Maintenance Commands                                  syslogd(1M)

NAME
     syslogd - log system messages

SYNOPSIS
     /usr/sbin/syslogd   [   -d   ]    [   -f configfile   ]    [
     -m markinterval ]  [ -p path ]  [ -t ]

DESCRIPTION
     syslogd reads and forwards system messages to the  appropri-
     ate log files and/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.

SunOS 5.8           Last change: 11 May 1999                    1

Maintenance Commands                                  syslogd(1M)

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    Disable the syslogd UPD port to turn  off  logging  of
           remote messages.

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  when
     writing to log file /var/adm/messages

     The following example shows the  output  from  syslogd  when
     message ID generation is enabled.  Note that  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  when
     writing to the console

     The following example shows the  output  from  syslogd  when
     message  ID  generation  is enabled when writing to the con-
     sole. Note that even though message ID is enabled, the  mes-
     sage ID is not displayed at the console.

SunOS 5.8           Last change: 11 May 1999                    2

Maintenance Commands                                  syslogd(1M)

     Sep 29 21:41:18 cathy ufs: alloc /: file system full

FILES
     /etc/syslog.conf
           configuration file

     /etc/syslog.pid
           process ID

     /dev/log
           STREAMS log driver

     /etc/netconfig
           specifies the 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),   attributes(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.

SunOS 5.8           Last change: 11 May 1999                    3