newsyslog(8) - NetBSD Manual Pages

NEWSYSLOG(8)            NetBSD System Manager's Manual            NEWSYSLOG(8)


NAME

     newsyslog - maintain system log files to manageable sizes


SYNOPSIS

     newsyslog [-Fnrv] [-f config_file]


DESCRIPTION

     Newsyslog is a program that should be scheduled to run periodically by
     cron(8).  When it is executed it archives log files if necessary.  If a
     log file is determined to require archiving, newsyslog rearranges the
     files so that ``logfile'' is empty, ``logfile.0'' has the last period's
     logs in it, ``logfile.1'' has the next to last period's logs in it and so
     on, up to a user-specified number of archived logs.  Optionally the
     archived logs can be compressed to save space.

     A log can be archived for two reasons:

           1.   It is larger than the configured size (in kilobytes).

           2.   A configured number of hours have elapsed since the log was
                last archived.

     The granularity of newsyslog is dependent on how often it is scheduled to
     run by cron(8).  It is recommended that newsyslog be run once hourly.

     When starting up, newsyslog reads in a configuration file to determine
     which logs may potentially be archived.  By default, this configuration
     file is /etc/newsyslog.conf.  Each line of the file contains information
     about a particular log file that should be handled by newsyslog.  Each
     line has five mandatory fields and four optional fields, with a whites-
     pace separating each field.  Blank lines or lines beginning with ``#''
     are ignored.  The fields of the configuration file are as follows:

     logfile_name
             Name of the system log file to be archived.

     owner:group
             This optional field specifies the owner and group for the archive
             file.  The ":" is essential, even if the owner or group field is
             left blank.  The field may be numeric, or a name which is present
             in /etc/passwd or /etc/group.  For backward compatibility, "." is
             useable in lieu of ":", however use of this feature is discour-
             aged.

     mode    Specify the mode of the log file and archives.

     count   Specify the number of archive files to be kept besides the log
             file itself.

     size    When the size of the log file reaches size, the log file will be
             trimmed as described above.  If this field is replaced by an as-
             terisk (`*'), then the size of the log file is not taken into ac-
             count when determining when to trim the log file.

     interval
             The interval field specifies the time separation (in hours) be-
             tween trimming of the logfile.  If this field is replaced by an
             asterisk (`*'), then the interval is not taken into account when
             determining when to trim the log file.

     flags   This optional field specifies if any special processing is re-
             quired.  The Z flag means that archived log files should be com-
             pressed with gzip(1) to save space.  The B flag means that the
             file is a binary file and so the ASCII message which newsyslog
             inserts to indicate the fact that the logs have been trimmed
             should not be included.  The N flag means that no signal should
             be sent when the log is trimmed.  The - flag means nothing, but
             can be used as a placeholder when the path_to_pid_file field is
             specified.

     path_to_pid_file
             This optional field specifies the file name to read to find the
             daemon process id.  If this field is present, a signal of type
             sigtype is sent the process id contained in this file.  This
             field must start with "/" in order to be recognized properly.

     sigtype
             This optional field specifies the type of signal to be sent to
             the daemon process.  This may be a numeric or symbolic value.  By
             default a SIGHUP (hang-up) will be sent.


OPTIONS

     The following options can be used with newsyslog:

     -f config_file
             Instruct newsyslog to use config_file instead of
             /etc/newsyslog.conf as its configuration file.

     -v      Place newsyslog in verbose mode.  In this mode it will print out
             each log and its reasons for either trimming that log or skipping
             it.

     -n      Cause newsyslog not to trim the logs, but to print out what it
             would do if this option were not specified.

     -r      Remove the restriction that newsyslog must be running as root.
             When running as a regular user, newsyslog will not be able to
             send a HUP signal to syslogd(8), so this option should be used
             only when debugging or trimming user generated logs.

     -F      Force newsyslog to trim the logs, even if the trim conditions
             have not been met.  This option is useful for diagnosing system
             problems by providing you with fresh logs.


FILES

     /etc/newsyslog.conf      newsyslog configuration file.


AUTHORS

     Theodore Ts'o, MIT Project Athena

     Copyright 1987, Massachusetts Institute of Technology


SEE ALSO

     gzip(1), syslog(3), syslogd(8)

NetBSD 1.5                     November 20, 1999                             2