path = idxctx.config.get_valid_dir_option(
             "QDIR", Path(qdir), idxctx.logger
         )
         if not qdir_path:
-            res = 3
+            res = error_code["BAD_CFG"]
 
-    if res != 0:
+    if not res.success:
         # Exit early if we encounter any errors.
-        return res
+        return res.value
 
     idxctx.logger.debug("{}.{}: starting", name, idxctx.TS)
 
@@ -190,6 +158,8 @@ def main(options, name):
     return status
 
 
+###########################################################################
+# Options handling
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     run_name = Path(sys.argv[0]).name
     run_name = run_name if run_name[-3:] != ".py" else run_name[:-3]