Syslog and log files1-1 Syslog and Log Files  From logfiles, you can find m important information m History m Errors/warnings  Logging policies m Reset log files at periodic intervals m Rotate log file m Compress and archive m Throw away

Syslog and log files1-2 Syslog and Log files  Where are the log files? m Random log names scattered across dirs/filesystems Two common places: –/var/adm –/var/log m To locate your log file: Read the man for individual daemons Read the system startup scripts Check syslog’s configuration file /etc/syslog.conf

Syslog and log files1-3 Logs (see P 208 for more) Fileprogramwherewhere freqfreq ownerowner contents messagesvariousSMROften the main system log file syslogvariousSMROften the main system log file shutdownlogshutdo wn SMRReasons for shutdown sulogsuHMRAuthorizations wtmp/wtmpxloginHMRConnect-time accounting Httpd/*_loghttpdFWRWeb Server Logs AcctkernelCDRSysV process accunting (binary)

Syslog and log files1-4 Syslog  Is a comprehensive logging system m Manage the information generated by the kernel the system utilities m Has two important function Liberate programmers Put administrators in control of logging m Very flexible Sort message by source, importance Route the message to –log file –users’ terminals, –Remote machines Thus, Centralize the logging for a network

Syslog and log files1-5 Example  Colossus m /var/adm/messages Kernel.notice – ufs quota auth.error – sshd pentential probe of service m /var/adm/sulog m /var/log/syslog m /var/log/authlog m /var/log/dmesg m /etc/syslog.conf  Wopr.csl.mtu.edu m /var/log/messages Lots of sshd messages m /etc/syslog.conf  Dafinn.cs.mtu.edu m Where is httpd log file? /etc/init.d/httpd /etc/httpd/conf –ServerRoot –ErrorLog –Symbolic links m Where is print log file? /etc/init.d/cups –/etc/cups/cupsd.conf –/var/log/cups

Syslog and log files1-6 Syslog  Syslog consists of three parts m The logging daemon: syslogd config file /etc/syslog.conf m Library routines: openlog et al. m User-level log submit command: logger  Syslogd m Is started at the boot time m Write the messages Reads message from special file /dev/log (or others depending on the system), then Consults with the configuration file, then Dispatches each message to the appropriate destination

Syslog and log files1-7 Syslog m Restart syslogd to make config change take effect truncate or rotate the log m Send a HUP signal # kill –HUP `/bin/cat /var/run/syslog.pid` m Configuring syslogd /etc/syslog.conf controls syslogd’s behavior The basic format is Selector action Selectors identify the program and message’s severity level with the format Facility:level Facility, level must be kernel ware names

Syslog and log files1-8 Syslog Valid facility names –Kern –User –mail –Daemon –Auth –Lpr –Cron –Syslog –Mark –local0-7 – ftp –… Valid levels (descending severity) – emerg – alert – crit – err – warning – notice – info – debug – none

Syslog and log files1-9 Syslog Selectors can be combined –Separated by semicolon ; –* to represent all facilities except mark Actions: –Filename –User1, user2, … –* Example: *.err;kern.debug;daemon.notice;mail.crit /var/adm/messages kern.notice /var/log/kern.notice *.alert;kern.err;daemon.err operator *.alert root

Syslog and log files1-10 Syslog  central logging host m Keep the log one place, easy to check. m Need a stable server What if netloghost is down? m The time stamp does not reflect the time on the originating host

Syslog and log files1-11 Using syslog from programs  Functions m Openlog m Syslog m Closelog  C calls void openlog(const char *ident, int option, int facility); void syslog(int priority, const char *format,...); void closelog(void);  Perl calls Use Sys::Syslog; Openlog(ident, logopt, facility) Syslog(priority, message, …) Closelog()

Syslog and log files1-12 Logger  Logger command m Create a log entry m Debug syslogd’s configuration file Example: –After a new line was added to syslog.conf Local5.warning/tmp/evi.log –Run $ logger –p local5.warning “test message” –To see if “test message” is written in /tmp/evi.log

Syslog and log files1-13 Log analyzer  Get the related info out of lines m Write up your own scripts Check for certain patterns Send to you m Commonly used log postprocessors Swatch Logcheck  Couple of things to look for m Security-related messages m Disk full m Messages that are repeated many times