syslogd(1M)
NAME
syslogd - log system messages
SYNOPSIS
/usr/sbin/syslogd [-d] [-f configfile] [-m markinterval] [-
p path] [-t | -T]
DESCRIPTION
syslogd reads and forwards system messages to the appropri-
ate log files or users, depending upon the priority of a
message and the system facility from which it originates.
The configuration file /etc/syslog.conf (see syslog.conf(4))
controls where messages are forwarded. syslogd logs a mark
(timestamp) message every markinterval minutes (default 20)
at priority LOG_INFO to the facility whose name is given as
mark in the syslog.conf file.
A system message consists of a single line of text, which
may be prefixed with a priority code number enclosed in
angle-brackets (<>); priorities are defined in
<sys/syslog.h>.
syslogd reads from the STREAMS log driver, /dev/log, and
from any transport provider specified in /etc/netconfig,
/etc/net/transport/hosts, and /etc/net/transport/services.
syslogd reads the configuration file when it starts up, and
again whenever it receives a HUP signal (see signal(3HEAD),
at which time it also closes all files it has open, re-reads
its configuration file, and then opens only the log files
that are listed in that file. syslogd exits when it receives
a TERM signal.
As it starts up, syslogd creates the file /etc/syslog.pid,
if possible, containing its process identifier (PID).
If message ID generation is enabled (see log(7D)), each mes-
sage will be preceded by an identifier in the following for-
mat: [ID msgid facility.priority]. msgid is the message's
numeric identifier described in msgid(1M). facility and
priority are described in syslog.conf(4). [ID 123456
kern.notice] is an example of an identifier when message ID
generation is enabled.
If the message originated in a loadable kernel module or
driver, the kernel module's name (for example, ufs) will be
displayed instead of unix. See EXAMPLES for sample output
from syslogd with and without message ID generation enabled.
In an effort to reduce visual clutter, message IDs are not
displayed when writing to the console; message IDs are only
written to the log file. See EXAMPLES.
The /etc/default/syslogd file contains the following default
parameter settings. See FILES.
LOG_FROM_REMOTE
Specifies whether remote messages are logged.
LOG_FROM_REMOTE=NO is equivalent to the -t command-
line option. The default value for LOG_FROM_REMOTE is
YES.
OPTIONS
The following options are supported:
-d Turn on debugging. This option should only be used
interactively in a root shell once the system is in
multi-user mode. It should not be used in the system
start-up scripts, as this will cause the system to
hang at the point where syslogd is started.
-f configfile
Specify an alternate configuration file.
-m markinterval
Specify an interval, in minutes, between mark mes-
sages.
-p path
Specify an alternative log device name. The default is
/dev/log.
-T Enable the syslogd UDP port to turn on logging of
remote messages. This is the default behavior. See
FILES.
-t Disable the syslogd UDP port to turn off logging of
remote messages. See FILES.
EXAMPLES
Example 1: syslogd Output Without Message ID Generation
Enabled
The following example shows the output from syslogd when
message ID generation is not enabled:
Sep 29 21:41:18 cathy unix: alloc /: file system full
Example 2: syslogd Output with ID generation Enabled
The following example shows the output from syslogd when
message ID generation is enabled. The message ID is
displayed when writing to log file/var/adm/messages.
Sep 29 21:41:18 cathy ufs: [ID 845546 kern.notice]
alloc /: file system full
Example 3: syslogd Output with ID Generation Enabled
The following example shows the output from syslogd when
message ID generation is enabled when writing to the con-
sole. Even though message ID is enabled, the message ID is
not displayed at the console.
Sep 29 21:41:18 cathy ufs: alloc /: file system full
FILES
/etc/syslog.conf
Configuration file
/etc/syslog.pid
Process ID
/etc/default/syslogd
Contains default settings. You can override some of
the settings by command-line options.
/dev/log
STREAMS log driver
/etc/netconfig
Transport providers available on the system
/etc/net/transport/hosts
Network hosts for each transport
/etc/net/transport/services
Network services for each transport
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attri-
butes:
____________________________________________________________
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
| Availability | SUNWcsu |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
SEE ALSO
logger(1), msgid(1M),syslog(3C), syslog.conf(4), attri-
butes(5), signal(3HEAD), log(7D)
NOTES
The mark message is a system time stamp, and so it is only
defined for the system on which syslogd is running. It can
not be forwarded to other systems.
When syslogd receives a HUP signal, it attempts to complete
outputting pending messages, and close all log files to
which it is currently logging messages. If, for some reason,
one (or more) of these files does not close within a gen-
erous grace period, syslogd discards the pending messages,
forcibly closes these files, and starts reconfiguration. If
this shutdown procedure is disturbed by an unexpected error
and syslogd cannot complete reconfiguration, syslogd sends a
mail message to the superuser on the current system stating
that it has shut down, and exits.
Care should be taken to ensure that each window displaying
messages forwarded by syslogd (especially console windows)
is run in the system default locale (which is syslogd's
locale). If this advice is not followed, it is possible for
a syslog message to alter the terminal settings for that
window, possibly even allowing remote execution of arbitrary
commands from that window.
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