Chapter 5. Troubleshooting Linux with syslog
In This Chapter
There are hundreds of Linux applications on the market, each with their own configuration files and help pages. This variety makes Linux vibrant, but it also makes Linux system administration daunting. Fortunately, in most cases, Linux applications use the syslog utility to export all their errors and status messages to files located in the /var/log directory.
This can be invaluable in correlating the timing and causes of related events on your system. It is also important to know that applications frequently don't display errors on the screen, but will usually log them somewhere. Knowing the precise message that accompanies an error can be vital in researching malfunctions in product manuals, online documentation, and Web searches.
syslog and the logrotate utility that cleans up log files are both relatively easy to configure but they frequently don't get their fair share of coverage in most texts. I've included syslog here as a dedicated chapter to both emphasize its importance to your Linux knowledge and prepare you with a valuable skill that will help you troubleshoot all the Linux various applications that will be presented throughout the book.
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