Section 11.6. So Many Server Logs


11.6. So Many Server Logs

I believe it's helpful for any Linux user to review her own logs on a regular basis. Familiarity can help any geek learn the value of logs. For one thing, log entries will be associated with failed logins, which suggest that a cracker is trying to break into your system. But logs can do much more. For example, web logs can give you a feel for where your customers are coming from, in terms of geography; clicked links associated with web ads; how long they stay on your web site; and more.

As a Linux administrator, chances are good that you're administering a substantial number of Linux computers. It may be useful to consolidate the logs on a single system. If a server goes down, you'll have the logs from that server available on the central log server. When there are problems, such as "critical" error messages, you may want an email sent to your address. You may need tools to help you go through all of these logs.

11.6.1. Central Log Servers

Logs on our selected distributions are governed by the system and kernel log daemons. While Red Hat/Fedora and Debian combine these daemons into a single package (sysklogd), SUSE includes them in separate packages (syslogd and klogd). While there are minor variations in how they're configured, they're all governed by a logfile in the same location, /etc/syslog.conf.

If you want to dedicate a specific system as your central log server, first make sure you have enough space on that system. It may help to configure logs, such as those in the /var/log directory, on a separate partition so that they can't fill up critical system partitions if they get too big. For more information, see the next annoyance.

On the system that you're configuring as a central log server, you'll have to configure the system log daemon (syslogd) to accept remote connections. The simplest way to do so is to stop the daemon, and then start it again with the -rm 0 switch. The way you implement this varies slightly by distribution:


Red Hat/Fedora

The Red Hat/Fedora distributions let you configure switches for the system log daemon in /etc/sysconfig/syslog. The key directive is SYSLOGD_OPTIONS. To support remote log reception, change this directive to:

 SYSLOGD_OPTIONS="-rm 0" 


SUSE

SUSE Linux handles standard options for the system log daemon in a similar fashion. The daemon log options are listed in /etc/sysconfig/syslog. To support remote log reception, change the SYSLOGD_PARAMS directive to:

 SYSLOGD_PARAMS="-rm 0" 


Debian

Debian Linux does not provide any /etc/sysconfig files for daemon configuration. However, you can configure the system log daemon directly in the associated start script, /etc/init.d/sysklogd. To support remote log reception, change the SYSLOGD directive to:

 SYSLOGD="-rm 0" 

Once you've made the configuration changes, you can implement them by restarting the system log daemon on each computer with the following command:

 /etc/init.d/syslog restart 

On Debian Linux, the script's location is slightly different:

 /etc/init.d/sysklogd restart 

Naturally, if there's a firewall between the log server and log clients, you'll need to make provisions in that firewall to allow traffic through port 514. As you can see in /etc/services, that's the standard port for system log communications. To make sure your system log service now receives from remote computers, check your /var/log/syslog (or, if that file doesn't exist, /var/log/messages) for the following entry (the version number may vary):

 syslogd 1.4.1: restart (remote reception). 

11.6.2. Forwarding Server Logs to a Central Server

Now that the central server is ready, you can configure your other Linux systems to send copies of their logs to that computer. The log configuration file on each of our preferred distributions is /etc/syslog.conf, and the key directive is straightforward. If you want a copy of all logs sent to the logmaster.example.com computer, all you need in that file is:

 *.* @logmaster 

Unfortunately, the system log service can't handle fully qualified domain names. Logs on the central server from your remote systems will have only the regular hostnames.

If you're just concerned with kernel-based issues, to help diagnose shutdowns, you can send just the kernel messages to the remote log server:

 kern.* @logmaster 

11.6.3. Logwatch Monitoring

There are many excellent tools for monitoring logfiles. Many geeks even create their own scripts for this purpose. One excellent source for different monitoring tools and scripts is Automating Unix and Linux Administration by Kirk Bauer (Apress).

One of the major standards for log monitoring is known as Logwatch. It's available from both the Debian and Red Hat/Fedora Linux repositories. A logwatch RPM that works on SUSE is available from the Logwatch home page at http://www.logwatch.org.

Logwatch is organized into three groups of files. The overall configuration file is logwatch.conf. Other logfiles for many individual services are organized in a services/ subdirectory. The logfiles are placed in groups based on configuration files in a logfiles/ subdirectory. The actual directory varies by distribution, or by the release that you may have installed from http://www.logwatch.org.

As the directories associated with Logwatch vary so widely by distribution, I generally do not use full directory paths in this annoyance. If you're uncertain about the location of a file, you'll have to do your own searching with commands such as locate, and rpm -ql logwatch or dpkg -L logwatch.


11.6.3.1. Basic Logwatch configuration

Before I show you how to configure the basic Logwatch configuration file, I need to review its location on your system. If you've downloaded the latest version from http://www.logwatch.org, you'll need to make sure key settings are compatible with the scripts and configuration directories for your distribution.

The standard Logwatch configuration file is logwatch.conf. You can find it in the /etc/log.d/conf or /etc/logwatch/conf directories. As described earlier, there is no standard SUSE Logwatch package.

If you've downloaded the latest version from the Logwatch home page, you'll find key configuration files in different locations. The logwatch.conf configuration file (as well as default services and configuration logfiles) is stored in /usr/share/logwatch/default.conf; detailed configuration changes can be added to files in the /etc/logwatch/conf directory.

Administrators are now encouraged to add changes to Logwatch settings to override.conf and patterns that Logwatch should drop to ignore.conf. But those are advanced settings beyond what I can cover in this annoyance. Refer to the Logwatch web site for the latest information.

Logwatch's standard directives include:


LogDir

The standard for logging directories on our preferred distributions is /var/log.


MailTo

While the default is MailTo = root, you're free to change this to the email address of your choice, assuming you have a working outgoing email server on this system.


Print

The Print directive is unrelated to printers; it determines whether reports are sent to standard output, which is normally the screen. The usual default is Print = no. Change this directive to view output in real time on your console.


TmpDir


UseMkTemp


MkTemp

These three directives all configure the use of temporary files. By default, the TmpDir directive points to the /tmp directory. In the latest version of Logwatch, this directive points to the /var/cache/logwatch directory.

If your TmpDir is /tmp, make sure the UseMkTemp directive is active. This uses the MkTemp directive to point to the mktemp utility for changing the name and permissions of temporary logfiles to keep them secure while they're stored in the /tmp directory.

If you've activated UseMkTemp, you need to point the MkTemp directive to the full path of the mktemp utility, normally /bin/mktemp.


Range

The Range directive specifies the timeline for the report. The standard is Range = yesterday; it's consistent with a log report, processed by the cron daemon, sometime after midnight.


Detail

The Detail directive associated with a report specifies the amount of information you get. Detail = Low limits information to security and other critical service issues. A High level of Detail creates very verbose reports, especially if you're collecting information from multiple computers.


Service

The Service directive gives you an opportunity to limit the services on which Logwatch prepares reports. While the default is Service = All, you can specify individual services with a directive such as Service = pamor specify all except an individual service with two directives, such as:

 Service = All Service = -ftpd-messages 


Mailer

The Mailer directive specifies the command-line utility associated with text emails. Depending on your distribution, it should be set either to /usr/bin/mail or /bin/mail.

11.6.3.2. Logwatch service configuration files

The service configuration files associated with Logwatch are stored in a service/ subdirectory. While the list of files may seem extensive, don't worry about configuring each file. The defaults are generally fine, unless you want to specify a special file group. One example where you may want to specify a special group is with the Clam AntiVirus software (www.clamav.net). The following is based on the package downloaded from the Clam AV web site.

These configuration files differ from those installed with specific services. For example, the clamav.conf file cited in this section, on a Debian system, is in the /etc/logwatch/conf/services directory. It configures Clam AntiVirus software interactions with the logwatch system. It is not a substitute for the main Clam AntiVirus configuration file, normally /etc/clamav/clamd.conf.


By default, the following directive in the clamav.conf file (along with the LogDir=/var/log directive in logwatch.conf) sends logs from this service to the standard /var/log/messages:

 LogFile = messages 

As it may be inconvenient to have so much traffic in /var/log/messages, you could send logs to a different file, such as /var/log/clam-update, with the following directive:

 LogFile = clam-update 

11.6.3.3. Logwatch log groups

The Logwatch service can help you organize a wide variety of logfiles, as configured in the logfiles/ subdirectory. It includes a number of configuration files (with .conf extensions).

11.6.3.4. Logwatch scripts

Logwatch includes a wide variety of scripts in the shared/ subdirectory. They're generally configured to help you search through logs collected by this service.



Linux Annoyances for Geeks
Linux Annoyances for Geeks: Getting the Most Flexible System in the World Just the Way You Want It
ISBN: 0596008015
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 144
Authors: Michael Jang

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