SYSLOGD(8-BSD)      RISC/os Reference Manual       SYSLOGD(8-BSD)



NAME
     syslogd - log systems messages

SYNOPSIS
     /etc/syslogd [ -fconfigfile ] [ -mmarkinterval ] [ -d ]

DESCRIPTION
     syslogd reads and logs messages into a set of files
     described by the configuration file /etc/syslog.conf.  Each
     message is one line.  A message can contain a priority code,
     marked by a number in angle braces at the beginning of the
     line.  Priorities are defined in <sys/syslog.h>.  syslogd
     reads from the UNIX domain socket /dev/syslog, from the
     named pipe /dev/log, from an Internet domain socket speci-
     fied in /etc/services, and from the special device /dev/klog
     (to read kernel messages).

     syslogd configures when it starts up and whenever it
     receives a hangup signal.  Lines in the configuration file
     have a selector to determine the message priorities to which
     the line applies and an action.  The action field are
     separated from the selector by one or more tabs.

     Selectors are semicolon separated lists of priority specif-
     iers.  Each priority has a facility describing the part of
     the system that generated the message, a dot, and a level
     indicating the severity of the message.  Symbolic names may
     be used.  An asterisk selects all facilities.  Entries with
     an asterisk should be placed first in the list.  All mes-
     sages of the specified level or higher (greater severity)
     are selected.  More than one facility may be selected using
     commas to separate them.  For example:

          *.emerg;mail,daemon.crit

     Selects all facilities at the emerg level and the mail and
     daemon facilities at the crit level.

     Known facilities and levels recognized by syslogd are those
     listed in syslog(3) without the leading ``LOG_''.  The addi-
     tional facility ``mark'' has a message at priority LOG_INFO
     sent to it every 20 minutes (this may be changed with the -m
     flag).  The ``mark'' facility is not enabled by a facility
     field containing an asterisk.  The level ``none'' may be
     used to disable a particular facility.  For example,

          *.debug;mail.none

     Sends all messages except mail messages to the selected
     file.





                         Printed 1/15/91                   Page 1

SYSLOGD(8-BSD)      RISC/os Reference Manual       SYSLOGD(8-BSD)



     The second part of each line describes where the message is
     to be logged if this line is selected.  There are four
     forms:

     ⊕  A filename (beginning with a leading slash).  The file
        will be opened in append mode.  If the filename is pre-
        ceded by a ?, as in the name ``?/dev/console'', messages
        will only be logged to that file if there is no user
        logged on to that device.  This only applies to files in
        the directory /dev.

     ⊕  A hostname preceded by an at sign (``@'').  Selected mes-
        sages are forwarded to the syslogd on the named host.

     ⊕  A comma separated list of users.  Selected messages are
        written to those users if they are logged in.

     ⊕  An asterisk.  Selected messages are written to all
        logged-in users.

     Blank lines and lines beginning with `#' are ignored.

     For example, the configuration file:

         kern,mark.debug        /dev/console
         *.notice;mail.info     /usr/spool/adm/syslog
         *.crit                 /usr/adm/critical
         kern.err               @ucbarpa
         *.emerg                *
         *.alert                eric,kridle
         *.alert;auth.warning   ralph

     logs all kernel messages and 20 minute marks onto the system
     console, all notice (or higher) level messages and all mail
     system messages except debug messages into the file
     /usr/spool/adm/syslog, and all critical messages into
     /usr/adm/critical; kernel messages of error severity or
     higher are forwarded to ucbarpa.  All users will be informed
     of any emergency messages, the users ``eric'' and ``kridle''
     will be informed of any alert messages, and the user
     ``ralph'' will be informed of any alert message, or any
     warning message (or higher) from the authorization system.

     In cases where the console is a CRT terminal, it may not be
     desirable to log messages to the console when a user is
     logged in.  This problem can be solved by setting up entries
     like the following:

         kern,mark.debug        ?/dev/console
         kern,mark.debug        /usr/adm/console_log





 Page 2                  Printed 1/15/91

SYSLOGD(8-BSD)      RISC/os Reference Manual       SYSLOGD(8-BSD)



     This tells the daemon to log kernel messages and marks to
     /dev/console unless someone is logged in on the console, and
     to log the same messages to the file /usr/adm/console_log
     unconditionally.

     The flags are:

     -f   Specify an alternate configuration file.

     -m   Select the number of minutes between mark messages.

     -d   Turn on debugging.

     syslogd creates the file /etc/syslog.pid, if possible, con-
     taining a single line with its process id.  This can be used
     to kill or reconfigure syslogd.

     To bring syslogd down, it should be sent a terminate signal
     (e.g. kill `cat /etc/syslog.pid`).

FILES
     /etc/syslog.conf    the configuration file
     /etc/syslog.pid     the process id
     /dev/syslog         Name of the UNIX domain datagram log socket
     /dev/log            Name of named-pipe log
     /dev/klog           The kernel log device

SEE ALSO
     logger(1) in the User's Reference Manual.
     syslog(3) in the Programmer's Reference Manual.

























                         Printed 1/15/91                   Page 3