What is Syslog?
Syslog is a protocol and utility for capturing and logging system information. This system information can be stored locally, remotely, or both. syslog allows a server to forward log messages over the network to SL1. SL1 then uses these messages to monitor the health of the server and trigger events (if necessary).
Because the syslog utility is mature and widely-used, there is an array of commercial and open source implementations. This section provides only a basic outline of how to configure syslog to send messages to SL1.
Entries in a syslog can include the following severity descriptions:
Severity | Description |
|---|---|
0 Emergency: | System is unusable. A "panic" condition. Notify all technical staff. Affects multiple servers, applications, systems, or sites. For example, an outage caused by an earthquake. |
1 Alert | Failure in primary system. Immediate action is required. Notify appropriate staff. Example would be "loss of backup ISP connection". |
2 Critical | Failure in primary system. Immediate action is required before problem escalates to "alert". For example, "loss of primary ISP connection". |
3 Error | Non-urgent failure. Action is required but not urgent. These messages should be relayed to appropriate support staff for resolution. |
4 Warning | Indication that an error is about to occur. Action is required but not immediately. For example, "file system is 85% full". |
5 Notice | Normal but significant condition. No immediate action required. Events that are unusual but are not considered error conditions. Should be examined to spot potential problems. |
6 Informational | Normal operational messages. No action required. These may be harvested for reporting, measuring through-put, etc. |
7 Debug | Information that is useful to developers for debugging the application; not useful during operations. |
To configure your Solaris 10 server to send syslogs to CCE, you must edit the file /etc/syslog.conf.
Before editing the /etc/syslog.conf file, ensure that syslog is enabled. To do this, open a shell session, login as root, and enter the following at the command prompt:
svcs system-log
Backup the existing /etc/syslog.conf file. To do this, open a shell session, login as root, and enter the following at the command prompt:
cp /etc/syslog.conf /etc/syslog.orig
Use your favorite editor to edit the /etc/syslog.conf file and add the following line:
If you are using an All-In-One Appliance, use the IP address of the All-In-One Appliance.
If you are using a Distributed System and the Collector Group that will monitor your device includes a Message Collector, use the IP address of the Message Collector.
If you are using a Distributed System and the Collector Group that will monitor your device includes a single Data Collector that performs the message collection function, use the IP address of the Data Collector.
*.err;kern.debug;daemon.notice;mail.crit @<IP Address_OF_CCE_Device>
NOTE: syslog includes many facilities. The facilities referenced above are merely a starting point as suggested by ScienceLogic.
After you edit the syslog.conf file, you must restart the syslog service. To do this, open a shell session, login as root, and enter the following at the command prompt:
svcadm restart system-log
To test sending syslog messages to SL1, open a shell session and enter the following at the command prompt:
logger –p daemon.notice "Test Debug Message to EM7"
To see if the message was sent to CCE, check:
on the Solaris device, the file /var/adm/messages.